The Art of Storytelling and View Retention

Summary

In this insightful discussion, creators delve into the diverse YouTube landscape, exploring how advice from various genres doesn't always translate across platforms. They highlight the importance of storytelling in tech reviews, emphasizing the need for tension and release to engage viewers. The conversation also touches on the challenges of thumbnail A/B testing and the creators' relationship with YouTube, including common complaints and the platform's role in their business model. The creators advocate for a niche approach, stressing the value of community over broad appeal.

Takeaways

• 😀 The importance of storytelling in tech videos is emphasized, suggesting that even product reviews can benefit from narrative techniques.
• 🔍 The script discusses the challenges of applying general YouTube advice to specific genres, such as tech, where certain strategies may not be directly applicable.
• 🎥 There's a recognition that not all advice from successful YouTubers translates well across different content types, requiring adaptation.
• ⏱ The first 10 seconds of a video are crucial for engaging viewers, but the approach may vary depending on the content's nature.
• 📱 The conversation highlights the need to introduce tension and resolution in storytelling, which can be applied to tech reviews to keep viewers interested.
• 📊 The selection of products for review is a critical aspect of tech content creation, often focusing on the best or worst to provide value to the audience.
• 🤝 The dialogue suggests that spending more time with successful creators can lead to more tailored advice that better fits one's own channel's needs.
• 📉 A common complaint among creators is the inability to A/B test thumbnails, which are crucial for video discoverability and viewer engagement.
• 💰 There's a debate on the responsibility of YouTube towards its creators in terms of monetization, with some feeling that creators should focus on building a business beyond the platform.
• 🔄 The script touches on the stress of thumbnail and title creation, and how some creators frequently change these elements post-upload to optimize performance.

Q & A

What is the common theme discussed in the video script regarding YouTube advice?

The common theme is that advice from creators about YouTube, such as how to make better videos, does not always apply universally across different genres, and there can be a lack of overlap in advice between creators in different fields like beauty, tech, or vlogging.

Why might advice from a creator like MrBeast not work for tech reviewers?

Advice from creators like MrBeast might not work for tech reviewers because their content and storytelling approach is different. For example, introducing a storyline within the first 10 seconds might not be suitable for a tech review where immediate relevance to the product is crucial.

How does storytelling advice from creators like those from South Park apply to tech videos?

Storytelling advice from creators like those from South Park can apply to tech videos by emphasizing the importance of causation and tension in the narrative. This can be achieved by presenting information in a way that builds anticipation and then resolves it, keeping viewers engaged.

What is the significance of choosing the right products to review in the tech niche?

Choosing the right products to review is significant in the tech niche because it often determines the content's appeal. Reviewers tend to focus on products that are either exceptionally good or bad, as these extremes provide more compelling narratives for the audience.

Why is thumbnail design considered a stressful part of the YouTube content creation process?

Thumbnail design is considered stressful because it significantly impacts video performance. A thumbnail can determine whether a viewer clicks on the video, and creators often feel the pressure to create a thumbnail that accurately represents the content and attracts viewers.

What is the main complaint from creators regarding YouTube's platform features?

The main complaint from creators is the inability to A/B test thumbnails. Creators believe that having the ability to test different thumbnails could improve video performance and engagement.

How do the podcast hosts feel about YouTube's relationship with its creators?

The podcast hosts appreciate YouTube's relationship with its creators, noting that YouTube provides a platform and tools, but it's up to the creators to build a business around it. They believe that YouTube's support, like Adsense, is a bonus rather than an entitlement.

What is the hosts' perspective on changing video titles and thumbnails after uploading?

The hosts believe that if they are frequently changing titles and thumbnails after uploading, it indicates a mistake earlier in the process. They aim to have a clear idea of the title and thumbnail before starting filming or scripting.

Why might a tech review require a different approach to storytelling compared to other genres?

A tech review might require a different approach to storytelling because it often involves evaluating a product's features and performance. This requires a focus on facts and comparisons, which may not always fit the narrative style recommended for other genres.

What advice do the hosts have for new creators regarding monetization on YouTube?

The hosts advise new creators not to rely solely on YouTube for monetization. They suggest that creators should focus on building an audience and a business model that extends beyond the platform's monetization features.

Outlines

00:00

📺 YouTube Video Advice and Storytelling in Tech Reviews

The paragraph discusses the hosts' observations on the varying advice given by YouTube creators across genres and how it may not always apply to tech reviews. They explore the idea of introducing narratives in tech videos, contrasting it with the storytelling approach of creators like Mr. Beast. The conversation highlights the importance of storytelling in tech reviews, using examples to show how to create tension and release points to engage viewers. The hosts also touch on the challenges of applying broad advice to niche tech content.

05:02

🎥 Personalized Advice from Creators and Building Niche Communities

In this section, the hosts delve into the personalized advice they received from Jimmy, a fellow YouTuber, during an interview and subsequent interactions. They discuss the value of tailored advice over general storytelling tips and the importance of building a niche community. The conversation also covers the hosts' approach to content creation, emphasizing the need to cater to their specific audience's preferences and the challenges of editing videos to meet platform requirements without sacrificing valuable content.

10:03

📈 YouTube Creators' Challenges: Thumbnails and Monetization

The hosts address common complaints among YouTube creators, particularly the stress associated with thumbnail design and the desire for A/B testing capabilities. They also discuss the limitations of YouTube's autoplay feature and how it affects video click-through rates. The conversation shifts to the topic of monetization, with the hosts sharing their views on the responsibility of creators to build a business model around their content rather than relying solely on YouTube's AdSense as a primary source of income.

15:03

🗣️ Podcast with Colin and Samir: Engaging Creator Conversations

The final paragraph summarizes a podcast episode featuring Colin and Samir as guests. The hosts reflect on the value of having creator guests on their show and invite viewers to suggest other creators for future episodes. The conversation wraps up with a call to action for viewers to subscribe to the channel to access comments and engage with the content more directly.

Keywords

💡YouTube Creators

YouTube Creators refers to individuals or teams who produce and upload content on the YouTube platform. In the context of the video, the creators discuss their experiences and learnings from other successful YouTube creators, highlighting the importance of storytelling and content strategy. The video emphasizes how creators can glean valuable insights from each other, despite differences in niches.

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is the art of telling a story in an engaging and impactful way. The video script underscores the significance of storytelling in video creation, suggesting that even tech reviews can benefit from narrative structures. The creators discuss how introducing tension and causation in a video can hook viewers and keep them engaged, as illustrated by the advice from the creators of South Park.

💡Thumbnails

Thumbnails are the small preview images that represent videos on YouTube. They play a crucial role in attracting viewers to click on a video. The script mentions the stress and importance of creating effective thumbnails, as they can significantly impact video views. The creators express a desire for A/B testing thumbnails to optimize viewer engagement.

💡AB Testing

AB Testing is a method of comparing two versions (A and B) against each other to see which one performs better. In the video, the creators express a need for AB testing thumbnails on YouTube to determine which thumbnails drive more clicks and views. This concept is tied to the broader theme of optimizing content for viewer engagement.

💡Tech Reviews

Tech Reviews are a type of content where creators evaluate and discuss technology products. The video script highlights the challenges of creating engaging tech review content, especially when the product is neither exceptionally good nor bad. The creators discuss the need to find a narrative or 'story' within the review to maintain viewer interest.

💡Narrative

A narrative is a story or account of events, experiences, or ideas, often with a beginning, middle, and end. The video emphasizes the importance of narrative in video content, suggesting that even non-narrative genres like tech reviews can benefit from introducing elements of storytelling to enhance viewer experience.

💡Creators' Advice

Creators' Advice refers to the tips and strategies shared by experienced YouTube creators. The video script discusses how advice from successful creators may not always be applicable to all niches, but can still provide valuable general guidance on content creation and audience engagement.

💡YouTube Algorithm

The YouTube Algorithm is the system that YouTube uses to recommend videos to users. The script touches on how the algorithm selects video clips for autoplay features, which can impact viewer engagement. The creators suggest that having more control over these selections could improve the viewer experience.

💡Niche Communities

Niche Communities are specialized groups of people with shared interests. The video script mentions that the creators aim to cater to niche communities, such as tech enthusiasts, by producing content that resonates with their specific interests. This approach helps in building a dedicated and engaged audience.

💡Adsense

Adsense is Google's advertising program that allows content creators to earn revenue from their online content. The video script includes a discussion about the common creator complaint regarding Adsense earnings, with the creators expressing that while Adsense can be a valuable revenue stream, it should not be the sole focus of a creator's business model.

💡Content Strategy

Content Strategy refers to the planning and management of content creation and distribution. The video script discusses the importance of having a content strategy, including the decision-making process for titles and thumbnails, which are critical for video discoverability and viewer retention.

Highlights

Creators discuss the varying advice for making better YouTube videos and its applicability across different genres.

The importance of storytelling in tech videos and how it differs from other genres.

How to introduce narratives in product reviews without compromising the review's purpose.

The creators of South Park's advice on storytelling and its relevance to tech video creators.

The challenge of creating engaging content for niche audiences versus broad audiences.

The strategy of deciding which tech products to review based on their potential for storytelling.

The tension and release in storytelling and how it applies to tech reviews.

The unique experience of receiving tailored advice from successful creators like Jimmy.

The difference between building a niche community and reaching a broad audience on YouTube.

The creators' perspective on the value of YouTube's support for its creators, such as milestone plaques.

Common complaints among YouTube creators and how they vary by genre and channel size.

The stress of thumbnail creation and the desire for A/B testing thumbnails on YouTube.

The impact of thumbnail selection on video performance and the strategies used by creators.

The process of titling and thumbnailing for different video formats, such as reviews and interviews.

The creators' approach to packaging videos and the timing of title and thumbnail decisions.

The view on YouTube as a platform and the responsibility of creators to build a business around their content.

The importance of confidence in the content creation process and the call to action for viewers.

Transcripts

i've been watching you guys videos on

creators and interviews on the youtube

landscape for a while you've been also

andrew you've been watching a couple of

them i've been telling everybody to

watch them just because they're really

good but also like let's find as many

different ways to tie these experiences

we've had together as we can

um

but one of the common things i've

noticed so we've talked about like

everything from like the mr beast of the

world to all the other tech youtube

creators and one thing that i keep

noticing that i always want to like

explore is

the advice that you can get from a

creator about youtube about the platform

about how to make better videos doesn't

necessarily always apply

and so watching so i'll just go ahead

and plug right off the bat it'll be in

the show notes the the video you did

with jimmy where you hung out with him

you're in his studio

get all kinds of this awesome

information out of him and about youtube

and about the way he approaches making

videos and i i want to listen to that

whole thing and just just take every

little bit of advice i possibly can to

make our videos better

but not all of it actually works and

applies to tech so i'll just give a

quick example you might say something

like

you really want to be

um

introducing people to a story line

within the first 10 seconds of a video

but that bit of advice might not work if

you're trying to review a product for

example and you have to talk to the

person considering buying the thing

immediately they would leave if you

start telling a story and it has nothing

to do with the product so i'm curious

when you guys talk to a bunch of

different creators in different genres

who have different

pieces of advice that they give

do you find that there's more overlap or

almost no overlap between let's say a

beauty creator or a tech creator or a

vlogger and all the different types of

youtubers you've talked to so i i

personally actually disagree about

what you just said about tech videos

interesting i actually think you can

introduce multiple narratives introduce

new stories when it comes to the product

it's just not the same way it's not you

telling a story but if you said like

there's two things i really like about

this and one thing i really don't

all of a sudden you've just introduced

something that i'm waiting for i see

that's a story what's the thing marquez

doesn't like about this and i'm waiting

for that and so i think actually a lot

of the advice that he's giving is

the way i take it is more of this just

general storytelling advice

and if someone's

you know you're introducing a product

and there's no tension there's no

nothing new that's gonna happen

um

then i might not stick around and i

think you know i think colin should

explain also this advice from the

creators of south park

when it comes to storytelling and i

actually think storytelling advice

applies to everyone who's telling a

story

yeah there's this

clip where the creators of south park

are speaking to a class and they said

that a really bad story will go like

this it'll go this happened then this

happened then this happened then this

happened

and you think like that's an extremely

boring way to intake information yeah

and what you want

is a story that goes this happened

but then that happened

therefore this happened

so you want some causation between the

beats in your story and i think that's

something that could exist completely in

a tech video where you're saying

here's this new phone that was just

launched history has shown us that it's

been really incredible it's been an

incredible line of products

but

this one is different

therefore you should think differently

right and if you can keep that going

throughout you'll hook people and keep

them longer i think one of the

interesting things about reviewing tech

products is a large part of what we do

is actually deciding which products to

review especially if i'm just like

narrowing it down to reviewers

and so it usually turns out that the

stuff we review is at the most extremes

it's either the best stuff and we want

to highlight it and show you

or it's like the worst stuff and it's

like i gotta warn you not to buy this

and then there's a whole bunch of stuff

in the middle that's like

most tech which is like fine

and

sometimes it can be really hard to pull

a story out of the stuff that's

fine like you'll you'll get to this

whole line of products has been fine

this one's

also fine

stay tuned

so i find like a lot of channels are

like trying to pull a story not even a

story but just trying to like exaggerate

things to create a better video which

may actually shift

the conclusion about the product yeah so

i think there's two things one it's like

the way you the way you reveal

information to the audience

is

you know part of that kind of retention

strategy that you can pull is like okay

i'm going to save this piece of

information for there but i'm going to

tell them i'm going to say

there's a little bit of like i can hook

them but i also think there's completely

different

tension and release points in different

formats so

all good storytelling is gonna build a

ton of tension in the viewer and then

release it right that's what it is it's

like i'm i wanna i'm curious about

something and then you let me know and

so i think a tech review is inherently a

bunch of tension because it's like i

wanna know marquez's take on this and so

that that's the tension the release is

watching it so i agree with you that

it's not apples to apples but i also

would say that i think that

some of the storytelling advice that you

can take from

you know someone who's able to capture

you know 100 million people's attention

then i think you can't apply small bits

of that and i think

the the thing is like jimmy on our

interview but then also jimmy uh

spending four days with him in north

carolina like the in-between moments

you get a lot of jimmy where he's just

speaking more directly to us at least

like about our content and being more

you know kind of understanding of what

our goals are and so i think the more

time we spent together the more

he started giving us advice that was

catered to our channel and i think

that's a pretty unique experience yeah

um but i think there's like general

storytelling advice and and at the same

time i would say that

you know he reaches an incredibly broad

audience

the most broad the most broad and i

think there's different tactics to

building a niche community and i think

the way i view the internet and how i

like to interact with it is through

niche communities i mean our first

business was

a network a sports network dedicated to

lacrosse yeah that's a niche community

that i'm a part of and the creator

community is another niche community i

feel a part of right and so now i think

we're creating content for that

community so i want to be a little bit

more narrow and i don't actually want

the most broad audience

yeah and we won't take his advice to the

fullest extreme because if we did our

videos would be edited down to six

minutes for retention they would take us

forever and we would leave out valuable

things sometimes letting someone speak

for us for four to five minutes

is valuable yeah right and so we need to

make that decision of yeah no our

audience because we know them because it

is niche wants to hear about that right

got it

do you think you would you think you

would last in a mr beast challenge

which challenge i'm trying to think i

feel like i'd be pretty decent keeping

your hand on something

i mean keeping your hand on a phone

that's his app i could definitely get my

hands on that

now i'm pretty i'm pretty

i'm decently like mobile and athletic

and i don't i don't know

like if i if you put me up against other

creators and editors i'd feel pretty

confident because most creating and

editing is like sitting down like

endurance yeah i feel like i have a

little bit of a

physical advantage but again it depends

on what the channel so you could sit in

a seat with poor posture for probably

the longest

i guess

um all right so a lot of what we've

talked about also

in the youtube world is youtube as a

platform has relationship with its

creators

in a way that not every platform does

like not every platform sends plaques to

its creators when they reach milestones

and has like creator you know teams that

work with us and things like that

um i'm curious from you what are like

the biggest complaints that you've seen

from creators to youtube

because i feel like here were i don't

want to say isolated but it seems like

every

gate or every like

big problem that youtube has

seemingly seemingly doesn't really

affect our channel very much whether

that's because we're a tech channel or

we're a pg channel or a friendly channel

to youtube whatever it is it seems like

we've been pretty safe from all of it

and i guess that's why but i'm curious

what sort of things you guys see that

ring true the most often among other

creators i think the number one

complaint from creators that i hear is

the inability to a b test thumbnails

because i think yeah thumbnails are this

like incredibly stressful um part of our

job do you remember when it was just

like the middle frame of the video

yeah you could game that system pretty

easily and totally became like you need

to be a partner to upload a thumbnail

yep and now everyone who is like

anyone can upload thumbnails now right i

think yeah i think so yeah but like

thumbnail designer is becoming it's

great that it's becoming like a job in

our world right that's like that's a

difference between

a million views and 100 000 views a lot

of times is your thumbnail but i think

that's the the most stressful part of

creating is that you make this amazing

video not only do you have to be like to

be a youtuber not only do you have to be

um

good on camera you also have to be a

good producer yes so just be a good

director a good animator good editor

like you have to be all these different

things and then on top of that you have

to be really good at packaging and

that's actually what you find out over

time is that actually the most important

part of the job then yeah and i think

the importance of that is really

positive because it

increases like the the barrier to entry

and makes the quality really good but i

think thumbnails today are causing a lot

of creators a lot of stress and are

the biggest complaint is like can we

just a b test yeah it seems like it's

such a simple fix

um but i would say that's the biggest

complaint it would be nice we were just

talking about this the other day but um

would you be uh open to being able to

change so when it kind of auto plays on

your say your smart tv or like when

you're hovering over something on the

web and you don't get to choose what

that auto plays like being able to now

change that similar to a thumbnail and

you think that could increase

click through yeah definitely you can

choose that on uh

on instagram reels and yeah yeah just

like being able to do that yeah because

we've had ones where we just released a

studio video where we had the rivie and

it has this like gear tunnel in the

bottom and the clip it shows was tim

crawling through that geared tunnel so

like super fun right we've had other

reviews where it chooses

like half of that one second is marquez

and a role and the other half is

switching to b-roll and looks terrible

when it like goes on yeah

well

[Music]

with the video yeah and i've chosen

stuff on my like smart tv because i

accidentally scrolled over it and that

one clip was like that was kind of

interesting i think i'm gonna watch the

video now yeah i believe that's uh ai

selected

at this point whether it's be from

retention or just from a random i think

they try and choose a face

usually yeah yeah i mean all of my

videos have a face in them sometimes it

doesn't pick a face and i find that odd

but yeah i i think so i see a lot of i

agree with a b testing thumbnails i

think that would be

great i would use that for sure um so i

agree definitely that a b testing

thumbnails would be fun i would love to

i would do that all the time but

i also am probably among the youtubers

that i know and associate with in the

tech world i'm probably the one that

changes my thumbnails the least i think

i see a lot of people upload a video

with a title and a thumbnail and then an

hour later change the title and then an

hour later change the thumbnail and then

change the title and the thumbnail and

i'll come across it a third time in my

home on my home feed or something i'm

like i think i've watched this already

but it has a different title and

thumbnail so maybe i haven't

um

would you do you guys play with title

and thumbnail at all do you find that

that's like a major

major part of how you package a video

and and manipulating it and changing the

way it performs or no we do play with

them but from my perspective if we're

frantically changing titles and

thumbnails we made a mistake much

earlier in the process

if if we have good ideas make titles and

thumbnails easy yeah so we try and make

sure we have that figured out before we

even make the decision to start filming

or scripting the video yeah it's kind of

changed our process to to just say hey

let's start that way in the beginning

and say okay we have this idea but wait

before we take any other steps

how do you package this idea yeah i

think one of the conversations i have

with jimmy was like when do you pick the

title and thumbnail and for him it's

before the video even gets shot at all

and for us we were like well that sounds

like great advice let's see how early we

can apply it but if we're reviewing a

piece of tech and we don't know how good

it is and we don't know if we're going

to recommend it or not i can't choose a

title and thumbnail before testing the

thing so i gotta test the thing

and then maybe at that point when i'm

starting to write the actual video i can

pick a title and thumbnail but that's

much later in the process and at that

point i don't know anymore if it's a

good title and thumbnail but that might

be with new formats because you have a

lot of formats too where you know first

impressions you're going to put that in

the title that is true yeah and so

that's what we're in the process of

finding or what are our formats where we

it'll make it easy for us and for our

audience that does they'll get kind of

annoying sometimes when we we know we

have to put galaxy s 21 ultra first

impressions now the actual title we give

it basically has to be three to four

words like where we have to limit

ourselves from that so

this checklist of like the process of

making a video and it's usually as i'm

uploading the video

then i am

finishing what i think the title should

be i have my last two or three options

for a title and we're shooting the

thumbnail at that moment

and i don't know if that's i mean there

are lots of tech topics and other ways

to come up with a title and thumbnail

first and craft a video around it but

specifically for reviews that's been a

challenge of mine is like packaging the

video

in an earlier than as i upload way

that's like us for interviews you know

we just filmed an interview with you we

don't know exactly what the title

thumbnail is going to be yeah we have

like a loose idea going into the

interview coolest guy ever yes that was

it yeah yeah yeah okay yeah that might

work

there's i think the other complaint

about

the other common complaint is like i

don't make enough money

you know adsense

you know this that or the other and my

perspective on that is for so many years

because we were in such a niche topic

adsense was not a part of our business

model at all

and i don't believe that youtube owes us

anything for uploading videos to youtube

i just don't believe it and and i think

my perspective is just that

it's our job to make a business out of

it if we can find audience that's that's

on us youtube gives us the platform and

it's a search engine and they give us

the tech

adsense i always look as like

it's a cherry on top of our business

luckily i think over the past

year our growth has been such that it's

a it's a nice cherry on top but i just

don't view it i think any creator who's

starting out and being like frustrated

that youtube's not paying enough yeah

it's like you you have to be doing this

for a long time for that to be a

significant source of revenue

thanks for watching that clip of the

podcast with colin sameer it's always

fun having creator guests on and that's

why i want to ask you now that you've

seen the clip who else do you want to

have in the comments section uh on the

waveform podcast i think other creators

would be great suggestions i love other

creators they don't have to be tech

creators but just like if you're on

youtube in general there's some sort of

conversation we can have yeah so let us

know on this clip we'd like to see

and we reach out comments aren't open

unless you hit the subscribe button so

press it very important just test her

out call to action having confidence

mirror on make sense

so i hit the red button good point do it

for colin and samir see you guys next

time

[Music]

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