youtube-rl-tracker

name	youtube-rl-tracker
description	Track YouTube video performance for "poor man's reinforcement learning" - learn what thumbnails, titles, and hooks work
license	MIT
compatibility	opencode
metadata	{"service":"notion, youtube","category":"content"}

What I Do

Track YouTube video performance to discover patterns in what works. This is "poor man's reinforcement learning" - manually logging outcomes to improve over time.

The RL Loop

1. PUBLISH  -> Upload video with hypothesis (thumbnail style, title hook, topic)
2. WAIT     -> Let it run for 48-72 hours
3. LOG      -> Record in Notion with views, CTR, retention
4. ANALYZE  -> Compare winners vs losers
5. REPEAT   -> Apply learnings to next video

Key Insight from First Data Point

Video 1: "Using AI agents to pay bills and send invoices"

• 8 views in 1 day
• Plain talking head thumbnail
• Generic title

Video 2: "Paying My Contractor Through Claude | AI-Powered Finance"

• 133 views in 5 days (16x better!)
• Thumbnail shows: Face + Product UI overlay + Text "I Let AI Pay My Bills"
• Title has: Specific action + Brand name (Claude) + Category tag

What Made Video 2 Win:

1. Thumbnail has TEXT overlay - "I Let AI Pay My Bills" creates curiosity
2. Shows the PRODUCT - UI screenshot proves it's real, not just talk
3. Face + Context - Person looking at the UI, not just talking
4. Specific title - "Paying My Contractor" > "pay bills" (concrete vs abstract)
5. Brand name in title - "Claude" attracts AI-interested audience
6. Category tag - "AI-Powered Finance" helps discoverability

Hypothesis to Test:

Thumbnails with TEXT + PRODUCT UI + FACE outperform plain talking head thumbnails by 10x+

Database Schema

Core Fields (Outcomes)

Property	Type	Purpose
Title	title	Video title
Views	number	Total views
CTR	number	Click-through rate (%)
Retention	number	Average view duration (%)
Days Live	number	Days since publish
Views/Day	formula	Views / Days Live
Worked?	checkbox	Binary gut-check - was this a win?

Input Features (What You Controlled)

Property	Type	Options
Thumbnail Style	select	Talking Head, Face+UI, Face+Text, UI Only, Meme
Has Text	checkbox	Does thumbnail have text overlay?
Has Product	checkbox	Does thumbnail show the product/UI?
Title Hook	select	How-To, Story, Listicle, Question, Bold Claim
Has Brand	checkbox	Does title mention a brand (Claude, ChatGPT)?
Topic	select	AI Finance, Automation, Product Demo, Tutorial
Duration	number	Video length in minutes
Posted	date	When published

Reference Fields

Property	Type	Purpose
URL	url	Link to video
Thumbnail	files	Screenshot of thumbnail
Notes	rich_text	Why did it work/fail?

First Entry: The Baseline

Video 1 (LOSER):
- Title: "Using AI agents to pay bills and send invoices"
- Views: 8
- Days Live: 1
- Thumbnail Style: Talking Head
- Has Text: No
- Has Product: No
- Title Hook: How-To
- Has Brand: No
- Notes: Plain talking head, generic title, no visual hook

Video 2 (WINNER):
- Title: "Paying My Contractor Through Claude | AI-Powered Finance"
- Views: 133
- Days Live: 5
- Views/Day: 26.6
- Thumbnail Style: Face+UI
- Has Text: Yes ("I Let AI Pay My Bills")
- Has Product: Yes (shows invoice payment UI)
- Title Hook: Story
- Has Brand: Yes (Claude)
- Notes: Text overlay creates curiosity, UI proves it's real, specific action in title

Thumbnail Patterns to Test

Based on initial data:

Pattern	Example	Hypothesis
Face + UI + Text	Video 2	Best performer - proves reality + creates curiosity
Face + Bold Text	-	May work for controversial takes
UI Only	-	Good for tutorials, may lack personality
Talking Head	Video 1	Worst - no visual hook
Before/After	-	Good for transformation content

Title Patterns to Test

Pattern	Example	Hypothesis
Specific Action + Brand	"Paying My Contractor Through Claude"	Winner - concrete + searchable
Generic Action	"Using AI to pay bills"	Loser - too vague
Question	"Can AI Really Pay Your Bills?"	Untested - may drive curiosity
Number + Outcome	"I Automated 5 Hours of Finance Work"	Untested - quantified value

Weekly Review Process

1. Sort by Views/Day - normalize for time live
2. Filter by Worked? = true - what patterns emerge?
3. Group by Thumbnail Style - which visuals win?
4. Group by Title Hook - which hooks work?
5. Compare Has Text vs No Text - does text help?
6. Compare Has Brand vs No Brand - do brand names help?

Integration with YouTube Studio Skill

Use skill("youtube-studio") to:

• Upload new videos with test hypotheses
• Update thumbnails based on learnings
• Track which changes improve performance

Reference Image

The winning thumbnail (133 views) vs losing thumbnail (8 views):

Key visual differences:

• Winner: Face looking at UI, text overlay "I Let AI Pay My Bills", product screenshot visible
• Loser: Plain talking head against brick wall, no text, no product context