The Perception Economy (Part 2)

Now that we've seen what causes attention debt, let's first explore the opposite before we go into more case studies.

The opposite of "attention debt" is "attention bonus".

Attention bonus occurs when the content over-delivers relative to the promise made by the packaging (title + thumbnail). This means the viewer’s expectations, set by the perception, are exceeded.

As opposed to the attention debt where impressions can be repaid in watch time, with attention bonus, the opposite happens.

You borrow modest attention but repay far more watch time, leading to more impressions and growth (capped by the market of course).

Here's an example

This packaging is modest, doesn't particularly suggest any high production or value by itself (without looking at the views).

And while the production itself isn't particularly outstanding, (just a guy talking to a webcam with illustrations, as simple as can be), the information value is (according to the market) far above average.

If you read the comments you'll quickly understand what I mean

On the spectrum, it would look like this:

But because the video exceeded expectations, it earned a big Attention Bonus.

The key element to understand from the Perception Economy is that your ideas are worthless unless you can back the expectations set.

Depending on what content you product, expectations can be anything.

Here's a non-exhaustive list from the viewer perception perspective:

Education

I expect to learn something new or valuable.

Entertainment

I expect this to make me laugh, cry, or feel something exciting.

Problem-Solving

I expect this to help me fix or understand something.

Curiosity

I expect this to reveal something unexpected or fascinating.

Relatability

I expect this to connect with my life or experiences.

Inspiration

I expect this to motivate or encourage me.

Transformation

I expect to see a process or big change unfold.

Expertise

I expect this creator to be credible and knowledgeable.

Aesthetic Appeal

I expect this to be visually beautiful or satisfying to watch.

Shock Value

I expect this to surprise or shock me.

Novelty

I expect this to show me something I haven’t seen before.

Authenticity

I expect this to feel genuine and real.

Speed/Efficiency

I expect this to deliver answers quickly and save me time.

Depth

I expect this to go deep into the topic with detailed information.

Drama

I expect this to tell a compelling story or have tension.

Exploration

I expect this to take me somewhere new or exciting.

Social Proof

I expect this to be trending or something everyone is talking about.

Challenge

I expect this to show someone attempting something difficult or extreme.

Value

I expect this to give me actionable tips or guidance.

Comparison

I expect this to compare products, ideas, or concepts.

Mystery

I expect this to answer a question or uncover a truth.

Relief

I expect this to help me escape stress or boredom.

Aspiration

I expect this to show a lifestyle or achievement I can dream of.

Engagement

I expect this to invite me to participate or interact.

Community

I expect this to make me feel part of a group or niche.

Meeting these expectations depends on key elements like:

- Hook
- Storytelling
- Script
- Editing
- Information quality
- etc.

Keep in mind content is quite complex and a lot of elements can play for or against you, but overall, these are what make the content lives up to the promise or fall short.

If these elements don’t deliver, viewers feel let down and that’s when your video ends up generating attention debt.

Here's the first:

We agree that this packaging suggests (from the "expectation list" above) the following :

- Challenge (I expect this to show someone attempting something difficult or extreme)
- Exploration (I expect this to take me somewhere new or exciting)

That would be the bare minimum of expectation.
But if you watch the video, the actual content is far from that.

- Perception: The thumbnail suggests a big and tall rocky island in the middle of the ocean. It also says "Worlds Most Dangerous Island"

- Reality: It's just a rock on the shore, far smaller than what the thumbnail suggests.

And it's not even an island, we can see the shore in the background.

He still showed some survival skills throughout the video and actually stayed there, so the debt isn't catastrophic.

But compared to what it could've reached if he delivered what the packaging suggested, the debt is quite significant:

Another interesting case, this time I purposefully chose a poor quality YouTube automation channel that most of you probably know about: BRIGHT SIDE

With 44.7M subs and a library of content full of clickbait, it is safe to assume most of the channel suffers from attention debt. But this case is interesting.

As you can see, the attention debt is huge.

The reason is because it's pure clickbait. Vox made a video about the same topic (without clickbait):

And there's no such thing as a perfect fingerprint, it's just the patterns.

But BRIGHT SIDE surrounded the pattern with other trees to make it look like an actual fingerprint, with the shape and everything which is nothing but clickbait since it doesn't exist.

On top of that, the script (likely written by ChatGPT) and overall production quality are far inferior compared to Vox.

And the results speak for themselves:

Play with perception, but always remember it can backfire if you take it too far..

As crazy as it sounds, it’s better to tone down your thumbnail if it looks too professional compared to your actual production quality or if it promises more than the video delivers.
The goal is to avoid more viewers than you should which creates attention debt that builds up quickly and compounds over time.

Important Takeaways:

- Avoid the Debt Zone at all costs. Attention debt builds impression by impression and can spiral out of control quickly.

- Low expectations paired with great content are better than high expectations paired with average/poor content.

- The sweet spot is just before the Debt Zone, with content that fully meets the expectations set by your packaging.

The first step you can take right now is to use the Viral Economy to "price" your existing content. Check if your video is in attention debt or if it’s aligned with expectations.

You might be sitting on millions of views if you simply adjust the expectations. All it takes is tweaking your packaging to unlock that potential.