🥷🏼
10
Dark Arts
of TikTok
Feel free to share, but please credit:�Tim Mitchell and CreatorOS by DRPCRD
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Title Trap
No one’s reading your caption in the first 3 seconds. That headline? It belongs on-screen. “POV: Your chaotic mate at brunch” or “Wait for it…”. They’re the new opening credits. Short, sharp, and curiosity-pilled.
#1 – Hooks
Watch a TikTok�https://www.tiktok.com/@isaach.p/video/7460945528675781921
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Snap Start
Ever feel like you missed the beginning of a TikTok? You didn’t. It started that way on purpose. Starting mid-sentence or mid-scene skips the “scroll away” moment. You’re already in it.
#2 – Hooks
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Result Hook
Cooking videos don’t start with dry pasta. They start with molten, bubbling cheesy heaven. Show the end first, and now we have to stick around to find out how you got there.
#3 – Hooks
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Breathless Cut
Talking fast is good. Editing so there’s literally no pause between your lines is better. Viewers don’t zone out if you don’t give them space to. Rapid-fire storytelling keeps brains locked in.
#4 – Storytelling
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
No Chill Edit
Dead air? Cut it. That one-second pause where nothing happens? Cut it. If there’s a single moment where a viewer’s thumb might twitch - it’s gone. Ruthless trimming is respect for your audience’s attention.
#5 – Storytelling
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Breadcrumbing
“5 reasons your productivity is broken.” You just told me it’s 5 points - now I need to know all 5. Signposting your structure keeps viewers tracking with you, step by step.
#6 – Storytelling
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Comment Bait
A typo. A weird sock. A wildly inaccurate timeline. Viewers have to comment. And while they do? The video loops. Rage, pedantry, or curiosity - it’s all engagement. And that’s gold.
#7 – Storytelling
Watch a TikTok (and don’t forget to read the comments!)
https://www.tiktok.com/@ashtonhallofficial/video/7476434324548488478ďż˝
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Cut & Run
Don’t fade out. Don’t wrap up. Just end. Abruptly. The moment someone senses you’re “done,” they swipe. So beat them to it. Stop talking 1 second earlier than feels natural. View complete.
#8 – Ending
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Infinity Cut
The end is the start. When the last frame flows perfectly into the first, the viewer just keeps watching - often without realizing. Their brain’s catching up while the video’s already replaying.
#9 – Ending
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Everloop
This is the final form. Video + audio, crafted to loop so smoothly it’s better the second (or fifth) time. Shorter vids. Seamless beats. Zero exit points. 500% view rate. You’ve ascended.
#10 – Ending
Watch a TikTok�https://www.tiktok.com/@sirwrender/video/6971649894989778182
🥷🏼CreatorOS · 10 Dark Arts of TikTok
Footnotes
Dark Arts hide in plain sight - their intentions shouldn’t be noticed
Many Dark Arts can be applied in the edit - some need more planning
It feels like clients are a long way from understanding these techniques
All these techniques are designed to maximise Watch Time and Completion Rate
What are Dark Arts