My Worst Mistakes Growing A YouTube Channel To 100,000 Subs

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 use a title generator that uses all the titles ever featured in Creator Hooks, check out Creator Hooks Pro.

7th Heaven

longest ski run thumbnail

Title: World’s Longest Ski Run: Vallée Blanche in Chamonix, France

Framework: World’s [Most Extreme] [Entity]: [Specific Entity]

Hook score: +300

Why this works:

Desire – This creator’s audience loves long ski runs.

Extreme – This video is so much more interesting because it’s the “World’s Longest Ski Run” and not just a really long ski run. (More on this tactic in this week’s flop of the week.)

How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about the world’s longest, biggest, smallest, or other extreme thing.

Examples of this framework in action:

  • World’s Longest Ultramarathon: Self-Transcendence (3,100 Miles)
  • World’s Oldest Hotel: Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan

Pseudo Speedrun

fake minecraft speedrun thumbnail

Title: The Most Ridiculous Fake Minecraft Speedruns EVER

Framework: The Most Ridiculous Fake (Entities) EVER

Hook score: +306

Why this works:

Curiosity – “Fake” makes this video intriguing.

Extreme – “Most Ridiculous Fake Minecraft Speedruns EVER” grabs your attention more than, say, “Pretty Ridiculous Fake Minecraft Speedruns”

How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about the most ridiculous fake things ever.

Examples of this framework in action:

  • The Most Ridiculous Fake Gurus EVER
  • The Most Ridiculous Fake Super Cars EVER

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Abandoned Abode

abandoned home thumbnail

Title: I bought an abandoned home.. want a tour?

Framework: I bought an abandoned (Entity).. want a tour?

Hook score: +358

Why this works:

Negativity – Abandoned homes are creepy, so title brings a little bit of fear here.

Curiosity – This does a great job of starting a story and leaving you wanting to know more because it’s counterintuitive to buy an abandoned home instead of a nice ho

Milestone – Milestones, like buying a home, often make for great videos.

How you can use this framework: Buy something abandoned, weird, or unexpected, and give your audience a tour.

Examples of this framework in action:

  • I bought a deserted town.. want a tour?
  • I bought an abandoned website.. wanna see?

Movie Maker

new camera thumbnail

Title: This New Camera Turns EVERYTHING Into A Movie

Framework: This New (Tool) Turns EVERYTHING Into (Cool End Result)

Hook score: +582

Why this works:

Desire – This creator’s audience likes new cameras and they want to make videos that look like movies.

Curiosity – This builds curiosity by not telling you what the camera is.

Timeliness – People love new things.

How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about how a new tool does something awesome, but don’t tell them what the new tool is in the title.

Examples of this framework in action:

  • This New Golf Training Tool Turns EVERYONE Into Tiger Woods
  • This New Game Turns Normal Date Nights Into Magical Memories

Language Lapses

worst japanese mistakes thumbnail

Title: My Worst Mistakes Learning Japanese (7 Years to JLPT N1)

Framework: My Worst Mistakes Learning [Activity] ([Time Frame] to [Achievement])

Hook score: +5666

Why this works:

Negativity – Nobody wants to make mistakes, so this title grabs the audience’s attention.

Authority – This creator casually shows he’s an expert by dropping “JLPT N1” in the title (this is the highest level of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test).

Time Frame – “7 Years” shows you how long and hard he’s worked at learning Japanese, which builds trust and credibility.

How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about your worst mistakes on your journey to mastering your craft.

Examples of this framework in action:

  • My Worst Mistakes Learning To Code (5 Years To Javascript Expert)
  • My Worst Mistakes Learning Jiu Jitsu (10 Years to BJJ Blackbelt)

Flop of the Week

palisades thumbnail

Title: Palisades Tahoe, CA Review: Better with the Gondola?

Hook score: -89

Why this flopped: The first title in this email (“World’s Longest Ski Run”) did so well because it was cool and extreme.

“Palisades Tahoe, CA Review” is so bland in comparison.

If you’re talking about something specific, like a review of a Tahoe mountain, it can often help to give that thing a broadly appealing and broadly understood label.

Going back to the first video in this email as an example, you might not know or care what Vallée Blanche is, but if you ski, you definitely care and know what they mean by “World’s Longest Ski Run”.

If I were rewriting this title, I’d try to find some sort of extreme label, like, “America’s Longest Ski Run,” or “America’s Most Dangerous Ski Run.”

If you can’t find an interesting angle about a topic, it may not be worth making a video about it.

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 see all of the videos from Creator Hooks in one place, check out Creator Hooks Pro.

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