# Personal Story — YouTube Long Format

> Long-form personal narrative. Vulnerable. Emotional. 10-30 min.

## Format basics

- Length: 10-30 min
- Aspect: 16:9
- First-person narrative
- Vulnerability central
- Emotional arc
- Direct camera + b-roll

## Structure

```
0-1min    HOOK
          The "what happened"
          Or current state

1-3min    SETUP
          Who I am, then
          Stakes / context

3-20min   THE STORY
          Chronological journey
          Major beats
          Emotional moments

20-25min  REFLECTION
          What I learned
          What I'd tell my past self
          Where I am now

25-28min  TAKEAWAY
          For audience
          What this means

28-30min  CTA
          Subscribe
          Comment your story
```

## Sample 20-min personal story

```
"How I Lost Everything and Built My Coffee Shop"

0-1min: HOOK
- B-roll: my coffee shop today, busy and beautiful
- Voiceover: "Three years ago I had nothing. Today I run this.
Here's how I got from there to here."

1-3min: SETUP
- Who I was 3 years ago
- Job at a corporate firm
- Comfortable life
- But...

3-6min: THE BREAKING POINT
- The day I quit
- Why I had to
- The risk I took
- People who said I was crazy

6-10min: THE STRUGGLE
- First year on my own
- The savings depletion
- The first business idea (failed)
- The doubt

10-13min: THE COFFEE EPIPHANY
- A specific moment that changed direction
- Why coffee
- Learning the trade

13-17min: BUILDING THE SHOP
- Finding the location
- The financing struggles
- Day one (we made $43)
- Slow growth

17-20min: TODAY
- Where I am now
- The team
- The community I've built
- The shop full of customers

20-23min: REFLECTION
- What I learned
- What I'd do differently
- What I'd tell 3-years-ago me

23-25min: TAKEAWAY
- "If you're considering a leap..."
- Honest advice
- It's not for everyone

25-26min: CTA
- "Subscribe to follow what we're building"
- "Comment your story below"
- "Next week: a behind-the-scenes shop tour"
```

## Key principles

### Real vulnerability
- Share the hard parts
- Don't sanitize
- Audience connects to truth

### Chronological clarity
- Beginning → middle → end
- Easy to follow
- Time markers

### Specific details
- Specific dates, numbers, places
- Specific moments
- Universal through specific

### Honest learnings
- Don't oversell
- Acknowledge luck
- Don't be guru-y

### Connection
- Audience feels with you
- Direct address moments
- Inviting comment / community

## Sub-types

### Career change
- "How I left my job for ___"
- The leap, the struggle, the result

### Health journey
- Physical, mental health
- Recovery / progress
- Vulnerability central

### Relationship story
- Marriage, divorce, dating
- Privacy considered
- Lessons learned

### Travel / life change
- Moving abroad
- Drastic life shift
- The transformation

### Failure story
- "When I lost everything"
- Recovery journey
- Wisdom from failure

### Identity / coming out
- Personal identity
- Vulnerability + community
- Importance of representation

## When to use

- Building creator personal brand
- Audience emotional connection
- Patreon / community building
- Authority through experience
- Long-term audience growth

## Common mistakes

- Fake vulnerability
- Self-aggrandizing
- "Look how amazing I am"
- Missing the audience angle
- Slow pacing without payoff
- Missing details

## Voice style

- Conversational
- Vulnerable
- Reflective
- Sometimes humorous about hard times
- Earned wisdom
