I use these 3 visual tricks to keep viewers watching

Things are looking a little different around here, huh? 👀

I thought it was time for a visual re-vamp.

Of course, visuals are way less important than the content itself... but a lack of clutter does make a newsletter easier to consume.

Funnily enough... the same goes for YouTube.

So, in the spirit of a highly visual edition of the newsletter...

...here are 3 visual tricks you can write into your next script to keep your audience more engaged (so they watch longer) 👀

#1 - Hook Checklist

This is common - but more YouTubers should use it to set clear expectations.

Most videos solve several micro-problems before they can solve the main problem.

• e.g. to solve the main problem of "which laptop to buy in 2025", a video would have to solve micro-problems like "what each feature does and how they rank in comparison to each other"

So list out the most interesting 3 problems your video solves in the hook, ending with the main problem:

"By the end of this video, you'll know:

• Which laptop supports the most innovative use of AI.
• Why RAM isn't as important as you might think anymore.
• And, ultimately, which laptop is right for small business owners in 2025."

List the topics in approximately the same order as they appear in the video so your audience knows what to expect.

#2 - Structural Reminder

Human brains gravitate towards structure.

So if your video feels like a long series of "and then, and then, and then"...

...your viewers will get bored, confused, or forget where the video is actually headed.

So, to keep your viewers oriented, give them regular visual cues about how far through the video they are.

A video I was working on recently had a lot of information packed in, so to keep it nice and digestible, I sketched this visual anchor for us to return to at the start and end of every segment:

(It looks like this in the final video, which is super cool:)

Other Structural Reminder Ideas:

• Countdown Timer - like old school Mrwhosetheboss, the timer slowly counts down to 0 by the end of the segment.
• Segment Icons - each segment has its own icon which appears when the segment begins.
• Written Cue - physcially write something on a post-it note or whiteboard at the start of a new segment.

Some ideas will require custom graphics, but many are super simple to pull off without crazy editing.

#3 - Visual metaphor

A visual metaphor can tie your whole video together.

It's essentially the same as #2, except it has a storytelling function.

e.g. this video from James Jani uses a jigsaw metaphor to explain the story of Sam Bankman-Fried.

Not only does the jigsaw idea keep us oriented within the video's structure...

...but it inherently ties into the story. We're putting together "the jigsaw pieces" of Sam's life to understand him better.

Other Visual Metaphor Ideas:

• Dominoes - each falling domino sets up the next segment.
• Blueprint - commonly used concept in thumbnails to convey a complete solution to a problem. Use this in the video too.
• Map - present your video as a "journey" and use stops on a map to represent your segments.

I'm curious - which of these could you incorporate into your next video?