YouTube Shorts is something that can explode channel growth, but guidance on storytelling here is lacking. Until now. I ended up doing my own analysis on what makes Shorts successful. Here’s my preliminary findings. 🧵/ 4 1a. The best Shorts tend to obey the ‘About’ rule.
1b. The hooks on good Shorts are ridiculously tight, because you have to grab someone in that first few seconds or they immediately scroll. So heaps of them start with something ‘about’ to happen. The story context, premise, AND foreshadowing is built in a single sentence.
2. From there, the event follows the “Tip of the Tongue” rule. The viewer STRONGLY has an idea of what might happen. The stronger the anticipation, the better the engagement. A viewer’s engagement relies purely on how much they care about resolving that unresolved question.
3. The payoff is just the thing that makes the video satisfying. Nothing complicated here. - In a joke, it’s the punchline. - In a fight, it’s the finishing blow. - In a game, it’s the clutch moment. But I think Shorts rely on this payoff so much more, for one reason…
4. Shorts still obey average view duration (AVD) as one metric that determines how much the algorithm should promote it. The best Shorts should the viewer rewatch the Short for the payoff multiple times, because they want to re-see it. Lacklustre payoff means no repeat views.
I’m still studying/exploring Shorts personally, hence why this framework is currently simple. I’ll continue to update my Twitter here if I find anything interesting to share with you guys, so feel free to follow. Otherwise, here’s more tips for longform content.
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."
