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.
Menacing Moment
Title: The Moment Germany Realized America Was Built Different
Framework: The Moment (Epic realization)
Hook score: +319
Why this works:
Moment – Talking about a specific moment does a great job of building curiosity and interest.
Curiosity – This starts a story, but doesn’t finish it, so you have to click to hear the rest.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about the moment something big happened.
Examples of this framework in action:
- The Moment the NBA Realized Kobe Was Built Different
- The Moment I Realized Europe Was Radically Different Than America
This is it.
Title: We’ve Lost Control of AI
Framework: We’ve Lost Control of (Polarizing topic)
Hook score: +379
Why this works:
Negativity – People love controversial and scary things like this.
Curiosity – This does a great job of starting a story, but not finishing it, so you have to click and see what’s going on.
Confirms suspicions – AI’s impressive improvements have often been the main conversation around AI, but there are murmurs of AI getting out of control, and this title brings that fear to the spotlight.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience we’ve lost control of something, or another similarly dramatic, open-ended statement.
Examples of this framework in action:
- We’ve Lost Control of The Supplement Industry
- We’ve Lost Control of Inflation
If you have an educational channel and you want to:
- Write better YouTube titles
- Grow your channel
- Save time
“Creator Hooks Pro’s title generator helped with this title and this one video has made $3,000 in Adsense alone.”
– Gjeebs, 209K subscribers
The good kind of addiction
Title: Become addicted to discipline in 1 day
Framework: Become addicted to (Activity or goal) in 1 day
Hook score: +602
Why this works:
Controversy – Instead of just saying, “how to become disciplined,” this video uses a more controversial phrase: “Become addicted to discipline.” This grabs attention and makes this video feel a little spicy.
Desire – This creator’s audience wants to be more disciplined.
Time Frame – The time frame of “in 1 day” does two things:
- It makes it more desirable because it’s such a short time frame and people like speed.
- It makes this video feel more tangible and, therefore, more interesting.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience how to become addicted to something good in a short time frame.
Examples of this framework in action:
- Become addicted to practicing piano in 1 day
- Become addicted to coding in 1 day
Secret Strengths
Title: Every Hidden Advantage of Your Body Type Explained In Detail
Framework: Every Hidden Advantage of (Attribute) Explained In Detail
Hook score: +2011
Why this works:
Curiosity – “Hidden Advantage” makes you feel like you’re getting in on a secret.
Desire – This is all about the viewer and makes them feel special for being the way they are.
How you can use this framework: Explain hidden advantages of the way your audience naturally is.
Examples of this framework in action:
- Every Hidden Advantage of Your Personality Type Explained In Detail
- Every Hidden Advantage of Your House Type Explained In Detail
Unlikely Origin Story
Title: How the Jeep Got Its Name (It’s Not What You Think)
Framework: How [Subject] Got Its [Attribute] (It’s Not What You Think)
Hook score: +2138
Why this works:
Curiosity – “(It’s Not What You Think)” makes you feel like you’re getting in on an unknown secret.
How you can use this framework: Tell the secret origin story of how something got its name or other attribute.
Examples of this framework in action:
- How Google Got Its Name (It’s Not What You Think)
- How the Caesar Salad Got Its Name (It’s Not What You Think)
Flop of the Week
Title: 5 Ways Space Is Actually Good for You
Hook score: -77
Why this flopped: Here are some of this channel’s high-performing videos:
- “Ozempic Is Both Better And Worse Than You Think” (910K views)
- “We’ve Lost Control of AI” (1.7M views)
- “Will Humanity Ever Reach 1 on the Kardashev Scale?” (1.6M views)
This title is focused on benefits for the audience, but it seems like the audience is more interested in being entertained.
But there’s another issue…
The fact that space is actually good for you is kinda irrelevant, since so few of us will ever go to space.
I’m probably never gonna go to space, so why do I care if it’s good for me or not?
One potential way of reframing this could be, “Weird Ways Space Travel Changes The Human Body”.
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.