Is this worth the effort?

It takes about a minute a clip and it is the only way to answer what changed since last quarter.

Why not use platform analytics?

They show the present well and comparison over time badly, particularly across platforms.

What is the single most useful column?

The note about what you tried. Without it the numbers record outcomes with no causes attached.

Should I track every platform separately?

One row per clip with a column per platform keeps it manageable and comparable.

What do I actually do with it?

Sort by reach at the end of each month and read the notes on the top ten. The pattern is usually obvious.

Tracking Clips in a Spreadsheet

What is worth recording per clip?

Six columns. Date, source recording, format or series, reach after seven days, watch time, and one note about what you tried. That last column is the one that turns a list of numbers into something you can learn from, and it is the one people leave out.

Six columns

The last column is the one people leave out and the one that turns a list of outcomes into something you can learn from.

Column	Filled in when	Answers later
Date posted	At posting	What you were doing that month
Source recording	At posting	Which sessions yield most
Format or series	At posting	Which format is working
Reach after seven days	A week later	The only comparable reach figure
Watch time	A week later	Whether the clip itself held
What you tried	At posting	The cause behind the numbers

Filling it in quickly

Add a row when you post a clip, filling in the date, source and format immediately. Come back after seven days to add reach and watch time. Keeping the second step on a fixed day each week makes it a routine rather than a chore.

The note column is the most valuable: write what you tried, such as a new opening style or a different length.

Questions the sheet answers

After a couple of months, you can answer questions no dashboard shows directly: which source recordings produced the best clips, which series performed consistently, whether a new style helped and whether longer or shorter clips did better for you.

Sort and filter by column to find patterns.

Keeping it light

Resist adding more columns. Every extra field makes the sheet harder to maintain, and a sheet that is not maintained is useless. Six columns filled in consistently beat twenty filled in occasionally.

Add a column only if you have a specific question it will answer.

Tracking several platforms

If you post the same clip on several platforms, either add a platform column or keep one sheet per platform. Choose whichever you will actually keep up to date.

Comparing platforms side by side shows where your content works best.

Reviewing monthly

Set aside a short time each month to look at the sheet. Compare the median of this month with last month, note what changed and decide one thing to try next.

Small, regular reviews beat occasional deep analyses.

One minute a clip, answers later

Record after seven days, not on day one. Late movers make same day figures misleading.
Keep the note column short. One phrase about what was different.
Read it monthly, not weekly. The pattern is only visible at that scale.

Start the sheet with your next batch. Nothing to pay for the first.

Questions people ask

Is this worth the effort?: It takes about a minute a clip and it is the only way to answer what changed since last quarter.
Why not use platform analytics?: They show the present well and comparison over time badly, particularly across platforms.
What is the single most useful column?: The note about what you tried. Without it the numbers record outcomes with no causes attached.
Should I track every platform separately?: One row per clip with a column per platform keeps it manageable and comparable.
What do I actually do with it?: Sort by reach at the end of each month and read the notes on the top ten. The pattern is usually obvious.