Troy Smith

YouTube growth strategy for creators, brands & creator-led businesses | 300M+ long-form views

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

Retention is king on YouTube.
But how do you visually keep viewers hooked?

One subtle technique is making BIG waves across top channels right now:

Visual Roadmapping 👇

cc: @mariojoos – a must-follow if you care about retention.

🧵

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

The $19 ticket is probably doing more work in this thumbnail than the face is.

That sounds strange because the face, big text, and red/green contrast are the obvious things you notice first.

And yes, those matter.

The thumbnail is instantly readable:
Green side = better choices
Red side = bad choices
Big face = attention
“STOP BUYING THESE” = clear warning

But the ticket is where the click actually gets more interesting.

The house comparison is obvious.

Of course spending $350K instead of $1.4M is better financially.

The burrito comparison is a little more interesting. $6 vs $25 makes you wonder where he’s getting a burrito that still looks like takeout.

But the ticket is the real curiosity gap.

Most people use e-tickets now. Concerts, sports, events, flights, whatever. It’s just the default.

So when you see a $250 e-ticket beside a $19 physical ticket, your brain has to stop for a second.

Wait, physical tickets are cheaper?

Where do you even buy those?

Am I overpaying for something I already use all the time?

That is the detail that makes the video feel like it might have information you don’t already know.

And the placement is important too.

Your eye goes to the face first, then naturally moves to the ticket right beside it. The most curiosity-driving element is sitting right next to the main attention anchor.

That’s a small thing, but it’s not accidental.

A lot of money-saving thumbnails only show the obvious version of the idea.

Make coffee instead of buying Starbucks.

Cook at home instead of ordering delivery.

Buy a cheaper car instead of an expensive one.

All true, but most people already know that.

The stronger angle is showing something familiar, then adding one detail that makes people think:

“I actually don’t know how that works.”

That’s what this thumbnail does well.

It doesn’t just tell you to stop wasting money.

It makes you wonder if you’re wasting money in ways you haven’t thought about yet.

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

We helped Deconstructed take a familiar topic, add a new layer of value with Caltech research, and package it in a way that gave viewers a clear reason to click.

3 weeks later: 725K+ views.

Broke down the strategy behind it here:

https://t.co/lnS5BRYfMg

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

https://t.co/oYXBieks2T

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

https://t.co/oYXBieks2T

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

I came back from VidCon feeling like the “YouTube is oversaturated” take is pretty lazy.

There is obviously more competition than ever, but that doesn’t mean the opportunity is gone.

If anything, the bigger takeaway for me was how much room there still is for channels that are built properly.

A lot of that came from the mix of conversations throughout the week; morning runs, hallway conversations, executive mixers, talks, and just being on the floor at VidCon.

And what stood out was that a lot of the conversations weren’t just about views or going viral.

They were about channels as actual businesses.

People are looking for channels with systems in place, consistent profit, clear growth potential, and audiences that are genuinely coming back.

There’s also a real market forming around IP in this space. If you can build something people care about, package it well, and create repeatable formats around it, that can become a much bigger asset than just a content feed.

That was probably the biggest thing I left with.

YouTube is still growing, Shorts are becoming more serious from a monetization standpoint, TV viewing is becoming a bigger part of the platform, and more ad dollars are going to keep moving toward places where people are actually spending their attention.

But the opportunity isn’t just “post more.”

One of the better reminders from the talks I attended was that creators probably give too much power to the algorithm. The better question is usually audience-first:

- Did people actually get value from this?
- Would they come back for more?
- Does this channel have a clear enough promise that the next video is easier to click?

That feels like the real opportunity right now.

Not just building a channel that can get views, but building something with a clear audience, strong formats, good systems, and multiple ways to create value.

VidCon made the creator economy feel less like a trend and more like a market that is still maturing.

And for people who can build quality channels with real strategy behind them, I think we’re still early.

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@sciguy I’ll be there too. Most of my work is around YouTube strategy, packaging, and retention for creators/creator-led businesses. Would be great to connect while we’re out there.

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@AprilynneAlter Getting ready to go to @VidCon and stumbled across this gem of a thread. Thanks for the tips!

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

Had a legend show up on my browse page today 👀

[YT Feed @ytjfeed]

Some people don't say much — their work speaks for them.
@TroyYTGrowth has just earned the RECOMMENDED badge on YT Jobs after delivering strong results across 5+ YouTube collaborations.
Well deserved 👏

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

Don’t over complicate.

YouTube rewards working smarter, not always harder. Master the basics before diving deeper:

1. Have an idea and packaging that aligns with your audience, has a market, and creates a burning question that the person must click on your video to answer.

2. Make sure it is very clear early that the viewer will get the answer to that question or questions (but don’t answer it in the intro 😂)

3. Make sure there is a clear reason to watch to the end. This is either implied based on the format or done more explicitly

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

Looking to grow on YouTube in 2026?

We help creators and businesses optimize their content, giving them a trusted team in their corner.

https://t.co/fMUfPVRg9p

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

YouTube rewards working smarter, not harder.

Some of the best places for inspiration are your own videos. Identify what's worked, and double down on it, just like our recent client video.

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@MarioJoos It’s is cluttered with many useless items and stats. What would be great would be a video comparison tool within it that lets you quickly compare videos fixed at views and/or impressions for parity

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@mariojoos People who try to sell me YouTube SEO these days always gives me a chuckle 😂

Severely underrated insight: Being aware of people building habits and having people build habits around your content.

Don't hear many people shed light on that one, props!

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@PaddyG96 The contradiction of America. Really is a place of extremes - it’s either amazing or sucks for things. Absolutely stunning landscapes though

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@mariojoos Happy Birthday! October birthdays for the win 💪

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@mariojoos Variety is the spice of life. Every new and novel thing becomes duller with time. You have to be unpredictable to put the pizza in the oven.

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@TzDev_ Very cool looking tool! Could definitely see some decent uses for this

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@jayjaay4_ Always good to have that stable presence in your corner! Being excited about your content and business isn’t a bad thing either though 😊

Will definitely be on the lookout to see what it is

[Troy Smith @TroyYTGrowth]

@thistweeth @YouTubeCreators CTR doesn’t mean anything on its own unless you understand more factors behind it.

For example a 4% CTR could be a lot better than a 15% CTR if the 4% is on a much larger and diverse audience and the 15% is only on a small audience of very dedicated viewers.