CreatorSide.io × DabiLearn The Storytelling Strategy Behind 1,000,000+ View YouTube videos.
Millions of views generated
FastGoodCuisine
7.12M Subscribers
“If you want to get ahead on YouTube and learn how to make a killer video, then he's the man for the job. It's very rare to have access to someone so relevant, so go for it (it sounds like a sponsored post, but it's sincere feedback from a loyal customer).”
Course Walkthrough
Watch the full video breakdown of what's inside the course.
If you want to see the frameworks, teaching style, and who this is for before you buy, this walkthrough gives you the clearest preview.
To grow your YouTube channel, you need to master three things:
Market Supply & Demand (Niche)
Finding the right niche where demand is high and competition leaves room for you to stand out.
Packaging (Idea / Title / Thumbnail)
Getting people to click through compelling ideas, titles, and thumbnails that create curiosity.
Retention & Satisfaction (Storytelling)
The skillful combination of visuals, sound design, scriptwriting, and structure that keeps viewers watching — and coming back.
The only way to improve retention and satisfaction is through better YouTube storytelling.
I've made this course to help you with exactly that.
Hi, my real name is Dr. David Liu, but most YouTubers and YouTube strategists know me as Dabi.
I became known for it after I helped Drewdoes hit 1 million views in only 7 days on a video, when he only had 18K subscribers. He now has 968K+ subscribers, implementing storytelling all along the way.
I've helped YouTubers of all sizes, from a few hundred subscribers to 17 million. Every single one can improve their storytelling.
Mastering storytelling is the difference between a video that dies after day one, and an ultra viral asset that brings views to your channel for years.
Why most videos fail to grow channels
The Clickbait Trap
You master the packaging and get the click, but the video is boring. Viewers leave in 30 seconds, and the algorithm buries your channel.
Not Understanding Retention
Good retention doesn’t mean using attention hacks. It’s about setting up your videos in a way that viewers actually love — not just copying pacing or structure without understanding the story underneath. It feels fake and disconnects viewers.
The Mid-Video Death
You have a great hook, but no structure to keep them watching through the middle. Retention bleeds out, and the payoff falls flat.
Videos I've Worked On
I've helped with the storytelling of these multi-million view videos.
I Spent 100 Hours in Capsule Hotels
7.5M views
Obsidian As A Second Brain
1.1M views
Living off £1 in the World’s Cheapest Country
3.5M views
I Ate At The World’s Oldest Restaurant
8.1M views
I Visited the Town Where Everyone Lives Underground
1M views
I Died 22,649 Times For This Platinum Trophy
2.3M views
Tunaish
The course directly shaped his first breakout shorts.
Tunaish
140K Subscribers
“Thank you, your course gave me a whole new way to view YouTube, and it set me on the path to growing my channel.”
“My first successful shorts came right after I took your course.”
“Also my most successful short as of now came right after I re-watched your course.”
Ben Morris
789K Subscribers
“Most of my recent best performing videos have been crafted with the help of Dabi.”
Ben focuses on deeper storytelling that goes beyond retention to make viewers love his content.
Master YouTube Storytelling
Become the absolute best in your niche.
Earn more income, by creating videos that attract more views.
Make your videos have emotional impact that lasts.
Greatly strengthen your brand, so viewers trust you more.
Build regular viewers that actually love your content.
Craft scripts that feel effortless to watch.
Tried-and-tested frameworks for YouTube videos
Every principle in this course comes from years of hands-on work with real YouTubers across every niche. This is original research, hard-earned from experience — battle-tested strategies that save you years of trial and error.
Hear from more creators
“I just finished the course and this is hands down the best YouTube storytelling course I have taken.”
“With the help of Dabi my content took a complete 180, going from small-niche type content to videos with proper storytelling and a wide appeal, which helped grow my channel to levels I didn’t think were possible!”
Med“Dabi really opened my eyes to a lot of simple yet effective techniques/tactics that I would have never recognised or thought of myself. He is a great analyst, and a great teacher”
Poppt1What you'll get
Everything inside the course, designed to take your videos to the next level.
38 lessons across 9+ hours
9+ hours and 38 lessons of YouTube storytelling advice. Includes case studies, original research, and important lessons from me working with YouTubers for years.
A system you can actually use
A system for structuring, script, and edit your videos for higher retention/satisfaction.
Useful for solo creators and teams
Useful for teams so you can greatly upskill your editors with a single course.
A peek inside the course
Real frameworks and breakdowns you'll learn — not vague theory.
Storytelling Building Blocks
Similar principles, different order — a principle-based approach that allows for creative experimentation.
Script & Storyboard Breakdowns
Detailed scene-by-scene breakdowns showing exactly how top creators structure their videos.
Course Curriculum
The most comprehensive course on YouTube-specific storytelling — build systems for every part of your workflow.
- Ideation-Based Storytelling: A Banger Starts From The Idea
- Philosophy of the Hook
- Critical Components of Multi-Million View Videos
- Time To First Emotion (TTFE)
- Promise Signaling
- Hook Presentation, Visuals, Scripting: In-depth Structures
- Educational Hooks: Key Differences And Strategies
- Post-Hook Transitions: Keeping The Audience AFTER The Hook
- Mistakes in the Hook: Avoid These To Save Your Video
- Entertainment Listicles: Storytelling Structures Of Multi-Million View Videos
- Educational Listicles
- Mastering Edutainment, Podcasts
- Mastering Talking Head Videos
- Editing and Videography Terminology: The Language of Filmmaking
- Universal Storytelling Principles: Why Viewers Pay Attention
- YouTube-Optimised Storytelling Structures (+ Case Studies)
- YouTube-Specific Storytelling Principles: Why YouTube Is Different
- My Golden Retention Formula: The Ultimate Equation
- Interpreting Retention Graphs: How To Massively Improve Videos
- Mastering Payoffs: Make Your Viewers Love Your Videos
- The Science of Fun: The Secret To Making A Video Enjoyable
- Foreshadowing: How To Master Anticipation And Therefore Retention
- Pacing: A Masterclass In YouTube Timing
- Context Mapping: An Advanced Technique For Improving Clarity
- Contrast: An Advanced Technique For Creating Videos That Deserve 1M+ Views
- Integrating Sponsorships: How To Make Money AND Not Lose Viewers
- Storyboarding in Notion: How To Efficiently And Productively Plan Shots
- YouTube’s Storytelling Styles: Explore the diverse ways creators tell stories
- The YouTube Algorithm: Why Storytelling Helps
- Micro Structures and the Hook-Event-Payoff
- Macro Structures: Overarching structures that define success
- Filmic Language: Cinematic techniques to elevate your storytelling
- Viral Idea Fundamentals: Key principles behind viral videos
- Conclusion: Apply everything you’ve learned
- Beluga (9M+ Subs) - Full Channel and Storytelling Analysis (50 mins)
- Dylan (900K views in 9 Days With Zero Subs) (27 mins)
- How Bazerk Got 5,900,000 Views - FULL Analysis (27 mins)
- Sushi Ramen case study
Get Access to the Course Today
Lifetime access to everything you need to master YouTube storytelling
YouTube Storytelling:
Far Beyond Retention
38+ lessons on storytelling, scriptwriting, retention, and so much more.
- A Systematic Approach to YouTube Storytelling. Improve views on both educational and entertainment videos, no matter what niche.
- Advanced YouTube Storytelling tactics. Editing terminology, science of fun, retention graph analysis, pacing, foreshadowing, contrast.
- All future updates to this course!
Ultimate Storytelling Bundle
- Everything in 'YouTube Storytelling: Far Beyond Retention'
- ALSO INCLUDES: The YouTube Algorithm Explained. I wrote a 6,000+ word PDF on everything you need to know about the YouTube algorithm. Includes essays, transcripts, and audio files.
Need more flexibility with payments? Start learning today and pay $233/payment, with immediate access to the course. Choose the payment plan
100% Satisfaction Guarantee & Money-Back Promise
I want your investment in this course to feel like an absolute no-brainer — as long as you're willing to put in the work 😉
“Put in the work” means completing the first 5 videos of A Systematic Approach to YouTube Storytelling. If you've done that and for whatever reason aren't fully satisfied with the experience, send me an email within 30 days of your purchase and I'll refund every cent.
The guarantee applies once you've completed those modules and included your reason for cancellation in the email.
Common Questions
Storytelling is very useful in any niche, no matter what kind of channel you have. Whether you're an educational or business channel that needs structure in scriptwriting, or an entertainment channel that needs to figure out the best kinds of storytelling structures for maximum retention, this course will definitely benefit you. I'm very confident in that because I've worked across videos in every niche directly, so all principles come from experience rather than from just theory.
It is highly likely that if you actually diligently apply these principles, your videos will greatly improve in views and quality. I genuinely believe this is one of the best courses in the world on this topic. The only thing that I can't do for you is to put in the hard work of making the videos themselves. The best way to do this course is to just learn one step at a time, and then implement one new improvement at a time.
I've consulted or worked directly with YouTubers such as FastGoodCuisine, Ben Morris, Dylan, Drewdoes, TheBurntChip, NickAR, Hafu Go, Justin Sung, Efficient App, Hudson Matter, and many, many, many more. I started since around 2021, focusing on YouTube storytelling before it was cool.
Yes, I'm a medical practitioner practicing in Australia. I spend about 50% of my time on YouTube and 50% of my time treating patients. I apply obsession and rigor to both.
Absolutely! You can find me on Twitter/X at x.com/dabidoyt, and I also did an in-depth podcast interview on the 1of10 Podcast where I discuss my approach to YouTube storytelling — you can watch it on YouTube.
Yes — the pricing section below includes the monthly payment plan with immediate access.
This is an online course with modules for yourself to take at your own pace. There is no live component to this course, but I may offer one in the future (no promises!).
Take your videos far beyond retention.
Grow your channel faster than ever before.
Enroll NowQuestions? Email us at team@creatorside.io