Realtor Will Friedner is the perfect case study for how alleviating the concerns of viewers is a powerful way to build trust and go viral.
“95% of my leads come from YouTube, and about 95% of my YouTube traffic is from one video…I should have started a YouTube channel 10 years ago.”
Will’s YouTube Channel “Living in Montana” is another great example of a real estate YouTuber with immediate and explosive success. After 10 months, his channel had gained 36,000 subscribers and over 3 million views. After another year, those numbers doubled.
A lot of agents look at a channel like this and assume the whole thing came down to luck. I do not.
What I see here is a creator who matched a very real relocation question with a very clickable topic, then delivered the kind of honest local perspective most agents are too careful to put on camera. The viral video mattered.
But the bigger lesson is that Will built the kind of channel people trust when they are seriously considering a move.
How to Recreate the Success of “Living in Montana”
1. Strong Market Positioning Beats Fancy Tactics
The first thing I notice about Will’s channel is not some secret trick. It is clarity. He picked a channel identity that matched what people were already looking for, then published a video that directly answered the question behind the search.
That is not gaming YouTube. That is understanding intent better than most agents do.
The video has 3.5 million views, even though Montana only has 1 million residents. Find that video above.
It’s no coincidence that the channel name and top video title share the phrase “Living in Montana”.
So what happened? Well, in his modesty, Will tends to attribute his success to luck. But the fact is, whether knowingly or unknowingly, he set himself up to go viral.
See how the TOP 10 YouTube video results for “Living in Montana” belong to Will’s channel? Recreate his success by naming your channel after a juicy search term for your market. Use a tool like SEMRush or Ahrefs to research.
Using SEO Metrics
Ahrefs reports that 1100 people search YouTube every month for this phrase. Two years ago, when Will first published the now-viral video, there was no YouTube content targeting this super juicy keyword. He created a channel name based around this single keyword.
Then he created a 7-minute video talking about Montana’s disadvantages like dangerous animals, the problems with local laws, treacherous weather, everyday inconveniences, and change-resistant people. He titled it using the same keyword, and the rest is history.
Setting up the channel and posting that single video probably took about one day of work. It’s my understanding that he didn’t name the channel or video in light of keyword or SEO research.
But the tactic worked all the same. Naming matters, but only when the content actually delivers on the promise. The bigger win is intent match. If your title, topic, and audience question are tightly aligned, you give yourself a real chance to earn search traffic and recommendation traffic at the same time.
You can read more about the best way to name your YouTube channel, agency/brokerage, and URL in this article on the best real estate company names.
2. The Power of Transparency
Interestingly, this video was actually based on why people shouldn’t move to Montana. With the onslaught of COVID, Will was faced with a flood of interest in relocating to the country without people being prepared for the realities. The video was a candid response.
That presents an interesting paradox. When you openly talk about the negatives, people will respond to your authenticity.
People moving from other areas to your market want two main things: extensive local tours and honest opinions about local lifestyle. No real estate YouTube channel is complete without these elements.
“[Apart from my best video], the videos that do the best are the ones where I just tour a town in Montana.”
3. Finger On the Pulse
Will is the first to say he’s the happy winner of the YouTube lottery. His viral video, then, makes for a great case study because he’s a beginner. Based on the interviews (including mine below), Will is perhaps a bit too modest about his YouTube success.
He tends to view his viral video as a chance stroke of luck. But actually his instinct to respond to the wave of interest created by COVID was essential to placing his channel in prime position to blow up.
In other words, one of the greatest keys for a beginner real estate YouTuber to break open the algorithm is creating videos that are trend-aware and hyper-current.
It’s easy to use the education online to create a roadmap to YouTube success. Generally speaking, it’s a great path to take. But don’t forget that YouTube is a highly dynamic and trend-sensitive platform.
While brainstorming for YouTube video ideas, it’s important to consider patterns in conversations you have with locals and those considering moving to your area.
4. Be an Embodiment of Your Local Lifestyle
Another interesting phenomenon that comes to mind is how lots of highly successful agents have personalities formed by their local society. The U.S. is not a monolith. Every corner has its own personality types, and those areas attract people who meld with those particular lifestyles.
When you listen to Will, you feel that he’s an embodiment of local lifestyle. When you’re formed by your local environment, you become something of a poster child for your market.
That’s equally true for current residents and out-of-state leads. Locals who treasure your region will also treasure you for being a product of that area. Non-locals who are actually suited to your region will be attracted to your personality for the same reason.
So what does that mean for your YouTube efforts? Let the aspects of your personality that are generated from your region shine in your marketing.
5. Stop Overthinking Your Video Personality
“Luckily for your listeners [on the podcast], I have a face for radio. I’m not exactly Brad Pitt. Like most everybody, I don’t get up in the morning and want to film myself or take selfies.”
Will is a Joker Jones for that one. But his wonderful self-deprecating humor aside, he’s totally right. Will is a salt-of-the-earth, rurally-raised, humble person. You don’t need to love being in front of the camera to be a highly-successful real estate YouTuber.
Just make a few videos, get over the stage fright, start gaining a little traction, and then naturally fall into geeking out about this kind of content marketing. I can almost promise that once you get past the initial fear, it becomes so easy to get wonderfully obsessive about creating video content.
6. Rural Markets Are Completely Under-Optimized
“Being rural, Montana tends to be about 5 years behind the times when it comes to technology.”
If you target a rural or countryside market, you’re in prime position to outstrip all of your competitors by harnessing the power of YouTube lead generation. Even 2 years after his video started going viral, all of the competing realtors in Montana still have not tried to recreate Will’s success.
That remains true of many non-metropolitan real estate markets around the US. Visit the Living in Montana YouTube channel to see how simple and genuinely enjoyable it can be.
“All of my contact information is available on YouTube. If you want to get in contact, I’m happy to geek out about anything YouTube.”
More Waves of Viral Content
The first viral video proved there was national curiosity about Montana. What happened next is more important.
Will did not turn into a listing-tour channel. He did not water the content down into generic market updates. Instead, he kept interrogating Montana from new angles.
- “Montana’s STRANGEST Town.”
- “Montana’s OFF GRID Town.”
- “Montana’s Legal NIGHTMARE.”
- “Did Yellowstone RUIN Montana?”
- “Montana’s BOOM is OVER.”
- “36,000 People LEFT Montana.”
These are not real estate titles. They are tension titles.
That is the evolution of the channel. The breakout video was about relocation honesty. The later waves are about curiosity, friction, and identity. The audience is not just asking whether they should move. They are asking what Montana actually is, what is breaking, what is changing, and what they might be missing.
That shift is why this channel did not stall after one hit. It found a repeatable way to make Montana-specific anxiety watchable.
Repeatable Title Formulas
Here’s the real strategic upgrade in the channel.
He moved from “Should I move to Montana?” to five reusable formats.
1. Superlative Curiosity
Structure:
[State]’s Most / Strangest / Fastest / Remote / Beautiful + Thing
Examples:
- Montana’s STRANGEST Town
- Montana’s Most Beautiful Town
- Montana’s Most Remote Spot
- Montana’s Fastest Growing City
It works because it invites debate. It invites disagreement. It invites locals to click just to argue.
2. Conflict Headline
Structure:
Did / Is / Has + Big Local Issue + Negative Outcome?
Examples:
- Did Yellowstone RUIN Montana?
- Montana’s BOOM is OVER
- Montana Ruined?
It works because it introduces tension. It suggests something is broken. It frames the state as dynamic, not static.
3. Fear of Mistakes
Structure:
The Danger of / Legal Nightmare / What They Don’t Tell You / Mistakes
Examples:
- The Danger of Using Zillow in Montana
- Montana’s Legal NIGHTMARE
- Living in Montana – Things They Don’t Tell You
It works because buyers are afraid of making expensive mistakes. These titles directly touch that nerve.
Agents underestimate how anxious relocation buyers are. Anxiety drives clicks.
4. The Comparison Formula
Structure:
[State] vs [Other State] + Cost / Lifestyle / Reality
Examples:
- Montana vs Idaho Cost of Living
- Montana vs Wyoming
Comparison forces a decision frame. It captures people who are narrowing options. Comparison content attracts high-intent movers.
5. What’s Really Happening
Structure:
X People Left / Boom Is Over / What’s Actually Happening
Examples:
- 36,000 People LEFT Montana – Here’s Where They Went
- Montana’s BOOM is OVER
These titles reframe the state as evolving. It pulls in people who think they’re late to the party or who are second-guessing their move. Market-cycle content expands beyond just buyers into skeptics and locals.
Real Estate YouTuber Spotlights
This article is part of a series on top agents using YouTube to leverage insane traffic, leads, and commissions. For more, check out the articles below:
- 10 Absolute Best Real Estate YouTubers
- Krista Mashore’s Mindset Coaching (Top 1% Agent)
- Jordan Schilleci: YouTube’s Production Rate Queen
- Will Friedner: How to Create a Video with 3.5 Million Views
- Bern and Courtney: Perfect YouTube Fundamentals
- Jeremy Knight: How to Get $100K in Monthly Commissions
- Dan Parker: Advanced YouTube Strategies
Free eBooks for Agents
Download any or all of our real estate marketing eBooks. These books contain cutting edge information, deep-diving case studies, actionable hacks to skyrocket your business.
Schedule a Meeting
Let’s chat about how an SEO-focused website that YOU OWN, Google Business Profile Campaigns, or Custom Email Campaigns can generate high-quality leads and exceptional long-term ROI. If my services aren’t the best move for you, I’ll gladly point you in the right direction
