🔎 RR#9 - Open for a surprise 👀
How to keep people watching your videos for longer.
Hey!
I’m excited to announce the launch of The Retention Hub - an ever-expanding library of YouTube retention graphs from 30+ niches.
This could be the fastest way to supercharge your understanding of video retention and keep people watching your videos for longer.
But more on this at the end!
First, let’s get into 3 more reviews…
1 - A wise dog.
Title: I Magnet Fished 100 Miles of Ocean And Found This!
Creator: WifiEli
Average % viewed: 55.7%
He’s gonna find $50,000,000,000 using just a magnet.
What to repeat:
creating characters from nothing
The creator meets a dog on the beach and imbues it with personality by describing its (made up) thoughts and motives.
This then threads back into the story later when the dog is re-referenced.
This is the advantage you have if you’re shooting a video that’s part-scripted, part-improvised - you can retroactively turn people/animals you met into characters that became crucial to the narrative.
So ask yourself when you’re on location, “is there the potential to turn anyone into a character and thread them into the narrative of the overall video?”
storytelling
Establishes the context of the video quickly.
Plays with the tension by repeatedly implying we might be about to land on some big treasure.
But, even when we don’t ever find it, he presents a nice moral - that the real treasures were the dogs (people, and forks) we meet along the way.
pacing
Watch from the start and see what happens at 0:27.
This video is another prime example that altering the pacing of your video makes it much more engaging because it causes pattern interrupt in our minds.
What to improve:
momentum
Yes, I am just looking for another way to say ‘pacing’.
Because as good as the pacing is for the most part, it slows a little too much during S3, which could be responsible for the drop.
It’s important for your audience to get to know you, but I think it was slightly too indulgant between 1:28-1:46.
I would have preferring going from “it’s not funny” straight into “Day 2…”
Takeaway
Comedy and personality are absolutely good things, but be careful they don’t impact momentum too much.
2 - It’s behind you!
Title: YOUR DOPAMINE ADDICTION IS RUINING YOUR LIFE
Creator: Staebo
Average % viewed: 15.2%
You heard the man!
What to repeat:
humour
The highlight of the video is in the very last line.
Outa nowhere, he puts on an U.S. accent and says “read a god dang book”.
The problem is we don’t see much of this personality until the end (which I’ll talk about shortly).
What to improve:
background / framing
People make snap judgements on your video, so certain visuals matter (regardless of your gear).
In this case, the fist two things I notice is the messy background and the framing.
Framing: there’s a lot of wasted white space above the creator.
Background: this feels messy and unintentional. The creator is also at the same height as all the stuff, so he doesn’t stand out.
overusing fast cuts
Relying too heavily on this technique makes the video feel unnatural.
There are sometimes 2-3 fast cuts within single sentences.
Yes, we want to cut out dead air, but don’t overuse this.
Be aware (during filming) of how long it’s taking you to deliver each line. If it feels like you’ll need to cut a tonne of dead air with a sentence, just re-record the sentence.
repetition
We don’t see much of his personality until the end, because the video spends a lot of time repeating similar information.
I’m firmly of the opinion that 99% of creators should script talking head videos, because it stops you rambling and repeating yourself.
Every sentence should be intentional, building on the last to contribute towards the overall point/story/narrative.
I’m 100% certain this video wasn’t word-for-word scripted, and the result is too much repetition.
Takeaway
Spending a little extra time tidying your background and framing yourself well on camera could literally make or break retention - it gives an instant impression to the viewer.
3 - The power of your voice.
Title: The World's Biggest Megaprojects (2023)
Creator: BusinessLoop
Average % viewed: 40.1%
A skyscraper over 1km high…? 😳
What to repeat:
concept
Big concepts like this are highly intriguing, and the video delivers on exactly what the title promises.
What to improve:
voiceover
To me, it sounds generic and unenthusiastic… almost like an AI.
We spoke above about pattern interrupt, and although this hook is written well, the delivery feels bland - I don’t feel like I’m going to have a good time.
Unfortunately, people will always make a quick decision about whether to commit 7mins of their time to something, and the voice/person we’re spending it with will be a large factor.
storytelling
The first minute of the video is almost entirely CGI/maps.
But around 1 minute, we get some exciting, real footage of boats on the Bering Sea.
Tension could have been dramatically increased by starting with this part.
e.g. “crews of X00 people have spent the last Y years on the Bering Sea, one of the world’s most dangerous bodies of water. But why? …”
By reversing the order of information, not only do we create more intrigue, but it’s grounded in something more tangible because we’re seeing real and treacherous footage.
Now, as a viewer, I’m wondering: “Why would anyone do that?!”
Then we reveal the Bering Tunnel and explain more about it.
Takeaway
Ask yourself, “can I create more tension by reversing the order I reveal information?” Create intrigue first, and make the point second.
That’s all for this week, but I’m excited to talk a little more about…
🔎 Learn from retention graphs across 30+ niches to make people watch your videos for longer.
Tired of guessing why people clicked away? Want to understand more about audience habits, pacing and storytelling?
The Retention Hub collects dozens of retention graphs and lets you filter by niche, views, retention problem, average view duration (%) and more.
This is the fastest way to supercharge your understanding of video retention to keep people watching you for longer.
And, as a thank you for reading my newsletter, you can get 50% OFF using the code RHUB50.
💬 What are people saying?
- Justin Moore, 34k subscribers. Creator Wizard Founder.
- Breakout Cards, 10k subscribers. Featured in The Retention Hub.
🧠 Wanna learn more?
Just click below!
If you do decide to make the investment, don’t forget to use RHUB50 at the checkout if you want 50% OFF!
Speak soon!
George 👋