YouTube content planning

YouTube Content Planning#

Workspace Context#

Read bootstrap context before asking questions: strategy/brand.md for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; about/me.md for personal voice; content/ideas.md and content/calendar.md for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md, and route durable learnings back to strategy/brand.md, about/me.md, or content/ideas.md.

Operating Contract#

This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.

Two modes in one skill:

1. Hook Creation — Design or review the opening 5–30 seconds for maximum retention
2. Video Planning — Orchestrate title, thumbnail, and hook into a complete production-ready plan

When to Use#

• Planning a new YouTube video (title, thumbnail, hook, outline)
• Writing or reviewing an opening hook for retention
• Generating multiple title/thumbnail options for a user to choose from
• Creating a complete video plan after research is done

Mode 1: Hook Creation#

The opening seconds are the highest-leverage part of any YouTube video. Design them with precision.

Core Principle#

The opening MUST extend the curiosity from the title/thumbnail — never repeat it.

The viewer already clicked based on the promise. The opening must add new intrigue and make them MORE interested, not restate what they know.

Forbidden Patterns (Instant Failure)#

These cause immediate abandonment and must never appear before the hook:

1. Repeating the title

• ❌ Title: "5 Photography Mistakes" → Opening: "Today I'm showing you 5 photography mistakes"
• Why: The viewer already has this info. Repetition drains attention.

2. Welcoming the viewer first

• ❌ "Hi guys, welcome back to the channel! Thanks for being here..."
• Why: Friendly but not engaging. Doesn't build on title/thumbnail momentum.
• Exception: Greetings are fine AFTER the hook (after first 15 seconds).

3. Starting with unrelated content

• ❌ Title: "Cat Tricks Tutorial" → Opening: 90-second story about a new car
• Why: Viewer confusion → abandonment → YouTube suppresses the video.

Proven Hook Patterns#

Pattern A: Preview/Teaser — Show a brief glimpse of the payoff

Quick montage of the 5 cat tricks in action → "I need to know how to do that!"

Pattern B: Intrigue Escalation — Add surprising context that makes the promise MORE compelling

"What I'm about to show you took professionals years to discover, but you'll learn it in 60 seconds"

Pattern C: Problem Amplification — Immediately validate why the viewer needs this

"If you're still doing X, you're losing Y every single day"

Pattern D: Immediate Value Demonstration — Jump straight into delivering on the promise

No preamble, just start teaching/showing results

Timing Requirements#

• Hook must land within 5–15 seconds (optimal: 3–8s)
• After hook: brief intro acceptable (5–10s max)
• Main promised content must begin within 30 seconds

Hook Checklist#

Before finalizing any opening hook:

• Non-Repetition: Does NOT repeat the title
• Curiosity Extension: Makes viewers MORE curious than the title alone
• Direct Connection: Immediately related to what title/thumbnail promised
• No Welcome First: Avoids greetings before the hook
• Attention Increase: Increases attention, doesn't drain it
• Hook Timing: Occurs within 5–15 seconds

Content Type Guidance#

Educational/How-To: Open with result preview or immediate demonstration. Never "In this tutorial I'm going to teach you..."

Entertainment/Vlogs: Open with the most exciting/surprising moment. Start in the middle of the action.

List Videos: Tease the most interesting items without naming them. Create urgency: "Wait until you see number 3..."

Mode 2: Video Planning#

Generate a complete, production-ready video plan: titles, thumbnail concepts, hook strategies, and a high-level outline.

MANDATORY prerequisite: Research must be completed first. Either:

• Research file exists at ./youtube/episode/[episode_number]_[topic_short_name]/research.md, OR
• Run youtube-research skill (Topic Research mode) first

Planning Workflow#

Step 0: Load research

Read ./youtube/episode/[episode_number]_[topic_short_name]/research.md. All planning decisions must be grounded in research findings.

Step 1: Create plan file

Create ./youtube/episode/[episode_number]_[topic_short_name]/plan.md. If it exists, read it and continue from where it left off.

Step 2: Generate 3 title options

Generate title options manually from the research findings. For each title include:

• Title text
• Rationale (why it's predicted to perform, how it uses research insights)
• Star rating ⭐ to ⭐⭐⭐ (⭐⭐⭐ = top pick)

Step 3: Generate thumbnail concepts

For each title, create 2 thumbnail concepts. Each concept includes:

• Which title it pairs with
• Visual description
• Rationale (CTR prediction, research alignment, title complement)
• Star rating for your top 3 across all concepts

Step 4: Present options and get user selection

Present all title + thumbnail combinations. Highlight your top 3 pairings. Ask the user to select one to proceed with. Mark their selection with ✅ User Selection in the plan file.

Step 5: Generate hook strategies

For the user's selected title + thumbnail, generate 3 hook options using Hook Creation mode (above). Each includes:

• Hook script (actual wording)
• Hook type/pattern used
• Rationale for why it works with the selected title + thumbnail
• Star rating

Ask user to select. Mark with ✅ User Selection.

Step 6: High-level content outline

Structure the video into sections (Hook, Intro, Main Content, Outro). List key points and estimated durations. Keep it strategic — structure and key points only, no detailed scripts. Do not assume what specific content to demonstrate; that's the creator's job.

Step 7: Finalize with AB testing thumbnails

Generate 3 thumbnail image briefs for AB testing, or actual images if an image-generation tool is available:

• Thumbnail A: Based on user's selected concept
• Thumbnails B & C: Visual style variations of A

Embed in the plan file:

- Thumbnail A: [description or image path]
- Thumbnail B: [description or image path]
- Thumbnail C: [description or image path]

Plan File Template#

# [Episode]: [Topic] - Video Plan

## Research Summary
[Key insights from research that informed decisions]

## Titles
[3 options with rationale and ⭐ ratings]

## Thumbnails
[2 concepts per title with rationale and ⭐ ratings for top 3]

## Hooks
[3 options for selected title+thumbnail with scripts and ⭐ ratings]

## High-Level Content Outline
[Sections, key points, estimated durations]

## Final Plan
**Title**: [Selected]
**Thumbnails**: [3 AB test image briefs or embedded image paths]
**Hook**: [Selected strategy]
**Rationale**: [Why this combination works]

Quality Checklist#

• Research loaded and decisions grounded in findings
• 3 title options with rationale and ratings
• 2 thumbnail concepts per title
• User-selected title + thumbnail marked ✅
• 3 hook options generated for selected pairing
• User-selected hook marked ✅
• High-level outline complete
• 3 AB-test thumbnails generated and embedded

Critical Rules#

• Always provide all options — never pick one and present only that
• Never generate hooks that repeat the title — see Hook Creation mode
• Back every recommendation with research — cite specific content gaps and competitor insights
• Verify complementarity — title, thumbnail, and hook must work together as a system