The 3-Second Secret to 57M+ Views

Hey,

Welcome to the 1st issue of the Viral Academy Newsletter!

Thanks to everyone who voted on what you needed help with most. Using curiosity without clickbait came out on top, so let's get into it!

Curiosity is the reason people click and watch.

And you’ve got 3 seconds to grab attention.

That's it.

In those crucial seconds, you need to spark enough curiosity to make someone stop scrolling and watch.

It’s your job to prompt questions in the viewer's mind and create a 'curiosity gap' → a space between what they know and what they want to know.

It's human nature to want to fill that gap.

Here's an example I've used:

Picture This:

A pedestrian walking. A truck speeding towards a puddle. 3 seconds of footage.

What happens next?

This simple scenario netted me over 57 million views on one platform.

• Visual Setup: Pedestrian + Approaching Truck + Puddle

• Curiosity Triggers: Potential conflict, unexpected outcome

• Engagement Driver: Viewers must watch to resolve the tension

The success of this content lies in its ability to create immediate questions in the viewer's mind.

Will the pedestrian get soaked? Will the driver swerve? How will the pedestrian react?

And when it comes to replicating this, the formula is simple: [Unexpected situation] + [Impending action] + [Unresolved outcome].

Here’s the thing though: curiosity is powerful, but with great power comes great responsibility. We've all been burned by clickbait before, and it's not a good look.

Clickbait might get you views once, but it's a short-term game that damages trust. And in this business, trust is everything.

To keep it real:

1. Deliver on your title’s promise

2. Provide more value than expected

3. Know your audience's burning questions

4. Offer unique insights

5. Craft intriguing hooks without revealing everything

6. Always follow through with satisfying content

To close out - Like every strategy, using curiosity in content creation is an iterative process.

It requires consistent effort and analysis. But stick with it, and I guarantee you'll see stronger engagement. You've got this!

Until next time,

Jeremy Lynch

P.S.

I'd greatly appreciate if you could take a moment to respond to this short poll: