Foundational Formats
Anchor your channel in a consistent core format, and launch anything too different on its own vertical.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 85%
Fulmer argues that while variety and showcasing different identities matter, a channel also needs consistency to keep viewers tuning in. The Try Guys' foundational format is the four of them trying something new and learning from an expert, and they resist deviating too far from it. When they went too wide — solo shows, games that weren't really 'trying' anything — tune-in suffered because different viewers came for different things and none got enough of what they wanted. The rule is to identify the core element of what you make, stay true to it, and route genuinely different ideas through a separate vertical or channel. This is why the Baby Steps parenting podcast launched on an entirely new channel rather than diluting the main feed.
Origin
The insight came from periods where the Try Guys threw too many different formats at their audience and watched engagement and tune-in start to suffer.
Core principles
- 01Every channel needs a consistent core format its audience tunes in for.
- 02Going too wide with formats fragments your audience and lowers overall excitement.
- 03New or very different content should launch via a separate vertical or channel.
- 04Consistency and experimentation are not opposites when the experiments live elsewhere.
How to run it
- 1
Define your core format
Identify the repeatable signature structure your audience reliably tunes in for — for the Try Guys, the four of them trying something new with an expert.
- 2
Stay true to it
Resist deviating too far from the core format, because going too wide fragments the audience and lowers overall excitement.
Watch out When you throw too many disparate formats at viewers, some love one thing and some another, so tune-in and engagement drop across the board.
- 3
Route departures to a new vertical
Launch genuinely different content on a separate channel or vertical so it can find its own audience without diluting the core.
Pro tip This can attract both existing fans and entirely new ones without confusing either group.
In the wild
Rather than putting the parenting podcast on the main Try Guys feed, Fulmer and his wife launched Baby Steps on a completely new channel so it could feel distinct.
→ The show could attract Try Guys fans while also drawing new, unique listeners without diluting the core channel.
Common mistakes
Going too wide on the main channel
Mixing many formats into one channel splits the audience so no single segment gets enough of what it came for, and tune-in suffers.
Is it for you?
Best for
Established creators balancing a recognizable core show with the urge to experiment.
Not ideal for
Brand-new creators still searching for a format worth being consistent about.
From the transcript
“any channel you have to have consistency so we try and have that core format of you know it's the four of us trying something…”
“if you go a little too wide with your format you start to lose tune in”
From the episode
Ned Fulmer: How to Go Viral on YouTube
Ned Fulmer