It only takes 5 seconds to lose to a customer.

It wasn’t until I shifted my hook structure that leads started to flood in. I used to think that “my idea” was strong enough to stand on its own, or that “my offer” would speak for itself. Well I was wrong.

Here’s the retention on one of my early videos to prove it…

I bet yours look the same. Over 50% of those potential leads (viewers) clicked off of my video in the first 28 seconds, and about 30% in the first 5 seconds. I can guarantee that none of those people found my offer.

Let’s do the math - if you get 200 hundred views per video, you’re losing out on 100 potential leads right away. If you get 1,000 views, you’re losing out on 500 real people (not bots) who are interested in your niche/offer. You don’t need to be “YouTube famous” to see how critical these first few seconds are for YOUR pipeline, regardless of how big or small your following is.

To fix your hooks and get more leads in the first 5 seconds of every video you must:

1. Confirm the title: People need to know right away that they’re going get what you promised - because they’re not going to wait around to find out. You can do this by rephrasing the title in so many words, saying or showing the title again in an image, or for-shadowing what the viewer is going to get out of the video. To make this easier, come up with the title of your video before you start scripting/filming. You can’t confirm a title if you don’t know what it is yet. Pretty simple.

2. Confirm the thumbnail: Reference or show images that you’ve used in your thumbnail to affirm the other reason they clicked on your video. This confirms the style, substance, personality, etc. that grabbed them in the first place. Again, make the thumbnail before the video and you can reference direct images or concepts in your edit without any re-shoots. Plan your script around your title and thumbnail, not vice versa.

3. Show don’t tell: With YouTube’s new silent preview feature, viewers can hover over your video and see the first few seconds (without sound). Your face is gorgeous but we want to see more - no not more of that - more VISUALS that clearly communicate why this video matters - without audio. Still images, motion graphics, and “B-roll” video all work. B-roll is my personal favorite. You can shoot your own, but I highly recommend signing up for a service like StoryBlocks, Motion Array, or Artlist (not sponsored) to save on precious time. If you mention money in your script, show a clip of someone counting money; if you mention cutting grass, show an image of a man cutting his lawn. B-roll doesn’t have to be exciting to be effective. Try to feature at least 2-3 unique images in the first 5 seconds of your video. Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson averages a cut every 1.2 seconds in his video hooks. While that might be a lot for an educational, talking head video like yours, best practices still apply.

We’re familiar with the “80/20” rule, right? The “80/20” rule says that 20% of the work will get you 80% of the results.

This is the “20%” of content marketing. You should be spending MOST of your time on title, thumbnail, and the first 5-seconds of your video (your hook). It will get you 80% of the results. I promise. You get this right and your retention (AKA hot lead meter) will explode. Better hooks = more people viewing for longer periods of time and gaining trust in your expertise. More trust and more expertise = more clients. More clients = more money.

🔥 HOTTT KEYWORD GEMS

Give the people what they want!

For more SEO glory:

• 🔍 “marketing automation”: volume (79), competition (21)

• 🔍 “solopreneur”: volume (83), competition (27)

• 🔍 “how to find your niche”: volume (72), competition (32)

🥛 A SIP OF EXISTENTIAL DREAD 🤣