How’s your retention going? Are you struggling to keep your viewers engaged with your content? Are people viewers dropping? Are you getting less watch time and slow channel growth? If so, don’t worry. I have a simple formula to keep your viewers watching from beginning to end. And that’s what I will be sharing today.

Creator Spotlight

But first, I want to introduce you to Carrie Wallis. With her channel, ​Confident Prosperity​, she helps professionals to shine and share their message with the world. When she came to us for a consultation, she struggled to turn her ideas from thoughts swimming around in her head to actual content. Honing into her target audience and focusing on how those ideas can help each person specifically has been extremely helpful for her to produce quality content. If you need similar help in this way (or in any other way), we would love to chat with you and see what program we have that would be the right fit for you.

Engagement and the Algorithm

How do we keep people watching our content so that when it ends, the viewers are so engaged their only choice in the moment is to watch more? How do we get the algorithm to surface our videos to more people?

People tend to think that it’s all about titles and thumbnails. And while they do affect how are videos are surfaced, it’s not the only piece. A bigger piece is actually how the viewer engages with your video. YouTube is an ads business. They want you to keep viewers on YouTube for as long as possible. So how do you keep them watching?

Hook Your Viewers From the Start

First, let’s start with the hook. The first 5-10 seconds is crucial. Think of a video of a shark attack. The thumbnail of that video would have the action shot on it to get the most clicks, right? When that video opens what would keep you there more: a quick 3-5 seconds of the attack or a person sitting at a table drinking coffee about to explain the story? Of course the attack! That’s what you clicked for. And then, once you get another taste of that, you are far more invested and willing to watch the explanation to find out the backstory. Without getting this pay off, the viewer lacks the reassurance that they are in the right place and they are far more likely to skip around looking for the action. Creators often feel like if they do this, they will give the whole thing away and then people will abandon the video. But that’s why you just tease it so that they are so sucked in that they HAVE to keep watching.

To see how people capture people’s attention quickly, I would challenge you to watch some shorts. Even if it’s not your normal way of viewing content, it is very interesting because they have to hook you in the first 1-3 seconds. If you are hooked, analyze how they did it. And if you aren’t, notice why that is. If you make a lot of shorts on your channel, analyze your own content. See which ones were watched and which ones were swiped away. How did you open the highest performing shorts? How did you open your lowest performing short? This will be incredibly insightful as you continue to make content.

The Power of Storytelling

The YouTube algorithm makes all of its decisions based on signals given to it by the viewer. If you please people, you will please the algorithm. Storytelling is a great way to do this. Stories have been a way of passing down information for centuries because they are powerful, memorable and allow you to really feel the emotions of the characters. Even if you’re a how-to channel, learning to tell a story is vital.

How do you do this? Start simple.

  • Who is the character? (Character)
  • What do they want? (Desire)
  • Why can’t they have what they want? (Obstacles)
  • What’s at stake if they don’t get what they want? (Stakes)
  • How do they get what they want? (Climax)
  • How is the character transformed as a result? (Transformation)

This doesn’t have to be a cinematic experience here, but a simple set up to your video. I (character) want a coffee because I’m tired. (Desire) The problem is, it’s after 3pm and if I drink a coffee this late, I might not be able to sleep tonight. (Obstacle) But I have a lot to do still today, and if I’m not on top of it I won’t meet my deadline (Stake). You take this simple intro and then your video would show the climax and end with the character changed as a result.

Think this is too difficult? Try the three-act structure or “a man in a hole” storytelling tactic. You don’t have to overthink it and make it harder than it needs to be. The simple story concept will keep your viewer watching. So try it! – And don’t try it just once. Try it a few times to really be able to see the results.

Visuals

Use visuals as much as possible. If there’s a way to show instead of tell, do it. If you have “talking head” content, illustrate things with visuals as much as possible in the editing process.

The Power of But

Another easy tactic is to use “the power of but.” A series of events is not intriguing. This happened, and then this, and then this. Opening and closing loops is a good way to build intrigue. As you close a loop, open a new one. You could say, “And this is why engagement is so important for your overall retention, BUT something that is really underrated for growth on YouTube is…” You closed a loop, but immediately opened up a new one that keeps the viewer watching.

Pitching the Next Video

You can also use this to get your viewer to watch your next video. This is a huge viewer signal to the algorithm. To do this well, before you shoot your video, think about which video you would like them to watch next. Then, you can quickly pitch that video in the closing seconds and link it in the end screen.

Pacing

Don’t forget about the importance of pacing your content. In the hook, your pace might be a little faster and intense, but then as you begin the story the pace is a little slower. How you use music can really add intensity as well.

Cutting

Is your video too long? I know this is going to sounds harsh, but most creators that come to us need to cut 1/3 of their videos. This is not just the umms and spaces that we are talking about here. Rewatch your video (or get a friend to do so) and see if there is information that is not vital that can be cut. Putting in too much information is going to lose your viewers’ attention. The goal isn’t to get all the information into the video, but to make the best video possible. Leave them intrigued enough to watch another, not feeling like it’s dragging on and on.

By mastering these strategic tactics, you can create more engaging and life-giving content for your viewers. This isn’t just about raising numbers. It’s about building a thriving and active community around your content. As your engagement levels increase, you’ll see a ripple effect leading to longer watch times, higher audience retention rates, and ultimately, a more dynamic and growing channel. I encourage you to embrace these simple strategies and step into a new phase of exponential growth and meaningful connection on your YouTube journey.

Power Tip

YouTube has lowered the entry barrier for the YouTube partner program from 1,000 subs to 500, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days and 3,000 watch hours in the last 12 months. This will automatically unlock super-chats, thanks, memberships and more. The YPP a tiered system now. In this lower tier, you do not ad revenue, but you will begin to be able to monetize your audience. So it is not a complete replacement, but just a helpful step to get you closer to that ad revenue.

Keep Changing Lives!

Tim Schmoyer

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