The YouTube cheat sheet: Only 3 things matter
If you’re starting a YouTube channel, there are only three things the Youtube cares about.
I have been running The Gyaan Project Podcast for over 9 years with over 300+ episodes. Through these years, I have learnt a few things about podcasting, Youtube and how social media operates. This post is sharing few quick point if you are thinking about starting a new Youtube channel or planning to grow your audience.
1. Thumbnail → Click Through Rate
Your thumbnail is the billboard. It needs to be impressive, relatable, and click-worthy. YouTube watches whether people click when your video shows up. No clicks, no distribution.
2. Title → Search Discovery
Your title should work like a search engine answer. When someone types something into YouTube’s search box, your title should feel like exactly what they were looking for. Be useful before being clever.
3. First 1–3 Minutes → Retention
YouTube tracks whether people stay after clicking. Did the video deliver on the promise the thumbnail and title made? If yes, it gets pushed to more people. If not, it gets buried. Those opening minutes are your audition, for every single video.
Everything on YouTube is designed to be helpful. We just need to understand the mechanics well enough to make sure our content lands correctly.
Making intros that hold attention
Option 1 — Show episode highlights. Pull the best moments from the episode and stack them upfront. Examples: Sunita Williams On 286 Days in Space, NASA Missions & Astronaut Mindset | FO461 Raj Shamani, OR Naravane, Parliament Chaos to Moral Potatoes & Trump’s Monkey to Trade Deals | Teen Taal S2 Ep 142.
Option 2 — Host-driven teaser. The host walks through what’s coming, with lots of B-roll. Example: Ep. 313 - The Philosophy of Order in Design with Prof. Kirti Trivedi.
No right answer. Keep experimenting till you hit a sweet spot, then keep inventing as consumption behaviour changes.
The more, the better
Each episode can be sliced into multiple short-form clips that drive traffic back to the main video. Alex Hormozi says, 1 post a day is not enough. 450 posts a month minimum.
Great references
Following videos / channels are master class on understanding Youtube
Where to find B-rolls & audio
Paid B-roll: Storyblocks ($21/m, unlimited downloads)
Motion Array ($16/m)
Personal hack - Screen grabs from YouTube videos work too — just keep any single clip under 6-8 seconds to avoid copyright issues.
Royalty-free audio: YouTube’s built-in library + NoCopyrightMusic channel
AI-generated stock footage & music:
Where and how to record interview
Recording & editing: Riverside — record, edit, and repurpose in one place. Cuts post-production time by 50%.
Repurposing: Opus Pro — AI-powered clipping of best moments. Great tutorials on site. You can also try Cast Magic.
Descript - AI-editing for every kind of video
There are many good alternatives. These are which I have used and worked fine.
How to distribute
Hope this helps. Please let me know in the comments section if you got questions or more things to be added to the cheat sheet.
