Retention graphs won't help you fix THIS

Imagine a car that has no windscreen.

As you drive around, you get frustrated as the seat upholstery gets covered in muck.

After all, there’s no windscreen to protect the interior.

So, being the fast-thinking genius that you are…

You replace the seat upholstery.

Good move. Windscreen aside, your car looks brand new again.

But, as soon as you take the car out for another spin…

…the seats get covered in muck again.

Because, with no windscreen, your car has a chronic problem.

And, sooner or later, you’ve probably got to ask yourself:

“Should I just buy a windscreen?”

Structural Problems

When we rely on a retention graph to identify problems with our video…

It’s like replacing the upholstery in a car that has no windscreen.

Yes, it’s going to help in the short term…

…but it doesn’t account for critical, structural problems with our content.

“But wait a sec, George. Didn’t this newsletter used to be all about retention graphs?”

Firstly, there's no need to call me out like that!

But secondly - yes it did. And it made me realise something.

It’s usually pretty easy to figure out what happened at moments like this in your video...

• You started a new topic which the audience wasn’t interested in.
• You rambled for too long about something and people got bored.
• You introduced the video’s sponsor.

(Or any number of things.)

But, for graphs like this, it’s not always so simple.

Sometimes, we can’t rely on big dips and obvious clues.

Mindset Shift

That's why my goal across everything I write is to create a mindset shift among YouTubers.

Rather than troubleshooting individual problems after you've made the video…

…I want to bake in strong “retention awareness” before you make it.

Because, sometimes, it’s not as simple as reupholstering the seats.

It might be the problem with your windshield...

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“All I'm trying to do is get people to a point where they're CLOSER to scripting, even if they’re just planning more and really thinking about the structure ahead of time.
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It's why every single YouTuber under the sun starts out a video like ‘here are the objectives’ or ‘in this video we're going to talk about boom boom boom’ or ‘here's the game plan’. It just makes it easier for us to digest.”​

- Me, on the Scriptwriting For Newbs Podcast.

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When your retention graph is slowly declining for no clear reason, it's nearly always a problem with:

• Confusing structure.
• Lack of payoffs
• Payoffs given too early.

That's why you can't think of your videos as a series of moments that can be corrected with quick "retention fixes".

You need to zoom out and view your video as a whole.

That's why, when scripting a video, I encourage YouTubers to:

1. Break the script down into segments.
2. Identify the payoff for each segment.
3. Ensure each payoff is properly set up.

(There's lots more to talk about here, so check out my full scriptwriting system if you're interested.)

And look, I get it.

For some folks, word-for-word scripting will never be enjoyable.

In fact, for some niches, it doesn’t make sense at all.

But, by encouraging creators to “script everything”, I’m not actually saying that you should.

I’m just trying to make you think about the structure a little more.

Because a clear structure keeps the viewer oriented within the video.

And when we feel oriented, we’re less likely to get overwhelmed and click away.

So keep reviewing your retention graphs, but remember they only tell half the story.

They’ll help you troubleshoot the little things over time.

But if you want to make your videos better, faster…

Spend more time plotting the structure.

Wanna hear more?

This newsletter was inspired a longer conversation I had on the Scriptwriting For Newbs Podcast, where we also discussed:

• How I learned lots about scriptwriting in a short period of time.
• Scriptwriting workflow for entertainment channels.
• Imposter syndrome when working with 10m subscriber creators.

​Watch Now

Miko’s questions were different to the usual stuff I get asked, and it was one of the most fun podcast experiences I’ve had.

(Ed from Film Booth went on the week after me too, so there will be plenty of amazing guests to come.)

That's all for this week!

Speak soon,
George 👋