Keeping your subscribers attention isn’t as difficult as you might think.
All you have to do is peak their curiosity.
How do you do that?
You use what marketing psychology expert Derek Halpern calls information gap theory.
Getting & Keeping Viewers Attention with Curiosity
Information Gap Theory is very easy to understand:
According to George Loewenstein, curiosity is rather simple: It comes when we feel a gap “between what we know and what we want to know” source
This literally means that your viewer will be left wondering what the “special secret” is. You tease them with knowledge they don’t know, but want to know.
That is why one of the most important things you can do is to start a video with a question. Make it quick and make it direct. Be extremely clear on what you’re asking.
If you don’t have a question to use, look for an exciting highlight during the video that you can move to the opening. This will make them wonder what the build up to this event was.
Below is a perfect example of the Information Gap Theory at play, in one of my Madden 25 videos.
How to Use Information Gap Theory in Your Video Headline
You can also use the gap theory in your video headlines. If you break down the name of this video “Keys to Throwing Less Interceptions” you will notice three specific strategies being used:
- Peaking the curiosity of what the “keys” might be
- Resolving a pain point of our viewers by recognizing that they throw to many interceptions
- I tagged the video with Madden 25 Tips which is a big time searched phrase (more on this later)
You can implement this into your own videos to keep your viewers attention longer and solve more problems. A major point to focus on is what are your viewers pain points? What are they interested in? Answer those questions and then craft your headline that will capture their attention.
To Craft Out the Actual Headline Do This:
Main video search term + Viewer pain point/interest + “secret”/specific number of tips = perfect video information gap headline
EXAMPLE – Madden 25 Tips – Keys to Throwing Less Interceptions
Madden 25 Tips = main video search term
“Keys” = secret
Throwing Less Interceptions = viewer pain point/interest
*alternate version to include “specific number of tips” instead of secret* Madden 25 Tips – 5 Quick Tips to Throwing Less Interceptions
Do This Now
Think of your next 5 Videos.
Name them the typical way you would name your videos. Then look at how you can optimize them by introducing the information gap theory.
Next let me know in the comments below what some of your best headlines are. Also let me know how you plan on using the information gap at the start of your videos. Links to your videos are encouraged!
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