Tell your Story (and Buzzfeed has some news)

Your weekly YouTube education in five minutes

Author

Johnathon Eva
February 17, 2025

What to Watch:

Creator - VidIQ

Normally I don’t pay attention to “algorithm” based videos. Because usually you should just focus on making better videos. But these shifts are worth paying attention to.
It breaks down that the YouTube recommendations system (the algorithm) is more complex than you realize - meaning some of the backend data isn’t as reliable as you think it is.
It’s definitely worth the 14 minutes.

Packaging Breakdown

Don’t Do this:

3.8k views sounds pretty decent - but this creator is capable of more.
On an aesthetic level, there’s a lot of blank space. The white hoodie actually adds to the feeling of blank space, and BECAUSE of that space, my eye is drawn all over the thumbnail - instead of honing in. If you take a look at the channel also - this goes against some of the core brand of the channel itself. It’s not the story that this creator has been telling. So there’s a drop off of views.

Creator -Things your mom should’ve told you

Try THIS

Creator - Things your mom should’ve told you

See how this video utilizes the blank space on the SIDES of the thumbnail to draw the attention toward the center? That’s what you want more of.
The blue jacket helps her stand out against the white background, and even though it’s the same font, and drop shadow, she’s able to capture an idea WAAAY easier.
Combine this with the fact that this is more of an actual STORY - and you get something that people can’t help but click on.

If you have questions about the concepts above, just reply with em’ I’d love to connect!

Creator’s we love

Alex Wei:
Though he joined in March of 2019, most of his growth has been in the past year. This is because he figured out his story.
He’s a self help niche - but his X factor is being funny and telling his story through that lens.
Let’s take a look at what he’s doing:

67 Videos - 32k subscribers - Joined March 2019

235k views

75k views

741k views

Key Takeaways

Thumbnails: These thumbnails are so stinkin’ smart. The key to a good thumbnail is judging: How much does a person need to think about what my video is about. Let’s take a look at his 741k viewed video. “Took my job” What took his job? Then I look at the title. Oh AI took his job. If I’m in this age, and I’m worried about that, I’ll click on it.

Lofi: Lofi means low fidelity. Or, not super/hyper edited. Alex doesn’t use a lot of fancy editing or cuts. He just tells his story… but what does that mean?

Story: I went in and watched about 10 of Alex’s video. Do you want to know what the secret sauce is? He just tells his story. That’s it. That’s literally it. He’s’ found a way to package it a few different ways. He adds to the story, he builds on it, expands it. But it’s simply his story every time you click on a video.

Creator News

Buzzfeed is going to launch a social media platform

The banner for their new social media platform - Best Friend Island

Takeaways:
1.) SNARF - The internet’s current model (so they say) is built on this. Stakes, Novelty, Anger, Retention Fear. The attention economy that we are in leverages these things. But Buzzfeed’s new model wants to replace that with joy, and happiness.

2.) A new platform - means now opportunities for growth. And here’s the thing. It’ll start small. But so did every social platform until it didn’t. This is worth paying attention to.

3.) So what? - They haven’t announced a date yet for when it will launch. But the time is NOW to prepare content for this. Success belongs to the first. To the pioneers. To the founders. Don’t let this be another Snapchat, or TikTok that you didn’t think would take off.

Want to sign up for a 1 on 1 coaching workshop? Just reply to this email - or email me separately at [email protected]