Printable, practical checklists that correspond to the main topics covered on this blog. Use them before you upload, while you research, and after you review your analytics.
Each checklist below is available as a printable guide. They are not lead magnets. There is no email required. They exist because the concepts on this blog are easier to apply consistently when you have a physical reference in front of you while you work.
Print them. Laminate them if you want. Mark them up with a pen. That is the point.
Run through this before you publish any video. It covers the items that have the most impact on initial distribution: thumbnail readability at small sizes, title clarity, description first-paragraph quality, and the basic metadata that YouTube actually reads.
Eight questions to ask about any thumbnail before it goes live. Covers contrast, subject clarity, text legibility, and emotional communication. Works as a self-review or for getting feedback from someone unfamiliar with your content.
A structured worksheet for running the suggest method from start to finish. Includes a grid for recording suggest results, a section for noting competition observations, and a column for flagging which phrases to target first.
A step-by-step guide for reading your audience retention curves in YouTube Studio. Explains what each curve shape typically indicates, what questions to ask, and what changes to test on the next video. Works best when used after a video has been live for at least two weeks.
A one-page reference guide for business owners who are active on both platforms. Covers the key differences in ranking logic, the signals each platform prioritizes, and how to think about content strategy differently for each.
All checklists are based on the same information covered in the articles on this blog. They are formatted for practical use — you should be able to pick one up and use it immediately without reading background material first. If you have a question about what a specific checklist item means, the relevant article is linked from the checklist itself.
These are updated when the articles they correspond to are updated. If something in the algorithm changes significantly enough to affect the checklist, the checklist changes too.