When it comes to interviews, Producers have a motto: Get what you need before going for what you want. In TV, leaving the set without what you need can cost you thousands. Or even worse, your job. So I learned how to reverse-engineer my questions. First, figure out what your video needs. Think of it like a recipe. Your needs are the key ingredients. Your wants are the seasoning. Then know your runway. How much time do you have? With a long runway, you can chase tangents and circle back when an answer falls flat. If it's short, every question needs to earn its place. So ask in a way that gets a tight answer. Let's say that you have a channel focused on tech, and you land an interview with a founder launching a groundbreaking new product. But they can only stay for 30 minutes. Ingredients: what it does and who should (and shouldn't) use it. Seasoning: the origin story and the moments of doubt. Skip "Tell me about the product." Ask "What's one thing it does that nothing else can?" Get your ingredients first. Then season to taste. Because in my experience, no amount of seasoning will make a meal taste right when it's missing a key ingredient.

Creators could learn a lot from TV production. In 20 years as a TV producer, I never saw an audience-retention graph for a show I produced. We didn't have a printout telling us, “People got bored here.” So we had to get good at diagnosing storytelling problems before audiences ever saw a frame. And some of the tests were surprisingly simple. Here's one you can use before your next upload: Is this easy to understand? NOT: Is it fast enough? NOT: Are there enough graphics? NOT: Does the music work? Can a viewer easily understand what's happening, why it matters, and what they're supposed to be following? Because sometimes what looks like a pacing problem is really a clarity problem. Ask yourself: Does my audience understand my content?

Business creators who only care about the click remind me of those cheesy infomercials from the 90s. They'd advertise an amazing product. Then the box arrived, you felt stupid for believing the ad, and never ordered from them again. That's how viewers feel when they click on a great thumbnail where the content doesn't deliver. The longer this goes on, the faster you'll burn through your Total Addressable Market.

"Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't" - Jerry Rice Shoutout to everyone grinding over the weekend. A few years ago, I produced an interview with the greatest receiver of all time. Everyone sees the finished product. The Super Bowls. The fame. The money. And assume he must have had something special that set him above the rest. He did. Relentless Determination. He knew his drive could outpace everyone else's, and he rode it all the way to the Hall of Fame. So today I'm rooting for the Niners and for everyone doing the work that others won't.

Why does one video spike while the next one flops? On the surface, they might look identical. Both were targeted at the same audience: college-educated men under 40 with high disposable incomes. Demographics tell you who COULD watch. But they don't explain why someone would. Try planning your next video with that. Should you do a case study or an explainer? Share some quick tactics? Or post a long-form interview? Demographics won't give you the answer. Instead, find out: Why did they click? What were they looking to get from your show? Usually it's tactics, insights, or just good old entertainment. Not their age, income, or education. Are you giving them what they want?

Check out this example from a recent Mark Rober video. He really wants his audience to know that the car thieves are young and not very bright. But he knows they're probably multitasking, so he reminds them. It might seem like overkill, but once your audience gets lost, they're more likely to leave than go searching for what they missed.

Check out this clip of Shark Tank's @robertherjavec "It's your responsibility to be heard" Herjavec said that to a founder on Shark Tank. He admits he was grumpy, probably hungry, and not really paying attention. Creators, that's your audience. They're half watching while doing something else. Driving home after a long day, working out, or preparing dinner. This founder's product got them in the door, just like packaging did for your video. But whether they listen to what you have to say is a separate challenge. The best creators assume nobody's fully listening and design their shows to anticipate the problem. They clicked on your show for a reason. Now it's your responsibility to keep them watching.