Chris Do: [00:00:00] Hey everybody, Chris here. We're trying something a little bit different than what we normally do for the podcast. We're doing solo episodes. These are shorter, more contained, built around certain themes and questions I think are very relevant for us to be talking about. So wherever you're listening to this, however you're seeing this, let us know in the comments and the feedback, what you think, and we'll make some adjustments.
Have you ever been fooled before by a headline too good to be true that really grabs at you emotionally, spiritually, or whatever it is? Oftentimes that's referred to as clickbait titles or clickbait content. And there's a nuance to this, which is if the content actually delivers on the promise or the hook then it's not considered clickbait, no matter how sensational it is. [00:01:00] And there's another way to look at this.
If you're walking through a supermarket right up by the checkout counter is always the tabloids and it's like, uh, "mom has alien baby" and you know, you know, in your heart, that can't be true, but it's so intriguing.
It's like, really? Or you, you can't believe how these child stars turned out. Now, if they actually show you the picture that you think they're going to show you, then it's not clickbait. Both of you've all been there, or at least I have, maybe I'm confessing something about myself. I've gone down those rabbit holes where I'm like, I, well, tell me about that child star. That's the one that you said it was going to happen and 30 clicks later, nothing.
So what happens to you then? What happens is you start to think, man, you fooled me and mama didn't raise no fools. So at some point, I'm going to be very aware of who you are and how you show up online. Now this happens in video format too.
I see titles like this because I'm really interested in cars right now for Teslas, for Porsches. And I'm also interested in what's happening in the Marvel cinematic universe. So there are titles that pop up every single [00:02:00] day on my feed. "You won't believe what happened. Marvel makes major decision." And then I watch it and 10 minutes later, I'm like, that's not a major decision and you're dragging this thing out.
So what they're doing is they're doing it for the views so they can monetize their channel. I get it. I understand. Somebody somewhere needs to make a dollar and they're doing it. But every time they do that, they take away a little bit of my trust. And the number one thing that I don't think you can afford to lose is trust.
That's what brands are about. That's what you're about. So if you keep showing up one way, eventually people write you off, and it's going to be very difficult for you to regain that trust.
The Futur: It's time for a quick break, but we'll be right back.
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The Futur: And we're back, welcome back to our conversation.
Chris Do: So if people are telling you to write clickbaity titles, to do clickbait content, just realize there's a short term gain, but it comes at a long term loss to you. So I would caution you against that. That's not to say that you can't make sensational headlines cause we know that if you don't interrupt someone's feed, then they're not going to pay attention. And all that hard work, all the research, all the goodwill that you put into the content, it's not going to be seen. And that can just be as devastating as clickbait content that doesn't work as you put all this hard energy into it and no one shows up and it's like crickets chirping in the field and that can hurt you. And that will probably lead you to some dark alleys where you start to hack algorithm and discover these kinds of things. But I'd [00:04:00] really caution you against that.
Here are some guidelines to make sure that you're not doing clickbait content. But before, I want to also say, don't be afraid of saying something in a sensational way if it's true. I'll give you an example. If you help someone generate 200, 000 views for real and it's verifiable, don't be afraid to say this one idea helped them to get 200, 000 views. Some people are too conservative and they go, oh, that feels so clickbaity. It's not if it's the truth. It's okay, and the truth will set you free.
Now, let's go the opposite way, which is, alright, I'm not getting any views, so I think, well, let's call it like, "millionaire goes bankrupt," and it's really not paying off in the content. What you're really doing there is, you're just lying. So, if the content actually supports what the headline says, it's okay.
And what I would suggest that you do is take the headline and put it into one of these large language AI models and say, hey, I'm concerned that this might be two clickbaity. I'm going to give you this headline and give me 10 alternates that varying [00:05:00] degree of clickbaitiness. I don't even know if that's a word, but GPT is so smart, it will just know.
I misspell words all the time and it just knows. And try that and look at the 10 and step back from yourself and say, look, if I was consuming my own content, which one am I more likely to be attracted to that don't feel like it's too scammy or not, part of my brand voice. No matter what, if you get followers, if you get subscribers or more money from AdSense, if at the end of the day, it goes against your core values, then maybe you don't have core values.
There I said it. So be careful of that. So, hey, what are you supposed to do then? If you can't do clickbait? Well, I want you to stick around and tune in for the next episode, 'cause I'm gonna tell you how to do the opposite.
The Futur: Thanks for joining us. If you haven't already, subscribe to our show on your favorite podcasting app and get new insightful episodes from us every week. The Futur Podcast is hosted by Chris Do and produced and edited [00:06:00] by Rich Cardona Media. Thank you to Adam Sandborn for our intro music. If you enjoyed this episode, then do us a favor by reviewing and rating our show on Apple Podcasts.
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