You have to do better than this...

The other day it was Valentine’s Day

And despite now being married

Apparently this is still “a big deal” for my wife

Who I love endlessly (she sometimes reads my emails)

As such, I brought her out to a fancy dinner

As we awaited our meal, we got talking

She mentioned that the restaurant reminded her of another he had been to before

Where she had one of the worst dates of all time…

I asked why it was so bad and to say it was embarrassing would be an understatement.

My wife had gotten dressed up for this first date, the hair, make up etc.

Then strolling into the restaurant comes this guy

Matched the dating profile - all good

But here’s where he fell short

He showed up to the date - in pyjama pants…

Literal sleep pants…

There may be no faster way than you signal to a girl that you don’t care about a date than doing what he did…

He could have been rich, sweet, smart and everything in between

But that first impression destroyed any chance he had on that date (lucky for me!)

Well, the same notion applies on YouTube

So many creators are putting together quality videos

Videos that people would legitimately gain value from

Yet they are presenting them as if they are wearing pyjamas on a date

With very poor packaging…

Their thumbnails are cluttered, low-resolution, confusing

Repelling viewers instead of attracting them

In my eyes, if you’re going to go on a date, you go all the way and ensure you’re dressed to impress

On YouTube, if you’re going to spend the time to make a video, don’t go 90% and overlook the title and thumbnail

Take it 100% of the way and make sure every last component is perfected

It’s that last 10% that’s the difference between a 100 view video and a 100,000 view video

In 2025, dial your efforts up to 100%

Your future self will thank you

Happy Sunday,

Adam