This YouTuber Grew to 6M Subscribers. Here's Their Playbook.

Jenny Hoyos’ Exact Process That Got Her to 6.4M Subscribers

Jenny Hoyos is a 19-year-old entrepreneur and content creator with over 6 million subscribers. She started her channel at 8 years old, then decided to double down in 2021. Within a year and a half, her channel hit 1 million subscribers.

Last week, we brought Jenny into Creator Studio. She gave us one of the most value-packed interviews we’ve done so far.

Here’s some of what we learned:

Q: Can You Talk About The Initial Growth of Your Channel?

It took one year to reach 1000 subscribers, then another 3 months to hit 100k, and another 3 to hit 1 million.

My first viral video was a piece of long-form content, but Shorts were still impactful. The long-form video had a Short supporting it, which definitely helped.

Q: What Was The Content About? How Has It Evolved?

I started in a niche with very specific, underserved topics (finance for teens). That got me to 100k, then I pivoted to saving money hacks. It was broader, which allowed me to reach more people, and that got me to 3M subscribers.

Then I pivoted again to general entertainment while keeping the same personality. That allowed me to keep the audience I had already built while reaching new people at the same time.

Q: What Does Your Content Creation Process Look Like?

I have an ideator on my team who sends me content ideas. He sends me a list of ideas, then I pick a couple. We hop on a call to brainstorm on the idea before it enters pre-production.

I’d say we go through about 100 ideas per week, and only 2 make the cut. Here’s how we decide which idea we move forward with—it’s a mixture of data and feeling:

• Data: What’s worked on other channels? In movies? In commercials? What comes up in your life and natural conversations? This all provides info on what’s been proven to work.

• Feeling: Is it relatable on a human level? What do individual humans do (eat, drink, drive, talk, sleep) and how can you connect it back to that?

Once we have the idea, I handle all the pre-production (outlining the content, for example). My mom servers as the second character in the videos. My dad does all the filming, set preparing, prop building, etc.

Once it’s filmed, it goes to the editor, who also created the thumbnails and does the data analysis after it’s posted.

Q: What Makes a Viral Video?

If you have a good hook, you have a good video, so come up with the hook first. If you can’t find a good hook, you might need to change the video idea.

The video should follow this format:

• Hook that provides shock

• Set up the expectations (say what the video is going to be about)

• Give a reason to watch until the end

The hook has to be the best part, and the ending should be the second-best part. Bring people in, then make the ending satisfying and worth watching the video all the way through.

Retention is important, but don’t forget to look at swipe ratios too. I think they’re more important actually.

The average swipe ratio is 70%, but mine sit at 80+. I am for 85% because all of my viral videos are in that range.

Also, colors are huge. If you look at my thumbnails, you’ll see that the colors always contrast. If one character is wearing red, the other is wearing green. It makes it look bright and helps it stand out.

Q: What Do You Think the Future of Content Looks Like?

The future is extremes. I think long-form will be 45+ minutes long and short-form will continue to rise. If you think about it, commercials have been around forever. Quick clips have always worked, and I think they’ll continue to.

I think Shorts will be less produced and more authentic and real though.

*answers are paraphrased for simplicity.

She didn’t ask us to share this, but we’d be remiss not to share. Jenny’s launching a 21 Days to Viral Videos Challenge starting on December 1st. It’s jam-packed with actionable lesson and live calls with Jenny, all designed to help skyrocket your growth. Check it out here.

Instagram’s Advice on Using Broadcast Channels

Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, released a recent video sharing his recommendations on how to best use broadcast channels.

Here’s the TLDR:

• Make it for your most passionate followers. Not everyone who follows you.

• Design your content in a way that embraces that. (ie. not everyone will engage further, so create for your most passionate followers)

• Name the channel and talk about it in a way that makes it clear what people are going to get if they join it.

2025 Social Media Predictions

Social Media Today released a roundup of 26 predictions for social media in 2025. Here are a few that stood out to us:

1. Facebook: More AI, more AR, and more VR integrations

2. Snapchat: More focus on Snapchat+, features to connect IRL, and pushback on Snapchat ads

3. LinkedIn: Focus on live events

4. TikTok: Continued shopping push

5. X: P2P transactions, emphasis on video

Quick Links

👀 Threads releases new features. Could this be a sign it’s a growing platform?

📝 Take Aspires State of Influencer Marketing 2025 Survey for early access to the final report.

❎ The latest update on the TikTok ban.

📈 UGC opportunity, $7k/mo for 5-10 videos.

See ya next week,

Karat