I’ve asked some of the best creators on YouTube, “How do you write such great titles?”
And they’ve all said the same thing: “I just model what works.”
So this email will show you 5 videos worth modeling to help you write great titles and save time.
Oh yeah, and if you want to save time and see all of the titles & thumbnails from Creator Hooks in one place, check out Creator Hooks Pro.
Monster Mash
Title: I Remade Monsters EXACTLY as described in the book…
Formula: I Remade (Entities) EXACTLY as described in the (Place of Origin)…
Hook score: +427
Why this works:
Curiosity – This title (and thumbnail) does a great job at starting a story and making you want to see what the outcome will be.
Negativity – The fact that this is about monsters from books grabs the audience’s attention a little more than heroes (thanks to Netflix for this finding).
How you can use this hook: Follow the instructions of something exactly as originally described.
Examples of this hook in action:
- I followed Andrew Huberman’s EXACT ideal morning routine…
- I Prayed EXACTLY as Jesus instructed in the bible…
Tool Time
Title: 8 Tools I Regret Not Buying Sooner
Formula: 8 (Items) I Regret Not Buying Sooner
Hook score: +486
Why this works:
List – Lists make videos feel more tangible (you know exactly what the video will be about) and they add some curiosity.
Negativity – Instead of saying “8 Tools I Love”, this creator said, “8 Tools I Regret Not Buying Sooner”. Everybody wants to avoid regrets and this creator uses that to their advantage here.
Desire – Almost every niche loves videos about tools.
How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about the things you regret not doing or getting sooner.
Examples of this hook in action:
- 8 Cities I Regret Not Visiting Sooner
- 8 Movies I Regret Not Watching Sooner
Get Your Personal YouTube Coach
vidIQ just launched their AI Personal YouTube coach to help you grow your channel.
It can help you:
- Come up with video ideas
- Write better titles
- Write your video script
- Write your tags and description
- And more
If you wanna give it a try, you can get a 30-day trial for just $1 here:
(Affiliate link)
Interview Incident
Title: 10 Things You Should Avoid Revealing In A Job Interview – Interview Tips
Formula: 10 Things You Should Avoid Revealing In A (Event) – (Keyword) Tips
Hook score: +497
Why this works:
List – Lists make videos feel more tangible (you know exactly what the video will be about) and they add some curiosity.
Negativity – This title is a warning against revealing the wrong things in an interview.
How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about the things they should not do during an event.
Examples of this hook in action:
- 10 Things You Should Avoid Revealing On A First Date – Dating Tips
- 5 Things You Should Avoid In Your Golf Swing
Sewing Side Hustle
Title: 3 Sewing Projects to MAKE and SELL To make in under 10 minutes
Formula: 3 (Niche) Projects to (Activity) in under (Time Frame)
Hook score: +790
Why this works:
Desire – This creator’s audience loves sewing projects and selling their projects.
List – Lists make videos feel more tangible (you know exactly what the video will be about) and they add some curiosity.
Time Frame – The short time frame of 10 minutes increases the desire to make these projects because it makes them seem easier and more achievable.
*Note: It looks like they used poor wording with “to make” in there twice, but this is such a powerful framework that’s worked for this channel multiple times that apparently it doesn’t really matter.
How you can use this hook: Give your audience a list of things they can do in under a short time frame.
Examples of this hook in action:
- 3 House Projects to Make Your Kitchen Look Updated in under 20 Minutes
- 3 Spring Vegetables to Grow & Eat in under 3 Months
Fast Motion
Title: Slowest & Fastest Star WR 40-Yard Dash Times!
Formula: Slowest & Fastest (Authority) (Measurements or Milestones)!
Hook score: +883
Why this works:
Curiosity – The contrast between “slowest & fastest” grabs your attention.
Timeliness – This video was published right before the NFL combine started.
Desire – NFL fans are much more interested in 40-Yard Dash times than the other combine events, like the broad jump, for example.
Authority – They mentioned “Star WR,” not just “WR,” to grab the audience’s attention.
Retention note: The times get progressively faster so you want to keep watching to see the fastest times, and they started with some popular players at first to grab your attention.
How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about the best and worst results in a current event.
Examples of this hook in action:
- Best & Worst New Year’s Resolutions For 20-Year-Olds
- Slowest & Fastest Hot Dog Eating Contest Times!
Flop of the Week
Title: Complete Hewn flooring installation guide
Hook score: -93
Why this flopped: This video has a small potential audience compared to the rest of the videos on this channel.
Unless you’re specifically looking to install Hewn flooring (whatever that is), you probably don’t care about this video.
Contrast that to videos that almost everybody can watch and enjoy, like:
- 8 Tools I Regret Not Buying Sooner
- This tool does more than you think
- I screwed up a simple table
To avoid making this mistake yourself, consider the size of the potential audience for your topic before you make the video.
Alright, that wraps up this week’s Creator Hooks!
Hope you enjoyed this week’s edition and if you know a fellow creator who needs help with writing better titles, please send them to creatorhooks.com.
– Jake
(@jthomas__ on Twitter)
P.S. Read previous editions here.
P.P.S. If you want to see all of the videos from Creator Hooks in one place, check out Creator Hooks Pro.