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.
Sunday Scaries
Title: The Scariest Day In NFL History
Formula: The Scariest Day In (Entity) History
Hook score: +416
Why this works:
Negativity – People love clicking on titles with drama and fear and this title is full of both.
Curiosity – This builds curiosity by being extreme (Scariest Day In NFL History), and, therefore, unique.
How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about the scariest day in your niche’s history.
Examples of this hook in action:
- The Scariest Day In American History
- The Scariest Day In YouTube History
Murci Murci
Title: Mat Armstrong got SCAMMED on his Murcielago project!
Formula: (Influencer) got SCAMMED on his (Object) project!
Hook score: +806
Why this works:
Authority – Mat Armstrong is a popular YouTuber in the car niche and this creator’s audience probably knows and likes him. Dropping his name in the title makes them more likely to click.
Negativity – People love drama and “SCAMMED” in the title and “THEY LIED…” in the thumbnail promise a lot of it.
How you can use this hook: Tell the story of how an influencer or celebrity in your niche got scammed.
Examples of this hook in action:
- Jimmy Butler got CHEATED Out Of An NBA Title!
- Graham Stephan got SCAMMED on his Investing project!
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)
Mysterious Monsters
Title: Most People Don’t Even Realize That This Is In The Bible
Formula: Most People Don’t Even Realize That This Is In (Entity)
Hook score: +922
Why this works:
Curiosity – This builds curiosity three ways:
1) It opens a loop because it doesn’t tell you what “this” is.
2) It makes you feel like you’re getting in on a secret and learning the truth about what’s in the bible.
3) There’s contrast between the monster in the thumbnail and what people would expect to be in the bible.
Negativity – The scary monster does a great job at grabbing attention.
How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about what they don’t realize is in something of theirs.
Examples of this hook in action:
- Most People Don’t Realize This Is In Instagram’s Terms of Service
- Most People Don’t Even Realize That This Is In Their Garden
Livin Off The Land
Title: He Farms 35 Hours a Week By Himself and Makes 6 Figures
Formula: He (Activity) (Number) Hours a Week (With Constraint) and (Achieves Goal)
Hook score: +1053
Why this works:
Desire – Many people in this creator’s audience would love to make 6 figures farming.
Constraint – The constraint of only 35 hours a week and farming by himself builds curiosity because it seems impossible.
Time Frame – The time frame of “35 hours a week” makes this video more tangible and, therefore, more interesting.
How you can use this hook: Tell your audience the story of somebody achieving a goal even with constraints.
Examples of this hook in action:
- He Codes 30 Hours a Week Without A Degree and Makes 6 Figures
- She Sews 10 Hours a Week and Makes $5,000/Month
Hello Sony
Title: The Reason I’m Switching to Sony After 14 Years With Canon as a Professional Photographer
Formula: The Reason I’m Switching to (Option) After (Time Frame) With (Option) as a (Profession)
Hook score: +1061
Why this works:
Curiosity – This builds curiosity two ways: 1) You want to know the reason she’s switching from Canon to Sony. 2) Change like this does a great job of starting a story and building curiosity.
Drama – There’s a bit of drama here with switching from one brand to another.
Time Frame – The time frame of 14 years shows how much experience with Canon she has, which adds to the drama of switching away from it. It also helps with this next point…
Credibility – This creator’s opinion holds more weight because she’s a professional photographer and she’s been using Canon for 14 years.
How you can use this hook: Tell your audience the reason you’re switching from one option to another.
Examples of this hook in action:
- The Reason I’m Switching to Brooks After 12 Years With Asics as an Olympic Runner
- The Reason I’m Eating Meat Again After 5 Years As A Vegan
Flop of the Week
Title: Dear Earth….. You Need Hear This
Hook score: -86
Why this flopped: There’s a fine line between leaving out enough details to build curiosity and leaving out too many details and not getting your audience’s interest.
This title doesn’t have enough details.
This channel is about the bible, but there are no words in the title or images in the thumbnail to let the audience know that they would like this video.
There’s really not much at all in the thumbnail or title that lets you know what this video is about or who it’s for, so relatively few people clicked.
To avoid this mistake, make it clear in your title and thumbnail what your video is about and who it’s for.
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.