In a recent episode of the D2C podcast, Mini Katana's founder, Isaac Medeiros, shared how he built a global media empire on TikTok and YouTube with millions of subscribers and hundreds of millions of monthly views in just under two years. Now he's selling goods on social media like a pro, and approaching 8 figures in high-margin revenue by selling real swords to his rapidly growing global audience without spending a penny on ads.
Selling swords caused Isaac to be banned from advertising on Facebook ads, and this pushed him into organic content creation. This formula became the basis for all his success going forward.
In this article, you will learn why YouTube Shorts represent an asymmetrical opportunity for content creators and how global expansion on that format is paving the way for Mini Katana to hit its first billion-view month. You'll also learn why Isaac sees Mini Katana as a global media company first, with e-commerce as a distant second focus. I hope you enjoy this one and see it as a timely reminder that owning your audience's attention is the most critical piece of the puzzle in 2023 and beyond.
Isaac Medeiros
Q: Please tell us why you started Mini Katana?
So, the story goes, I was in Little Tokyo, L.A., and I found this cute Samurai-themed letter opener. I paid about $50 bucks for it, which is quite a bit, but I was really excited about it and took it home. Unfortunately, it fell apart after just a few days. But I knew there was a market for this because I had spent so much money on it. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I didn't know anything about manufacturing, but I figured it out, maxed out my credit cards, and created a better version of that letter opener.
At first, I tried Facebook ads, and even though our return on ad spend (ROAS) was three, Facebook banned us. They considered it a weapon, and I couldn't convince them otherwise. I didn't have an agency account or a point of contact, so I was stuck with inventory and credit card debt. I knew I had to move forward and find a solution.
I tried Snapchat ads, and thankfully, they didn't ban me. I also attempted a few organic marketing strategies, but the one that really worked was TikTok. Throughout the pandemic, I had been a light TikTok user, while my girlfriend was a heavy user. I thought, maybe if I posted a video, people would see it.
The first video didn't lead to much; I got a few thousand views. However, the second video got a few thousand views and resulted in a sale. That's all I needed to know that I was onto something. From there, everything I did was just an extreme version of that, with each sale leading to more views and vice versa.
Q: So that's the journey! The canary in the coal mine, so to speak. It's even impressive just to get a thousand views on your first branded video. And then, to get a sale for free off of your second video, it's been onwards and upwards from there. What's the view count of your biggest video at this point?
We have got over 150 million views on a single video.
Q: What makes certain videos the best? Which ones are those that perform exceptionally well?
Usually, more stunt-related content, like sword tricks and performances. However, we also produce educational videos that perform exceptionally well, often reaching 200 000 or even 5 million views for Shorts. We have identified certain formats that consistently get high viewership, and we rely on them to maintain our audience engagement.
Q: It's interesting that you liked the magic of a Katana right from the beginning. There's this idea that the steel had to be folded a hundred times for precision, and it holds a certain value. It's like the Way of the Samurai is ingrained in it. You recognized this early on with your $50 letter opener. What's the price point on your Mini Katanas now?
We're still sticking to that $50 price point for the mini katanas. Our biggest success came from selling larger items, which everyone kept asking for repeatedly, and that boosted the Average Order Value (AOV) to around $100s. Nowadays, our main focus is on selling these bigger items.
Q: Let's talk about your growth, like since making that first sale or reaching your first thousand TikTok views. How has your progress been since then?
So, first, it was just TikTok, and it had a very proportional relationship. I would create videos, generate sales, pack orders, and handle customer support. I remember doing everything back in my shoebox apartment. These are not the easiest products; they are probably heavy when you have a lot of them. I had to get a storage unit; it was just a hustle. We've all been there, but I made it work. I worked 12 to 10 hours a day, whatever it took.
My first hire was a classic one — a customer support person because I wanted to offload that responsibility. After that, I hired a packing person. It was pretty crazy.
Right off the bat, I got really good at the video thing quickly because posting a good video on TikTok meant getting almost immediate feedback. It's a fast, iterative process — very, very fast. As long as you're willing to put in the effort and focus on it, you'll improve rapidly.
On the product side, however, I would just sell out, and that's always been my biggest issue. Even now, we still suffer from sellouts this year. We are way better at video than making sure we have enough products.
But yeah, I was selling small stuff until October of last year when I pre-sold my first big thing. We did about $70 000 in pre-orders. I used that to finance actually buying the inventory. After that, I leveraged pre-orders a lot to secure bigger quantities of inventory in-house. This year has been all about launching a lot of big variants.
Q: To be clear, you do sell replicas, but you also sell deadly items, such as sharp swords, correct?
Yeah, so we have fake swords that are purely for display purposes, but we also sell the sharp ones too.
Q: So, you went from mini to large katanas. What was the biggest hiccup in transitioning from mini katanas to large katanas?
Honestly, figuring out how to make them, it was such a pain. That's why we have supply constraints even today. But it paid off because basically, nobody can copy us. There's this large barrier to entry, which means you can't do ad spend, and after that, it's like, how do I even make the stuff and make it well, right? We're really good at what we do. One of the few things that we figured out how to do really well is how to make swords colorful and not have them suck, and not have the colors chip off. It doesn't seem obvious that that would be very difficult, but it is, especially with metal.
Manufacturing was a big challenge for us, but again, we're way better at the video creation process than manufacturing. The way I describe ourselves to people is like, we're a media lifestyle brand that happens to have this backbone of selling lots and lots of swords. Right now, we're at like 200-300 million views a month consistently. We think with our pretty aggressive expansion of our channels, that's going to get to like a billion a month, and that's all organic. So, in addition to being a media lifestyle brand, we've already done tests with accessories and small apparel, and we can sell basically anything. The swords just helped subsidize our machine to get this big, but now that it's this big, we can kind of do anything we want. It's like a reverse Mr. Beast style.
I don't know much about Mr. Beast, he's incredible, but I think we have more similarities to him than most e-commerce brands. At the end of the day, what it comes down to is this: I look at things and think the traditional method of DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) is going to die out or become so expensive that new brands can't do it anymore. I believe it's a survival thing. Either you have content in-house, or you're eventually going to be dead.
Do you think owning your audience's attention is the biggest thing that every brand needs to consider? It's like creating a distribution channel via media to reach your audience, so you don't have to constantly acquire them or even email them all the time.
Yeah, internally, our two most important metrics, in this order, are monthly subscriber growth, monthly views, and then sales. The e-commerce side of the business is actually a lower priority compared to the media side. This approach allows us to optimize for media performance. Our view count is impressive, but what's even more remarkable is our subscriber growth, especially on YouTube. In a 30-day period, we gain around 200 000 to 250 000 new subscribers. So, that's what we really focus on — ensuring that people truly love our content.
The subscriber base is highly global. Next year, we plan to expand both our lifestyle brand and our international presence, with a focus on those three metrics.
Q: So, after TikTok, you moved heavily onto YouTube. I was watching some of your videos, and you can tell how much thought goes into them and how they're attuned to your audience with the edits and fun elements. That must have been a fun process, building out that kind of language for how you make your videos, right?
Until January 2022, I shot all the content myself. I handled everything on my own, but then I realized it was time for a significant change. I found a content creator whom I could mentor to take over my role. It's a common step for every business owner — to delegate and replace yourself in core functions to facilitate growth. After that, the focus shifted to maximizing the use of our content, and I recognized that YouTube would be the major platform for our expansion. However, I deliberately waited for a considerable period before fully launching on YouTube.
Q: So, what is your ad revenue from these Youtube videos?
Our view count is heavily influenced by YouTube shorts, so probably around $10 000 a month or so. However, since YouTube announced their February shorts Revenue split update and I think it'll be well over $50 000 a month. I'm not entirely sure about the exact figures, but if it's that size, it's unreal!
One thing that makes YouTube so powerful compared to TikTok is its sheer size. YouTube is much bigger and more widespread. People can watch your content on their television, computer, or phone. On the other hand, TikTok restricts you to a specific demographic and audience, while YouTube has a global reach and is accessible on every device.
I imagine your videos are not very sales-heavy. It's like, how do you balance the sales message with the content? Do you have any sales messages in your videos?
We often talk about scarcity, which is very true. However, our methodology primarily revolves around capturing and retaining attention first. Once we have the audience's attention, the sales will naturally follow. It's a great approach.
Q: I understand that you've recently been investing in the email side of your business. Could you please talk a little bit about your email marketing tactics?
So for the longest time, we had this email list with a wheelie pop-up on our website, resulting in a 20% opt-in rate. It's gotten pretty big; we now have 400 000 email subscribers or something. Um, we never segmented the list; we just sent full blasts all this time, with a nearly 45% average open rate or something. Um, we didn't really realize how good that was until we started talking to other people. Once we started taking emails seriously, it became 30% of our revenue. This happened in the last 60 days.
The email open rate is now 70%. The reason is that the form of attention capture we're using, or our content distribution method, is so effective and entertaining right from the first touch point with the customer. We're building unimaginable affinity; it takes probably 10 touch points for an e-commerce brand to match us on Facebook ads or whatever.
We achieve that with the first touch point because we make them laugh; we're not just selling them something but making them laugh, making them go, "Huh, this is interesting." We make them re-watch the content, subscribe, and feel attached to us. So right from the get-go, everyone wants to hear from us, and that's why the email list open rate is so high.
Q: How do you get people onto your email list? What's your best tactic?
It's still the pop-up on the website. Like, just straight up, I tried other things and that's like a 20% opt-in rate on all traffic. I don't know, very cool. Are they fun giveaways? Well, sorry, yeah. How giveaways go, I think the highest, most successful one had around 25 000 individual entries.
Q: Do you use influencer marketers?
We have an influencer program, but to be clear, it's more focused on content rather than sales. We work with various influencers, which is a rare thing. Most of them are people we believe have parallel audiences, like gamers. We call it the 'Circle of Manliness,' which includes hobbies like gaming, sports, automotive, etc.
As part of our content plans, we are currently working on a gaming channel. Next year, we'll be launching 'Mini Katana Gaming,' featuring gaming content, and we will also introduce gaming accessories. Eventually, we plan to launch 'Mini Katana Automotive,' which we believe will work exceptionally well. All of this will primarily be on YouTube, as YouTube is our main platform.
Q: When you said that you want to achieve a billion monthly views, is that limited to more channels on YouTube, or does it include different platforms as well?
When I say that number, I mean YouTube specifically, just YouTube. We launched a second channel that is very, very focused on only anime. That's the kind of segregation method we use. The primary channel is about swords, while the second channel is about anime. We started it around 45 days ago or so. The strategy we employ is simple: create really good content. To summarize, people often overthink this, but if you make things that people want to watch, YouTube will push it.
If your content isn't getting pushed out, it's probably because you're making bad content. I know people don't always want to hear that, but it's the truth.
So, our strategy consists of two short-form videos a day and one long-form video a week. The reason why we do both short and long videos is to utilize the entire platform to its full potential, and it seems that the platform loves us for that. As a result, YouTube pushes our content more aggressively. Additionally, we also do some community posts, which has helped slightly with growth.
Speaking of growth, it's been okay. As of now, we've reached over 200 000 subscribers, which isn't bad at all.
Q: Is there anything where you experience a halo effect from your previous channel? Are you telling people, 'Hey, if you're over here and you like anime, we started this new channel!'?
We didn't do that, and the reason is that, as somebody who's a media buyer, it's essential to think about your subscriber count on these platforms as a local, targeted audience that the platform is building for you. Let me clarify: your subscribers on YouTube are the people most likely to love your content, and YouTube will try to show it to other like-minded individuals. The same applies to TikTok.
By artificially inflating that subscriber count with people who might not be genuinely interested in the specific type of content you're creating, you are ultimately not benefiting yourself in the long run. That's also why I believe purchasing bots and fake followers is a terrible idea.
I've noticed that some of your swords have a more fantasy-based design, whereas others have a traditional look. Will you be selling more anime-based swords from the anime channel? If you do, I think you might see an increase in sales, as there's likely a strong demand for those.
What it ultimately comes down to is that we sell swords, but we are aware that the average person on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram sees our content about three times a day, with an actual average of 3.2x based on the data we collected. This attention is significant as we effectively own one to two minutes of someone's day, on average, across an audience of 10 to 15 million people. Our primary focus is on gaining attention rather than optimizing for sales. Sales are more of a secondary concern for us. Our main goal is to capture and retain people's attention.
Q: Is that how you're thinking about it? Are you thinking about turning this into a full-fledged media company, a fledgling media conglomerate with limitless potential?
Yeah, the best case study we're trying to emulate is Red Bull. Their revenue spent on advertising is around 30%, compared to Coca-Cola's 6 to 7%, or whatever. That's because the way they differentiate themselves is through marketing and content. They spent $70 million on a marketing event to send a man on the highest skydive ever, and everyone called them crazy for it. But the value they got from that event, with all the free ad space and everyone talking about it, that's true ownership of attention.
Forget what I do for a second, but if you can get past YouTube to the point where people are talking about it at the dinner table, like, “wow”, you know? We think of ourselves like that.
I must say, you're gaining more attention than even CNN or Fox News. You're attracting a massive audience, and the use of Youtube Shorts is such a powerful strategy. I'm curious, what percentage of your attention is focused on Shorts versus longer-form videos on YouTube?
Like 99 percent of the time, I'm focusing on shorts right now because it's just dominating the platform. Earlier this year, I realized that it's a huge opportunity, and I decided to go all in. My goal is to increase the subscriber count before this trend fades away. These opportunities come around every few years, just like when Facebook ads were cheap, or when Facebook groups were a great hack. Currently, shorts are the method to get really cheap or free attention.
However, I must admit it's not easy; you can't just pay for it like ads. It requires earning attention through good content, which isn't something everyone can pull off.
Q: I love the story about how you exhausted every paid opportunity as an entrepreneur. You want to be able to hit those buttons, and scale up on different ad platforms. Did you apply the performance marketer's mindset to your content creation and get good at making content?
Yes, I think MrBeast works in a similar way. He avoids drawing direct conclusion parallels, but his thinking aligns with that of a performance marketer. He just applies that mindset to YouTube. The challenge with YouTube, especially for people from Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) backgrounds, is that it requires a lot of patience. You may not figure out what works for you for several months. The reason why YouTube worked so fast for us is that we knew what we were doing from the beginning.
Additionally, I had saved up a ton of content to launch our primary YouTube channel.
Q: How big is this thing going to get?
In 2021, we achieved $2.5 million in sales, and in 2022, we reached $8.5 million. With heavy reinvestment in content, our margins are quite favorable. I believe we have the potential to reach $100 million, but achieving this will require expanding our product categories.
Q: How are you thinking about product expansion?
So right now, our next big category is pens. We're calling them Samurai pens. You know, basically, everyone who buys our swords is like a gamer and about 87% of them are purchasing it for decoration. So, that gives you an idea of what we're working on. It's basically highly decorative pens. We're planning to release a limited edition rug as a test, along with other highly decorative accessories.
Q: And then, when you think about content expansion, are you considering more than just product expansion? Are you envisioning bigger budget projects, or are you primarily thinking about producing more of the same content that's already proven to be successful?
Oh no, we're definitely moving to a bigger budget to dive deeper into the content side. The structure is pretty complex, but basically, we have the creative team doing the heavy-hitter stuff, generating content with 100 million views, 50 million views, and 30 million views. Then, we have what's called the 'content farm' internally, which consists of rehashed clips with a lot of b-roll footage. We can produce around a thousand of those videos per month, designed for scalability. On the other hand, the content team focuses on creating high-quality content.
The goal of this structure is to expand into a variety of different topics, such as Automotive and gaming. However, this expansion will require content creators to lead each charge. The content farm will support these efforts. Another significant opportunity for us is in the translation field. English is a relatively small language compared to Hindi or Mandarin, for example. There's a massive deficit of good content in other markets, making them less competitive than the English market. For instance, if we create Spanish content, it's likely to get more views due to the scarcity of good content in that language.
This is why I'm so confident that we can hit a billion views per month. The translations alone will contribute significantly to achieving this goal. It's a massive opportunity.
Q: Are you using AI in your business in any way yet?
Yes, for scripts, we need to come up with a ton of ideas, especially for the content studio. One of the things we've started doing is using Copy AI (I'm not sponsored in any way) to generate script ideas. It works pretty well, creates outlines for us, and helps our writers. It's super interesting.
Q: If I were to grant you $50 000 for growth in Q4, how would you plan to deploy these additional funds?
I would probably invest it into our studio. Yeah, I'd probably invest it into our high-end studio, not the content farm. The Creator Studio, where we're getting a big studio in Alabama because it's cheaper over there. We also have a Creator located there. We plan to make it big and nice, build out some sets, and go for bigger projects. To be clear, it's easier to gain views with shorts, but long-form content is where you build a super high affinity. That's what we eventually want to excel at.
Q: What is the format of your longest videos so far?
Usually educational or challenging videos about how swords are made and how to use them. For anime-related content, it's actually pretty easy — we just discuss the top five most powerful characters or something similar. As for the sword-related videos, they often involve something seemingly silly, like testing if a Katana can cut down a tree or demonstrating ablative silk. These usually make for engaging five to ten-minute challenge videos.
Recently, we created a video featuring a fight between two fictional characters using our swords, and it's been performing quite well.
Q: Are you decent with using a sword?
No, it's not a skill I have.
Well, this has been awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Conclusion
In conclusion, Isaac Medeiros, the founder of Mini Katana, has achieved remarkable success in building a global media empire on TikTok and YouTube in a relatively short span of under two years. He has amassed millions of subscribers and hundreds of millions of monthly views. What sets his accomplishments apart is not just the impressive numbers, but also the unique approach of generating high-margin revenue by selling real swords to his rapidly expanding global audience, all without spending a single penny on ads. He is achieving it all by creating a lot of viral videos which he admits are a priority to him more than
You should definitely go and follow Isaac Medeiros on Twitter (@theisaacmed) or check out his brand Mini Katana to see more of their interesting content.
