Hi Folks! I’m the kinda guy that loves nature, traveling and sharing my ideas while on the road. Kicking up dust with my little old trailer, I wander the backroads of the US, Canada and even Mexico. My goal is to share my thoughts, ideas, favorite camping spots and frugal innovations with all who share the same interests. Some videos take longer than others, so please don’t hold me to exact schedules. My dream is a world without deadlines or itineraries; free to explore, investigate, and appreciate. Always go where the road takes you !!!
This is Slim Potatohead’s Youtube channel description, and by the usage of words such as “folks” or phrases such as “I’m the kinda guy” and “Kicking up dust” you can’t help but hear the voice of a boomer-aged man in your head. But you guessed it, Slim is just that — a boomer that just wants to share his passion about good old nature and RV maintenance. This type of content is what most would regard as boring… right?
What if I told you this very channel has amassed a cult-like following, 15 million total views, 100k subscribers and an impressive average 81k views per upload?
Would you have believed me? Nonetheless, some of his videos such as Hot Coffee and a Good View or Little Fix-ups for an A-Frame Trailer or RV seem extremely mundane. Like many of his other videos, these titles (and thumbnails) present no palpable attention-grabbing gimmicks. Even the concept of Slim’s channel — which is a grandpa wandering in nature in his RV — is enough to make most people yawn to the sound of it. Given that even most vloggers traveling to exotic locations struggle getting views, Slim Potatohead should be disadvantaged from the start.
Yet, here’s the catch; his channel is estimated to make well over $8,000 a month from ad revenue and other streams of income such as Amazon’s affiliate marketing program and his online store. However, what if I told you that Slim’s secret to pulling 100k subscribers over just 2 years and an average of 81k views per video is nonetheless a result of age-old technique that you probably already heard about?
When I first stumbled upon one of Slim’s videos, I was astonished by how watchable his video was. I’m not even exaggerating when writing this, but I easily watched the entire 20 minutes of Slim’s video — and binge-watched his other videos. It’s quite funny because I would otherwise never think I was into this type of content. I’d argue that I even developed an emotional connection with Slim upon following his journey across nature. That’s because Slim’s videos follow a narrative arc.
Let’s analyze his vlog Mountain Gold: Boondocking Colorado to see how Slim makes use of narrative structure. In the video, Slim arrives in a hiking park in Colorado, and he vlogs his way through his experience. To many, this sounds like an extremely plane piece of content. However, through narrative arc, the video turns our expectations.
Breaking down the video, we can clearly see the different plot points of his vlog, that all contribute to a something coherent, from which we can be emotionally invested in.
- Exposition: Slim arrives in the Colorado hiking trail, and he wants to hike.
- Complication: But the car parking is full, so Slim cannot park his car.
- Escalation: Slim is visibly frustrated, and starts ranting about how he cannot enjoy nature in a private manner. He goes to think about giving up his initial goal of hiking the trail.
- Climax: The following morning, he decides to go to the parking a second time, however, this time the parking is mostly vacant. It’s a beautiful day, and Slim enjoys hiking like he never did before.
- Resolution: Slim hikes, achieving his goal of having an intimate relationship with Colorado park’s nature. He has realized that all along, he was wrong for letting his prejudices that people invading his privacy while hiking get to him. Therefore, he is now more tolerant of others when hiking.
Notice how the words “so, and, therefore” show a consequence, and “but, however” bring elements of conflict. This is done to create emotional tension, as we want to know what happens to Slim, how it happens, and the consequences thereof. Throughout the vlog, you can even notice a moral conflict and message, which reinforces on to the significance of Slim’s experience. That is that Slim — over the course of the video — realizes that he could experience an enjoyable hiking experience without complete privacy, which he is used to.
So this is Slim’s secret for making it into the algorithm. It’s known that YouTube promotes videos that keep with high audience retention (how long a viewer watches the video before clicking off), yet Slim seemed to have strategically taken a unique approach to increasing this statistic. It’s crazy to think that as millennials, we often overlook — or forget about — the basic principles and foundations of keeping someone engaged. We rely on jump cuts or other fast-paced editing techniques to keep the viewer’s attention, when really, all you need is a little bit of narrative tension.
It’s refreshing to see content like Slim’s amidst an ocean of clickbait content with little to no emotional or moral content used to keep the viewer engaged and coming back for more. Because duplicating content that already works is an easy way to get views and subscribers, it’s often forgotten that the key to YouTube is standing out. Using narrative arc as a way to gain a comparative advantage is how a Slim’s channel became one of the most successful in the camping niche.
