Deleting 3 minutes of a video changed everything.

This took me years to figure out, but I wanted to make sure you saw it.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [UNSTUCK]() From the desk of Pat Flynn September 20, 2022 --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pat Flynn smiling, wearing a shirt that reads "Do a lot with a little"] ​ Hiya, it’s Pat! 👋 Real talk… One of the most deflating experiences a content creator can have is working hard on a piece of content (especially one that you know is valuable) only to have it fall flat and go nowhere. (insert cricket noises) Here are two things to understand about this: First, when you realize that every piece of content you create is an opportunity to learn and hone in on your skills, then even the pieces that bomb still matter. It’s not all for nothing. And second, by the end of this newsletter you’re going to learn what took me nearly a decade as a content creator to finally figure out so that you can finally get off of that plateau you’re on and finally get… …unstuck. 😊 QUOTE OF THE WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------- “They’re only a click away from a picture of a funny cat, so you have to make your thing more compelling than that cat.” — Alexis Ohanian THE STORY --------------------------------------------------------------- 61 total hours. That’s a lot of time to put into a 13 minute video, but after I exported the final edit I was sure of it—this was going to be the most epic video I will have ever published. The research, the information, the visuals—it was 10 times beyond anything I had ever created and attached my name to before. I scheduled the video to go live the next morning with a huge smile on my face, and I couldn’t wait to wake up to see it shining the next day. When morning came, I jumped out of bed and rushed to check the performance of the video which had been live for a few hours and… I was crushed. This video, which I put my heart and soul into (and a TON of time) became one of my most epic fails. The views were significantly down compared to previously published videos—75% less compared to what my average views were after that period of time, and after a week of hoping for a miracle, I was ready to pronounce this video dead. And, as I’m sure you could relate, it didn’t really encourage me to go and record my next video. What bothered me the most was that this topic was PROVEN to resonate with my audience. I had written popular blog posts about the topic before and I had even been invited to speak on stage about it. One year later, I decided to run a little experiment. I took the same exact video and re-published it with one significant change—I removed the first 3 minutes and re-arranged the hook in the beginning. And guess what happened? This new video became one of my most viewed videos of all time. Here’s the exact video below: [YouTube stats showing video with 1 million views, 99.1K hours watch time, +25.4K subscribers, and $10,251.69 in estimated revenue] ​ Titled How to Earn Passive Income Online (3 Legit Models), since this video was published in February of 2017, it has seen over 1 million views and earned over $10k in Adsense revenue on YouTube. And yes, all I did was remove the first 3 minutes. So naturally, I’m sure you’re wondering, “Pat, what was in those first 3 minutes!?” I’ll tell you: I started the video with a comprehensive background and history of passive income and online business. I thought it was important to set the stage before teaching my passive income models myself so that a person understood exactly where I fit in and how I was going to help them. This portion of the video is what sabotaged its reach, and ironically it’s the part of the video that took the most time and research. Here’s an honest, and enlightening comment from that video: [YouTube comment from RMSY that reads "after 3 minutes I got really bored and started to play clash royale on my phone! Just get to the point"] ​ Thanks RMSY. No really, thank you. It’s feedback like this that you need to really pay attention to, and although my first reaction was to get upset or dismiss the comment altogether, this person told me exactly what I needed to know. More than the comment, however, the retention graph tells me the full story: only 25% of viewers stuck around after the first 30 seconds, which is not good. And that’s exactly why YouTube had zero reason to push this video out to more viewers. Just because I personally enjoyed and thought they’d be interested in the history doesn’t mean the viewers would actually care. Most people clicking this video were looking for how to get started, and the history is not that. After readjusting the intro, removing the history part and adding some new parts in that teased what was coming, here’s what the retention graph looks like today: [YouTube graph showing high viewer retention early in the video. Includes a note at the bottom that reads: "75% of viewers are still watching at around the 0:30 mark, which is above typical."] ​ 75% of viewers are still watching after 30 seconds. Whether it’s on YouTube, in an email, or on any other content platform (long form OR short form), you must respect people’s opportunity to leave at any moment. When I create a piece of content today, beyond the topic itself, a lot of time is spent on thinking about WHY a person should stick around to the end, and how to let them know about that reason at the start, and even in the middle. Creating a hook and sharing what’s at stake is KEY. I’ve incorporated this into my YouTube videos, my podcast episodes, blog posts, and even my talks on stage, and it’s changed the game for retention. You can even scroll up to the intro of this email and see this exact strategy at play. I mean, you’re still reading this (rather long) email, aren’t you? 😉 I used to rush into creating content because that’s what I love to do, but spending a little bit of time upfront to think about this stuff changes everything, and I promise you’ll have a bigger impact, and more reach when you incorporate this into what you do. Your Call to Action In your next piece of content, spend time thinking about WHY IT MATTERS, and focus on what you can present up front to make sure your audience understands that and sticks around. Check your analytics, when possible, to see how well you’re hooking (or not hooking) your audience. On YouTube, check your retention graphs for your videos. On a podcast, check your Apple analytics for retention within your episodes. On your blog, check Google Analytics for time on page for a similar understanding. When you consciously practice the setup of what you’re about to share, you’re going to see huge exponential changes in your reach and impact over time. You got this! SPONSORED BY RankIQ Learn SEO from one of the best Is your blog missing out on valuable Google search traffic? Are you spending hours creating amazing content and not getting the traffic you want? You need a guide. Someone to help teach you actionable SEO and traffic-building tactics that actually work. And your solution is [the Blogging Millionaire podcast]( with Brandon Gaille. Brandon gets more than 5 million monthly visitors from over 100,000 first-page Google rankings. He knows what he's talking about. When you apply what you'll learn, every blog post you write will begin to compete for a first-page Google ranking. With each passing week, your traffic will continue to grow. The Blogging Millionaire podcast is one of Apple's ten most downloaded marketing podcasts and has over 500 five-star ratings. Listen on [Apple Podcasts]( or [Listen on Spotify](=) [THE BLOGGING MILLIONAIRE PODCAST]( ​SPI NEWS AND NOTES --------------------------------------------------------------- We work hard at SPI to remain unstuck and consistently provide you with the latest news, trends, and events to support your businesses. Check it out: - If you’re looking to add a new revenue stream to your business, I’m hosting a [free training session about affiliate marketing](). This will be super helpful, especially if you’re busy and don’t have the time to create and market your own products. - Want to connect and collaborate with other like-minded entrepreneurs? [Check out our community options at SPI]() to help place you into the right community and safe space to make it all happen! - If you're having trouble making progress on your goals, then [listen to SPI Podcast #611](=) with behavioral neuroscience researcher John Assaraf. John will teach you how to reprogram your brain for success. DAD JOKE OF THE WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------- Why can you never trust an atom? Because they make up everything. ​ Did a cool person forward you this email? [Sign up here for free.]( Want to reach over 125,000 entrepreneurs? [Become a sponsor.]( ​ Thanks for reading! You are receiving this because you signed up for Pat Flynn’s newsletter at [smartpassiveincome.com](). If you'd like to adjust which emails you receive or update your name and email address, [click here to update your Subscriber Preferences.]( If you'd like to stop receiving all emails from SPI, simply [unsubscribe from my emails.]( No hard feelings. 10531 4S Commons Drive, Suite 524, San Diego, CA 92127