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.
Buzzing the Burns
Title: Stop Trimming Your Sideburns WRONG!
Framework: Stop (Simple activity) WRONG!
Outlier score: 3.8x
Why this works:
Negativity – Warning people to stop doing something wrong (that they assume they’re doing right) is a great way to grab their attention.
Curiosity – For many people, this is counterintuitive. What’s shown in the picture is exactly how they trim their sideburns.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience to stop doing something wrong that they assume they’re doing right.
Examples of this framework in action:
- Stop Gripping Your Tennis Racket WRONG!
- Stop Hiring Lawyers For DUIs!
Pub Principles
Title: The 5 Rules of Every British Pub (that tourist mess up)
Framework: The 5 Rules of Every [Entity] (that [Group] mess up)
Outlier score: 4.7x
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 leverages fear that you’ll accidentally break one of these rules.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about the rules of something (ideally, something interesting or polarizing) that many people mess up.
Examples of this framework in action:
- The 5 Rules of First Dates (that guys mess up)
- The 5 Rules of Driving a Supercar (that amateurs mess up)
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We’ve been working hard for the last 3 months and have totally rebuilt Creator Hooks.
Here are some of the new features:
- An AI chatbot to generate titles and thumbnail text, and help you with strategic decisions
- An outlier database so you can easily find proven videos for inspiration
- Ability to follow channels you like and get a feed of their latest videos
- A title and thumbnail preview tool to help you decide which title and thumbnail to go with
You can try it for free here: https://app.creatorhooks.com/
P.S. Here’s an awesome result a customer sent me this week:
Forceful Focus
Title: the kind of focus that makes you immune to distraction
Framework: the kind of (Skill) that makes you immune to (Problem)
Outlier score: 9.4x
Why this works:
Desire – This creator’s audience would love to get better at focusing.
Curiosity – This opens a loop and makes you wonder what kind of focus this is.
Negativity – Mentioning a specific problem (distraction) grabs the audience’s attention here.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about the kind of skill that makes them immune to a problem.
Examples of this framework in action:
- the kind of training that makes you never get tired
- the kind of garden that’s immune to pests and disease
Lulu Lessons
Title: How I Built a Product the Same Way Lululemon Finds Winners
Framework: How I (Activity) the Same Way (Authority figure succeeds)
Outlier score: 12.7x
Why this works:
Authority – This creator builds trust by dropping in Lululemon’s name.
Desire – This creator’s audience would love to build a winning product.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about how you did something the same way an authority in your space did it.
Examples of this framework in action:
- How I Built a Podcast the Same Way Diary of a CEO Built Theirs
- How I Cook Steak the Same Way Bern’s Steakhouse Cooks It
Baby Blues
Title: 10 EVERYDAY Things That HURT’S Your Baby’s FEELINGS (STOP NOW)
Framework: 10 EVERYDAY Things That [Unwanted result] (STOP NOW)
Outlier score: 29.7x
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 – No parent wants to hurt their baby’s feelings, so they feel like they have to watch this video.
Curiosity – It’s counterintuitive that innocent, everyday things would hurt a baby’s feelings.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about innocent, everyday things that have a negative effect.
Examples of this framework in action:
- 10 EVERYDAY Cleaning Products That Are Actually Toxic (STOP NOW)
- 10 Tech Products You Use Every Day That HURT Your Body (STOP NOW)
Flop of the Week
Title: The Presentation Problem Killing Your Service Business
Outlier score: 0.2x
Why this flopped: This title is too specific.
Now, the idea might be too specific, and maybe it wasn’t the best idea to start with, but let’s pretend that we’re this creator and we have to make a video about presentations killing our service business.
The issue is that the audience might have this presentation problem, but not realize it, so they think this video isn’t for them.
In this case, it might’ve gotten more views if she made the title more vague and broadly appealing, while honing in on the problem or benefit.
“These 3 Words Are Killing Your Service Business”
“This Simple Change Earned Him An Extra $10,000 Last Month”
Of course, if you go with a title like this, you need to sell the viewer on why watching your video is so important to them, so they don’t think you’re clickbaiting them, but you could also say that about every other video.
If they don’t click at all, you have no chance of helping them out.
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.