Here’s my 11 commandments for YouTube storytelling in ✨2025✨ for better retention and therefore more views. I've been behind the scenes of many multi-million view videos. May this be helpful to both new and seasoned YouTubers. 🧵/11 1. Packaging dictates story.
1 (ctd.) The packaging - in other words, the title and thumbnail combination - directly results in a viewer having a specific expectation for the video. This includes: - emotion/reward expected - format of storytelling expected Matching intent increases retention.
2. Viewers should rarely ever have FULL knowledge of the contents of a video. ✨Partial Knowledge principle✨ is a simple idea that you always want to have at least one unresolved question left. As soon as there is no more mystery, there is no more reason to stay.
3. The number of views is a deceptive measure of success/failure. Think carefully about what "success" means to you. - Getting more leads for your business? - Making your core audience feel more connected with you? - Reaching a huge number of people? Pick your own metric.
4. Style -> uniqueness -> more views since you're differentiated. I used to get a lot of YouTubers who wanted to be the next Ryan Trahan. And I get it, he's super cool. But the thing is, if audiences wanted Ryan...then they would just go to his channel. Innovate, don't copy.
5. Most views on a video are from people who don't know you. 'Save The Cat' states that for viewers to root for the protagonist, they have to like them first. Use "show, don't tell" to bring clarity to yourself as a character. People will remember you by a single sentence.
6. Use retention graphs to get an objective picture of what people don't want to pay attention to. Any ↘️steeper segments↘️ should be analyzed. A graph is always relative to itself. Also. analyze the moments BEFORE a dip, rather than the exact moment of the dip itself.
7. Adapt learnings from common macro structures. A listicle structure (which I cover super extensively in my course) is probably the easiest way to start with videos. It forces novelty and clear segmentation, and feels like a great reward for the viewer.
8. Make templates for story over time. The art of YouTubing is different from just "how can I artistically make the best video?" because you need to figure out ways to *consistently* make great videos. Developing structures is a superpower that lets you repeat success.
9. The 'ONE BIG THING' approach An absolutely fundamental part of any story is that ideally, you want to let every moment build towards ONE BIG THING. Peak End Rule dictates that viewers only really remember the start of a video, and the best part of it.
10. If you want to implement the Hero's Journey as a plot line, do something that's actually interesting. Putting yourself outside of your comfort zone in real life leads to conflicts, real emotion, and real growth. Becoming famous for fame's sake is cringe. We need heroes.
11. Have fun. At the end of the day, let's say that you were to just get less than 10 views per video. What's a channel that you would still have been happy to create? Ironically, the sheer intrinsic motivation you have from that, would lead you to longer term YT success.
That's it! Feel free to ❤️ and retweet the first thread if you found any of this useful. The original 11 commandments of storytelling:
Here’s my 11 commandments for YouTube storytelling for better retention and therefore more views. I hope this is helpful to both new and seasoned YouTubers alike. 🧵/11 1. A banger title/thumbnail can’t arise from non-banger idea. Spending 10 minutes here can save 7 hours.
And Pixar's 22 rules of storytelling:
Here's Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling, but applied to YouTube. Better story means higher retention and more views. This is the ultimate storytelling framework for new and seasoned YouTubers alike 🧵/22 1. "You admire a character for trying more than for their successes."
