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.
Btw, if you want to save more time and see all of the titles and thumbnails from Creator Hooks in one place, check out Creator Hooks Pro.
Copyright Sting
Title: STING’S MOST COPIED RIFF – Why it’s so HARD to get it right
Formula: (Entity)’s Most (Negative Action) (Object) – Why it’s so HARD to (Action)
Hook score: +338
Why this works:
Authority – Dropping the name of a very popular musician grabs the audience’s attention.
Negativity – “Most copied” brings a little drama to this title, and “why it’s so hard” adds a bit more negativity.
Curiosity – This title builds curiosity by not telling you what the riff is, so you have to click to find out.
How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about something that’s the most copied (or some other negative action).
Examples of this hook in action:
- MARVEL’S MOST COPIED STORYTELLING Trick – Why it’s so HARD to get it right
- Amazon’s Most Copied Conversion Tactic – Why it’s so HARD to get it right
Dolla Dolla Bill Y’all
Title: Eating For $1 A Day (Full Week)
Formula: [Activity] For $1 A Day (Full Week)
Hook score: +493
Why this works:
Curiosity – A challenge like this builds curiosity because you want to know how it worked out. Plus, the constraint of just $1 a day adds to the curiosity.
Time Frame – Adding a time frame to a challenge like this makes it more tangible (and therefore more interesting).
Relatable – Doing cheap challenges like this are more relatable than, say, “Eating for $1,000 A Day (Full Week)”.
How you can use this hook: Do something impossibly cheap for a full week.
Examples of this hook in action:
- Living Off $1 A Day (Full Week)
- Spending a Week In NYC For $50 A Day
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Budget Boarding
Title: I Tried Buying The Cheapest House In California
Formula: I Tried Buying The Cheapest (Object ) In (Place)
Hook score: +693
Why this works:
Curiosity – This builds curiosity because you want to know how it worked out. And taking things to the extreme (“the cheapest house”) adds to the curiosity because it’s unique.
How you can use this hook: Try to buy the cheapest thing in your niche for an interesting challenge and story.
Examples of this hook in action:
- I Did a Photoshoot With The Cheapest Camera On Amazon
- I Tried Booking The Cheapest Flight In America
Under Where?
Title: Underwear SECRETS Every Woman Should LEARN
Formula: (Provocative Subject) SECRETS Every (Specific Person) Should Learn
Hook score: +758
Why this works:
Curiosity – Talking about secrets is a great way to build curiosity.
Specific Audience – This creator calls out specifically who should watch this video with “Every Woman”, which gets more women to click.
Provocative Subject – This probably wouldn’t have performed as well as if it was about t-shirt secrets. (Although now that I think about it, maybe it would’ve done well since it’s relatable and everybody wears t-shirts? I think that would all come down to how good the thumbnail is.)
How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about the secrets of a provocative subject in your niche that a specific audience should learn.
Examples of this hook in action:
- Tax SECRETS Every Business Owner Should LEARN
- Blackhat SEO SECRETS Every Website Owner Should Learn
Seattle Scaries
Title: Don’t Move to Seattle,Washington Unless You Can Handle These 6 Things!
Formula: Don’t (Activity) Unless You Can Handle These 6 Things!
Hook score: +2157
Why this works:
Negativity – Warnings do a great job at grabbing our attention and getting us to click.
Curiosity – “These 6 Things” opens a loop because it doesn’t specify what the 6 things are, so you have to click to find out.
List – Lists make videos feel more tangible (you know exactly what the video will be about) and they add some curiosity.
How you can use this hook: Warn your audience that they shouldn’t do something unless they can handle a list of things.
Examples of this hook in action:
- Don’t Take Fish Oil Unless You’re Doing These 6 Things!
- Don’t Buy A Truck Unless You Can Handle These 6 Things!
Flop of the Week
Title: BEHIND ROCK’S MOST ICONIC GUITAR RIFF: Deep Purple
Hook score: -87
Why this flopped: This is a similar format to the first video in this email (also from this channel): “STING’S MOST COPIED RIFF – Why it’s so HARD to get it right,” but there are 3 main differences:
- Negativity often works better than positivity (“most copied” vs. “most iconic” and “why it’s so hard” vs. “behind rock’s most iconic guitar riff”).
- There’s not much curiosity here. “Behind rock’s most iconic guitar riff” doesn’t really put any question in your mind, and the thumbnail and title tell you it’s about “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple.
- I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to rock bands, but I know who Sting is and I’ve never heard of Deep Purple.
It might’ve been better if they wrote the title as “Behind Rock’s Most Iconic Guitar Riff” and in the thumbnail said something like “This Is Insane” or “This Is Genius!”
That would’ve added a little bit more curiosity.
They could’ve also added more curiosity or negativity, but I think that simple change would’ve done better with the current packaging idea.
And then there’s the fact that this video is half as long as the video about Sting’s most copied riff.
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.