June 04, 2021
Love him or hate him, you just have to rate him!
Logan Paul has come a long way since publishing his first piece of content in 2013. With 23 million YouTube subscribers and an estimated net worth of $19+ million.
The famous or infamous internet personality is one of the richest content creators in the world!
Besides a lucrative YouTube career, he’s also an occasional actor, boxer, podcast host, and creator of one of the biggest membership programs in the world.
Not too shabby of an entrepreneurial career, right?
However, Paul’s journey hasn’t been without its share of ups and downs. And during all that time he accumulated one of the most loyal fanbases on the internet. So how can such a polarizing figure have such a huge and cult-like following?
The answer’s quite simple. Paul busts a gut non-stop working on directly engaging with and growing his audience.
Let’s find out how this brought him unmatched fame and success on the internet.
Understanding the Creativepreneurship of Logan Paul
We’re entering the age of individual content creators taking over from powerful industries and creating their own little empires.
In such a world, Logan Paul was always destined to become a king.
Speaking in a telling interview with Tom Ward, he elaborated on why social media creators are becoming bigger than mainstream media (such as Hollywood):
“I'm able to control my own content, reach more people, and make more money. I’m 24, I don’t need validation from traditional media to know I’m good.”
This thought process is normal for someone who’s a super talented master of content. However, it also gives us a glimpse of the power of individual creators.
Today, you’re not only a creator depending on mainstream media or industry big shots. You’re an owner of your brand and your audience.
A creativepreneur.
That being said, Logan’s success didn’t come overnight. To reach great heights it’s important to keep consistent while you live and breathe your work.
Paul was pretty popular on the Vine platform in his early days, but in 2016 the platform ceased to exist.
What did he do?
He just moved over to YouTube where he started posting regularly and consistently and his fans tagged along.
YouTube allowed him to experiment a bit more with his fan engagement and content which led to various controversies (more on that later).
At one point, YouTube stopped all monetization of his content for violation of conduct!
Despite all that, his channel never stopped growing.
Why? Because of his loyal fanbase. Bear with the article, here comes the juicy part.
Logan Paul’s Maverick: A Lesson In Community-Building
The Maverick Club is the pinnacle of Paul’s cultivation of “superfans.” Here’s how he managed to leverage his most dedicated followers to paying subscribers:
Aligning His Dreams With His Audience
Try to watch any video where Logan Paul’s talking about himself.
You’ll immediately notice how much he likes to say that he was “just a little boy from Ohio, without any special background, dreaming big.”
After which he’d start talking about his achievements, money that he made, and all the success that he has.
This (intentionally or unintentionally) serves as a mental “trigger” to his fans. He’s saying: I was just like you once. I understand you and I’m a part of your circle.”
He’s talking to a generation living in a digital era where you can be whoever you want to be.
Pay attention to the end of this interview where he explains how his clothing line made $3 million in 3 days:
You can see the pattern again. Some kid from Ohio was told he has to go to college, but now he’s successful…
Listening to this, the younger generation of his fans are feeling closer to his persona, but also feeling empowered to pursue their own goals.
And this is Paul’s way from the very beginning.
He’s not shy of putting his family in the spotlight, interacting with fans directly from his live broadcasts, making videos with superfans, giving away free stuff, etc.
Key Learning 💡: Your fans need to feel on par with you for your membership to succeed. Be open, share your learnings as well as your mistakes. Flesh out your persona and act genuine. This curates your supporters and turns them into “superfans” – members of your exclusive programs (such as Maverick).
Turning His Audience Into a “Movement”
Paul was already laying the groundwork for his movement long before it came to fruition.
Like all great content creators, Paul took great care of his Logang (the unofficial name of his community).
He understood how celebrities in the social media age need to interact with their fans from the very beginning – not by looking at them from above.
Here’s one example.
In 2017, a 10-year old fan recorded a music video about Logan Paul that went somewhat viral.
While a brave move, it didn’t come without a bit of ridicule and memeing normal to online communities.
Paul could’ve just ignored the video until the dust settled, but he didn’t. He decided to strengthen the bond with his fans once again.
He released a series of videos where he initially recorded himself reacting to the song before going and meeting the young fan in person.
The entire thing culminated with Paul recording another song with the star-struck fan. The video blew up!
Why’s this so important?
Such maneuvers are Paul’s statement to each one of his audience.
He’s essentially saying to them: I got your back. He stands on equal footing with his fans.
Like he’s their best buddy and not some superstar they should look from below.
This helps him gain new followers, strengthen bonds with existing ones, and most importantly, make them feel a part of something bigger.
Something bigger being, of course, his Maverick movement.
Stamping Yourself Into a Brand
Logan Paul didn’t launch his Maverick club out of the blue. Despite announcing it in 2020, he was building it ever since he started vlogging.
His crazy energetic persona, friendliness, the normal crazy guy attitude made him a person his fans wanted to be around.
The idea of Maverick is the idea of Logan Paul himself.
Pay attention to the lyrics of the song he made with his young fan (mentioned above):
The point is he’s a Maverick \ He paves his own path \ He doesn’t listen to the haters who may point and laugh…
Although simple, it’s something that resonates with a lot of his fans.
The topic of dreams, doing what you love, and loving life are deeply woven into all Paul’s videos.
Whatever he does – alone, with friends, fans, it always seems like he’s having a blast of a time. And he gets more successful and more popular by doing so.
Now check out the 2020 release of the new Maverick clothing brand:
There’s no mention of selling merchandise of any kind. Logan Paul is selling his persona and his story.
By paying for anything Maverick you’re getting accepted to the cool club. As a Maverick, you feel like you’re a big part of something huge.
And this is all a combination of dedicated hard work in collaboration with his fans for nearly a decade.
Throughout his ups and downs, he stayed loyal to his fans, and in return, they have gone with Paul through thick and thin.
Creating Genuine Exclusivity and Leveraging Superfans for Promotion
Logan Paul’s Maverick club is the tip of his fan loyalty. For $20 a month, you become the cream of the crop and enjoy all the perks you get with it.
This includes standard membership upsides like access to limited edition merch, free shipping, discounts, and premium offers (such as VIP tickets to Paul’s boxing events).
However, the real deal is in the added exclusivity of the club. Namely, you get the opportunity to hang out with Logan Paul and his team (in person and via Zoom calls).
But not only that, you enter a monthly giveaway contest where you can win lucrative awards.
This isn’t just money, but also things that hold personal/emotional value and was a part of Logan Paul’s vlogs. His famous dodge challenger, for instance.
But it’s not only the exclusivity and prize itself that’s appealing. It’s the way Logan approaches the entire ordeal.
A master of hype that he is, he uses his membership to further strengthen his superfan ties.
He regularly involves them in his blogs and creates a wide range of content where he shows what you’re missing out on if you’re not playing a part.
The most underrated part of this approach is his leverage of superfans. In a way, his most loyal fans are his main acquisition and promotion channel as well as his income stream.
For instance, these fans would post videos “zooming” with Paul and he’d advise them on how to improve their content.
Along with Paul’s vlogs, this creates a feeling of genuine exclusivity of club membership. Those left out feel like they’re missing out and are much likely to convert after exposure to such content.
Benefits and Revenue of Maverick Club
Media outlets have been calling Logan Paul’s Maverick membership “his own version of Patreon + OnlyFans.”
The better way to put it is: He understands that having a membership website means you’re working on your own terms.
Most importantly, you don’t rely on third-party tools and websites for maintaining your audience.
You own and nurture your audience regardless of the platform you use to distribute content. So if anything ever happens to the platform, you don’t lose your most important asset.
Paul can use that audience to promote any future project, exclusive offers and merch, and live events.
Moreover, steady memberships provide recurring monthly revenue and offer a plethora of opportunities you wouldn’t find anywhere else.
So, how much is Logan Paul earning from the Maverick Club? 🤔
There isn’t accurate data, but assuming 0.1% of his total YouTube audience (23m) is a superfan the result is still around $5.5 million per year and rising! 😲 And that’s coming from the smallest fraction of his supporters!
Unbelievable, right?
Other Logan Paul’s Revenue Streams Broken Down
Diversification of income is what makes or breaks content creators. That’s exactly how Logan Paul managed to stay relevant and successful despite YouTube sanctioning him in late 2017.
Let’s look into other revenue streams that made Logan Paul a super successful content creator.
#1 – YouTube Ads Revenue
Logan diversifies his content on YouTube as well. He has 3 active channels (and one inactive – his official channel before the scandal).
Up to the infamous “suicide forest” scandal, Logan Paul was a part of YouTube’s privileged program, earning favorable ad rates for his videos. According to Forbes, he earned $14+ million from ads.
Creator tip 💡: Logan’s third channel, Impaulsive Clips acts not as a revenue stream, but as an acquisition channel. It’s a gateway to Paul’s podcast. By cherry-picking the best bits from his podcast episodes, he makes them easier to appear on the “recommended” section. Also, more appealing to watch due to their short run time.
Nowadays, he earns Adsense revenue from his vlogging channel (23m subscribers) and his Impaulsive podcast (3m subscribers).
As per Noah Kagan’s detailed breakdown, Logan should be earning around $3.3 million per year just from YouTube ads!
#2 – Video and Podcast Sponsorships
Sponsorships are a considerably more lucrative part of Paul’s revenue. Forbes noted way back in 2018 that he’s backed by corporate powerhouses like HBO, Verizon, and Pepsi.
Nowadays, most of his sponsorship revenue comes from his Impaulsive podcast. With a viewership larger than most prime-time national television, he can demand a hefty amount.
He sponsors these brands by mentioning them during his podcast and also by putting a link in his podcast description.
According to multiple sources, he earns around $2 million a year just from podcast sponsorships.
Count in the streaming revenue coming in from multiple platforms into this and you get a pretty nice sum.
#3 – Maverick Merchandise
Remember when we said that Maverick is more than just clothing? It’s a sense of belonging in a movement of free-thinkers and people ready to grab life by the scruff of the neck.
The key to selling merch is selling a symbol of something bigger than yourself.
For that reason, Maverick clothing sells at a higher rate than some established clothing brands. During the 2018 Black Friday craze, Paul sold $3m worth of merchandise in 3 days! That’s insane!
Forbes estimated in 2018 that Maverick brings at least $10m a year (with low-profit margins).
With revenue increasing each year and top-notch marketing from Paul’s team, profits may be much bigger today.
#4 – Live Events & Appearances
Paul earns quite a profit from guest appearances in movies and TV shows.
He’s appeared in movies that starred Terry Crews, Gary Oldman, and was even in an extended cut of Baywatch remake!
On the flip side, Paul is known for creating events that might be on a grander scale.
His 2018 boxing match with fellow creator KSI sold more than $3.5 million worth of tickets (not counting pay-per-view purchases)!
Their second fight in 2020. had a flipping revenue of $20 million and they’ve both split $900,000! Not bad for a day of workout!
All this exposure made fans eagerly anticipate every other match!
The Paul vs Mayweather fight in June is expected to bank Logan even more money.
Not to mention the impact his personal brand will have just coming toe to toe with one of the most famous active MMA fighters!
The Downsides and Upsides of Creating Spectacle
Logan is a master of creating trends that build up over time, boosting his brand and providing anticipation.
On the flip side, some of his shenanigans can backfire as well. The suicide forest incident is just one of many controversies that still haunt Paul to this day.
He also gained a lot of negative traction when he jumped naked in the Venice canal in Italy or saying that “he’ll go gay for a month”, infuriating the LGBT community worldwide.
However, his ability to bounce back from these incidents and kick-start his career is undisputed.
In that context, this negative press still served as promotional material for his brand. At one point it seemed everyone just talked about Logan Paul.
Thanks to his persistence (and the help of loyal superfans) he managed to leave the past behind.
The interesting thing is that his wrongdoings are still a part of his personality and he’s not afraid to publicly speak out on his mistakes.
However, his ability to bounce back from these incidents and kick-start his career is undisputed.
In that context, this negative press still served as promotional material for his brand. At one point it seemed everyone just talked about Logan Paul.
Thanks to his persistence (and the help of loyal superfans) he managed to leave the past behind.
The interesting thing is that his wrongdoings are still a part of his personality and he’s not afraid to publicly speak out on his mistakes.
This is an understated quality that turns him into a more relatable figure of flesh and blood. He’s telling his fans: It’s okay to make mistakes, we can all work for a second chance.
How Paul Creates and Monetizes Trends
Paul still knows how to rile up a crowd and build momentum towards a big event. He isn’t afraid to publicly “trash-talk” Floyd Mayweather and provide a spectacle.
Paul doesn’t do this because he’s “cocky”, or “immature.”. He does this because he’s the master of spectacle.
This means a bunch of free press coverage, raising awareness, interest, and in the end, getting more fans and profit.
Joe Rogan discussing Paul vs Mayweather fight
He uses the same method for a bunch of other events.
When the NFT craze started, Logan was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon. He talked about it in his podcast to increase interest and awareness, before he created an NFT series of his own!
He made 3000 unique non-fungible tokens selling for the price of 1ETH ($2000 at the time). The result? He earned $3.5+ million in a day!
Another great example of raising anticipation is his little Pokemon trading card stunt that earned him around $200,000.
He’d occasionally vlog about buying rare instances of Pokemon cards and entire booster boxes. Then he’d announce a live video where he’d open these boxes and try to flip them for profit.
You’ve guessed it. The popularity of the cards skyrocketed, and he flipped the entire thing, donating a substantial amount to charity.
TL, DR
Logan Paul’s success displays the power of a faithful audience above anything else.
As long as you work hard on providing valuable content and stay true and open to those who look up to you, you cannot fail.
They are the ones who build your brand and that help you earn money while doing what you enjoy.
If you succeed in getting to that minor part of your audience that becomes superfans, you can create your version of Maverick.
So how do you start your own movement and tell your own story?
With simple baby steps.
Jump to Hyax and create your free account to test out all the awesome perks you can do as a content creator. Then, start producing valuable content and the audience will come.
Don’t wait. The time is now.