What stops your scroll?

No seriously, have you ever thought about what content grabs (and keeps) your attention & why?

Every good piece of content, every best-selling novel, and every movie you’ve ever watched has 1 thing in common—they all follow a storytelling structure. Today, we’re showing you how to use that structure so you, too, can create videos that stop the scroll.

In today's newsletter:

• The 3-part structure your video content NEEDS to follow (seriously, it’s not optional)

• How the French turned a cheap wine into a cultural moment (find out how these winemakers pulled off this epic rebrand)

• Trend plug - My biggest fear

• Ask the Editor - How do I write posts that don’t make me sound like a douche?

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

Presented by The Cohort

Romeo and Juliet lock eyes through the fish tank.

'Kissing you, Des’ree' plays climatically in the background.

They kiss.

Sparks fly.

It's a union written in the stars.

It was always meant to be.

They marry the next day.

No feuding families, no secret plots, no poison. Just two unashamedly down-bad kids tying the knot and living happily ever after.

Sounds nice. Idyllic, even. But, admittedly, boring asf.

And I can almost guarantee you, completely forgettable and not the iconic, albeit tragic, love story it is today.

That’s because every great story, from Shakespearean tragedies to viral TikToks, thrives on a tried-and-true structure: setup, conflict, and resolution.

It’s the storytelling equivalent of a three-course meal—skip the main course (the conflict), and you’re left feeling unsatisfied, like watching a rom-com without the woe-is-me breakup montage before they inevitably get back together.

When it comes to short-form video, this storytelling structure is essential.

With only seconds to grab attention and keep viewers from swiping, nailing this sequence can make or break your content.

So, let’s break it down. What is set up, conflict, and resolution? And how can you use it to make your next video as captivating as a Shakespearean tragedy (minus the body count)?

[Keep reading]

-Sophie, Writer

Want help applying this winning formula to your videos?

Join The Cohort and learn to use story structure to create viral, on brand content.

How the French Turned a Cheap Wine Into a Cultural Moment

I wouldn’t put it past the French to have an entire day dedicated to celebrating the release of a wine.

And I also wouldn’t put it past them to make it one of the most successful examples of marketing genius to date.

So good, in fact, that its marketing strategy became a tradition in its own rite – something very few of us can say we’ve accomplished (or will accomplish in our lifetimes.)

Beaujolais Nouveau Day is a worldwide celebration of the release of Beaujolais Nouveau – a red wine from Beaujolais in the Burgundy region of France.

By law, the annual release of the wine takes place at exactly 12.01am on the third Thursday of November (yes, tomorrow!)

The liberation of the stunning, young red wine, made with Gamay grapes harvested just six to eight weeks before bottling, is accompanied by an array of celebratory measures – I’m talking fireworks, music, festivals, the whole lot.

You’d think a young king was born.

And trust me, if you’ve tried Beaujolais Nouveau, the occasion is totally justified.

[Keep reading]

-Sophie, Writer

Trend Plug - My Biggest Fear

With Novo Armor's 'Anchor' coming up its 10-year anniversary, TikTok has turned the calming song into a hit sound, with well over 170k+ videos to the sound so far! 

TikTokers have taken the smash hit and made it an opportunity to open up in various ways. The one that is trending right now however, has TikTokers getting vulnerable about their biggest fears.

These videos all contain the same onscreen text of, 'When someone asks me what my biggest fear is but I can't say [actual biggest fear] so I just say [simple popular fear]'

Examples include '...so I just say spiders cause I can't tell him it's really the thought of pretending to love me while secretly seeing other people' and 'but I can't say tearing my achilles so I just say the dark.' 

How you can jump on this trend:

Using the trending sound, simply record a short video selfie of you looking genuine.

Then, add the onscreen text using this template, 'When someone asks me what my biggest fear is but I can't say [actual biggest fear] so I just say [common fear]'. And that's all there is to it!

A few ideas to get you started:

• 'When someone asks me what my biggest fear is, but I can’t say forgetting to schedule posts during a holiday weekend, so I just say snakes.'

• 'When someone asks me what my biggest fear is, but I can’t say a typo going live in an email sent to 10,000 subscribers, so I just say public speaking.'

• 'When someone asks me what my biggest fear is, but I can’t say a client asking for 10 design revisions an hour before the deadline, so I just say spiders.'

-Abdel, Social Media Coordinator

Today on the YAP podcast…

Want even more ‘YAP’ing? Check out the full podcast here.

Ask the Editor

Q - I want to do more written posts but I have no idea how to not sound like a douche. Where do I even start? -Evan

Hey Evan!

Totally get where you're coming from. LinkedIn especially can feel like a place where everyone comes to brag about how smart they are. But hardly any of us really wants to read someone's 'expert' opinion.

(For a refresher on why this kind of content isn’t effective, check out this article, Why value-driven content doesn't work.)

So how do you create content that doesn't make you sound like a douche? Start by asking what kind of insights you can offer your audience based on your own personal experience. Rather than talking in black and white terms (which makes you sound like a know-it-all), share your learnings from past challenges you've overcome.

This positions you as someone who has experience but who is still learning. It shows you understand you're on a journey and don't know everything—and you never will! This kind of content makes you approachable and relatable, because your audience will realise you're human, just like them.

- Charlotte, Editor ♡

p.s. You might also be interested in this article, 6 Ways to build thought leadership without sounding like a douche.

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