Most creators treat the description like an afterthought.
A few sentences, some links, a generic call to action, maybe some hashtags if that.
This is a mistake for two reasons. First, descriptions are indexed by search and they matter for discovery. Second, and more practically, the description is the second piece of copy a viewer reads after the title. It has real influence on whether borderline viewers click.
A good description doesn't summarize the video. It extends the hook. It gives the viewer one more reason that clicking is worth it.
The mistake most creators make with hooks isn't that they're bad at writing them.
It's that they think the hook is a thing you add at the beginning of a video.
The hook isn't a technique. It's a function. And that function is, give the viewer a reason to believe the next 10 minutes of their life will be worth trading for whatever you're about to say.
If your hook is just a restatement of the title, you haven't added anything. You've just repeated yourself in a slightly different order.
The hook should escalate the promise, not summarize it.
this is why we started offering accelerator calls to the creators we work with
sometimes valuable information can't be condensed into a weekly sync
that's why we offer an additional call a week on top of every sync going over a specific portion of youtube
retention, packaging, ideation, etc.
value = success
“How do you know that these videos aren't canibilising higher earning main channel views?”
- YouTuber, 13 million subscribers.
Here’s what I said:
Creators who build compilation channels don’t see a decline on their main channels, but if that’s not enough for you, here’s what I know.
These videos are 1 or 2 hours long, they’re treated as background noise to most viewers. When you’re eating breakfast, getting ready for school, or about to go to bed, these videos are either being suggested or autoplayed, they aren’t actively searched for by viewers.
It’s like having a VOD channel as a streamer, it’s an outlet for viewers to see more of you, they still have access to the high-quality cut down versions of your streams on your main/live channel, but VOD channels give them another way to watch your content when they aren’t fully immersed.
Here’s how a channel we recently started is doing:
It costs the creator $0, we take a fair split of the revenue, & he doesn’t have to lift a finger.
We’re currently experimenting with an accelerator-style program.
We had four calls with a creator, covering multiple key areas of YouTube & content creation:
Video ideation
Video packaging
Audience retention
External monetization
When you become a YouTuber, you'll start to realize that you have to do way more than simply recording videos.
There's a lot of things to keep track of, whether it's ideation, outlining, or even team management.
That's why we're here, so creators can focus on doing what they do best, creating.