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.
P.S. If you want to save more time and use a title generator that uses all the titles from this newsletter, check out Creator Hooks Pro.
Change In Your Pocket
Title: You Can Change Your Finances in 6 Months… Here’s How
Framework: You Can Change (Possession) in 6 Months… Here’s How
Hook score: +504
Why this works:
Desire – People love transformation (the word “change” promises this) and making more money.
Time Frame – The relatively short time frame of 6 months adds to the desire, plus it makes this video feel more tangible and interesting.
Curiosity – This builds curiosity two ways:
- It has an open-ended “Here’s How” at the end that makes you want to know more.
- “Change Your Finances” is vague and makes you wonder how your finances will change.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience how they can change a problem area in their life in a relatively short time.
Examples of this framework in action:
- You Can Change Your Body in 6 Months… Here’s How
- You Can Change Your Golf Swing in 1 Session… Here’s How
Noted
Title: How I Took Notes in High School (to get STRAIGHT As)
Framework: How I [Activity] ([Proof of credibility])
Hook score: +552
Why this works:
Desire – This creator’s audience wants to learn how to take better notes and get straight As.
Credibility – This creator proves why she’s worth listening to by mentioning that she got straight As.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience how you did something to achieve a goal your audience wants to achieve.
Examples of this framework in action:
- How I Budgeted in My 20s (to Buy a HOUSE at 27)
- How I Create YouTube Videos (to get 100K subscribers)
- Write better YouTube titles
- Grow your channel
- Save time
Check out Creator Hooks Pro here.
P.S. Here’s a big win from a Creator Hooks Pro customer:
“I got this title directly from Creator Hooks Pro’s title generator. It’s a 1 of 10 and it’s brought in 5 clients worth over $25k in less than 3 weeks”
– Jeff Hampton, Hampton Law, 360K Subscribers
Wasting Away
Title: 8 things I did to stop wasting my evenings after work
Framework: 8 things I did to stop (Making specific mistake)
Hook score: +877
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 is about moving away from pain — stopping wasting evenings — as opposed to moving towards pleasure, like being more productive in the evenings.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about a list of things you did to stop experiencing a problem.
Examples of this framework in action:
- 8 things I did to stop girls ghosting me after the first date
- 8 things I did to stop sales prospects telling me “I’ll think about it”
Grandma’s Greens
Title: 15 FORGOTTEN Vegetables Your Grandparents Grew That NEED to Come Back
Framework: 15 FORGOTTEN (Entities) (Old, respected group) (Activity) That NEED to Come Back
Hook score: +2429
Why this works:
List – Lists make videos feel more tangible (you know exactly what the video will be about) and they add some curiosity.
Nostalgia – “FORGOTTEN Vegetables Your Grandparents Grew” leverages nostalgia to get you emotionally invested in this video.
Curiosity – “FORGOTTEN” adds a little mystery to this title.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about forgotten, nostalgic things that need to come back.
Examples of this framework in action:
- 15 FORGOTTEN Parenting Tips Your Grandma Did That NEEDS to Come Back
- 15 FORGOTTEN Games Your Grandparents Played That NEED to Come Back
Better Than Words
Title: When Helping An Upset Child, Don’t Talk & Try This Instead
Framework: When (Solving a problem), Don’t (Logical activity) & Try This Instead
Hook score: +18,272
Why this works:
Negativity – This is all about solving a problem.
Curiosity – This builds curiosity two ways:
- It’s counterintuitive because many people might think it’s best to talk.
- It opens a loop because it makes you want to know what “this” is.
Editor’s picky note: if I was writing this title I’d use “but” instead of “&” because typically “but” adds more conflict and tension than “and,” which makes for a better title.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience that when they’re solving a problem, don’t do a logical, assumed solution, but try “this” instead.
Examples of this framework in action:
- When Growing Tomatoes, Don’t Just Water Them & Try This Instead
- When Learning Piano, Don’t Practice Every Day But Try This Instead
A/B Test of the Week
“The Truth About” is a proven framework, so why did this title not win?
Two thoughts:
- Sometimes popular frameworks can get played out and people lose interest in them (I think that’s happening a little bit with “the truth about” in some niches).
- Sometimes good titles just don’t do that well for reasons that are hard to understand.
In this case, I tested a bold, opinionated, open-ended statement and it worked.
Plus, the word “weird” often works well.
If you want to see 100+ other test results like this, you can get the 103 YouTube AB tests ebook here.
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 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 write better titles and grow your channel, check out Creator Hooks Pro.