Characters That Convert: Ideal Story Strategies

The Best Storytelling Techniques to Grow Your YouTube Channel

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

In the distracting world, we live in, you need to be a good storyteller to grow your YouTube channel. Your audience is not going to stick around to watch your whole video if your content isn’t enticing or relatable. If you want to get people to watch all your videos, you need to get them emotionally invested with your stories.

Here are 3 methods for creating an awesome story:

• Method 1: CREATE SUSPENSE
• Method 2: USE EMPATHY
• Method 3: TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A MEANINGFUL JOURNEY

1. Create Suspense

The hero has an objective, but the plan might fail.

The likelihood of something going wrong is what makes a story suspenseful. When you tell a suspenseful story, your audience will have a heightened focus and a strong motivation to continue listening. They want to know if the hero succeeds. Keep the audience waiting and expecting. Don’t give away the ending right away.

What Does a Suspenseful Story Sound Like?

When we talk about a story that is dragging on, it is because there is no suspense. There is nothing at stake, there are no obstacles, there is no problem and, with no problem, there is no promise of resolution.

Here are a few examples you can use to pump more suspense into your story:

- Address a fear (example: being alone for the prom)

- An objective (example: asking the crush out to the dance)

- Consequences of failing (example: being embarrassed in front of the whole school)

- Limited time (example: prom is next week)

- Obstacles (example: the crush has an aggressive ex.)

You can feel your heart rate speeding up simply thinking about the character’s story in the example. Does it have a happy ending or not? We want to know!

Raise Questions After Questions

A good storyteller knows that as soon as they answer a question for their audience, they need to present another one. The audience will always need to have a puzzle in their mind, one that needs to be solved. That is what will keep their interest.

For example: If the hero ends up going to the prom with his crush, the next big question can be: Will they kiss at the last dance?

This continues building on the tension and increasing the stakes evermore.

Check out the suspenseful story from YouTuber, MissRemiAshten . The way she tells the story, we discover more and about her psycho neighbor and the incident gradually. A little bit of information about the neighbor is revealed at a time… not all at once.

Include a Cliffhanger

We’ve all had those moments at the end of an intense television show where we are shouting at the screen because it suddenly cut to black as the main characters were left in a precarious position. That emotional outburst is brought to us by a good cliffhanger, and a good cliffhanger can assure us that the audience will return for more.

But there needs to be more! A cliffhanger is a promise to the viewer that eventually they will be rewarded for their patience and it will be satisfying.

In this cliffhanger from Casey Neistat, he simply asks us a question, “Was that good?” This calls upon us to recall all the awesome YouTube videos we have seen created by filmmakers that aren’t considered “prestigious.” A cliffhanger does not have to end with an epic reveal; it can wrap up with loose ends and allow the audience to tie it up themselves.

How to Deliver a Good Cliffhanger

Applying good cliffhangers to your YouTube videos is a balancing act. You want to draw your audience in, but you also need to have a payoff that is worth the wait.

Done well, a cliffhanger will leave your audience wanting more. Done poorly, a cliffhanger will leave your audience feeling to mislead and a little ripped off, hesitant to listen to more stories from you.

A good cliffhanger does not have to be life or death, but it does have to be the moment the story has been leading up to.

Before you start telling your story, consider the key details that are most impactful.

Once you have the points you want to hit, plan out the reveal. Weave the story together, but withhold the pivotal details until the cliffhanger. Thendeliver it on camera confidently .

Here are two ways you can present your cliffhanger for amplified effect:

1. Slow Down and Have Pauses

As your story intensifies, bring the pace down — or stop completely. The silence becomes the cliffhanger. It can last a second or more, depending on how confident you are in the tension you have built.

Your next words or shots can be the reveal. If you are skilled enough, you can lead into another story one that connects to the previous. If you are trying this, make sure that in the end, the payoff has double the impact. The reveal needs to be twice as powerful if you are going to take the audience on another journey before wrapping up and answering the long-awaited questions.

2. Use Repetition

Whether you want to misdirect your audience or hammer home a point, using repetition throughout your story will help you build the tension you need to establish the cliffhanger.

In this example, we see YouTuber, A little bit of Monika uses both pace and repetition in her storytelling method.

The video starts off at a speedy pace, all the way until the last scene where the confrontation occurs. That’s her slowing down the story so that we are all anticipating the reveal. Is she or is she not actor, Saoirse Ronan?

Through this short video, the repetition of the name is used to show her confidence that her roommate is not who she said it is. The more affirming she becomes, the more likely we as the viewers are going to side with her. This is a simple example of misdirection.

The more you say something or show something, the more important it becomes for the audience — at least, you want it to appear important.

2. Use Empathy

A storyteller must be empathetic.

If your audience cannot empathize with what you are communicating, it would not have the intended effect. Storytelling is all about taking people out of their bodies and putting them in someone else’s.

If you are telling a story about the time your car broke down, you want people to empathize and feel the helplessness of being stuck on a highway, waving cars down to help.

Empathy makes people feel more human. Telling a story people can relate to, even if it didn’t happen to them, is a sign of a quality storyteller.

Don’t Use Too Many Facts and Figures

If you began your story by saying that 1/1,000 cars on the highway break down, that doesn’t evoke any major emotion. There is nothing human about it.

It’s an interesting stat, sure, but the audience is unsure how they should respond. Is that a lot? Is that because of the highway? Is it because of the drivers? Nobody knows… it’s numbered with no context.

However, if you told the story about that time you had to abandon your vehicle and walk down the highway in order to make your important appointment. Suddenly, the audience can empathize with the tribulations you have gone through.

Facts and figures are useful in reports, but not as much in compelling stories.

Evoke the Senses

If I talk about hot melting chocolate, standing in the rain, or the smell of your grandmother’s bedroom, your senses are activated. From all your life experiences, your brain is able to form familiar sensations without any physical changes to your surrounding. That’s the power of storytelling.

Good storytellers use these sensory details and descriptive imagery to spice up a story. This draws the audience in and gives them a more immersive experience when listening to your stories.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What does it smell like?

- What can you hear?

- What do you see?

- What can you physically feel?

This example from YouTuber, Kiril Dobrev perfectly exemplifies what sensory igniting storytelling can do. He illustrates the sensation of being in Hong Kong, not simply through visuals but physical motions and audio effects.

Use Metaphors

As a YouTube storyteller, sometimes you will have to communicate complex ideas. When that happens, use a metaphor to increase the impact.

If you are telling a story about how much you dislike your teacher, you can list off all the ways she is unlikable or you can sum it up with a line like this: “My teacher makes the school a prison.”

That is a metaphor comparing school to prison. Most people haven’t been to prison, but understand what the metaphor is insinuating. School is not a fun place to be because of that teacher.

By connecting two different things, you allow the audience to paint the image in their mind quickly. It doesn’t take a lot of words to create a memorable metaphor. I encourage you to use metaphors anytime you need to address something complicated.

3. Take the Audience on a Meaningful Journey

Perhaps the most important element of a good story is that the journey is meaningful.

- Is it educational?

- Is it entertaining?

- Is it motivational or inspiring?

Knowing how you want to leave your audience feeling is foresight that will improve your YouTube storytelling abilities. Before you start telling your tale, ask: How do I want to change my audience?

YouTuber, Jamie Windsor tells a few stories connected to creativity and plagiarism. Anyone who has ever created anything can relate to his story and thus his audience can empathize.

It is also clear as a viewer that at the end of this 15-minute long video, his audience will have gone on a meaningful journey with him.

His story is a cautionary tale. He wants to educate us so that we can avoid making the same mistakes he did. He used his real-life experience to teach us and that makes it a meaningful video to watch. That was a good story.

Are there any YouTubers that you consider to be fantastic storytellers? Please share it in the comments box below.

Select a Versatile Video Editing Software to Stand Up from Numerous YouTubers

Users worldwide highly recommend Filmora because it comes loaded with various features, which helps to discover the editing skills, add an image to the imagination, and empower creativity.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

In the distracting world, we live in, you need to be a good storyteller to grow your YouTube channel. Your audience is not going to stick around to watch your whole video if your content isn’t enticing or relatable. If you want to get people to watch all your videos, you need to get them emotionally invested with your stories.

Here are 3 methods for creating an awesome story:

• Method 1: CREATE SUSPENSE
• Method 2: USE EMPATHY
• Method 3: TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A MEANINGFUL JOURNEY

1. Create Suspense

The hero has an objective, but the plan might fail.

The likelihood of something going wrong is what makes a story suspenseful. When you tell a suspenseful story, your audience will have a heightened focus and a strong motivation to continue listening. They want to know if the hero succeeds. Keep the audience waiting and expecting. Don’t give away the ending right away.

What Does a Suspenseful Story Sound Like?

When we talk about a story that is dragging on, it is because there is no suspense. There is nothing at stake, there are no obstacles, there is no problem and, with no problem, there is no promise of resolution.

Here are a few examples you can use to pump more suspense into your story:

- Address a fear (example: being alone for the prom)

- An objective (example: asking the crush out to the dance)

- Consequences of failing (example: being embarrassed in front of the whole school)

- Limited time (example: prom is next week)

- Obstacles (example: the crush has an aggressive ex.)

You can feel your heart rate speeding up simply thinking about the character’s story in the example. Does it have a happy ending or not? We want to know!

Raise Questions After Questions

A good storyteller knows that as soon as they answer a question for their audience, they need to present another one. The audience will always need to have a puzzle in their mind, one that needs to be solved. That is what will keep their interest.

For example: If the hero ends up going to the prom with his crush, the next big question can be: Will they kiss at the last dance?

This continues building on the tension and increasing the stakes evermore.

Check out the suspenseful story from YouTuber, MissRemiAshten . The way she tells the story, we discover more and about her psycho neighbor and the incident gradually. A little bit of information about the neighbor is revealed at a time… not all at once.

Include a Cliffhanger

We’ve all had those moments at the end of an intense television show where we are shouting at the screen because it suddenly cut to black as the main characters were left in a precarious position. That emotional outburst is brought to us by a good cliffhanger, and a good cliffhanger can assure us that the audience will return for more.

But there needs to be more! A cliffhanger is a promise to the viewer that eventually they will be rewarded for their patience and it will be satisfying.

In this cliffhanger from Casey Neistat, he simply asks us a question, “Was that good?” This calls upon us to recall all the awesome YouTube videos we have seen created by filmmakers that aren’t considered “prestigious.” A cliffhanger does not have to end with an epic reveal; it can wrap up with loose ends and allow the audience to tie it up themselves.

How to Deliver a Good Cliffhanger

Applying good cliffhangers to your YouTube videos is a balancing act. You want to draw your audience in, but you also need to have a payoff that is worth the wait.

Done well, a cliffhanger will leave your audience wanting more. Done poorly, a cliffhanger will leave your audience feeling to mislead and a little ripped off, hesitant to listen to more stories from you.

A good cliffhanger does not have to be life or death, but it does have to be the moment the story has been leading up to.

Before you start telling your story, consider the key details that are most impactful.

Once you have the points you want to hit, plan out the reveal. Weave the story together, but withhold the pivotal details until the cliffhanger. Thendeliver it on camera confidently .

Here are two ways you can present your cliffhanger for amplified effect:

1. Slow Down and Have Pauses

As your story intensifies, bring the pace down — or stop completely. The silence becomes the cliffhanger. It can last a second or more, depending on how confident you are in the tension you have built.

Your next words or shots can be the reveal. If you are skilled enough, you can lead into another story one that connects to the previous. If you are trying this, make sure that in the end, the payoff has double the impact. The reveal needs to be twice as powerful if you are going to take the audience on another journey before wrapping up and answering the long-awaited questions.

2. Use Repetition

Whether you want to misdirect your audience or hammer home a point, using repetition throughout your story will help you build the tension you need to establish the cliffhanger.

In this example, we see YouTuber, A little bit of Monika uses both pace and repetition in her storytelling method.

The video starts off at a speedy pace, all the way until the last scene where the confrontation occurs. That’s her slowing down the story so that we are all anticipating the reveal. Is she or is she not actor, Saoirse Ronan?

Through this short video, the repetition of the name is used to show her confidence that her roommate is not who she said it is. The more affirming she becomes, the more likely we as the viewers are going to side with her. This is a simple example of misdirection.

The more you say something or show something, the more important it becomes for the audience — at least, you want it to appear important.

2. Use Empathy

A storyteller must be empathetic.

If your audience cannot empathize with what you are communicating, it would not have the intended effect. Storytelling is all about taking people out of their bodies and putting them in someone else’s.

If you are telling a story about the time your car broke down, you want people to empathize and feel the helplessness of being stuck on a highway, waving cars down to help.

Empathy makes people feel more human. Telling a story people can relate to, even if it didn’t happen to them, is a sign of a quality storyteller.

Don’t Use Too Many Facts and Figures

If you began your story by saying that 1/1,000 cars on the highway break down, that doesn’t evoke any major emotion. There is nothing human about it.

It’s an interesting stat, sure, but the audience is unsure how they should respond. Is that a lot? Is that because of the highway? Is it because of the drivers? Nobody knows… it’s numbered with no context.

However, if you told the story about that time you had to abandon your vehicle and walk down the highway in order to make your important appointment. Suddenly, the audience can empathize with the tribulations you have gone through.

Facts and figures are useful in reports, but not as much in compelling stories.

Evoke the Senses

If I talk about hot melting chocolate, standing in the rain, or the smell of your grandmother’s bedroom, your senses are activated. From all your life experiences, your brain is able to form familiar sensations without any physical changes to your surrounding. That’s the power of storytelling.

Good storytellers use these sensory details and descriptive imagery to spice up a story. This draws the audience in and gives them a more immersive experience when listening to your stories.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What does it smell like?

- What can you hear?

- What do you see?

- What can you physically feel?

This example from YouTuber, Kiril Dobrev perfectly exemplifies what sensory igniting storytelling can do. He illustrates the sensation of being in Hong Kong, not simply through visuals but physical motions and audio effects.

Use Metaphors

As a YouTube storyteller, sometimes you will have to communicate complex ideas. When that happens, use a metaphor to increase the impact.

If you are telling a story about how much you dislike your teacher, you can list off all the ways she is unlikable or you can sum it up with a line like this: “My teacher makes the school a prison.”

That is a metaphor comparing school to prison. Most people haven’t been to prison, but understand what the metaphor is insinuating. School is not a fun place to be because of that teacher.

By connecting two different things, you allow the audience to paint the image in their mind quickly. It doesn’t take a lot of words to create a memorable metaphor. I encourage you to use metaphors anytime you need to address something complicated.

3. Take the Audience on a Meaningful Journey

Perhaps the most important element of a good story is that the journey is meaningful.

- Is it educational?

- Is it entertaining?

- Is it motivational or inspiring?

Knowing how you want to leave your audience feeling is foresight that will improve your YouTube storytelling abilities. Before you start telling your tale, ask: How do I want to change my audience?

YouTuber, Jamie Windsor tells a few stories connected to creativity and plagiarism. Anyone who has ever created anything can relate to his story and thus his audience can empathize.

It is also clear as a viewer that at the end of this 15-minute long video, his audience will have gone on a meaningful journey with him.

His story is a cautionary tale. He wants to educate us so that we can avoid making the same mistakes he did. He used his real-life experience to teach us and that makes it a meaningful video to watch. That was a good story.

Are there any YouTubers that you consider to be fantastic storytellers? Please share it in the comments box below.

Select a Versatile Video Editing Software to Stand Up from Numerous YouTubers

Users worldwide highly recommend Filmora because it comes loaded with various features, which helps to discover the editing skills, add an image to the imagination, and empower creativity.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

In the distracting world, we live in, you need to be a good storyteller to grow your YouTube channel. Your audience is not going to stick around to watch your whole video if your content isn’t enticing or relatable. If you want to get people to watch all your videos, you need to get them emotionally invested with your stories.

Here are 3 methods for creating an awesome story:

• Method 1: CREATE SUSPENSE
• Method 2: USE EMPATHY
• Method 3: TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A MEANINGFUL JOURNEY

1. Create Suspense

The hero has an objective, but the plan might fail.

The likelihood of something going wrong is what makes a story suspenseful. When you tell a suspenseful story, your audience will have a heightened focus and a strong motivation to continue listening. They want to know if the hero succeeds. Keep the audience waiting and expecting. Don’t give away the ending right away.

What Does a Suspenseful Story Sound Like?

When we talk about a story that is dragging on, it is because there is no suspense. There is nothing at stake, there are no obstacles, there is no problem and, with no problem, there is no promise of resolution.

Here are a few examples you can use to pump more suspense into your story:

- Address a fear (example: being alone for the prom)

- An objective (example: asking the crush out to the dance)

- Consequences of failing (example: being embarrassed in front of the whole school)

- Limited time (example: prom is next week)

- Obstacles (example: the crush has an aggressive ex.)

You can feel your heart rate speeding up simply thinking about the character’s story in the example. Does it have a happy ending or not? We want to know!

Raise Questions After Questions

A good storyteller knows that as soon as they answer a question for their audience, they need to present another one. The audience will always need to have a puzzle in their mind, one that needs to be solved. That is what will keep their interest.

For example: If the hero ends up going to the prom with his crush, the next big question can be: Will they kiss at the last dance?

This continues building on the tension and increasing the stakes evermore.

Check out the suspenseful story from YouTuber, MissRemiAshten . The way she tells the story, we discover more and about her psycho neighbor and the incident gradually. A little bit of information about the neighbor is revealed at a time… not all at once.

Include a Cliffhanger

We’ve all had those moments at the end of an intense television show where we are shouting at the screen because it suddenly cut to black as the main characters were left in a precarious position. That emotional outburst is brought to us by a good cliffhanger, and a good cliffhanger can assure us that the audience will return for more.

But there needs to be more! A cliffhanger is a promise to the viewer that eventually they will be rewarded for their patience and it will be satisfying.

In this cliffhanger from Casey Neistat, he simply asks us a question, “Was that good?” This calls upon us to recall all the awesome YouTube videos we have seen created by filmmakers that aren’t considered “prestigious.” A cliffhanger does not have to end with an epic reveal; it can wrap up with loose ends and allow the audience to tie it up themselves.

How to Deliver a Good Cliffhanger

Applying good cliffhangers to your YouTube videos is a balancing act. You want to draw your audience in, but you also need to have a payoff that is worth the wait.

Done well, a cliffhanger will leave your audience wanting more. Done poorly, a cliffhanger will leave your audience feeling to mislead and a little ripped off, hesitant to listen to more stories from you.

A good cliffhanger does not have to be life or death, but it does have to be the moment the story has been leading up to.

Before you start telling your story, consider the key details that are most impactful.

Once you have the points you want to hit, plan out the reveal. Weave the story together, but withhold the pivotal details until the cliffhanger. Thendeliver it on camera confidently .

Here are two ways you can present your cliffhanger for amplified effect:

1. Slow Down and Have Pauses

As your story intensifies, bring the pace down — or stop completely. The silence becomes the cliffhanger. It can last a second or more, depending on how confident you are in the tension you have built.

Your next words or shots can be the reveal. If you are skilled enough, you can lead into another story one that connects to the previous. If you are trying this, make sure that in the end, the payoff has double the impact. The reveal needs to be twice as powerful if you are going to take the audience on another journey before wrapping up and answering the long-awaited questions.

2. Use Repetition

Whether you want to misdirect your audience or hammer home a point, using repetition throughout your story will help you build the tension you need to establish the cliffhanger.

In this example, we see YouTuber, A little bit of Monika uses both pace and repetition in her storytelling method.

The video starts off at a speedy pace, all the way until the last scene where the confrontation occurs. That’s her slowing down the story so that we are all anticipating the reveal. Is she or is she not actor, Saoirse Ronan?

Through this short video, the repetition of the name is used to show her confidence that her roommate is not who she said it is. The more affirming she becomes, the more likely we as the viewers are going to side with her. This is a simple example of misdirection.

The more you say something or show something, the more important it becomes for the audience — at least, you want it to appear important.

2. Use Empathy

A storyteller must be empathetic.

If your audience cannot empathize with what you are communicating, it would not have the intended effect. Storytelling is all about taking people out of their bodies and putting them in someone else’s.

If you are telling a story about the time your car broke down, you want people to empathize and feel the helplessness of being stuck on a highway, waving cars down to help.

Empathy makes people feel more human. Telling a story people can relate to, even if it didn’t happen to them, is a sign of a quality storyteller.

Don’t Use Too Many Facts and Figures

If you began your story by saying that 1/1,000 cars on the highway break down, that doesn’t evoke any major emotion. There is nothing human about it.

It’s an interesting stat, sure, but the audience is unsure how they should respond. Is that a lot? Is that because of the highway? Is it because of the drivers? Nobody knows… it’s numbered with no context.

However, if you told the story about that time you had to abandon your vehicle and walk down the highway in order to make your important appointment. Suddenly, the audience can empathize with the tribulations you have gone through.

Facts and figures are useful in reports, but not as much in compelling stories.

Evoke the Senses

If I talk about hot melting chocolate, standing in the rain, or the smell of your grandmother’s bedroom, your senses are activated. From all your life experiences, your brain is able to form familiar sensations without any physical changes to your surrounding. That’s the power of storytelling.

Good storytellers use these sensory details and descriptive imagery to spice up a story. This draws the audience in and gives them a more immersive experience when listening to your stories.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What does it smell like?

- What can you hear?

- What do you see?

- What can you physically feel?

This example from YouTuber, Kiril Dobrev perfectly exemplifies what sensory igniting storytelling can do. He illustrates the sensation of being in Hong Kong, not simply through visuals but physical motions and audio effects.

Use Metaphors

As a YouTube storyteller, sometimes you will have to communicate complex ideas. When that happens, use a metaphor to increase the impact.

If you are telling a story about how much you dislike your teacher, you can list off all the ways she is unlikable or you can sum it up with a line like this: “My teacher makes the school a prison.”

That is a metaphor comparing school to prison. Most people haven’t been to prison, but understand what the metaphor is insinuating. School is not a fun place to be because of that teacher.

By connecting two different things, you allow the audience to paint the image in their mind quickly. It doesn’t take a lot of words to create a memorable metaphor. I encourage you to use metaphors anytime you need to address something complicated.

3. Take the Audience on a Meaningful Journey

Perhaps the most important element of a good story is that the journey is meaningful.

- Is it educational?

- Is it entertaining?

- Is it motivational or inspiring?

Knowing how you want to leave your audience feeling is foresight that will improve your YouTube storytelling abilities. Before you start telling your tale, ask: How do I want to change my audience?

YouTuber, Jamie Windsor tells a few stories connected to creativity and plagiarism. Anyone who has ever created anything can relate to his story and thus his audience can empathize.

It is also clear as a viewer that at the end of this 15-minute long video, his audience will have gone on a meaningful journey with him.

His story is a cautionary tale. He wants to educate us so that we can avoid making the same mistakes he did. He used his real-life experience to teach us and that makes it a meaningful video to watch. That was a good story.

Are there any YouTubers that you consider to be fantastic storytellers? Please share it in the comments box below.

Select a Versatile Video Editing Software to Stand Up from Numerous YouTubers

Users worldwide highly recommend Filmora because it comes loaded with various features, which helps to discover the editing skills, add an image to the imagination, and empower creativity.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

In the distracting world, we live in, you need to be a good storyteller to grow your YouTube channel. Your audience is not going to stick around to watch your whole video if your content isn’t enticing or relatable. If you want to get people to watch all your videos, you need to get them emotionally invested with your stories.

Here are 3 methods for creating an awesome story:

• Method 1: CREATE SUSPENSE
• Method 2: USE EMPATHY
• Method 3: TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A MEANINGFUL JOURNEY

1. Create Suspense

The hero has an objective, but the plan might fail.

The likelihood of something going wrong is what makes a story suspenseful. When you tell a suspenseful story, your audience will have a heightened focus and a strong motivation to continue listening. They want to know if the hero succeeds. Keep the audience waiting and expecting. Don’t give away the ending right away.

What Does a Suspenseful Story Sound Like?

When we talk about a story that is dragging on, it is because there is no suspense. There is nothing at stake, there are no obstacles, there is no problem and, with no problem, there is no promise of resolution.

Here are a few examples you can use to pump more suspense into your story:

- Address a fear (example: being alone for the prom)

- An objective (example: asking the crush out to the dance)

- Consequences of failing (example: being embarrassed in front of the whole school)

- Limited time (example: prom is next week)

- Obstacles (example: the crush has an aggressive ex.)

You can feel your heart rate speeding up simply thinking about the character’s story in the example. Does it have a happy ending or not? We want to know!

Raise Questions After Questions

A good storyteller knows that as soon as they answer a question for their audience, they need to present another one. The audience will always need to have a puzzle in their mind, one that needs to be solved. That is what will keep their interest.

For example: If the hero ends up going to the prom with his crush, the next big question can be: Will they kiss at the last dance?

This continues building on the tension and increasing the stakes evermore.

Check out the suspenseful story from YouTuber, MissRemiAshten . The way she tells the story, we discover more and about her psycho neighbor and the incident gradually. A little bit of information about the neighbor is revealed at a time… not all at once.

Include a Cliffhanger

We’ve all had those moments at the end of an intense television show where we are shouting at the screen because it suddenly cut to black as the main characters were left in a precarious position. That emotional outburst is brought to us by a good cliffhanger, and a good cliffhanger can assure us that the audience will return for more.

But there needs to be more! A cliffhanger is a promise to the viewer that eventually they will be rewarded for their patience and it will be satisfying.

In this cliffhanger from Casey Neistat, he simply asks us a question, “Was that good?” This calls upon us to recall all the awesome YouTube videos we have seen created by filmmakers that aren’t considered “prestigious.” A cliffhanger does not have to end with an epic reveal; it can wrap up with loose ends and allow the audience to tie it up themselves.

How to Deliver a Good Cliffhanger

Applying good cliffhangers to your YouTube videos is a balancing act. You want to draw your audience in, but you also need to have a payoff that is worth the wait.

Done well, a cliffhanger will leave your audience wanting more. Done poorly, a cliffhanger will leave your audience feeling to mislead and a little ripped off, hesitant to listen to more stories from you.

A good cliffhanger does not have to be life or death, but it does have to be the moment the story has been leading up to.

Before you start telling your story, consider the key details that are most impactful.

Once you have the points you want to hit, plan out the reveal. Weave the story together, but withhold the pivotal details until the cliffhanger. Thendeliver it on camera confidently .

Here are two ways you can present your cliffhanger for amplified effect:

1. Slow Down and Have Pauses

As your story intensifies, bring the pace down — or stop completely. The silence becomes the cliffhanger. It can last a second or more, depending on how confident you are in the tension you have built.

Your next words or shots can be the reveal. If you are skilled enough, you can lead into another story one that connects to the previous. If you are trying this, make sure that in the end, the payoff has double the impact. The reveal needs to be twice as powerful if you are going to take the audience on another journey before wrapping up and answering the long-awaited questions.

2. Use Repetition

Whether you want to misdirect your audience or hammer home a point, using repetition throughout your story will help you build the tension you need to establish the cliffhanger.

In this example, we see YouTuber, A little bit of Monika uses both pace and repetition in her storytelling method.

The video starts off at a speedy pace, all the way until the last scene where the confrontation occurs. That’s her slowing down the story so that we are all anticipating the reveal. Is she or is she not actor, Saoirse Ronan?

Through this short video, the repetition of the name is used to show her confidence that her roommate is not who she said it is. The more affirming she becomes, the more likely we as the viewers are going to side with her. This is a simple example of misdirection.

The more you say something or show something, the more important it becomes for the audience — at least, you want it to appear important.

2. Use Empathy

A storyteller must be empathetic.

If your audience cannot empathize with what you are communicating, it would not have the intended effect. Storytelling is all about taking people out of their bodies and putting them in someone else’s.

If you are telling a story about the time your car broke down, you want people to empathize and feel the helplessness of being stuck on a highway, waving cars down to help.

Empathy makes people feel more human. Telling a story people can relate to, even if it didn’t happen to them, is a sign of a quality storyteller.

Don’t Use Too Many Facts and Figures

If you began your story by saying that 1/1,000 cars on the highway break down, that doesn’t evoke any major emotion. There is nothing human about it.

It’s an interesting stat, sure, but the audience is unsure how they should respond. Is that a lot? Is that because of the highway? Is it because of the drivers? Nobody knows… it’s numbered with no context.

However, if you told the story about that time you had to abandon your vehicle and walk down the highway in order to make your important appointment. Suddenly, the audience can empathize with the tribulations you have gone through.

Facts and figures are useful in reports, but not as much in compelling stories.

Evoke the Senses

If I talk about hot melting chocolate, standing in the rain, or the smell of your grandmother’s bedroom, your senses are activated. From all your life experiences, your brain is able to form familiar sensations without any physical changes to your surrounding. That’s the power of storytelling.

Good storytellers use these sensory details and descriptive imagery to spice up a story. This draws the audience in and gives them a more immersive experience when listening to your stories.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What does it smell like?

- What can you hear?

- What do you see?

- What can you physically feel?

This example from YouTuber, Kiril Dobrev perfectly exemplifies what sensory igniting storytelling can do. He illustrates the sensation of being in Hong Kong, not simply through visuals but physical motions and audio effects.

Use Metaphors

As a YouTube storyteller, sometimes you will have to communicate complex ideas. When that happens, use a metaphor to increase the impact.

If you are telling a story about how much you dislike your teacher, you can list off all the ways she is unlikable or you can sum it up with a line like this: “My teacher makes the school a prison.”

That is a metaphor comparing school to prison. Most people haven’t been to prison, but understand what the metaphor is insinuating. School is not a fun place to be because of that teacher.

By connecting two different things, you allow the audience to paint the image in their mind quickly. It doesn’t take a lot of words to create a memorable metaphor. I encourage you to use metaphors anytime you need to address something complicated.

3. Take the Audience on a Meaningful Journey

Perhaps the most important element of a good story is that the journey is meaningful.

- Is it educational?

- Is it entertaining?

- Is it motivational or inspiring?

Knowing how you want to leave your audience feeling is foresight that will improve your YouTube storytelling abilities. Before you start telling your tale, ask: How do I want to change my audience?

YouTuber, Jamie Windsor tells a few stories connected to creativity and plagiarism. Anyone who has ever created anything can relate to his story and thus his audience can empathize.

It is also clear as a viewer that at the end of this 15-minute long video, his audience will have gone on a meaningful journey with him.

His story is a cautionary tale. He wants to educate us so that we can avoid making the same mistakes he did. He used his real-life experience to teach us and that makes it a meaningful video to watch. That was a good story.

Are there any YouTubers that you consider to be fantastic storytellers? Please share it in the comments box below.

Select a Versatile Video Editing Software to Stand Up from Numerous YouTubers

Users worldwide highly recommend Filmora because it comes loaded with various features, which helps to discover the editing skills, add an image to the imagination, and empower creativity.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Quick Step-by-Step Guide for YouTube Audio in iMovie

How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

Marion Dubois

Nov 07, 2023• Proven solutions

Adding background music to videos makes the video more unique and interesting to see. iMovie is a professional video editing tool that lets you pimp your videos the way you want it with your desired music and other sound effects. With the introduction of background music, your video would become unique and stand out.

Though it is not easy to find the right music for your background music, YouTube is a good place to search for good sounds. That’s why in this article, we’ll see how to add music to iMovie from YouTube.

• Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?
• Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac [All-In-One Platform]
• How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?
• How to Put Music from YouTube to iMovie on Mac?

Part 1. Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

iMovie is a tool developed by Apple for video editing designed to help users create unique, fun videos quickly. This outstanding video editor works only on Apple devices which includes macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It embodies excellent tools for a media organization, color grading, soundtracks, and green-screen effects for your videos. To crown it all, it supports a few media formats.

If your media source is unavailable on your device, it could be since iMovie doesn’t support the format, or it may be under the protection of Digital Rights Management.

Now, even though you’ve downloaded the songs from YouTube to listen to them offline, you are allowed to stream them within the music player only and not apply them to other media forms.

So, if you want to add YouTube music to iMovie, you must remove the DRM restrictions first before converting the YouTube song to a format supported by iMovie. A professional YouTube music downloader can help you with all of this.

Part 2. Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac

Here is an all-in-one method that to add a YouTube song to iMovie whether through iPhone or Mac. First, record the YouTube music, then add extracted audio files to iMovie.

Step 1: First download and install Filmora Video Editor from the button below and use the built-in ‘Screen Recorder‘ tool to record the YouTube video/music that you want to rip the audio from.

Record YouTube Music

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Secure Download

Record YouTube Music

For macOS 10.14 or later

Secure Download

Try It Free >>

Step 2: Import the recorded video to Filmora, right click on the video track and select ‘Detach Audio‘ to seperate the audio track and the video track. Select the audio track and click the ‘Export‘ button to save ripped audio files.

Step 3: And now, you can use the extracted YouTube audio files to iMovie for forther editing. Plus, Filmora Video Editor provides with a music library, where you can choose background music or sound effect for your project according to your needs. It is also an expert in creating videos, worth to have a try!

Tips You May Not Want to Miss

Filmora is the best iMovie alternative on the market, which provides the best methods, tools, and techniques to add music to videos, video cutting easily, joining, inversion, and editing. It allows you to easily make movies, edit audio, apply effects and share your new movies on YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Therefore, if you are using Filmora, adding music to videos is just a piece of cake. Just select the audio clip in the timeline, click the “Video and Audio Effects” button, and go to the “Audio Effects” option. Now you can freely choose any audio effect.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Secure Download

Try It Free >>

Part 3. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?

In this part, let us read the most straightforward tutorial on how to add music from YouTube to iMovie on iPhone.

First Download Music from YouTube on iPhone

Downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone is confusing since Apple provides the apps available in the App store. If you jailbreak your phone, there are various other options, but here’s the simplest way if you don’t want to go that route.

Step 1: Download the app Documents by Readdle.

Step 2: Select the compass icon and go to https://www.videosolo.com/online-video-downloader/

Step 3: Paste a YouTube video link in the text box and select “Download”. After some seconds, the video will decode and produce a list of different output quality and format options.

Step 4: Hit the “Download” on the preferred output option.

Step 5: Enter a name and download location for the video.

Step 6: Hit the Downloads tab in the bottom navigation bar to view your downloaded videos within the Documents app.

Step 7: Go back to the Documents app home screen to save your downloaded video and open your Downloads folder.

Step 8: Look for the video you wish to edit and tap the three dots icon on it.

Step 9: Hit the Share button and then Save Video.

Step 10: You can search the downloaded YouTube videos in the Photos app.

Add Downloaded Music to iMovie

Step 1: Launch iMovie and Create a Project

Open the iMovie app and pick the “+” icon to create a project. Then, select a movie file from the media to which you want to add the music and add it to the created project.

Step2: Create Movie

Immediately the movie is added to the project, click on the “Create Movie”, enhance the quality of your video using any of iMovie’s many themes, and add the correct ambiance. Click on the icon like a gear and toggle “Theme Music”. Now you have to choose the theme you desire for your video.

Step 3: Select My Music

Now, it’s time to add audio of your choice, and if you don’t want to select from your existing collection, tap on the “+” icon below on the left side of your screen. Next, choose “Audio” and then select “My Music”.

Step 4: Select Audio from Playlist

Select from the playlist, artist, individual songs, or select from the albums you already have on your device and click on the “+” icon to add to your video. It is important to note that you cannot add multiple songs at once. Just add and adjust the sound as desired.

Finally, after the song has been added to the video successfully, export it to your gallery using the “Export” button and save it on your phone.

Filmora Video Editor

Best iMovie Alternative - Filmora Video Editor

Filmora Video Editor is an expert in creating and editing videos, it offers a ChatGPT plug-in and AI tools to enhance your creative vision. Make your idea into reality.

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Try It Free >>

Part 4. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on Mac?

It is elementary to use YouTube songs in iMovie on Mac. You can easily drag the YouTube music file into your project from the Finder and the desktop. The YouTube music added into the project timeline behaves differently depending on the place you added them.

Download Music from YouTube on Mac

Various programs and tools can assist you in downloading YouTube videos on a Mac.

A straightforward way is to use the inbuilt screen capture tool of macOS. Hit the Command + Shift + 5 tabs to bring up the screen recording options.

You can either record an entire screen or choose a window and alter the options to add audio from your Mac’s internal microphone.

The ideal tool or app for downloading YouTube videos on Mac in high-tech quality is a 4K Video Downloader.

It’s free for a max of 30 downloads per day, or you can upgrade to one of its premium plans. The software can also download videos in around 8K quality and various other high-tech formats. And 4K Video Downloader can also grab whole playlists of YouTube.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: Launch the 4K Video Downloader and open the program.

Step 2: Find a YouTube video and copy the link.

Step 3: Hit the Paste Link button in the menu.

Step 4: Select the Download button after choosing from the list of quality and format options.

Step 5: Download the video and then click the three-dot icon, so you can play.

How to Add Music to iMovie

Step 1: Add YouTube Music to the Clip

To add a YouTube music file to a particular video clip, drag the YouTube music file under the video clip so that a bar appears. Next, release the button when you see the green “Add” symbol to set the music as a background song in your iMovie project.

To add a YouTube music file to the iMovie project: drag and drop the YouTube music file to your project, release the mouse button once you see the green color. Add a symbol to add a YouTube song to the iMovie project as background music.

Step 2: Add YouTube Music File to the iMovie Project

Just drag and drop the YouTube video file to your project. Then, release the button once you see the green “Add” sign to add background music from the YouTube file to your project.

Conclusion

So, guys, now, can you add music from YouTube to iMovie? I’m pretty sure you have a positive answer as you saw how to add music to iMovie from YouTube using a simple step method. Moreover, have fun and create magic with your discovery of Filmora Video Editor , as it allows you to explore its numerous features to make a movie.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Secure Download

Try It Free >>

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois

Nov 07, 2023• Proven solutions

Adding background music to videos makes the video more unique and interesting to see. iMovie is a professional video editing tool that lets you pimp your videos the way you want it with your desired music and other sound effects. With the introduction of background music, your video would become unique and stand out.

Though it is not easy to find the right music for your background music, YouTube is a good place to search for good sounds. That’s why in this article, we’ll see how to add music to iMovie from YouTube.

• Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?
• Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac [All-In-One Platform]
• How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?
• How to Put Music from YouTube to iMovie on Mac?

Part 1. Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

iMovie is a tool developed by Apple for video editing designed to help users create unique, fun videos quickly. This outstanding video editor works only on Apple devices which includes macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It embodies excellent tools for a media organization, color grading, soundtracks, and green-screen effects for your videos. To crown it all, it supports a few media formats.

If your media source is unavailable on your device, it could be since iMovie doesn’t support the format, or it may be under the protection of Digital Rights Management.

Now, even though you’ve downloaded the songs from YouTube to listen to them offline, you are allowed to stream them within the music player only and not apply them to other media forms.

So, if you want to add YouTube music to iMovie, you must remove the DRM restrictions first before converting the YouTube song to a format supported by iMovie. A professional YouTube music downloader can help you with all of this.

Part 2. Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac

Here is an all-in-one method that to add a YouTube song to iMovie whether through iPhone or Mac. First, record the YouTube music, then add extracted audio files to iMovie.

Step 1: First download and install Filmora Video Editor from the button below and use the built-in ‘Screen Recorder‘ tool to record the YouTube video/music that you want to rip the audio from.

Record YouTube Music

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Secure Download

Record YouTube Music

For macOS 10.14 or later

Secure Download

Try It Free >>

Step 2: Import the recorded video to Filmora, right click on the video track and select ‘Detach Audio‘ to seperate the audio track and the video track. Select the audio track and click the ‘Export‘ button to save ripped audio files.

Step 3: And now, you can use the extracted YouTube audio files to iMovie for forther editing. Plus, Filmora Video Editor provides with a music library, where you can choose background music or sound effect for your project according to your needs. It is also an expert in creating videos, worth to have a try!

Tips You May Not Want to Miss

Filmora is the best iMovie alternative on the market, which provides the best methods, tools, and techniques to add music to videos, video cutting easily, joining, inversion, and editing. It allows you to easily make movies, edit audio, apply effects and share your new movies on YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Therefore, if you are using Filmora, adding music to videos is just a piece of cake. Just select the audio clip in the timeline, click the “Video and Audio Effects” button, and go to the “Audio Effects” option. Now you can freely choose any audio effect.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Secure Download

Try It Free >>

Part 3. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?

In this part, let us read the most straightforward tutorial on how to add music from YouTube to iMovie on iPhone.

First Download Music from YouTube on iPhone

Downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone is confusing since Apple provides the apps available in the App store. If you jailbreak your phone, there are various other options, but here’s the simplest way if you don’t want to go that route.

Step 1: Download the app Documents by Readdle.

Step 2: Select the compass icon and go to https://www.videosolo.com/online-video-downloader/

Step 3: Paste a YouTube video link in the text box and select “Download”. After some seconds, the video will decode and produce a list of different output quality and format options.

Step 4: Hit the “Download” on the preferred output option.

Step 5: Enter a name and download location for the video.

Step 6: Hit the Downloads tab in the bottom navigation bar to view your downloaded videos within the Documents app.

Step 7: Go back to the Documents app home screen to save your downloaded video and open your Downloads folder.

Step 8: Look for the video you wish to edit and tap the three dots icon on it.

Step 9: Hit the Share button and then Save Video.

Step 10: You can search the downloaded YouTube videos in the Photos app.

Add Downloaded Music to iMovie

Step 1: Launch iMovie and Create a Project

Open the iMovie app and pick the “+” icon to create a project. Then, select a movie file from the media to which you want to add the music and add it to the created project.

Step2: Create Movie

Immediately the movie is added to the project, click on the “Create Movie”, enhance the quality of your video using any of iMovie’s many themes, and add the correct ambiance. Click on the icon like a gear and toggle “Theme Music”. Now you have to choose the theme you desire for your video.

Step 3: Select My Music

Now, it’s time to add audio of your choice, and if you don’t want to select from your existing collection, tap on the “+” icon below on the left side of your screen. Next, choose “Audio” and then select “My Music”.

Step 4: Select Audio from Playlist

Select from the playlist, artist, individual songs, or select from the albums you already have on your device and click on the “+” icon to add to your video. It is important to note that you cannot add multiple songs at once. Just add and adjust the sound as desired.

Finally, after the song has been added to the video successfully, export it to your gallery using the “Export” button and save it on your phone.

Filmora Video Editor

Best iMovie Alternative - Filmora Video Editor

Filmora Video Editor is an expert in creating and editing videos, it offers a ChatGPT plug-in and AI tools to enhance your creative vision. Make your idea into reality.

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Try It Free >>

Part 4. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on Mac?

It is elementary to use YouTube songs in iMovie on Mac. You can easily drag the YouTube music file into your project from the Finder and the desktop. The YouTube music added into the project timeline behaves differently depending on the place you added them.

Download Music from YouTube on Mac

Various programs and tools can assist you in downloading YouTube videos on a Mac.

A straightforward way is to use the inbuilt screen capture tool of macOS. Hit the Command + Shift + 5 tabs to bring up the screen recording options.

You can either record an entire screen or choose a window and alter the options to add audio from your Mac’s internal microphone.

The ideal tool or app for downloading YouTube videos on Mac in high-tech quality is a 4K Video Downloader.

It’s free for a max of 30 downloads per day, or you can upgrade to one of its premium plans. The software can also download videos in around 8K quality and various other high-tech formats. And 4K Video Downloader can also grab whole playlists of YouTube.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: Launch the 4K Video Downloader and open the program.

Step 2: Find a YouTube video and copy the link.

Step 3: Hit the Paste Link button in the menu.

Step 4: Select the Download button after choosing from the list of quality and format options.

Step 5: Download the video and then click the three-dot icon, so you can play.

How to Add Music to iMovie

Step 1: Add YouTube Music to the Clip

To add a YouTube music file to a particular video clip, drag the YouTube music file under the video clip so that a bar appears. Next, release the button when you see the green “Add” symbol to set the music as a background song in your iMovie project.

To add a YouTube music file to the iMovie project: drag and drop the YouTube music file to your project, release the mouse button once you see the green color. Add a symbol to add a YouTube song to the iMovie project as background music.

Step 2: Add YouTube Music File to the iMovie Project

Just drag and drop the YouTube video file to your project. Then, release the button once you see the green “Add” sign to add background music from the YouTube file to your project.

Conclusion

So, guys, now, can you add music from YouTube to iMovie? I’m pretty sure you have a positive answer as you saw how to add music to iMovie from YouTube using a simple step method. Moreover, have fun and create magic with your discovery of Filmora Video Editor , as it allows you to explore its numerous features to make a movie.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Secure Download

Try It Free >>

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois

Nov 07, 2023• Proven solutions

Adding background music to videos makes the video more unique and interesting to see. iMovie is a professional video editing tool that lets you pimp your videos the way you want it with your desired music and other sound effects. With the introduction of background music, your video would become unique and stand out.

Though it is not easy to find the right music for your background music, YouTube is a good place to search for good sounds. That’s why in this article, we’ll see how to add music to iMovie from YouTube.

• Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?
• Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac [All-In-One Platform]
• How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?
• How to Put Music from YouTube to iMovie on Mac?

Part 1. Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

iMovie is a tool developed by Apple for video editing designed to help users create unique, fun videos quickly. This outstanding video editor works only on Apple devices which includes macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It embodies excellent tools for a media organization, color grading, soundtracks, and green-screen effects for your videos. To crown it all, it supports a few media formats.

If your media source is unavailable on your device, it could be since iMovie doesn’t support the format, or it may be under the protection of Digital Rights Management.

Now, even though you’ve downloaded the songs from YouTube to listen to them offline, you are allowed to stream them within the music player only and not apply them to other media forms.

So, if you want to add YouTube music to iMovie, you must remove the DRM restrictions first before converting the YouTube song to a format supported by iMovie. A professional YouTube music downloader can help you with all of this.

Part 2. Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac

Here is an all-in-one method that to add a YouTube song to iMovie whether through iPhone or Mac. First, record the YouTube music, then add extracted audio files to iMovie.

Step 1: First download and install Filmora Video Editor from the button below and use the built-in ‘Screen Recorder‘ tool to record the YouTube video/music that you want to rip the audio from.

Record YouTube Music

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Secure Download

Record YouTube Music

For macOS 10.14 or later

Secure Download

Try It Free >>

Step 2: Import the recorded video to Filmora, right click on the video track and select ‘Detach Audio‘ to seperate the audio track and the video track. Select the audio track and click the ‘Export‘ button to save ripped audio files.

Step 3: And now, you can use the extracted YouTube audio files to iMovie for forther editing. Plus, Filmora Video Editor provides with a music library, where you can choose background music or sound effect for your project according to your needs. It is also an expert in creating videos, worth to have a try!

Tips You May Not Want to Miss

Filmora is the best iMovie alternative on the market, which provides the best methods, tools, and techniques to add music to videos, video cutting easily, joining, inversion, and editing. It allows you to easily make movies, edit audio, apply effects and share your new movies on YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Therefore, if you are using Filmora, adding music to videos is just a piece of cake. Just select the audio clip in the timeline, click the “Video and Audio Effects” button, and go to the “Audio Effects” option. Now you can freely choose any audio effect.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Secure Download

Try It Free >>

Part 3. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?

In this part, let us read the most straightforward tutorial on how to add music from YouTube to iMovie on iPhone.

First Download Music from YouTube on iPhone

Downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone is confusing since Apple provides the apps available in the App store. If you jailbreak your phone, there are various other options, but here’s the simplest way if you don’t want to go that route.

Step 1: Download the app Documents by Readdle.

Step 2: Select the compass icon and go to https://www.videosolo.com/online-video-downloader/

Step 3: Paste a YouTube video link in the text box and select “Download”. After some seconds, the video will decode and produce a list of different output quality and format options.

Step 4: Hit the “Download” on the preferred output option.

Step 5: Enter a name and download location for the video.

Step 6: Hit the Downloads tab in the bottom navigation bar to view your downloaded videos within the Documents app.

Step 7: Go back to the Documents app home screen to save your downloaded video and open your Downloads folder.

Step 8: Look for the video you wish to edit and tap the three dots icon on it.

Step 9: Hit the Share button and then Save Video.

Step 10: You can search the downloaded YouTube videos in the Photos app.

Add Downloaded Music to iMovie

Step 1: Launch iMovie and Create a Project

Open the iMovie app and pick the “+” icon to create a project. Then, select a movie file from the media to which you want to add the music and add it to the created project.

Step2: Create Movie

Immediately the movie is added to the project, click on the “Create Movie”, enhance the quality of your video using any of iMovie’s many themes, and add the correct ambiance. Click on the icon like a gear and toggle “Theme Music”. Now you have to choose the theme you desire for your video.

Step 3: Select My Music

Now, it’s time to add audio of your choice, and if you don’t want to select from your existing collection, tap on the “+” icon below on the left side of your screen. Next, choose “Audio” and then select “My Music”.

Step 4: Select Audio from Playlist

Select from the playlist, artist, individual songs, or select from the albums you already have on your device and click on the “+” icon to add to your video. It is important to note that you cannot add multiple songs at once. Just add and adjust the sound as desired.

Finally, after the song has been added to the video successfully, export it to your gallery using the “Export” button and save it on your phone.

Filmora Video Editor

Best iMovie Alternative - Filmora Video Editor

Filmora Video Editor is an expert in creating and editing videos, it offers a ChatGPT plug-in and AI tools to enhance your creative vision. Make your idea into reality.

Try It Free Try It Free Try It Free Learn More >

Try It Free >>

Part 4. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on Mac?

It is elementary to use YouTube songs in iMovie on Mac. You can easily drag the YouTube music file into your project from the Finder and the desktop. The YouTube music added into the project timeline behaves differently depending on the place you added them.

Download Music from YouTube on Mac

Various programs and tools can assist you in downloading YouTube videos on a Mac.

A straightforward way is to use the inbuilt screen capture tool of macOS. Hit the Command + Shift + 5 tabs to bring up the screen recording options.

You can either record an entire screen or choose a window and alter the options to add audio from your Mac’s internal microphone.

The ideal tool or app for downloading YouTube videos on Mac in high-tech quality is a 4K Video Downloader.

It’s free for a max of 30 downloads per day, or you can upgrade to one of its premium plans. The software can also download videos in around 8K quality and various other high-tech formats. And 4K Video Downloader can also grab whole playlists of YouTube.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: Launch the 4K Video Downloader and open the program.

Step 2: Find a YouTube video and copy the link.

Step 3: Hit the Paste Link button in the menu.

Step 4: Select the Download button after choosing from the list of quality and format options.

Step 5: Download the video and then click the three-dot icon, so you can play.

How to Add Music to iMovie

Step 1: Add YouTube Music to the Clip

To add a YouTube music file to a particular video clip, drag the YouTube music file under the video clip so that a bar appears. Next, release the button when you see the green “Add” symbol to set the music as a background song in your iMovie project.

To add a YouTube music file to the iMovie project: drag and drop the YouTube music file to your project, release the mouse button once you see the green color. Add a symbol to add a YouTube song to the iMovie project as background music.

Step 2: Add YouTube Music File to the iMovie Project

Just drag and drop the YouTube video file to your project. Then, release the button once you see the green “Add” sign to add background music from the YouTube file to your project.

Conclusion

So, guys, now, can you add music from YouTube to iMovie? I’m pretty sure you have a positive answer as you saw how to add music to iMovie from YouTube using a simple step method. Moreover, have fun and create magic with your discovery of Filmora Video Editor , as it allows you to explore its numerous features to make a movie.

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For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

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For macOS 10.14 or later

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Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois

Nov 07, 2023• Proven solutions

Adding background music to videos makes the video more unique and interesting to see. iMovie is a professional video editing tool that lets you pimp your videos the way you want it with your desired music and other sound effects. With the introduction of background music, your video would become unique and stand out.

Though it is not easy to find the right music for your background music, YouTube is a good place to search for good sounds. That’s why in this article, we’ll see how to add music to iMovie from YouTube.

• Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?
• Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac [All-In-One Platform]
• How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?
• How to Put Music from YouTube to iMovie on Mac?

Part 1. Is It Possible to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube?

iMovie is a tool developed by Apple for video editing designed to help users create unique, fun videos quickly. This outstanding video editor works only on Apple devices which includes macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It embodies excellent tools for a media organization, color grading, soundtracks, and green-screen effects for your videos. To crown it all, it supports a few media formats.

If your media source is unavailable on your device, it could be since iMovie doesn’t support the format, or it may be under the protection of Digital Rights Management.

Now, even though you’ve downloaded the songs from YouTube to listen to them offline, you are allowed to stream them within the music player only and not apply them to other media forms.

So, if you want to add YouTube music to iMovie, you must remove the DRM restrictions first before converting the YouTube song to a format supported by iMovie. A professional YouTube music downloader can help you with all of this.

Part 2. Add YouTube Music to iMovie from iPhone & Mac

Here is an all-in-one method that to add a YouTube song to iMovie whether through iPhone or Mac. First, record the YouTube music, then add extracted audio files to iMovie.

Step 1: First download and install Filmora Video Editor from the button below and use the built-in ‘Screen Recorder‘ tool to record the YouTube video/music that you want to rip the audio from.

Record YouTube Music

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Step 2: Import the recorded video to Filmora, right click on the video track and select ‘Detach Audio‘ to seperate the audio track and the video track. Select the audio track and click the ‘Export‘ button to save ripped audio files.

Step 3: And now, you can use the extracted YouTube audio files to iMovie for forther editing. Plus, Filmora Video Editor provides with a music library, where you can choose background music or sound effect for your project according to your needs. It is also an expert in creating videos, worth to have a try!

Tips You May Not Want to Miss

Filmora is the best iMovie alternative on the market, which provides the best methods, tools, and techniques to add music to videos, video cutting easily, joining, inversion, and editing. It allows you to easily make movies, edit audio, apply effects and share your new movies on YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.

Therefore, if you are using Filmora, adding music to videos is just a piece of cake. Just select the audio clip in the timeline, click the “Video and Audio Effects” button, and go to the “Audio Effects” option. Now you can freely choose any audio effect.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

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Free to Edit Audio & Video

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Part 3. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on iPhone?

In this part, let us read the most straightforward tutorial on how to add music from YouTube to iMovie on iPhone.

First Download Music from YouTube on iPhone

Downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone is confusing since Apple provides the apps available in the App store. If you jailbreak your phone, there are various other options, but here’s the simplest way if you don’t want to go that route.

Step 1: Download the app Documents by Readdle.

Step 2: Select the compass icon and go to https://www.videosolo.com/online-video-downloader/

Step 3: Paste a YouTube video link in the text box and select “Download”. After some seconds, the video will decode and produce a list of different output quality and format options.

Step 4: Hit the “Download” on the preferred output option.

Step 5: Enter a name and download location for the video.

Step 6: Hit the Downloads tab in the bottom navigation bar to view your downloaded videos within the Documents app.

Step 7: Go back to the Documents app home screen to save your downloaded video and open your Downloads folder.

Step 8: Look for the video you wish to edit and tap the three dots icon on it.

Step 9: Hit the Share button and then Save Video.

Step 10: You can search the downloaded YouTube videos in the Photos app.

Add Downloaded Music to iMovie

Step 1: Launch iMovie and Create a Project

Open the iMovie app and pick the “+” icon to create a project. Then, select a movie file from the media to which you want to add the music and add it to the created project.

Step2: Create Movie

Immediately the movie is added to the project, click on the “Create Movie”, enhance the quality of your video using any of iMovie’s many themes, and add the correct ambiance. Click on the icon like a gear and toggle “Theme Music”. Now you have to choose the theme you desire for your video.

Step 3: Select My Music

Now, it’s time to add audio of your choice, and if you don’t want to select from your existing collection, tap on the “+” icon below on the left side of your screen. Next, choose “Audio” and then select “My Music”.

Step 4: Select Audio from Playlist

Select from the playlist, artist, individual songs, or select from the albums you already have on your device and click on the “+” icon to add to your video. It is important to note that you cannot add multiple songs at once. Just add and adjust the sound as desired.

Finally, after the song has been added to the video successfully, export it to your gallery using the “Export” button and save it on your phone.

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Part 4. How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube on Mac?

It is elementary to use YouTube songs in iMovie on Mac. You can easily drag the YouTube music file into your project from the Finder and the desktop. The YouTube music added into the project timeline behaves differently depending on the place you added them.

Download Music from YouTube on Mac

Various programs and tools can assist you in downloading YouTube videos on a Mac.

A straightforward way is to use the inbuilt screen capture tool of macOS. Hit the Command + Shift + 5 tabs to bring up the screen recording options.

You can either record an entire screen or choose a window and alter the options to add audio from your Mac’s internal microphone.

The ideal tool or app for downloading YouTube videos on Mac in high-tech quality is a 4K Video Downloader.

It’s free for a max of 30 downloads per day, or you can upgrade to one of its premium plans. The software can also download videos in around 8K quality and various other high-tech formats. And 4K Video Downloader can also grab whole playlists of YouTube.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1: Launch the 4K Video Downloader and open the program.

Step 2: Find a YouTube video and copy the link.

Step 3: Hit the Paste Link button in the menu.

Step 4: Select the Download button after choosing from the list of quality and format options.

Step 5: Download the video and then click the three-dot icon, so you can play.

How to Add Music to iMovie

Step 1: Add YouTube Music to the Clip

To add a YouTube music file to a particular video clip, drag the YouTube music file under the video clip so that a bar appears. Next, release the button when you see the green “Add” symbol to set the music as a background song in your iMovie project.

To add a YouTube music file to the iMovie project: drag and drop the YouTube music file to your project, release the mouse button once you see the green color. Add a symbol to add a YouTube song to the iMovie project as background music.

Step 2: Add YouTube Music File to the iMovie Project

Just drag and drop the YouTube video file to your project. Then, release the button once you see the green “Add” sign to add background music from the YouTube file to your project.

Conclusion

So, guys, now, can you add music from YouTube to iMovie? I’m pretty sure you have a positive answer as you saw how to add music to iMovie from YouTube using a simple step method. Moreover, have fun and create magic with your discovery of Filmora Video Editor , as it allows you to explore its numerous features to make a movie.

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Secure Download

Free to Edit Audio & Video

For macOS 10.14 or later

Secure Download

Try It Free >>

Marion Dubois

Marion Dubois is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Marion Dubois

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