The Video Strategy Show: YouTube Tips for Creators Over 40, Video Marketing, Video Content Ideas, Camera Confidence, Video Tips · Virginia Kerr| Video Strategist, YouTube Coach

163| How I Plan My Youtube Videos So They Actually Get Views

·24 min·1 clip

She says the title, thumbnail, and first 30 seconds are one piece that decides whether YouTube keeps showing the video.

1. The Video Strategy Show episode "163| How I Plan My Youtube Videos So They Actually Get Views" focuses on planning YouTube videos so they get views. 2. The host, who runs YouTube school and a YouTube program, explains why she plans videos before she records them. 3. The episode asks how to turn research, title writing, thumbnail design, and scripting into one video strategy. 4. She says the "number one mistake" is not spending enough time planning and researching before recording. 5. She compares videos that "just take off" with the videos of hers that did well after research, topic study, and pre-recording planning. 6. She explains that better planning can mean less time filming and editing and more engagement and views. 7. She starts with the question of what an ideal viewer cares about, searches for, and struggles with. 8. She uses B-roll as her example because people in her program think it is complicated and think they need to be an "amazing videographer." 9. She says students who put B-roll in the first 30 seconds see a "huge uptick" in views and engagement. 10. She chose a B-roll video because she was excited about the topic, had a personal story from a seven-day vlog challenge, and had seen interest in the subject. 11. She says she researched female creators with similar audiences instead of watching creators who would send her into "YouTube bro" territory. 12. She looked at outlier videos, meaning videos with more views than those creators usually get, because they reached beyond their normal subscribers. 13. She named Vanessa Lau as one creator whose structure she borrowed, especially the little graphic and music break that separates sections. 14. She also studied creators talking about reels and cinematic B-roll, even when their exact topics did not match her own. 15. She says the title "YouTube got easy when I filmed my B-roll like this" works because it uses the outcome "YouTube got easy" and the keyword "B-roll." 16. She says the thumbnail text "don't be a vlogger" creates curiosity while the title promises an easier path. 17. She says the first sentence of the video was scripted to match the title, mention everyday filming, and say "You don't need to be a vlogger." 18. Her style is highly practical, with repeated self-corrections, examples from her own channel, and a lot of process detail. 19. Creators over 40 who want tighter, more searchable YouTube videos. 20. People looking for entertainment-only commentary on YouTube trends. 21. She warns that AI can give ideas but is "not great at sounding conversational" when writing YouTube scripts. 22. She uses Descript as an example of why reading a script out loud exposes wordy phrasing. 23. She says a fourth-grade reading level is about speed and clarity, not about treating viewers as stupid. 24. She tells a story about helping a course member whose script had so many words that she could not even tell what he said at the start. 25. She prefers outlining over full scripting because fully scripted videos took longer and made her sound unlike herself. 26. She says she writes out her call to action before recording and usually asks viewers to do only one thing. 27. She describes using her audio podcast as a test run to hear whether her wording feels natural. 28. The episode sounds like a solo teaching session rather than an interview or panel. 29. It uses direct advice, repeated examples, and a lot of behind-the-scenes explanation. 30. It will likely help creators who want a repeatable workflow for topic research, packaging, and scripting.

As heard by us

A clear planning framework for creators who want stronger videos and less wasted time.

This episode treats the title, thumbnail, and first 30 seconds as one job, and that makes the advice feel immediate rather than abstract. It also pushes a sensible prep habit: look at search phrasing, study outliers, and check which past videos actually landed before trying to…

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Why you'd press play

If your video ideas stall before record, this gives you a cleaner way to start.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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