What an “Angle Spec Card” is
Think of it as a one-page recipe for each hypothesis you’re about to test.
It forces you to write down every key variable before you hit “Publish,” so later you know whether the idea was weak or the execution was off.
| Field | What you’d jot down |
| Angle ID | A-03 (short code so you can reference it quickly) |
| One-sentence Hook | “Procrastination = unresolved micro-trauma.” |
| Audience Slice | College students, 18-24, finals week stress |
| Emotional Trigger | Shock + relief (“You’re not lazy—hurt.”) |
| Primary Keyword | “why do I procrastinate trauma” |
| Video Format | 60-sec Short (stat-story-Stoic quote-habit) |
| Thumbnail A / B | A = close-up tearful eye; B = broken alarm-clock |
| Success Thresholds | CTR ≥ 6 % on ≥5 k impressions and AVD ≥ 50 % |
| Budget / Effort Cap | ≤2 hrs scripting + editing |
| Publish Dates | Short #1: 6/5 • Short #2: 6/7 • Essay: 6/10 |
| Review Date | 6/13 (check analytics, mark Green/Yellow/Red) |
| Post-Mortem Notes | (leave blank until review) |
Create one card per angle, keep them in Notion, Google Docs, or even index cards—whatever lets you flip through and compare at a glance.
2. What the “Tracking Sheet layout” is
That’s your control-tower spreadsheet—a single place to drop analytics for every video tied to an angle, so you can see patterns without clicking around YouTube Studio.
Minimal column set (feel free to expand):
| Date | Angle ID | Video Title | Thumb Variant | Impressions | CTR % | Views | AVD (%) | Subs Gained | Watch Hours | Status (G/Y/R) | Insight / Action |
Status rules (example):
- Green = meets both thresholds → scale this angle.
- Yellow = meets one threshold → tweak script/thumbnail.
- Red = meets neither → retire the angle.
- Green = meets both thresholds → scale this angle.
Update the sheet the same day each week—takes 10 minutes and keeps testing disciplined.
3. How I can help next
If you say “Yes, draft it,” I’ll:
- Write a ready-to-paste Angle Spec Card template (Markdown table form) so you can duplicate it per idea.
- Lay out the first row of the Tracking Sheet with formulas / conditional-formatting notes, so you can copy it straight into Google Sheets or Excel.
- (Optional) Pre-fill two sample rows using angles from the list you liked, so you see exactly how it looks in practice.
Just let me know if you want the full template (and whether you prefer Markdown text, Google-Sheets column list, or even a downloadable CSV).
You said:
doesnt make sense to me this Think of it as a one-page recipe for each hypothesis you’re about to test. It forces you to write down every key variable before you hit “Publish,” so later you know whether the idea was weak or the execution was off.
ChatGPT said:
Thought for 4 seconds
Let’s strip away the jargon
A YouTube “angle” is just an idea you want to try.
Before you spend time recording, you jot down the key choices you’ll make for that idea. Then, after the video is live, you compare what you planned with how it actually performed. That note-card is what I called an “Angle Spec Card.”
Why bother writing it down?
| Without the card | With the card |
| You post a video, it flops, and you’re not sure why—was it the topic, thumbnail, title, or script pacing? | You can see, “Ah, CTR was fine (title/thumbnail worked) but retention tanked at 25 sec—script needs a faster payoff.” |
It’s basically a detective’s notebook that separates idea quality (the angle) from execution quality (how well you packaged and delivered it).
Think of it like a recipe card
- Recipe name: “Chocolate-chip cookies with sea salt.”
- Ingredients & amounts: flour – 2 cups, sugar – 1 cup…
- Oven temp & time: 350 °F, 11 min.
- Taste test result: too sweet → cut sugar by ¼ cup next batch.
Same concept:
| Angle Spec Card | Cookie Recipe Card |
| Hook, audience, title, thumbnail, success metrics | Ingredients, oven temp, bake time, taste note |
Next time you test the “cookie,” you know exactly what to tweak.
Mini example (one angle written out)
Angle ID: A-03
Hook: “Procrastination isn’t laziness—it’s unresolved micro-trauma.”
Audience: College students in exam season.
Title draft: “You’re Not Lazy. You’re Hurt.”
Thumbnail A/B:
A – close-up worried face B – broken alarm clock
Success rule: Keep if CTR ≥ 6 % and 50 % watch-time after 5 000 impressions.
Publish dates: Short #1 Tues / Short #2 Thurs.
Review date: Next Monday.
After Monday you open YouTube Studio:
- CTR = 7.2 % ✅
- Watch-time = 32 % ❌ (drops hard at 18 sec)
Conclusion: Hook is fine; script loses people.
Action: Keep angle, rewrite script for quicker payoff, test again.
That’s the whole point—a quick way to see where to adjust without guessing.
Do you want the ready-made template?
If a fill-in-the-blanks card (plus a matching spreadsheet header) would help, just say “Yes, send the template.” I’ll drop it in plain text you can paste straight into Notion, Google Docs, or Sheets—no extra tools needed.
You said:
yes
ChatGPT said:
Thought for 5 seconds
Below are two “copy-and-paste” blocks:
- Angle Spec Card – one page per idea
- Tracking Sheet layout – column headers + an empty starter row
1. Angle Spec Card Template (Markdown table)
markdown
CopyEdit
| Field | Your entry |
|——-|———–|
| **Angle ID** | A-01 |
| **Hook (1-sentence promise)** | |
| **Audience slice** | |
| **Primary keyword / search intent** | |
| **Emotional trigger(s)** | |
| **Video format** | (Short ≤60 s, 5-min essay, etc.) |
| **Title draft** | |
| **Thumbnail A / B concept** | A: | B: |
| **Success thresholds** | CTR ≥ __ % on ≥ __ impressions **AND** AVD ≥ __ % |
| **Budget / effort cap** | |
| **Publish dates** | |
| **Review date** | |
| **Post-mortem notes** | _(leave blank until review)_ |
How to use
- Paste the table into Notion, Google Docs, or even a plain .md file.
- Duplicate it for every new angle you try (A-02, A-03, …).
- Fill in the blanks before you record. After the review date, add performance notes in the last row.
2. Tracking Sheet Layout (Google Sheets / Excel columns)
swift
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Date | Angle ID | Video Title | Thumb Variant | Impressions | CTR % | Views | AVD % | Subs Gained | Watch Hours | Status (G/Y/R) | Insight / Next Action
Suggested status rules
- Green – meets both CTR & AVD thresholds → scale this angle.
- Yellow – meets only one → tweak script or thumbnail and retest.
- Red – meets neither → retire the angle.
Tip: In Sheets, add conditional formatting:
=IF(K2=”G”, “lightgreen”, IF(K2=”Y”,”yellow”,”salmon”))
Optional: first blank row (ready to paste)
less
CopyEdit
2025-06-__ | A-01 | | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Duplicate that row each time you upload a video, then fill in the real numbers from YouTube Studio.
That’s it! Paste the card template where you do pre-production and the sheet header where you track analytics. This gives you a tight loop: Idea → Publish → Data → Adjust. Let me know if you’d like a pre-filled example row or help automating the data pull.
You said:
yes give me prefilled example
ChatGPT said:
Below are filled-in examples so you can see exactly how to use the templates.
Feel free to copy-paste and edit.
1. Prefilled Angle Spec Card
markdown
CopyEdit
| Field | Your entry |
|——-|———–|
| **Angle ID** | A-03 |
| **Hook (1-sentence promise)** | “Procrastination isn’t laziness—it’s hidden micro-trauma. Fix it in 48 hrs.” |
| **Audience slice** | College & grad students, 18-26, finals-week stress |
| **Primary keyword / search intent** | “why do I procrastinate trauma” |
| **Emotional trigger(s)** | Shock (“You’re hurt, not lazy”) + Hope (48-hr fix) |
| **Video format** | Short (≤ 60 s) — stat → trauma reveal → Stoic reframe → micro-habit |
| **Title draft** | “You’re Not Lazy. You’re Hurt.” |
| **Thumbnail A / B concept** | A: close-up worried face • B: cracked alarm-clock on floor |
| **Success thresholds** | CTR ≥ 6 % on ≥ 5 000 impressions **AND** AVD ≥ 50 % |
| **Budget / effort cap** | 90 min scripting & editing, $0 assets (royalty-free B-roll) |
| **Publish dates** | Short #1 6/05 • Short #2 6/07 • 5-min essay 6/10 |
| **Review date** | 6/13 |
| **Post-mortem notes** | _(leave blank until review)_ |
2. Prefilled Tracking-Sheet Rows
less
CopyEdit
Date | Angle ID | Video Title | Thumb Var | Impr | CTR% | Views | AVD% | Subs | Watch Hrs | Status | Insight / Next Action
———–|———|—————————————|———–|——|——|——-|——|——|———–|——–|———————–
2025-06-05 | A-03 | You’re Not Lazy. You’re Hurt. (Short) | A | 6 100| 7.4 | 450 | 44 | 12 | 5.1 | Y | CTR good; retention drops at 18 s → tighten story beat
2025-06-07 | A-03 | You’re Not Lazy. You’re Hurt. (Short) | B | 5 850| 6.1 | 355 | 53 | 9 | 4.9 | G | Both metrics met; keep angle, use “clock” thumbnail style
2025-06-10 | A-03 | Hidden Trauma: 48-Hour Fix (5-min) | A | 7 400| 5.8 | 520 | 46 | 18 | 23.9 | Y | AVD borderline → front-load Stoic quote; re-test
Status key
- G = met both thresholds → scale angle
- Y = met only one threshold → tweak & retest
- R = met neither → retire angle
How to use the examples
- Duplicate the Angle Spec Card for every new hook (A-04, A-05…).
- Log each upload in the tracking sheet immediately after publishing.
- Review on the scheduled date: mark status, write a one-line insight, decide to scale, tweak, or kill.
You now have a tight feedback loop—ideas turn into data, and data guides your next creative move. Let me know if you’d like help setting up formulas or conditional formatting in Google Sheets!
You said:
what is the importance of angle spec card when doing outlier research on youtube
ChatGPT said:
Why an Angle Spec Card is vital once you’ve spotted outliers
Outlier research tells you “what’s already winning on YouTube.”
An Angle Spec Card turns those findings into repeatable, measurable experiments for your channel. Think of it as the bridge between market intel and actionable testing.
| Outlier research alone | Outlier + Angle Spec Card |
| “Videos about dopamine resets with bright-red alarm-clock thumbnails are blowing up.” | Hypothesis written down: “Dopamine-reset angle aimed at 18-24 y/o students, 60-sec Short, CTR ≥ 6 %, AVD ≥ 50 %.” |
| You copy a thumbnail style, wing a script, post once, and move on. A week later you can’t recall the details or why it flopped. | Every variable (hook, audience slice, title draft, thumbnail A/B, success rules) is frozen on one card. After publish you compare the plan with the data and know exactly what to adjust. |
| You chase the next trend without building cumulative insight. | You build a catalog of “tested angles” with post-mortems. Patterns emerge (“shock hooks work, guilt hooks don’t”)—guiding smarter future picks. |
6 concrete pay-offs
- Clarity of hypothesis
- Forces you to articulate the specific promise, audience, and emotional trigger you’re borrowing from the outlier—not just “do a dopamine video.”
- Forces you to articulate the specific promise, audience, and emotional trigger you’re borrowing from the outlier—not just “do a dopamine video.”
- Variable control
- By listing title, thumbnail, and format up front you can later see whether idea or execution needs tweaking.
- By listing title, thumbnail, and format up front you can later see whether idea or execution needs tweaking.
- Comparable metrics
- Success thresholds live on the card, so every angle is judged by the same yard-stick—no fuzzy “feels good” decisions.
- Success thresholds live on the card, so every angle is judged by the same yard-stick—no fuzzy “feels good” decisions.
- Faster iteration
- With cards and a tracking sheet you spot winners in 2-3 uploads, kill losers quickly, and recycle production time into proven hooks.
- With cards and a tracking sheet you spot winners in 2-3 uploads, kill losers quickly, and recycle production time into proven hooks.
- Knowledge base
- Over months you accumulate a searchable library of what worked, what bombed, and why—turning scattered experiments into proprietary strategy.
- Over months you accumulate a searchable library of what worked, what bombed, and why—turning scattered experiments into proprietary strategy.
- Team alignment (if you scale)
- Editors, thumbnail artists, and scriptwriters all reference the same card, preventing mis-communication and keeping creative choices on-brief.
- Editors, thumbnail artists, and scriptwriters all reference the same card, preventing mis-communication and keeping creative choices on-brief.
TL;DR
Outlier research gives you signals; an Angle Spec Card converts each signal into a controlled experiment that can be measured, learned from, and either scaled or scrapped with confidence. Without the card you’re guessing; with it you’re running a mini scientific method for YouTube growth.