There’s a massive story developing in the world of alternative news and YouTube: Brett Cooper fired from daily wire
Daily Wire gave long-time host of The Comments Section (a show that has grown to 4.1 million subscribers), Brett Cooper, the…
BOOT!
Just like that - years of hard work, grinding, content creation, and unrivaled growth gone in a puff of evaporated smoke.
But this is only where this story starts…
Y’see, the obvious reason for the fallout was over contract agreements. Brett probably wanted more shekels than Daily Wire wanted to fork out. And so, instead of giving into her demands, they decided to replace her with her best friend and former Bride of Honor at Brett’s wedding.
True to Gen Z form, Brett unfollowed her replacement on social media. Which is kinda sorta a big deal since her replacement was her best friend just a few short weeks ago.
Anyway, there are a lot of ways to peel this orange back.
Let’s start with the business lesson:
You are always replaceable. Brett hosted one of the most popular Daily Wire YouTube shows. And it was a direct result of her effort that the channel grew as much and as quickly as it did.
Corporations and companies don’t care about you - no matter how much they try to gaslight you into thinking you’re a part of one big, happy family. Your best friend might not even care about you. I’m sure the last person Brett expected to stab her in her back, steal her job, and carry on as if nothing happened is new host, Reagan Conrad. And yet, that is what happened.
Now, I’m not sure what contract Brett originally signed. But it should come as no surprise that she doesn’t get to keep the channel she grew to 4 million subscribers. That’s the property of Daily Wire. Head to The Comments Section YouTube channel and besides a few old videos, there’s no proof that Brett existed or did the grunt work to grow the show.
I also don’t know whether the idea for The Comments Section (which is a brilliant idea for a show that outsources half of the content creation to random comments on the internet) was Brett’s idea or the Daily Wire’s idea. But the latter owns the IP, and Brett is shyt outta luck. And this ain't their first rodeo either: They booted Candace Owens, another wildly popular creator for their platform, a while back too.
I’ve long warned you about the dangers of relying solely on social media to run your business. This even applies, as this story proves, to YouTube shows. The good news is that Brett wasn't banned from YouTube—which she’d “feel” more—but still: growing a channel to 4 million subscribers in a few years ain’t easy.
More good news: Brett’s personal YouTube channel has also grown to 339k subscribers without her uploading even a single video.
Alas, my point remains: While people will sometimes follow you (to another YouTube channel if you get fired or to another social media platform if you get banned), expecting everyone to follow you is silly. And while 339k is a massive amount of subscribers, especially for a channel with no uploads, it’s a fraction of the 4 million she helped The Comments Section get.
That is why nothing is more important than building your email list. You own your email list. And so, it doesn’t matter if MailChimp bans you or Klaviyo bans you or any other ESP bans you. Especially if you frequently back up your list onto a hard drive. You can just switch ESPs and continue without a hitch.
Even if your best friend stabs you in the back, steals your job, and pretends nothing ever happened…
You Will Still Have A Way To Interact With Your Fans If You Have An Email List
Besides the ethical, business, and even moral lessons here, there’s also a crucial copywriting lesson embedded into this story…
First, The Comments Section lost a lot of subscribers. I’m sure they’ll be fine, especially as people move on and forget Brett did all the work for the channel. But this wasn’t as smooth a transition as they’d have you believe.
Let’s check in on some of the comments from the first video with Brett’s replacement to set the scene:
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“this is like when my parents replaced my dead goldfish with another goldfish as if i wouldnt notice” — @Shoe0nHead
“They cant even turn off the comments because then this channel would just be The Section” — @hunteravallone
“Everyone’s to do list:
1: Wait for the first video
2: comment on that video
3: leave never to be seen again” — @daxelcodinafilmatica4507
“(clicks on video)
(pauses video)
(checking comments)
Edit: I came back 2 days later, how the hell did this comment get more likes than the video itself??? holy shi-💀” — @JGMGamer07
“The show finally lives up to the name because without Brett all I am doing is looking at the comment section and not the video.” — @nowaymyname
“Plot twist, Brett’s first video on her new channel is her going through this comment section” — @jamesryanwigley
(And my personal favorite…)
“This is so inauthentic. Really cringe. Daily Wire you lost a diamond with Brett Cooper we aren't buying this CZ.” — @adrianeandrews843
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CZ is short for cubic zirconium - and yes, since I’m not a Zoomer, I also had to do a quick Google search too. You’re welcome for the 5 seconds I saved you.
Anyway, there’s a reason the last comment is my favorite:
It touches on the copywriting sin Daily Wire committed.
How?
Well, one of the biggest mistakes you can make with your copy is sounding like someone else. I used to suffer from Ben Settle-itis in my copy. Many people who follow Ben make the same mistake. But this is a massive issue with non-English speaking copywriters too. They sound too robotic, too inauthentic, too much like a guru hype beast than a real person.
This is also why relying on AI tools for your copy ain’t a good idea. The more we move into the Entertainment Age, the less copy becomes about tactics and tricks, and the more it becomes about creating a separate world, a different reality, for your readers.
Anyway, so what’s the sin?
Instead of having Reagan, the new host, lean into her own personality and quirks, they had her copy Brett’s style, personality, voice, phrasing, mannerisms, and everything else she could carbon copy to be, as the YouTube comment astutely puts it, a cubic zirconium copy of the diamond that Brett was.
This is what’s particularly unsettling to fans. It creates an uncanny valley effect for those who expect to see Brett but instead see her.
(It’s also particularly unsettling since Reagan was the Bride of Honor in Brett’s wedding… but y’know, it’s easy to justify being a shytty person when you get paid more. I guess? Idk.)
Trying to “swipe” someone else’s personality is mayhap the single worst thing any human could do. This is as true in the world of copywriting as it is in the world of mental health and self-esteem.
In copywriting, your audience notices it and it makes you come off as inauthentic at best, and a complete fraud at worst. In mental health, I’m pretty sure pretending to be someone else instead of yourself is a root cause for the wickedness in Hollywood.
This, obviously, sabotages your sales.
And besides some legit crimes and accusations, is probably the worst thing you can do.
An audience who doesn’t trust you will never buy from you.
So, what could Brett have done differently?
The unfortunate part of this story is there ain’t much she could’ve done, except accepting less money than she thought she was owed.
Even if she used her YouTube channel to funnel people to an email list (as I’d recommend), it probably would’ve been a Daily Wire email list, not a Brett Cooper one.
Such is the nature of the beast of corporations and companies.
But now?
Now she has an opportunity to put more focus on her email list. She’ll probably have more freedom with her own personal YouTube channel (I hear tell of certain topics being completely off limits at Daily Wire, facts over feelings be damned). But with more freedom comes a bigger chance of YouTube shutting down her channel with no recourse.
This is simply the world we live in.
And so, I’d recommend using her YouTube channel as a funnel entry point for her email list. Not only does this give her a Plan B if YouTube wants to puff out their chest like Reagan and Daily Wire have, but it also gives her more opportunities to connect with, and ultimately persuade, her audience.
In other words:
Growing her email list gives her another avenue to create revenue. And do it in a hurry since she’s already spent three long years developing the KLT Factor (know, like, trust) which is a prerequisite to making sales.
And you know what?
Unlike YouTube, it’s far easier to make money from email. It’s closer to a final buying decision. It’s more intimate than YouTube in many ways. And you don’t have to rely on third-party advertising to make money.
The end result?
More moolah. More freedom. More impact.
Anyway, I’ve ranted long enough:
If you want to grow your revenue, freedom, and impact—while preventing yourself from ending up in a similar position where years of hard work vanish in a millisecond—email is the best way to accomplish these goals.
And I can help you if you click the link below:
John
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