Publish checklist

Every lesson in the Academy ends with something to check. This page puts them together in the order you'll need them, so you can keep one tab open when you publish. Each check links to the lesson it comes from.

Packaging

From Why nobody is watching your videos and Write titles that get clicks.

• The title reads like a tweet: short, punchy, plain words.
• The title uses a format people search with: "How to...", "Why...", "What to do if...".
• You searched the title on YouTube and other videos came up for those words.
• The thumbnail says what the video is about in 1 second: big bold text, no full sentences.
• The thumbnail shows a face and an emotion.
• The title and thumbnail make a promise the video keeps.

Intro and outro

From Make people watch till the end.

• The intro delivers what the title and thumbnail promised.
• The intro is 10 to 20 seconds, and doesn't start with "hey guys".
• The first 5 seconds have the most energy in the video.
• The outro wraps up the idea in one line.
• The outro gives a next step with a reason: a video, a comment, a subscribe.
• The video doesn't end on "thanks for watching" or a silent fade.

The edit

From Make a perfect video without editing skills.

• Pauses and filler words are cut.
• Something moves every 3 to 5 seconds: a zoom, a crop, a text pop-up, a cut.
• Everything you mention is shown: logos, covers, screenshots.
• Key points are highlighted with text or a simple diagram.
• There's B-roll or a screen recording, so it's not 10 minutes of your face.
• There's music, cut to its beat, and it's quieter than your voice.
• There are at least a few sound effects.

Short clips

From Get more views today with short clips.

• You picked 3 to 5 moments from the long video: a clear point, an answer, a result, a story, a reaction.
• Each clip starts right away, no "um" or "so".
• Each clip makes sense on its own.
• Key points are highlighted with text, motion or zoom.
• Every clip has subtitles.

Distribution

From How often to post on YouTube.

• The next upload is already scheduled, so there's no 2-week gap.
• The clips are queued for Shorts, Reels and TikTok.
• The best insights are posted to Twitter, LinkedIn or Reddit.
• The idea is turned into a newsletter or blog post.

If everything is ticked, publish. Then look at what the data says and take it into the next video.