Thread by @Ed_FilmBooth

Niklas Christl gained 464k subscribers in 2021 by changing one important thing about his videos.

But what was it? And how can you apply it to your own videos? Well… I asked him.

Here’s a ridiculously important lesson from a creator who destroyed the YouTube algorithm.
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When I spoke to Niklas I immediately realised something huge.

He doesn’t care about the stuff most YouTubers are obsessed with.

I asked him about gear, CTR, and retention…

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Gear? He says it doesn’t matter for YouTube.

CTR? He has no idea what a good CTR is.

Retention? He’s happy with 30% and above.

Clearly, this isn’t where his focus lies.

When it comes to making videos, there’s only one thing that’s important to Niklas…

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He shifted 100% of his focus onto telling good stories.

And he’s been going viral ever since.

But how do you find a compelling story?

And how easy is it REALLY to make a video that goes viral?

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Well first, we need to understand what most YouTubers get wrong.

People don’t realise the work that goes into scripting / writing shot lists / editing.

They only see the final product.

The biggest problem, he says, is people assuming there’s a “hack” when there isn’t.
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It’s all about careful planning. Niklas adds ideas to Notion as he thinks of them.

But then he asks himself: “How is this video gonna transform someone’s life?”

Then, the challenge is taking the viewer on a journey from A (where they are now) to B (where they wanna go).
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When it comes to the thumbnail, you need to have a clear grasp of what the video’s value is.

If you know exactly how the video will transform somebody’s life…

…it’s much easier to get that across in the thumbnail.

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But he says we should never get lost in perfection. The key is to focus on creating lots of different videos.

You’ll learn more making 10 videos 70% perfect, than 1 video that’s 100% perfect.

The key is to analyse videos over a long period to improve what you make next.
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So don’t get lost in “hacks” or “tricks”.

And, if you’re following in Niklas’s footsteps…

You shouldn’t even be too obsessive over analytics.

Focus on telling a good story which has the potential to actually change your audience’s life.

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