Transcription
Ever sit down to record a video and you think, "Do I talk about my struggle? Do I talk about my process? Do I talk about my client? Do I talk about my vision?" That spiral [music] that's going on up here, that is not a content problem. That is not a niche problem. That is a narrative problem. You have not found your narrative.
YouTube [music] has become TV and you are trying to figure out storytelling that works for this big change. [music] Today I'm talking about how to stop generating random video ideas for your business and turn your channel into a repeatable show that drives consistent leads. Welcome to Story Caffeine. Hi, I'm Darren. I'm a Writer Guild Award-winning creator and producer who helps founders and entrepreneurs and creators like you apply storytelling techniques to your business so you can build a brand that people want to binge.
Let me ask you a question. If someone watched your last five videos, would they feel like they watched five random videos or five episodes of the same show? And here is why your answer matters. Because most platforms are now optimizing for session time, not views. Which means most brands need to think about their content very differently because most brands have been optimizing for views. And session time is not just about getting the view. You need to keep them watching.
You may be noticing a lot of brands have built in-house entertainment studios and are developing social media sitcoms and series and even movies. Creators are doing the same thing. YouTube CEO Neil Mohan has talked repeatedly about creators building their own studios. Now, before you get all worried that you cannot do this with your business, narrative does not mean drama or cinematic production. It means problem-solving leading to a progression or a resolution. And you can do that. I made my first show with pretty much no budget and no experience. I posted it here on YouTube and it changed my life.
I tell creators and entrepreneurs all the time to think like a showrunner, not a marketer. But when I say think like a showrunner, I mean to create an experience your viewers want to return to instead of random videos that interrupt their feed. That is why you are chasing trends every single time you post. That is why your views vary so greatly from video to video. That is why you feel stressed about what you should talk about. You do not need to share more of your story. You need to choose which story you are telling.
They binge because they connect to a character that is likely you. Then there is an ongoing narrative tension that they want to resolve. There is some recurring reward that they can anticipate and an unanswered question that creates an open loop and then they get hooked. Now we get to the really important part because YouTube is not actually about you. So that makes binge-watching different on YouTube than on TV. YouTube is about your role in your viewer's journey. If your content isn't bingeable, it's because the viewer is not clear what journey they're supposed to be on with you. So they end the journey because they don't know what else they can get out of it. So you solve one problem for me, but will you solve anything else? I don't really know.
And that is why I teach these four channel narratives that work really, really well on YouTube. And I'm going to break them down so you can figure out which one makes the most sense for you. The four channel narratives are being in a life transition, battling an antagonist, solving a mystery, or being on a mission. And they all work because they build a relationship. But a lot of creators and entrepreneurs get stuck here. Maybe that's you because you're like, Darren, I'm all of them. Can I be all of them? What I want you to think about today is separating your life from storytelling because life is complicated. But storytelling is an art of making choices.
I'm going to give you some TV show examples of each channel narrative to show you how showrunners pick a narrative and then they make choices about what we know about the main character that pushes that narrative along. First up, life transition. The core idea here is that we have a character navigating a major identity shift. You can also think of this as a reinvention. Lots of brands and channels are about helping someone through a life transition. And for that, we're going to look at my favorite show of all time, Grace and Frankie. If you don't know Grace and Frankie, do not worry. You will be able to follow this. Grace and Frankie is about two women in their 70s who are forced into a completely new chapter in their lives after their husbands leave them for each other. And if you've watched that show, you will recall that everything we learned about these two characters is filtered through that is filtered through this idea of reinventing yourself later in life. For instance, starting a business in their 70s, dating in their 70s, how to deal with being scammed by a plumber. That was a specific plotline on the show. How to deal with their kids wanting to put them in a retirement home. How to deal with health issues, mobility issues.
Now, if Grace and Frankie had a YouTube channel, which I wish they did because it'd be awesome, every single one of those topics could be a video on their YouTube channel. And every personal story connects to that core narrative tension. Can two women in their 70s constantly reinvent themselves? And we care about them because the two characters are very, very clear. If we use my creator archetypes, Grace is the problem solver and Frankie is the underdog. It very rarely strays from that. We know exactly what role they serve and the things that they need to overcome. And we also know the reward we're going to get from watching. Laughter is the main one, right? It's a funny show, but we also get tips on how to reinvent our lives even when people underestimate us. So, if you feel like this is your core narrative, I want you to ask yourself this question. What has changed in your life and your viewers's life? And who are you both becoming because of it?
Next up, we have battling an antagonist. The core idea here is there is a clear dominant opposing force. And that may be a person, that may be a system, that may be a health issue. Now, here's the important thing. Most good narratives have an antagonist. But what makes this different is that this drives everything. Creator examples could be fighting against AI. It could be hustle culture. It could be stigma. Maybe you have a contrarian perspective on your industry and that is where your product or service is going to fit in. And for an example, let's talk about Breaking Bad. In Breaking Bad, Walter White is a chemistry teacher, a very good chemistry teacher, who discovers he has cancer, and realizes that he needs to do something to be able to provide for his family. And he gets mixed up in some, let's just say, um, sketchy things to be able to provide for his family. His antagonist is not only cancer, but it is also the system. He's battling the system repeatedly, right? Or at least he thinks he is because at some point it becomes himself. The antagonist becomes Walter White himself. Every choice is about Walter versus the system. Every episode was him against something.
Now, Walter probably wouldn't have a YouTube channel for some obvious reasons, but if he did, maybe it would be about how underrated chemistry is in people's lives and the ways that you can use it to make money. And you would trust him. Maybe you shouldn't, but you would trust him because he is a chemistry teacher. So, if battling an antagonist is the core narrative on your channel, I want you to ask yourself this. What is the main force working against you and your viewer?
Next up, we have solving a mystery. The core idea here is that there is a central question that must be answered. Your viewer wants to know what happened. What is really going on? And this does not necessarily have to be an actual mystery channel. It can be solving the mystery of AI as opposed to the last version where AI was a threat. It could be solving the mystery of the algorithm. It could be solving the mystery of the brain. And for an example, I'm going to use Only Murders in the Building, which is a literal mystery show. I do know that. But those characters do have a podcast, so we know what kind of content they would be creating. There are three main characters, all very clear archetypes. Martin Short is the larger than life kind of histrionic director. If we use my archetypes, I would say maybe he's the visionary. Sometimes he's got good ideas, but a lot of them are crazy. And then you have Steve Martin. He is the awkward introvert. I would say maybe he's the underdog. And then Selena Gomez, I mean, she's a bit of an underdog, but I would kind of call her the sage of the group because she's usually balancing the two out. And the premise of their show, their podcast is that they solve murders that happen in their building. And the unresolved question is who did it? But to make it maybe a little bit more youtuby, I would say maybe they would be hosting live streams to hear theories from their viewers. And the reward is feeling like you're ahead. You're ahead of the twist and the turns. If we're talking about the mystery of AI, I think that is the reward of a lot of those AI channels, right? You feel like you're ahead. You get it? So, if you're thinking that solving a mystery is the core narrative on your channel, I want you to think about this question. What unresolved question is your viewer and you trying to answer? So, are you solving a mystery? Let me know in the comments.
And lastly, we have being on a mission. The core idea here is that there is a clear goal or pursuit. Very specific word here. We are trying to achieve something specific. A lot of times people that feel like this is their channel narrative also connect with one or two of the ones before, maybe all of them. But what makes this your channel narrative and not the others is if it is what is driving you. But I think it's going to make more sense when I give you the TV show examples. Think about Friday Night Lights or Ted Lasso. Their goal, their pursuit is to win games, to build a team. The leading character on both of those shows is the coach that is motivating everyone. And in each of those examples, the main characters are in a life transition. They are facing an antagonist. They are solving a mystery, which is how to win. But the dominant storyline is that they are on a mission to build a team and to inspire a very specific group of people to a very specific goal. So, we know that Ted, for example, is struggling with his marriage, but it is a subplot. It is not the main storyline, and we only learn more about it if it pertains to the challenge in the episode.
Now, if this was a YouTube channel, it would not just be about the team's journey or Ted's journey. Ted would be using the experiences of his team and his own coaching experiences to motivate others to overcome obstacles in their own life. And the reward is the uplifting joy that both of those shows provide and also the practical tips for keeping yourself and the people in your life motivated. So if being on a mission feels like your channel narrative, I want you to ask yourself this question. What are you and your viewer trying to accomplish and what gets in the way?
My channel narrative is being on a mission, by the way. And you have watched this far into the video because there is narrative tension. YouTube has become TV and you are trying to figure out storytelling that works for this big change. And although I am on a mission to help you adapt your brand for TV-style viewing, that is likely not going to be something resolved in one video. So you binge. So which one of those feels like your channel narrative? I want to know. So leave me a comment below with what your channel narrative is and the answer to the question. If you want viewers to binge, it is not just personal storytelling or cinematic production that makes people come back. It is the clear narrative with narrative tension and the role that narrative serves in your viewers's life that makes them come back. So now you've figured out your channel narrative, but if you have not figured out your character, then you will want to check out the video that's popping up on the screen. And if you want more help, you can check out my one-on-one coaching and consulting or my storytelling community. Until next time, keep creating and keep thinking like a showrunner. [music]