3 lessons I learned (so far) from YouTube marketing

Hiya CopyStar!

In 2021 – I hosted a phenomenal tribute to pay respect and show love to my mentor and Master Copywriter, Clayton Makepeace.

It truly was an epic event in the copywriting industry. A-Level copywriters and marketers took the time to contribute their special memories and lessons learned from Clayton.

And when that event was over – I now had this 4-hour, invaluable MASTER CLASS to share with the copywriting community!

So I had to find a place to put all these videos so you could have immediate access to them whenever you wanted.

And that was my introduction to YouTube – and the creation of my Carline Cole YouTube channel!

Up until then – I knew very little – ok actually I knew SQUAT about YouTube marketing!

But let me tell you: I’m a FAST learner!

I’ve created a channel to give you TONS of FREE copywriting video training to help you reach your next level of success!

And I hit the ground running – thanks to BASIC copywriting lessons!

So if you’re thinking about broadening out into social media – I’m going to give you 3 BASIC copywriting lessons to grow your YouTube channel much faster!

Basic Copywriting Lesson #1: Headline is KEY! What your prospect sees on that cover will make or break your promo! You’ve got a few seconds to grab their eyeballs before your promo goes in the trash or disappears in cyberland!

The same is true for YouTube. Except instead of a “cover” – it’s a “Thumbnail’! Basically – a thumbnail is just a small front cover with a powerful headline!

It’s designed to grab your attention and get you to click! So knowing that – I thought, “Hey why don’t I use my sales promos to create thumbnails!”

And it worked!

Take a look:

Just make sure you focus on catchy headline – and keep your thumbnail easy-to-read!

Basic Copywriting Lesson #2: A strong lead keeps your prospect reading! – Once you’ve got your prospect to turn the page – you’ve got to keep him interested in your promo!

How do you do that?

With a strong lead…compelling sidebars…and powerful bullets!

The same is true for YouTube – except YouTube calls it “engagement”! The longer you keep your prospect watching your video – the higher the engagement period.

And YouTube loves long engagements!

Also – take advantage of the description section in your video! This is where you can really use your copywriting skills:

Here’s why…

… the YouTube algorithms give priority to the first 2 paragraphs of your copy – so add a killer lead in that section to get your viewer hooked!

So when you create your description for videos: think of it as a mini sales letter! Start off with a strong lead and keep your viewer hooked with killer copy throughout!

Basic Copywriting Lesson #3: Sidebars snag your scanners! In my promotions – I make it a point to use LOTS of sidebars to grab the attention of scanners.

A sidebar is a short, punchy article that highlights a strong benefit in your sales promo. And there are different types of sidebars such as…

… testimonials… credibility… and ingredient highlight sidebars.

The purpose of the sidebar is to allow the reader to focus on what he wants to read – instead of forcing him to read your copy from cover to cover (which very seldom happens!)

A few months ago – I discovered the YouTube equivalent of a sidebar! They’re called “time stamps”!

YouTube allows you to create a timeline of your video so you can add “chapters” to various sections. That way a viewer can just scan the time stamps and decide on the chapter he wants to watch and go right there!

Same principle as sidebars! Reader scans and picks what he wants to read!

So you may ask…

“If you put in a timeline – won’t that cause the viewer to skip parts of the video?”

The answer is YES – and that’s fine!

Don’t force your viewer to watch the entire video!

Allow him to pick what he wants. If you don’t – he’ll just click off and leave anyway! By allowing the viewer to take charge in what he wants to watch – you increase your watch hours!

And that’s really important because in order to make money on YouTube…

… you need a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours! Time stamps can help keep your viewer watching longer!

Are you seeing how basic copywriting skills can help you kick butt on social media?

Just follow these 3 simple lessons – and you can make your YouTube channel stand out and get noticed. And it can also help you create a little side hustle business to make extra cash!

Yours for stellar results,