How to find outlier videos on YouTube (and copy the right thing)

Outliers are the best source of video ideas you'll find, because each one is evidence that an idea worked for an audience like yours. The trick is finding them fairly and learning the right lesson from them.

What counts as an outlier?

A video that got far more views than its own channel usually gets at the same age. Size doesn't decide it: 100,000 views is a flop for a channel that usually gets a million and a huge win for one that usually gets 10,000. So you compare each video with the channel it came from.

That comparison is the outlier score. 2× the usual is clearly above normal, and 5× or more is a breakout. The formula, what each band means and how Vid0 works out a channel's usual views are in our deep dive on what a YouTube outlier score is and how it's calculated. This post is about finding outliers and learning from them.

Step 1: Which channels should you watch?

Pick 10 to 20 channels whose audience overlaps with yours. Include a few channels your size or a little bigger, not just the giants in your niche. Outliers on small channels are the most useful to you, because they show what works without a big audience behind it.

Look at the outlier rate as well as the size. In this list, 36% of AI with Hassan's uploads (37.9K subscribers) did at least 2× the channel's usual views, a higher rate than channels ten times its size. That makes it a better channel to learn from than a bigger channel that rarely breaks out.

Step 2: How do you compare videos fairly?

Compare each video with what that channel's videos usually have at the same age. This is the step most people skip. A video from last week can't be compared with one from three years ago: the older one has had far longer to collect views. Vid0 does this for you by rescaling each channel's recent uploads to the age of the video being scored. It compares long-form with long-form and Shorts with Shorts.

Look at the third card. Jake One Page has 10.4K subscribers. Six hours after publishing, the video had 6.4K views, where the channel's videos usually have about 914 at that age. 6.4K ÷ 914 is about 7×, a breakout, even though 6.4K views would be a quiet day for the 231K-subscriber channel in the first card.

Step 3: Which outliers are worth studying?

Anything at 2× or more is worth a look. Five times or more is worth studying closely. Sort by score, not by views, so small channels' breakouts sit next to big ones.

The filters do the work here: a minimum score, how recent, long-form or Shorts, and which channels. Every card has a Save idea button, so a promising outlier goes straight onto your ideas board.

Step 4: What made the video break out?

Usually one of three things. For each outlier, work out which it was:

1. The topic. Did several channels have outliers on the same subject at the same time? Then the demand is real, and you can cover it your way.
2. The format. Is it a different kind of video for that channel, like a challenge, a teardown, a "tier list" or a 60-second explainer? Formats travel between topics.
3. The packaging. Is the topic ordinary but the title and thumbnail unusually sharp? Then the lesson is in how it was framed, not what it was about.

Step 5: How do you turn an outlier into your own video?

Don't remake the outlier. Take the part that worked and apply it to your audience: the same format on a topic you know better, the same topic for a more specific viewer, or the same framing for a different question. Then check the title and whether the topic is winnable at your size. For the steps after that, from the first 30 seconds to reading your analytics, see how to grow your YouTube channel.

How do you find outliers with Vid0?

The Outliers page in Vid0 scores every recent video from the channels you track, like the screenshots above. You can filter by format, minimum score, date and channel, and save any outlier as an idea for your channel. The Vid0 Chrome extension shows the same outlier scores on YouTube itself, on search results and watch pages, so you can spot breakouts while you browse.

FAQ

What is an outlier video on YouTube?

A video that got far more views than its channel usually gets at the same age. Vid0 treats 2× the usual as clearly above normal and 5× as a breakout.

Why compare videos at the same age?

Older videos have had longer to collect views. Comparing a week-old video with what the channel's videos usually have after a week is the only fair test.

Should I only look at big channels for outliers?

No. Outliers on channels your size are often more useful, because they show what works without a big audience pushing the video.

Is copying an outlier video allowed?

Copying someone's video is not. Learning from what worked, like a topic, a format or a way of framing a title, is how every creator gets better. Make your own version for your audience.

How many outliers should I look at before picking an idea?

Look for patterns across several. One outlier can be luck. Three outliers on the same topic or format in a month is a signal.