In this video I’d like to discuss a few reasons why you should start selling Amazon
online. But before we begin, buy my $11,000 course. But before you do that, go grab your
microwave and slam it into the like button. But first, get your entire family to subscribe
to my channel…
Okay, not really. What I’d really like to talk about is something called clickbait.
Few people find joy in clicking on a video titled “The Psychology of Clickbait” to
be met with a guy trying to sell you his course. For the last decade, we’ve trashed media
outlets left and right for drawing in our attention with inaccurate headlines. Headlines
such as “This Girl Had No Idea what was inside of here… Not until Doctor’s cut
off her pants” lead us to believe aliens are growing inside of us, but turn out to
be no more than the story of a pregnant woman learning the gender of her unborn child. It’s
exhausting, emotionally confusing, and simply annoying. But then came YouTube. Now, we can
offer viewers headlines that more accurately reflect the content that’s inside. We don’t
have to waste their time by throwing up misleading thumbnails and inaccurate titles in the name
of getting more views. We can create titles based around content, instead of content based
around titles. Right?... Wrong.
Apparently, most youtubers plan to pick up the clickbait right where the media left it.
And because of how the algorithm works, the most ‘clickbaity’ of videos end up on
our homepage. If that wasn’t bad enough, YouTube has now removed the dislike button.
So, we can’t even judge based on our fellow viewers whether we’re going to be shown
what we came to see. If that’s not a ClickBaiter’s fantasy, then I don’t know what is.
Why Do People Use Clickbait? It’s pretty obvious that people who use
misleading titles and thumbnails are just after views. They are out for themselves and
could not care less about wasting your time. I mean, just because YouTube allows for this
and because its algorithm seems to favor it: Does that really mean we should do it? I guess
the question comes down to who you’re making the videos for. If you’re making content
for your viewers, then how could you possibly benefit from tricking as many of them as possible?
If you’re making content for personal gain, like media companies always have, then I guess
it’s the logical thing to do. Given that you’re willing to remove morals from the
equation.
How Does ClickBait Work The tactics used by the ClickBaiters vary
but they’re most often trying to sell you an idea, with that idea being what they think
you want. In other words, they sell you hope. For example, I’m going to let you in on
a little internet secret that you might’ve already realized… The best and easiest way
to make money online, is to sell the idea of How to Make Money Online. Someone will
sell you a Facebook ads course behind the idea of becoming financially free, but why
are they selling you that course? Not because Facebook ads have allowed them to become financially
free. They’re selling you the course to try and become financially free, because Facebook
ads didn’t go as well for them as they’d hoped. But hey, these people seem to be doing
quite well – taking as much money as possible from the hands of those who need and want
it the most. Think about it: If you are selling the idea of how to become financially free,
your audience will solely be composed of people that aren’t financially free but want to
be. And that’s what clickbait does: it gives false hope to hopeless people. And this is
where clickbait becomes no less than sinister.
Why You Should Not Use Clickbait A hopeful person is not actively searching
for hope. But who is? Someone that’s hopeless. Whether these people are emotionally numb
and searching for a story or video that will make them feel something, or they’re in
a financial hole that they will try anything to get themselves out of: Clickbait is designed
to take advantage of the most vulnerable people. And using it is undeniably taking advantage
of those people and their emotions. As I said earlier, if you’re willing to cast all morals
aside and do whatever it takes to get as many views as possible – perhaps you don’t
see an issue with this pathetic phenomenon. But I’m tired of hearing arguments such
as “it’s the only way to get views” or “you won’t be able to compete without
doing it”. With that mindset, you might as well sell discounted cigarettes to the
homeless. Almost 100% of YouTuber’s who use clickbait
have spent a fair amount of time convincing themselves that it’s okay to do. Now, simply
to further convince themselves, they’ve got to keep on doing it.
The point of this video is not only to explain what clickbait is, but to open some eyes to
the reason it works so well: Because it sells hope to the hopeless. Because it takes advantage
of the most vulnerable people. And as YouTuber’s, we should be much more conscious of its sinister
nature. Just remember: You don’t acquire more views and then realize you’ve been
using clickbait. You use clickbait to acquire more views.