Taxonomy Of A YouTube Channel

Taxonomy is the structure of a YouTube video, and YouTube videos make up a YouTube channel. Taxonomy is a way of boiling down the mysterious side of content to make it easily understandable by breaking it down into different Formats.

Taxonomy boils down to the format, style, length, personality, and topic of a video. But I will focus mainly on the FORMAT of a video as I think this is the most important thing.

There are 8 different types of video formats:

Listicles, Explainers, Commentary, Interview, Music Video, Challenges, Reaction, and Narrative.

Within each of these, there are sub-formats:

Listicles: Top 10s, Hauls, Compilations, Tier Lists etc.
Explainers: Science, How To, Educational etc.
Commentary: Vlogs, Unboxing, Conspiracy, News, Reviews etc.
Interview: Celebrities, Draw My Life, Comedians, Roasts, Podcasts etc.
Music Video: Official, Covers, Parody etc.
Challenges: Physical, Mental, Competition etc.
Reaction: Pranks, Trying/Reaction, Magic etc.
Narrative: Web Series, Parodies, Sketches etc.

Generally speaking, for Educational content designed to MAKE YOU MONEY (treating YouTube like a business), several Formats or Subformats tend to perform better, not only for views but also for sales.

Listicles, Explainers, Commentary (Conspiracy/Controversy, News, Reviews), and Interviews (Podcasts) tend to perform much better in educational niches. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but these are typically the main types of videos that do well, not only for views but also for monetization and the ability to sell products and services.

So let’s go over some of the best video formats for actually making money.

Listicle:

🔎A listicle is a video format on YouTube that presents information in a list-based structure. Typically, it involves counting down or enumerating a series of items, ideas, or points. Listicles are popular for their concise and easily digestible format, making them engaging for viewers who enjoy quick, organized information.

Listicle Examples:

Shane Hummus: (Mostly listicles with some explainers here and there)

Ali Abdaal: (Many of his videos appear to be explainers but are actually listicles)

Iman Gadzhi: (Many of his videos appear to be explainers but are actually listicles. He also integrates Conspiracy/Controversial topics into his content)

Explainer:

An explainer video on YouTube is designed to clarify complex topics or concepts in a clear and straightforward manner. These videos often use visual aids, animations, and narration to break down intricate subjects, providing the audience with a better understanding of the topic. Explainers aim to simplify information and make it accessible to a broad audience.

Explainer Examples:

Hamza Ahmed: He makes a lot of listicles and also explainer type videos. He also integrates Conspiracy/Controversial topics into his content and is an excellent storyteller.

Alex Becker’s Channel: He makes mostly explainer videos, sometimes he integrates listicles into them.

Charlie Morgan: Makes mostly explainer videos but also integrates listicles into them.

News:

News videos on YouTube deliver current events, updates, and information on various topics. These videos are characterized by their timely content, often covering recent developments in politics, entertainment, technology, or other fields. News videos strive to keep the audience informed about the latest happenings, and they may include commentary, interviews, or on-the-ground reporting.

Commentary:

A commentary video on YouTube involves an individual or a group sharing their opinions, insights, and reactions while discussing a particular topic. These videos often feature a person speaking directly to the camera or providing voiceover commentary on footage or images. Commentary content spans a wide range of subjects, including pop culture, current events, and niche interests. The appeal lies in the creator’s unique perspective and the conversational tone, fostering engagement and discussion with the audience.

Commentary/News Examples:

Graham Stephan: Most of his videos are positioned as news, but end up being explainers and/or listicles. This is a way of making a boring topic (like investing in index funds or real estate) more fun, relevant, or fresh. This is actually a hybrid video format (more on this later)

Meet Kevin: (News style content that also integrates explainer style content as well). Often controversial/conspiracy integration.)

Coin Bureau: News style crypto channel that often integrates explainer style content into news stories. Often controversial/conspiracy integration.

🔹Review:

🔎 A review video on YouTube involves a detailed evaluation and critique of a product, service, or piece of content. Creators share their experiences, opinions, and recommendations, providing viewers with insights into the features, benefits, and drawbacks of the subject. Review videos can cover a broad spectrum, including technology, movies, books, and more. They aim to help viewers make informed decisions by offering a comprehensive analysis of the reviewed item.

Marques Brownlee: Great example of a creator who reviews tech.

Podcast:

A podcast on YouTube is an audio or video format that features discussions, interviews, or storytelling on a wide range of topics. Unlike traditional videos, podcasts are often longer in duration and may include multiple episodes forming a series. Creators engage in conversational and in-depth exploration of subjects, bringing in guests or co-hosts to contribute diverse perspectives. The podcast format fosters a sense of intimacy and connection with the audience, creating a more immersive and long-form content experience.

My First Million creates podcasts that are often explainer style and go over people that have succeeded.

Few Things To Keep In Mind

Many channels do HYBRID Formats such as Listicle/Explainer or News/Explainer style formats.

Like Graham Stephan and Serge Gatari

This can keep the channel unique and give it a unique value proposition (and is typically a good idea).

The most common and easiest Formats to grow an educational channel are Listicle and Explainer. These also go extremely well together.

This doesn’t mean all of your content needs to be listicle and explainer content, however, once you pick a format, 80% of your content should follow that format.

Why?

Because the viewers will have a certain emotional expectation when they click on one of your videos.

If they are used to you uploading listicle style content, then all of a sudden you upload a vlog, they are probably not going to watch, or if they do watch, they won’t spend long on the video, which will hurt the watch time and make the algorithm not promote your video.

And this applies not only to the format, but also to style, length, personality, and topic.

Your viewers expect a CONSISTENT EXPERIENCE

Think about it like this: My 2 favorite shows are Breaking Bad and The Office.

Breaking Bad is a gritty drama and The Office is a dry comedy.

But if I’m in the mood to watch The Office, I click on it, and Breaking Bad comes on, I’m going to be disappointed.

Why?

Because my EXPECTATION was different from the REALITY of what actually happened, and most of the time this is not a good thing.

People watch your content to capture a certain vibe, to feel a certain way, or to think a certain way.

If you are constantly bouncing around to a bunch of different formats for your videos, this expectation won’t be met, and therefore people will leave your videos and you will have a lower than average AVD (Average View Duration), which will mean your video won’t get promoted as much in the YT algorithm.

So, when you first start your channel, you can try different formats out, but once you have found one you like, you should stick to it at least 80% of the time.

For instance, 80% of my videos are Listicles OR Listicle/Explainer Hybrids.

And you will notice that almost EVERY MAJOR CHANNEL has a standard FORMAT that they post in 80% of the time. Just look on YouTube at just about any channel you follow and you will see this. There is a reason for that, because it works.

❓So Which One Should You Pick?

Let’s go over the pros and cons of the 3 most common formats for educational videos.

✅ Listicle Pros:

Very easy to make
Listicles are easy to click on as there is a natural curiosity (What’s on the list?)
People seem to be obsessed with hierarchy
Easily consumable by anyone, they can be tired or not paying attention and still consume the content
Even if they know most of the list, they may click to see if there is one that they don’t know (Example: 7 Highest Paying Technology Jobs)
People do tend to buy lower and mid ticket products from listicles (but harder to sell high ticket products as listicle content tends to be somewhat “shallow”)
They tend to get a lot of views
Tend to get a lot of views in search as well as browse and suggested (YouTube Traffic Sources)
Really good in Make Money Online Niche/Career Niche

❎ Listicle Cons:

Content can be somewhat boring and repetitive
Harder to sell high ticket courses (typically long form explainer style content is better for high ticket courses as it is more thorough and deep than listicle style content)
Harder to weave storytelling into a listicle (storytelling is a powerful tool)
Tends to be better for B2C (Business To Consumer) Products (but not always)
They tend to not convert to sales as well as explainer videos

✅ Explainer Pros:

You get to synthesize your thoughts and by teaching something you end up getting better at it
You get to deep dive on a subject
Easy to weave stories into (Massively impactful)
Great for selling anything
Especially good for selling B2B products or a B2C product to a sophisticated audience (High Ticket Products), but also good for mid to low ticket products too.
Tends to get a lot of views from search (YouTube Traffic Source)
Really good in Make Money Online Niche/Career Niche

❎ Explainer Cons:

Somewhat difficult to make (kinda like making a mini course with every video)
Typically it doesn’t get as many views as listicles (because it isn’t bite sized and people actually have to use their brains to understand what you’re saying)
Tends to get less views overall than listicle style content
Tends to get views in search (YT Traffic Source), meaning you won’t see if the video is successful for a while and it also makes it harder to test video ideas and product ideas out, as you have to wait weeks or months to see results so feedback loops are longer.

✅ News Pros:

You get a ton of views FAST, so it’s easy to test out product ideas quickly and efficiently
If you are a hard worker and willing to put in the time, you can outwork the competition by simply being there when news happens and ready to upload content about it
The videos you make are fast and easy (because of the nature of news, people don’t care about quality much)
Easy to sell low and mid-ticket products
Really good in finance and investing niche

❎ News Cons:

Your videos get a ton of views at first, but then they almost 100% die. So your channel only makes you money when you’re working, if you take a break, the money stops flowing. So you may end up on the ‘YouTube Content Hamster Wheel’ which leads to burnout
Usually not great for selling high ticket products (but there are exceptions)
The content creators that tend to win are the ones that over sensationalize everything (The Market Is About To CRASH!!! Or THE HOUSING MARKET JUST FLIPPED!)
You have to be ready to upload at any time. It is very hard to plan content ahead so you can live a normal life and run a business without worrying about content creation. The news doesn’t wait for you

🌟 Final Thoughts Before You Start Your YouTube Journey

Overall, if you don’t know which one to pick, I recommend you go with LISTICLE style content.

Why?

Because it’s easy to come up with ideas, easy to write scripts for, easy to film, easy for people to click on, and easy for people to consume.

It’s what I like to call “Low Effort Content”.

Also, keep in mind that you can always combine literary-style content with other Formats, such as a literary-explainer hybrid or a literary-news hybrid.

Plus, if you don’t like it for whatever reason, you can always change the format later.

Now, there are two types of listicles:

🔎 Fact-Based Listicles – Listicles where you talk about things that are rooted in fact (Ex: Top 10 Highest Paying College Degrees)
🔎 Opinion-Based Listicles – Listicles where you talk about your opinion on a subject (Ex: 7 Best Tips For Growing A YouTube Channel) – These almost always come from YOUR EXPERIENCE

On my channel, I mostly do Fact Based Listicles OR Hybrid Fact Based/Opinion-Based Listicles, and the reason for this is that it’s easier to hire researchers to find the information and then write scripts for me.

If you are a one-person team, I would recommend doing Opinion-Based Lists because you can write the scripts incredibly quickly and speak more naturally on the topic.

All because it’s just your opinion and comes from your own experience, whereas with fact-based listicles, you have to back things up with facts and data from different sources across the internet, which can be tedious and time-consuming to collect and curate.

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