Hey Reader,

If you want YouTube to bring people into your business, a lot of pieces have to work together.

I spent this week mapping out every one of them. Every step, from knowing who you're talking to, all the way to sticking with it long enough for it to pay off.

I ended up with over 60 steps.

That's a lot to look at. So I sorted them into four buckets and gave the whole thing a name.

It's what I've been teaching all along, but now it's easier to understand.

The 4S Framework

I call it the 4S Framework. Strategy, Skills, Systems, and Survival.

It runs in order. Strategy comes first, because everything else is downstream of it. It's who you're talking to, what you sell them, and how a viewer turns into a sale. If that part's off, a better thumbnail won't fix it.

I think of Skills as the craft, and Systems as the how.

Survival is what keeps the other three going. It's reading your own channel and sticking with it.

Each S holds two pieces. That's eight in all.

The eight pieces

1. Strategy

• Direction is who you're talking to, what you sell them, and what every video has to do. You commit to it for a season. It can change as you learn, but you need something to build everything else on.
• Turning viewers into sales is the path from a video to a booked call. YouTube brings people to your email, and your email is where you sell. One lead magnet, one list, one offer. Having payments set up and telling people about your thing is most of it.

2. Skills

• Ideas and packaging means finding ideas the right people want to click, then locking in your title and thumbnail before you film.
• Making the video is scripting, filming and editing. You want a video that holds attention, without overthinking or overproducing it.

3. Systems

• Workflow is every step from idea to upload, with a process or a tool for each one.
• Running it every week is a rhythm that fits the hours you actually have. Someone with five hours a week and someone working full time can both be all in. They just need different plans.

4. Survival

• Reading your own channel means knowing what each video was testing, and what it told you.
• Sticking with it means knowing why you're doing this, and what you're willing to give up to get there.

Only as strong as the weakest link

Every piece leans on the others. Your channel works like a chain. It's only as strong as its weakest link.

That's why great videos alone won't bring in clients. You can nail your packaging and get the views. But if nobody joins your list, those viewers watch, leave, and never hear from you again.

It goes the other way too. You can have a slick workflow and pump out a video every week. But if your direction is off, you're making the wrong videos faster.

And if you quit in month four, none of it gets the chance to pay off.

Each piece only has to be good enough that it stops holding the rest back. Then the whole chain gets stronger.

Don't build all eight

Eight pieces is still a lot. Not to mention each of those can be broken into many specific steps. Try to build them all at once and you'll end up like I did, spending all your time building instead of growing your business.

So here's how I'd use it. It almost sounds too simple, but it's really effective.

Ask yourself what your biggest bottleneck is. Build what's required to fix it. Then stop.

Then repeat. :)

"Build what's required" means the smallest thing that gets you unstuck. A doc, a checklist, a template. Something you can use on your very next video. It could also be purchasing a tool, learning a program, setting a deadline.

"Then stop" is the hard part. You'll want to keep going, to keep improving, and build the next thing too. But you want to get ahead, so save the polish and iteration for later. Make videos with what you have instead. The next bottleneck will show itself.

These are the ones I see most often:

• No direction. Every week starts with "what do I feel like talking about?" Some great solutions are: a weekly ideation habit, a Content Plan for this season, make your Ideal Week Calendar.
• Packaging. Hours on one thumbnail, fussing over font size. Find a reference thumbnail and build to that. Now you know what you're trying to make and when to stop.
• Time. Every video feels like reinventing the wheel. Write down your process, make a simple checklist and keep it close when you're making videos. Make it your background, print it out, whatever it takes. It'll keep you focused.
• Email. People watch, but nobody joins your list. Or your list never hears from you. Rules for CTAs in your videos, scheduled reminders to write your email(s) each week. This is just as important to grow and compound over time.

If you can't pick one, start at the top. Strategy comes first for a reason. Bias towards doing. Spending too long thinking about the best one to fix is just going to slow you down.

How I'm using it right now

Starting November 18, I'm teaching a six-week series inside my program. One piece a week, in order, starting with direction.

Each week, I only build what that week's lesson needs. The important pieces, the ones people need right now. Then I stop and teach it.

It gives me structure and a timeline for making things. And by the end of the year, everyone's set up. There's teaching attached to every piece, so they know how to use it and how it fits with everything else.

I'm doing the same thing with these emails. Each week, I'll theme one around a piece of the 4S Framework. So look forward to solutions to your bottlenecks.

If you want to get in on this live teaching and would rather build all of this together, I've opened 10 spots to work with business owners 1-on-1. Join before the 18th and you'll be there for the start of this 6-week mini-series. Apply here​

Thanks,
Dave

P.S. Reply and tell me your biggest bottleneck right now. I'm curious which one comes up the most. :) I'll point you to something that helps unblock you.