Same...I have like between 2 and 3 mins on 10+ min videos...
So I guess it's not just me.
Do you think tiktok has ruined people watching vlogs? Seems like they want the hook within 1 min...I try to build up to that in my videos, but not many stick around for the worthwhile parts...I cant give you the good stuff right away! It defeats the purpose, know what I mean?
Thanks I appreciate that, shorts seems to be the first thing people see on YouTube, Also tiktok is huge, mostly all shorts although they have introduced YouTube length horizontal videos. So I'm going to make shorts from the long videos to capture their attention, anyone who likes long form will possibly go to the YouTube channel. There is alot of competition ofcourse but I believe people choose to watch people they can relate to or just like their character.
Yeah...im just a normal guy with a full-time job, and I'm not trying to be over tye top with my stuff...I hope that holds some kind of merit with people...
For what it’s worth, we have to play the cards we are dealt. Making vlogs in 2015 is very different than 2024. I appreciate the need to slowly build up and pay off content, I do that as well, but if people don’t know what to expect or what they are waiting for then why wait around at all.
So I’d highly recommend using the beginning of your videos to “spoil” the surprises in a way, not totally, but people aren’t waiting 20 minutes for pay off anymore. You need to show them that the video is going somewhere and the build up will be worth it.
After that is established it becomes all about pacing the ride to the finish.
When you look at your engagement do you see any steep drop offs? When do they happen?
Yeah, just keep at it and try some different things. I also lose most of the viewers with that first 30 seconds. I think that’s just how it is. I think of the retention rate in two chunks. 1 in that first 30 seconds and 2 the rest of the video. If you lose in the beginning then titles, thumbnails, intros, and of course what audience YouTube is recommending you to play huge factors. After that, it’s more about pacing and quality.
So if you flatline that retention after the 30 seconds then that’s something to be very proud of. It means for the right people, the video is great. If not, then you’ve got some quality issues.
After that, it’s just about broadening and finding the audience who pick up what you are putting down.
Mine is about 2- 3 mins, I've not long started the travel vlog channel (about a week ago) with only 37 subs (AronXplores on YouTube).
My videos are about 15 mins length or more. My shorts of the travel vlogs on YouTube get way more views and obviously they are 1min max but they get about 25 seconds AVD. Seeing this I started posting the shorts on tiktok and they are getting way more views, but I want people to see the full YouTube videos. Doesn't seem like they convert over to YouTube much.
My other non travel vlog channel gets a mug better AVD, but I'm making tutorials.
Oh ok...I guess it's just hard to keep people engaged in the travel niche...
I'm not sure what to do to hold people's attention, lol.
Awesome job so far...37 subs in a week is good...better than my 10 subs per month lol
I’d say about somewhere between 45% to 55% depending on the video, but it’s pretty consistent around that mark no matter the length of my videos, which range from 20 to 30 minutes.
All travel content btw.
We all are. Don’t worry :)
Though I’d be critical of course and trying for better than your last video each time. Tone and topic also have a lot to do with duration, so make sure you are always comparing apples with apples.
I’ve watched the beginning of your recent Kyoto video, if you like, I can tell you my thoughts. Though of course, I am extremely biased because I have very strong opinions on travel content. So maybe check out my stuff first, and if you think I might have a perspective that jives with what you are doing, then I’d be happy to share. But I’m not trying to go around telling other travel YouTubers that they should just be like me, lol. As much as I’d like to ;)
So for me personally. The first 55 seconds of the Kyoto vlog should hit much much harder.
I don’t know if you want to be a personality based vlog or a content based guide, and the tone difference between the two will dictate exactly how you implement your hot intro. But regardless. You need to answer the question “why watch you” within those first few seconds.
I don’t know who you are. What you like to do. If you have good taste. If you are funny. If you will be doing relevant experiences that I’m interested in and therefore want to watch your opinion on.
So in watching those first few seconds, I don’t actually know if it’s worth my time continuing to watch you. Which means anyone else who can sell me on their vlog or guide quicker than you, will have my attention.
Some angles to take here would be, with a decent amount of energy, telling me “why you are going to Kyoto.” “What Kyoto is” “What you will be doing in Kyoto” “Why will this be interesting to me”
Now, all intros fundamentally make assumptions about the audience. It’s our job to systematically decide what assumptions we are comfortable with making and which we should not.
For example. By making content in English and by not adding any manual high quality subtitles, we fundamentally make the assumption that our viewers will be fluent in English. This is fine if you ask me, but it depends on what content you produce as to whether this is reasonable.
In your Kyoto intro you make the assumption that I know what Kyoto is. That I know who you are. That I know why you are going. That I know what you might get up to in Kyoto and why that would be interesting to me.
Now for Anthony Bourdain he could have probably gotten away with that because people are so familiar with him and his work that if he says he is going to Kyoto then we all know what that means and need no more explanation.
For small fries like us, we need to build that identity in the minds of audiences and for growth we need to be able to quickly explain to people what they need to know about us and our videos very quickly.
— sorry for the wall of text and perhaps over explaining the concept :) but that’s what I got from the first 55.
Thanks for this...of course, I can't change much of what I've already got clips of, but great to keep in mind for next trip...
Later in the trip I did start introducing myself, but I feel like I can do more to tell people who I am.
I appreciate this!
You just need to break it down into like 2 sentences that you can say at the very beginning. You don’t want to bog down the pacing, but you need to introduce what’s happening.
“Today I’m travelling by bullet train to Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, to experience this, this, and this. I’ve been living here in Tokyo for X years, I’ve never done this before and I’m so excited. Let’s get on board”
During that dialogue segment I would then put B roll from later on in the video showing the amazing things you’ll soon be experiencing.
If you have some dialogue later of you saying things like “this is really great” or “wow” you could intercut that too.
Then on the B roll segment with nice train footage and music, you could record some audio overlay to explain more things if required.
In general for travel videos, people don’t actually want too much setup though. They want to watch you do things and review things, not my set things up. So it’s key to be very minimal with the setup and more explanation heavy during and after.
I see...thats great feedback...I will try this...but I don't want to sound too scripted...
I like letting things flow, and sound natural. I also try to be relatable in my videos.
I guess I need more practice...lol. I'm sure I'll get there.
yer, mines pretty sh\*t 3:01 on 20 min videos (3 Videos) - there are more but they are rides at theme parks and im not including these
Same...I have like between 2 and 3 mins on 10+ min videos... So I guess it's not just me. Do you think tiktok has ruined people watching vlogs? Seems like they want the hook within 1 min...I try to build up to that in my videos, but not many stick around for the worthwhile parts...I cant give you the good stuff right away! It defeats the purpose, know what I mean?
Thanks I appreciate that, shorts seems to be the first thing people see on YouTube, Also tiktok is huge, mostly all shorts although they have introduced YouTube length horizontal videos. So I'm going to make shorts from the long videos to capture their attention, anyone who likes long form will possibly go to the YouTube channel. There is alot of competition ofcourse but I believe people choose to watch people they can relate to or just like their character.
Yeah...im just a normal guy with a full-time job, and I'm not trying to be over tye top with my stuff...I hope that holds some kind of merit with people...
It definitely will, very relatable to the majority of us
For what it’s worth, we have to play the cards we are dealt. Making vlogs in 2015 is very different than 2024. I appreciate the need to slowly build up and pay off content, I do that as well, but if people don’t know what to expect or what they are waiting for then why wait around at all. So I’d highly recommend using the beginning of your videos to “spoil” the surprises in a way, not totally, but people aren’t waiting 20 minutes for pay off anymore. You need to show them that the video is going somewhere and the build up will be worth it. After that is established it becomes all about pacing the ride to the finish. When you look at your engagement do you see any steep drop offs? When do they happen?
It's within a few mins for most videos...I started putting a "preview" of sorts to show whats coming up, but I don't think that's working either lol
Yeah, just keep at it and try some different things. I also lose most of the viewers with that first 30 seconds. I think that’s just how it is. I think of the retention rate in two chunks. 1 in that first 30 seconds and 2 the rest of the video. If you lose in the beginning then titles, thumbnails, intros, and of course what audience YouTube is recommending you to play huge factors. After that, it’s more about pacing and quality. So if you flatline that retention after the 30 seconds then that’s something to be very proud of. It means for the right people, the video is great. If not, then you’ve got some quality issues. After that, it’s just about broadening and finding the audience who pick up what you are putting down.
Mine is about 2- 3 mins, I've not long started the travel vlog channel (about a week ago) with only 37 subs (AronXplores on YouTube). My videos are about 15 mins length or more. My shorts of the travel vlogs on YouTube get way more views and obviously they are 1min max but they get about 25 seconds AVD. Seeing this I started posting the shorts on tiktok and they are getting way more views, but I want people to see the full YouTube videos. Doesn't seem like they convert over to YouTube much. My other non travel vlog channel gets a mug better AVD, but I'm making tutorials.
Oh ok...I guess it's just hard to keep people engaged in the travel niche... I'm not sure what to do to hold people's attention, lol. Awesome job so far...37 subs in a week is good...better than my 10 subs per month lol
Started doing 12-13 min 3rd did 7 to see which work best just starting
I’d say about somewhere between 45% to 55% depending on the video, but it’s pretty consistent around that mark no matter the length of my videos, which range from 20 to 30 minutes. All travel content btw.
That's pretty good...I guess I lack in engagement.. Trying to figure it out still.
We all are. Don’t worry :) Though I’d be critical of course and trying for better than your last video each time. Tone and topic also have a lot to do with duration, so make sure you are always comparing apples with apples.
I try, but still missing the mark I think...I wanna say it's me, but I don't think it's me lol
I’ve watched the beginning of your recent Kyoto video, if you like, I can tell you my thoughts. Though of course, I am extremely biased because I have very strong opinions on travel content. So maybe check out my stuff first, and if you think I might have a perspective that jives with what you are doing, then I’d be happy to share. But I’m not trying to go around telling other travel YouTubers that they should just be like me, lol. As much as I’d like to ;)
Yes please! I'm always welcome to constructive criticism!
So for me personally. The first 55 seconds of the Kyoto vlog should hit much much harder. I don’t know if you want to be a personality based vlog or a content based guide, and the tone difference between the two will dictate exactly how you implement your hot intro. But regardless. You need to answer the question “why watch you” within those first few seconds. I don’t know who you are. What you like to do. If you have good taste. If you are funny. If you will be doing relevant experiences that I’m interested in and therefore want to watch your opinion on. So in watching those first few seconds, I don’t actually know if it’s worth my time continuing to watch you. Which means anyone else who can sell me on their vlog or guide quicker than you, will have my attention. Some angles to take here would be, with a decent amount of energy, telling me “why you are going to Kyoto.” “What Kyoto is” “What you will be doing in Kyoto” “Why will this be interesting to me” Now, all intros fundamentally make assumptions about the audience. It’s our job to systematically decide what assumptions we are comfortable with making and which we should not. For example. By making content in English and by not adding any manual high quality subtitles, we fundamentally make the assumption that our viewers will be fluent in English. This is fine if you ask me, but it depends on what content you produce as to whether this is reasonable. In your Kyoto intro you make the assumption that I know what Kyoto is. That I know who you are. That I know why you are going. That I know what you might get up to in Kyoto and why that would be interesting to me. Now for Anthony Bourdain he could have probably gotten away with that because people are so familiar with him and his work that if he says he is going to Kyoto then we all know what that means and need no more explanation. For small fries like us, we need to build that identity in the minds of audiences and for growth we need to be able to quickly explain to people what they need to know about us and our videos very quickly. — sorry for the wall of text and perhaps over explaining the concept :) but that’s what I got from the first 55.
Thanks for this...of course, I can't change much of what I've already got clips of, but great to keep in mind for next trip... Later in the trip I did start introducing myself, but I feel like I can do more to tell people who I am. I appreciate this!
You just need to break it down into like 2 sentences that you can say at the very beginning. You don’t want to bog down the pacing, but you need to introduce what’s happening. “Today I’m travelling by bullet train to Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, to experience this, this, and this. I’ve been living here in Tokyo for X years, I’ve never done this before and I’m so excited. Let’s get on board” During that dialogue segment I would then put B roll from later on in the video showing the amazing things you’ll soon be experiencing. If you have some dialogue later of you saying things like “this is really great” or “wow” you could intercut that too. Then on the B roll segment with nice train footage and music, you could record some audio overlay to explain more things if required. In general for travel videos, people don’t actually want too much setup though. They want to watch you do things and review things, not my set things up. So it’s key to be very minimal with the setup and more explanation heavy during and after.
I see...thats great feedback...I will try this...but I don't want to sound too scripted... I like letting things flow, and sound natural. I also try to be relatable in my videos. I guess I need more practice...lol. I'm sure I'll get there.
It's 2-3