🧱 New to $15M in 2023 from YouTube, Upgraded ChatGPT-4 & is 3D printed homes the future?

You may like this issue if you enjoy talking about the future: we talk about is YouTube the gold standard for social, GPT-4 & why home building will be changing forever...

Morning & happy Friday!

I was speaking with a lender who originates over $200M in loans. She’s making the decision to hire a videographer full-time, and go all in on YouTube & video this year because of this 1 thing.

She’s been in the business for a while and built her business off relationships & referrals. And at an event several years ago, she was speaking and gave everything she knew away.

There was this one person who was new that soaked it all up.

Now, only a few years later, that new lender is originating over $205M a year… how? YouTube.

This made me think, is YouTube the gold standard for social and if so how can you get started? So that’s what I sent out to answer today.

I hope you enjoy!

— Andrew

šŸ† Is YouTube the Gold Standard for Social Media? $15M+ in 2022 Says Yes

Imagine only doing 4 hours a month of work but producing over 100 or 300 hours of prospecting… but how? YouTube.

4 hours of videos can produce hundreds of hours of local prospecting for you because, unlike Instagram or Facebook where content is fleeting, YouTube stays forever. Or until you shut it down.

  • Ryan Serhant built his business off listing videos on YouTube after Million Dollar Listing

  • Brad McCallum built a multi-7-figure GCI business from his listing videos on YouTube

  • Ken Pozek built a highly profitable $6M GCI team with 40% coming from YouTube in only 5 years

  • Jennifer Beeston scaled to over $205M in loan originations with 60% of her business coming from her YouTube channel

And there’s many more who have had hockey stick growth in their businesses or are consistently producing 10–30% of their business from YouTube.

It’s the #2 search engine where everyone from the older generation in their 60s and 70s down to Gen Z and kids watches Shorts instead of TikToks or even YouTube gaming instead of Twitch.

So how can you get started? This is how a newer agent generated $15M of his business from YouTube last year:

Let’s deep dive Dan Parker in San Diego who took him 1 year to finally get business from YouTube but then the floodgates opened.

He started with being ā€œThe Digital Mayorā€ of San Diego but found out it wasn’t profitable, efficient and what people were looking for so he pivoted. And starting in January 2023 he had over 20 qualified, pre-approved buyers from YouTube.

He doesn’t focus on national topics or general real estate videos. Instead, he focuses on hyper-local content in San Diego.

His 3 main content buckets now are based on what people search on Google:

  1. Living in San Diego - All about San Diego & the neighborhoods.

  2. Moving to San Diego - Relocation information & everything people need to know.

  3. Coming soon to San Diego - 3 new topics: new projects, developments, news, etc. which is great for short form and people inside San Diego.

Mr. Beast, aka the billionaire YouTuber’s coach, Derrell Eves who taught both Dan & Ken Pozek said ā€œstop focusing on SEO and trying to have perfect search.ā€

Instead, ā€œfocus on people and what do they want to know? What will cause them to click and watch the video?ā€

80-90% of the videos found on YouTube are not from searches. It’s from the suggested algorithm.

And I’ve talked about this in a previous issue, optimize for suggested, not search first. Even Sean Cannell echoes this statement as well.

So how do you optimize for suggested instead of search?

  1. Packaging - consists of a compelling video idea, a scroll-stopping thumbnail, and a clickable title.

  2. Presentation - is all about making a great video, the hook, and viewer retention (emotion, story & rhythm)

Yeah, but how do you track this? Here’s the only 2 metrics on YouTube that matter:

  • Click-through rate (CTR) - how many people click on the video

  • Average view duration (AVD) - how long did people watch the video

  • 2 honorary mentions - End screen CTR (aka did they keep watching more videos), and Traffic source: Suggested

But here’s why most don’t succeed on YouTube.

  • 100 agents will start a YouTube

  • 95 will drop off in 1 year or most will use it as a content graveyard

  • Then 2-3 will drop off in 3 years

Leaving only 2 or 3 left after 3 years. That’s where people like Ken Pozek, Brad McCallum, Ryan Serhant, Jennifer Beeston, and Dan Parker end up being the only ones left in their market consistently producing 4 videos a month, 3-5 years later.

The key is simplifying the process. Here’s Dan’s process:

  1. 0 minutes of setup time. Everything is in his office preset.

  2. 1.5 hours of research.

  3. 20 minutes to film.

  4. Then it’s sent to the editor.

  5. And then 30-60 minutes for the thumbnail and description.

And his lead process is pretty simple.

  1. People email him or fill out a form on the website.

  2. He sends an intake form (buyer survey).

  3. At the end of the survey is a link to schedule a Calendly zoom call for a discovery session.

  4. And 2 out of 3 people turn into a client from that discovery session

  5. Every 2 videos he creates he gets 1 closing at an average of $1,000,000

Ken’s difference here is he has an ISA who handles the lead before pushing it off to agents.

His repurposing process:

  • YouTube videos → Multiple Shorts (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Linkedin & Google My Business)

  • Youtube videos → Blogs on Website & Repost on Google My Business

  • Retargeting YouTube Viewer Around the Internet

  • Posting the Video & Blog on News Break

Which is similar to Ken Pozek’s except Ken does it a higher level and with his Orlando news brand, The Orlando Real.

Why is this worth the effort? Instead of losing 25% to referrals or paying $1,000 a lead on Zillow, all of the people on YouTube building a brand run a more highly profitable business where they control deal flow and profit margins.

If you want video ideas to start researching check out the 4+ YouTube topics I shared earlier this month.

If you have the idea but want to know how to turn them into scripts then check out the ChatGPT guide for creating video scripts.

šŸ¤– Upgraded AI: ChatGPT4 Beat 90% of Lawyers Trying to Pass the Bar

What’s driving the news: In November, the world went crazy over ChatGPT3. But now it’s GPT4 is blowing away the competition. This is what’s happened since its release THIS WEEK:

If you do one simple search on Twitter for GPT-4, ChatGPT, ChatGPT4, etc. you’ll discover crazy stuff…

Why does this matter: As entrepreneurs and business owners, leverage is one of the most powerful skills to master. So how can you use ChatGPT in your business?

Think of the major functions (oversimplified) of your business, and where could you use it?

  • Operations: admin & service/product delivery

  • Sales: prospecting, conversion, closing

  • Marketing: know, like, trust

  • Finance

  • People: human resources, hiring, training, and managing

  • Leadership: vision, strategy, partnerships, etc.

Here’s some ideas how it can help:

  • Write listing descriptions

  • Summarize videos, blogs or information

  • Research

  • Create marketing materials: scripts, ads, blogs, flyers, mailers, headlines, hooks, etc

  • Write emails

  • Job descriptions

  • Training

  • Standard operating procedures

Now that they’ve opened up their API and companies like Canva, Notion, Instacart, Hubspot, Shopify, and WAY more are using it- the possibilities will be endless.

🚧 Is 3D Printing the Future of Building?

In the news: Dan O'Neil in Long Island, listed the largest printed 3D home this week, built by SQ4D's.

But it’s bigger than that… Icon 3D + Lennar + Elon Musk are developing the first community of 100 homes outside Austin TX.

And 3D printing has been going on for years but just like AI with ChatGPT, there comes a critical mass point where it becomes mainstream.

Here’s why I believe 3D printing, just like AI, is a pinnacle moment for home building. And absolutely necessary:

The biggest problem with building now is:

  • Having to wait 12-18 months for construction

  • Delays

  • Issues

  • Contractors

  • Human errors

  • Uncontrollable external factors

  • It’s expensive to customize

  • Going over budget

  • Etc. the list goes on

Now, imagine if you could go pick out a home you love, customize it, go under contract, and before you close your home is already finished… that’s the possibility with 3D printing.

  • Significantly lower holding time. Great cash cycles for builders/investors.

  • For 40% less you get a way nicer home with better materials.

  • With more modern, crazy, cool, unique and customizable designs.

  • 5-30% less waste.

  • More sustainable. Less energy

  • Plus its storm proof. Flood proof. Fireproof. Termite Proof. Mold Proof. Resistant to natural disasters and other extreme weather conditions.

In business there’s a saying, you can either have it fast, cheap or good, but you can't have it all. But with 3d printing, you CAN have it all.

Why else would the largest home-building company and one of the greatest minds on Earth be venturing down the same path?

It will change real estate forever so, in my opinion, it’s worth observing.

šŸŽ™ļø x šŸŽ„ Stories Worth Learning:

🐦 Leaders Worth Following:

šŸ“ In Case You Missed It:

That's it for today! See you next week!

If you have any questions, then reply & let me know so I can make sure that I'm not just making stuff out of my head, but answering the questions you care about!

Let's have an amazing week!

Andrew Bayon

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