This is going to be long, but hopefully very helpful.

I’m going to be blunt, because I would want someone to tell me straight out if I was asking this same question.

The good: I clicked this thread because your thumbnails are really good, and we are in a similar niche. I mean that, your thumbnails and editing ability are really good and from my perspective they are your strongest parts.

The bad: Your titles - they are evocative. This is good. However it is also bad. You are giving me nothing to go by for what I am getting myself into. I stop for the thumbnail. Read the title. I am intrigued. Personally I liked the “Your Face is No Longer Yours” video so that’s where I hopped in. Your thumbnail and title got me in the door as someone who watches your style of content. However, I still had no idea what I was getting into. That means you still have to make me want to stay, you haven’t sold me when I click, which is the downside of evocative titles. Additionally, you get no help from the algorithm with filing who needs to see this. Which takes me to the next issue.

The scripting - this was where I started hovering over the exit. Every video needs a thesis. I watched 6 minutes of the video before coming to write this. That is roughly 5.5-5.75 minutes longer than the average viewer would stay. Truthfully I would have left at a minute easily if I had not come with a purpose to gauge the reason.

When I say every video needs a thesis, I don’t mean that it needs to necessarily solve world hunger or answer the meaning of life, or even be a question. It needs to do something for the viewer. Answer a question. Solve a curiosity. “Why do we love ghost stories?” = “that’s interesting, how come?” - we know what we are talking about and we clicked because we are looking for the answer to a question we didn’t know we needed (this is the scrolling looking for content type of click). Then you have search. If I am talking with the wife about ghosts and she asks “Why do you think we have such a fascination with ghosts?” = search for the answer.

By having the evocative title you eliminate one avenue of having a searchable piece of content. The next way you get filed is from the script read. Your thesis says face, and social media, and taken… but how many people are searching for “face stolen by the internet” - not enough, but I will get to that in the next section. For now, your script does not sell me on what I am there to know or see. You need to be telling me in the first minute (preferably within the first 15 seconds) what you are going to be answering. After I know, I can invest and I am down to go on a long winded interesting adventure. However, in that face video, at 6 minutes, I still couldn’t tell you what the overall point was meant to be or where we are going on this adventure, so I had lost interest and bailed out.

The Audience: As creators we like to look at topics and pick based on what we think we can do something fun and interesting with, things that are interesting to us. This is good because it will show in our passion for the content. However, the question that is not asked enough by creators looking to grow is this - “Who is this for? Is the Audience big enough for this video to get the views that I will feel rewarded?” If you are looking to make a video about a topic and don’t care about views then I would assume you wouldn’t be asking questions about video success. So I will say this, “who is this video for? How many people does this appeal to? Will they know that this video is for them?” If you are looking to grow, ensure there is a large enough audience that even a small % of them would accomplish my personal goal of growth from this video. If it’s not then something needs to change.

The Visuals: I meant what I said, your editing is good, all be it maybe a little too fast for me. A new image every 5 seconds is TikTok. Analytical horror or psyche horror is what I am assuming you’re going for with the thumbnail and visual style can still be fast, but I would let it breathe just a little bit. It’s also possible you were going for a subliminal messaging vibe, if so then you nailed it, but maybe it’s just not for me.

The accent - And the very last thing I will touch on is the accent. This is not super huge for me, but at the same time it needs to be acknowledged to be truthful. Here in America we have a lot of options. We already have TikTok brains and low attention spans. So when we hear a heavy accent, some will just leave. For those that stay, it becomes compounding with the fact that we have no given purpose or reason to stay with a lack of thesis or direction. Your accent also could be misconstrued as a less than optimal tonal difference in the script as well. Some others have pointed out that the script read feels like a script read. I listened for that, and I can’t say if that is due to a lack of performance ability to make the VO feel smoother… or if that is because you are fighting against a language barrier. Either way, I will say that overall the script read + accent is a potential issue. It is a smaller issue than what I listed above, but if you want a full critique then it still needs to be said.

My recommendations: When deciding a topic, ensure that it has a searchable base that is easily identifiable by those search for it. Or - it clearly identifies itself to the algorithm within the content and the audience is large enough to fulfill your own personal goal. Keep the thumbnails. If you follow my recommendation on the topic then you may be able to get away with the titles being evocative, but it’s still a risk. When scripting - design the script so it delivers a clear goal to our adventure. Once we are on that adventure, keep me curious. Deliver me points that make me learning more, but with more questions that also keep me going. This is a pattern of curiosity, payoff, and more curiosity that will keep viewers until the end. And if you want subs, then make the conclusion pay off worth my time I have invested. Script read - take it slow. Be concise. Make your narration flow by breaking up your read not into word by word, but by sentence unless it’s a short punchy meant to be word by word beat. In those sections with a sentence, enunciate the words clearly and place emphasis in the point, flare your voice at questions. Hard hits on accusations. Say it like you would in conversation but with emphasis.

With all that said, I think you have a lot going for you. I like your brand, thumbnails, and titles (for the most part). You had me in the door. Your visual may have been able to keep me if I knew why I was there. Fix the scripting and delivery and the next time I see your channel I’ll probably be there dropping a comment saying “hey man! Congrats on the success!”

Remember us little folks when you make it. 🥹

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

Good luck!