🚨NEWS ALERT

Stray Lab chases a bus full of pups and winds up getting adopted.

Full story here

THIS WEEK'S TOPICS:

• 👩‍❤️‍👨 $10K/mo fostering dogs

• 🎥 Inside the mind of a dog

• 🧬 DNA test can detect blindness

👩‍❤️‍👨 $10K/MO FOSTERING DOGS

The Golden Kobe Family, a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing the heartwarming journey of fostering dogs alongside their Golden and Doberman Kobe and Moki.

This channel has become a solid example of how many types of dog-related content can turn into a lucrative business.

They were roughly earning $500/mo 6-9 months ago, however the channel now rakes in $10,000/mo.

This significant growth highlights the immense potential for feel good, long-form video content on platforms like YouTube, especially within the pet niche.

By digging into the strategy and tactics behind this growth, we can uncover some actionable insights for aspiring content creators.

Key Strategies Behind The Golden Kobe Family’s Success

1. Optimizing Content for YouTube’s Algorithm

One of the main strategies that contributed to The Golden Kobe Family’s success, as discussed in the Twitter thread by Paddy G, was their focus on optimizing content for YouTube’s algorithm, as well as a major emphasis on doubling down on a particular thumbnail style + video titles.

A critical factor here was the creation of long-form content instead of shorts.

Videos that exceed 10 minutes are more likely to be promoted by YouTube because they increase watch time, a key metric the platform uses to decide which content to recommend.

By consistently posting videos that averaged 12-15 minutes in length, The Golden Kobe Family kept viewers engaged longer, leading to more ad impressions and higher overall revenue.

2. Audience Retention and Engagement

Audience retention is another area where The Golden Kobe Family excelled.

Their ability to maintain an average view duration of 8 minutes per video, according to YouTube analytics, played a crucial role in their growth. High audience retention signals to YouTube that viewers find the content valuable, which in turn boosts the channel’s visibility through recommendations and suggested videos.

Moreover, their videos receive an average of 3,000 likes and 500 comments, indicating strong viewer engagement. This level of interaction not only strengthens the channel's community but also contributes to higher rankings in YouTube search results and recommendations, further fueling growth.

3. Effective Use of Thumbnail and Titles

The Twitter thread also emphasizes the importance of click-through rate (CTR) in the growth strategy.

The Golden Kobe Family honed their skills in creating compelling thumbnails and titles, which resulted in a CTR of around 6.5%, significantly above the YouTube average of 2-3%. This higher CTR meant that more viewers clicked on their videos, leading to increased views and revenue.

4. Consistent Content Production

Consistency in content production was another cornerstone of their strategy.

The Golden Kobe Family committed to posting 3-4 videos a week, which not only kept their existing audience engaged but also attracted new viewers.

According to their YouTube channel statistics, this consistent posting schedule helped them accumulate over 100,000 subscribers and nearly 10 million total views. Regular uploads also allowed them to experiment with different types of content, fine-tuning what resonated best with their audience.

5. Diversification of Income Streams

Beyond ad revenue, The Golden Kobe Family leveraged their growing audience to diversify their income streams. They integrated merchandise sales and affiliate marketing into their strategy, providing additional revenue on top of what they earned from YouTube ads.

For example, they promoted products like dog toys and care products, earning commissions from each sale. This approach not only increased their overall income but also reduced their dependence on YouTube’s fluctuating ad revenue.

The Potential for Dog Content Creators on YouTube

The success of The Golden Kobe Family is a testament to the financial potential of dog-related content on YouTube, and not the first time we’ve showcased this.

With over 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, standing out requires a combination of strategic content creation and community building.

For other aspiring creators in the pet niche, the lessons from The Golden Kobe Family are clear: focus on long-form content, engage your audience (respond to comments), optimize your thumbnails to pique interest, and diversify your income streams.

The demand for dog content is immense, and with strategic planning, creators can carve out their niche and achieve similar success.

🎥 INSIDE THE MIND OF A DOG

🚨 SPOILER ALERT 🚨 We are going to be talking about Netflix's new movie, Inside the Mind of a Dog, along with it's twists, who the bad guy is, the surprise ending, and more!

JK, it doesn't have those things, but we are going to talk about the content of the movie, so if you if you'd rather watch it blind, go ahead and skip this segment. 🤦

Finally streamers have realized that the path to domination comes from making adorable movies about dogs! One of Netflix's newest releases, Inside the Mind of a Dog (already a top 10 title), is just that.

The goal of the movie is to explore dogs history with humans and to understand their psychology and behavior.

Aside from being cute, we learned a ton of interesting facts from this movie:

Dogs like humans use eye contact to connect w/ loved ones

If you've ever noticed your dog just staring at you, you might have asked them what they want. However, it turns out that like humans, dogs get a rush of oxytocin (the "love hormone") when making eye contact with individuals they care about.

This is the same situation that happens with parents and babies.

Dogs communicate with their tails

Those things don't just flail around for any reason. According to Dr. Vanessa Woods (Director of Puppy Kindergarten at Duke University) there are a variety of different meanings based on the type of wag:

• 🤔 Loose wagging equals curiosity

• 😰 A tight wag means anxiety

• 😟 A low wag or tucked tail indicates stress

• 😁 The helicopter or butt wiggle means happiness (that one we were pretty sure about)

Some researchers think dogs can have ADHD like humans

Finnish scientists analyzed over 11k pet dogs in their country, and found that younger male dogs that spent time home alone were more likely to struggle with paying attention.

"Puppy eyes" are no accident

It's been found that dogs have developed a muscle over the last 14,000 years that lets them show more of the whites of their eyes and it's something they utilize w/ humans they are connected to.

It takes a lot to become a service animal

A big chunk of the movie is dedicated to Canine Companions, a non-profit that helps train and provide service dogs to those that need them.

They train ~1,000 dogs per year across six campuses with the help of an army of volunteers.

Dogs start the process with the first 16-18 months spent w/ a volunteer learning basic tasks. Then they are returned to a campus for 5-9 more months where they get professional training to learn the advanced needs of a service dog.

According to one of their directors, personality plays a huge role in whether a dog is fit for service and what type of service they are fit for.

One example is the "impossible task" where a piece of food is put in a snap top container and depending on how the dog tries to solve the task will dictate the type of job they may be fit for.

Persistent dogs may be better suited for detection, dogs that look to the humans in the room are probably better suited for service.

If you haven't seen it yet, stop reading this and go watch some dogs!

🧬 DNA TEST CAN DETECT BLINDNESS

We love those science nerds.

Recently scientists at the University of Columbia identified the genetic mutation that causes a type of blindness in English Shepherd.

This blindness is called "progressive retinal atrophy" and is inherited and also incurable. Dogs appear fine at birth with this condition, but then by the age of 4 or 5, become completely blind.

Now that scientists have identified the mutation, a test can be created to see if shepherds are carriers to inform breeders who can use the info to help avoid passing the mutation along to future generations.

The gene is recessive, which means that a dog needs two copies for the blindness to occur.

Carrying one copy means they pass it along to their puppies, which if the other parent is also carrier means that puppy will develop the condition (this was new learning for us!).

This all seems fantastic, but we were curious about who funds this type of research 🤔. And man are there a lot of thread to pull when going down this path.

1. We noticed that Cambridge noted the work was carried out in collaboration with Wisdom Panel and Mars Petcare as part of something called the Consortium to Research Inherited Eye Diseases in Dogs (CRIEDD)

2. CRIEDD is a collection of vets and geneticists from the Kennel Club Genetics Centre, which is an org who researches inherited eye diseases

3. That led us to Dogs Trust, which funds CRIEDD. Dogs Trust traces it's roots back to 1891, when Lady Gertrude Stock started the National Canine Defence League. Her small group vowed to campaign against cruelty. In 2003 (quite the fast forward), they become Dogs Trust, which is a welfare charity

4. Cambridge also noted the Wisdom Panel, which is a for profit company that sells genetic tests. So it makes sense why they'd fund research in that area

We don't have some grand lesson from this all, but it was a little eye-opening (no pun intended?) to see how many different organizations were involved.

It goes to show that thinking about who is bringing you information and what their incentives are is an easily overlooked part of being a consumer. And we don't think there is anything shady going on with this research, in fact the opposite.

Dog science is exploding, and we love that!

DOGGYDEX™

Winner 🏆: BITCOIN

Proudly introducing the DoggyDex™, an index comprised of 10 publicly traded companies whose primary focus is the dog/pet industry.

List of tickers used can be found at the very bottom of the newsletter.

The yellow line-plot in the chart represents these companies above (DoggyDex™) and their combined performance against both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin on a weekly basis.

Pawformance is measured by % gains & losses.

• 🍋 Vancouver gives reactive dogs yellow bandanas: The city of Vancouver has implemented a new yellow bandana initiative to help reactive dog owners and its’ community easily identify anxious or triggered dogs to help keep a respectful distance.

• 🌳 Border Collies replant Chilean forest: These 3 Border Collies equipped with backpacks containing seeds, have been trained to run through the burned forest to help disperse and encourage new growth.

• ☔ Man protects his dog from rain on bike: In the Philippines, an elderly man is spotted equipping his dog with a poncho and hat for a dry ride home as rain begins to fall.

A REALLY GOOD DOG

• $CHWY - Chewy: E-commerce platform for pet supplies

• $IDXX - Idexx Labs: Vet point of care instruments and vet software

• $FRPT - Fresh Pet: Pet food company

• $PETQ - PetIQ: Pet health products and medicines

• $PETS - PetMeds: Online pet pharmacy

• $ZTS - Zoetis: World's largest producer of meds and vaccines for pets and livestock

• $TRUP - Trupanion: Pet insurance company

• $WOOF - Petco Health & Wellness co.: Pet health & wellness company

• $BARK - BarkBox: Subscription service providing dog products, services, and experiences

• $PET - Wag! Group Co.: Tech platform that allows pet owners to connect with industry professionals for services such as, walking, training, etc.