In this episode of Niche Pursuit Podcast, Jared Bauman sat down with Jamie Rawsthorne, co-founder of Virus Zach and Jay Show, turning to YouTube Growth Strategist, creating YouTube Stunts from his YouTube Stunts with his college partner, consulting with some of the biggest entrepreneurs online today.
Jamie shares his way from losing thousands of people a month to building one of the fastest growing channels in the UK, and then makes the brave decision to walk away at the peak of success.
Now he helps entrepreneurs unlock YouTube as a growth engine, emphasizing strategic research, powerful storytelling and monetization that aligns with products.
The conversation dives into Jamie’s “triple C” approach to content strategy, the anatomy of high-performance videos, and realistic examples of clients generating six-digit monthly revenue from surprisingly modest perspective counts.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or zooming in on an existing channel, this episode is full of insights on how to get close to YouTube like a pro.
Watch the entire episode
From Virus Star to Purpose-driven Strategy
Jamie’s YouTube journey began in 2018 when he launched the Zach and Jay show with his friends. After a tough start and burning through saving, a video spreads out to make the channel successful.
- Within a year, they grew into 400,000 users and eventually filmed European TV shows.
- Despite nearly a million approaches, Jamie walked away, questioning whether brand sponsorship and endless content were indeed what he wanted.
- After a break, he discovered a new purpose of helping entrepreneurs expand their business using YouTube, bringing a fresh strategic footage to content creation.
Triple C method: capture, classify, create
Jamie introduces his “triple C” approach to content strategy, which is particularly powerful for entrepreneurs:
- capture The highest performing content in the niche with YouTube’s open data. Study videos, titles, thumbnails, and performance on large and small channels.
- Classification What makes these videos work. Is there a duplicate angle, format, thumbnail style or hook?
- create Brainstorming the roadmap by brainstorming around these proven formats and adjusting to your voice, brand and audience situations.
This approach dissipates guesses from the generation of ideas and helps avoid the classic trap of throwing random content on the wall.
Win a click and watch
Jamie sees YouTube as a series of miniature battles:
- Click: The most competitive step. Your title and thumbnails must stand out from the top 10 others on the viewer screen.
- Stay tuned: Especially within the first 30 seconds, Jamie recommends repeating the title of the guaranteed audience immediately so that the video will provide the promised content.
- Maintain participation: Don’t talk nonsense. Arrive at the first point quickly. Avoid swelling introduction and low value fillers.
- End Powerful: Your end should keep the audience emotional or contented, not just signing a contract casually and fading out.
He highlights a concept he calls the “violent hook,” a powerful, emotionally openness that captures the audience and raises curiosity.
Emotional Resonance>Information Only
One point Jamie highlights is how emotions in YouTube content are ignored, especially among entrepreneurs:
- People are tired, eating lunch or seeking escape when they turn to YouTube. Content needs to make them feel something, not just informed.
- Even business or niche content can do this by leveraging stories, surprises, and visually appealing introductions.
- Think less about “lectures” and more about “narrative”. Q: When will someone have to continue watching?
Align content and monetization
One of the biggest differentiators Jamie works with clients is to align content with monetizable backend quotes:
- Entrepreneurs should no longer rely on Adsense, but should consider their YouTube channel as a loss leader or brand engine.
- Monetization becomes seamless and even scalable when content and product align. More perspectives lead to more conversions, which proves that reinvestment in the team and speed up the pace.
- He shares the story of Will Brown, a YouTuber who offers a $500,000 purchase price per month from less than $130,000 per month with his content perfectly offering a $500,000 sale price.
Jamie also outlines the monetization ladder for beginners:
- First, one-time consultation is conducted to pay for early fees.
- Build an email list with compelling lead magnets or resources.
- Gradually launch scalable offers, such as queue-based courses or value ladders for products.
Get audiences off YouTube
Jamie encourages creators to convert audiences into potential customers, but in ways that add value rather than friction:
- Instead of saying “subscribe to my newsletter,” it forms it: “If you want to go deeper, I’ve created a resource for you.”
- This opt-in approach can get your audience involved and start building funnels without ruining everyone else’s video experience.
What to do to succeed on YouTube
For early creators, Jamie shared some eye-catching but encouraging statistics:
- Tubebuddy’s data shows that an average of 152 videos are needed to go from 1,000 to 10,000 subscribers.
- Most entrepreneurs underestimate YouTube’s competitiveness, the job that the world needs the most.
- With that in mind, he urged the founders to embrace grinding, maintain high quality, and intend to monetize from day one.
What about production value?
You don’t need a movie quality setting to succeed. Jamie said:
- Focus on clarity, sound and visual consistency, but don’t be obsessed with gears.
- Too many creators overprioritize production and non-priority strategies.
- Strong hooks, fascinating stories and well-structured scripts are more important than lighting presets.
The Future of YouTube
Jamie sees YouTube push to be the main “everything app”, competing with platforms like Tiktok and Netflix:
- YouTube is investing heavily in shorts, original content and having a big screen.
- While its new features will feel slower to roll out, it remains one of the most lucrative and resilient platforms for creators.
- For entrepreneurs, YouTube remains the best long-term content platform for building trust, authority and long-term audience growth.
The final thought
This episode is full of tactical advice and advanced strategies for anyone looking to win on YouTube, whether you’re just starting out or trying to expand.
Jamie Rawsthorne not only speaks theory. He helped Sahil Bloom, Morning Brew, Dan Go and many others grow with purpose and profit.
His framework is rooted in years of trial and success, and he has a new perspective on how YouTube is becoming the core growth engine for businesses of all sizes.
