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.
Royal Ranking
Title: The Best and Worst Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships, Ranked
Framework: The Best and Worst (Entities), Ranked
Hook score: +367
Why this works:
Desire – This creator’s audience is into the best Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships.
Negativity – The “worst” Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships grab attention and bring some drama and controversy here.
Curiosity – Everybody likes to see how things rank and compare against each other.
How you can use this framework: Rank the best and worst things in your niche.
Examples of this framework in action:
- The Best and Worst Fitness Supplements, Ranked
- The Best and Worst Star Wars Shows, Ranked
Scandalicious
Title: The 20 BIGGEST Cheating Scandals in Golf History
Framework: The 20 BIGGEST Cheating Scandals in (Niche) History
Hook score: +446
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 – People can’t get enough of controversial things like cheating scandals.
Extreme & Epic – “BIGGEST” and “in Golf History” make this video feel extreme, epic, and interesting.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about the biggest cheating scandals (or other dramatic, controversial things) in your niche’s history.
Examples of this framework in action:
- The 12 BIGGEST Cheating Scandals in Political History
- The 20 DEADLIEST Natural Disasters In History
- Write better YouTube titles
- Grow your channel
- Save time
Check out Creator Hooks Pro here.
“Creator Hooks Pro has helped me generate millions of views on my channel since I started using it by giving me amazing title ideas I would not have been able to come up with on my own. It’s like having a team of title experts at your fingertips.”
– Matt Outlaw, 731 Woodworks, 667K Subscribers
RIP Goat Wagon
Title: How we KILLED the Greatest Kind of Vehicle
Framework: How we KILLED the Greatest (Entity)
Hook score: +449
Why this works:
Negativity – Killing something great brings some interesting conflict here.
Curiosity – This builds curiosity two ways:
- It’s counterintuitive – why would you kill something great?
- It opens a loop and makes you want to know why and how we did this.
How you can use this framework: Explain how we killed something great in your niche.
Examples of this framework in action:
- How we KILLED the Greatest Learning Method
- How we KILLED the Greatest Kind of Music
The Never List
Title: 10 Things to NEVER HAVE In Your Home When Selling
Framework: 10 Things to NEVER (Activity) When (Activity)
Hook score: +1661
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 – Warnings like this do a great job at getting people’s attention and getting them to click.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about things to never have or do if they’re trying to do something.
Examples of this framework in action:
- 10 Things to NEVER HAVE In Your Kitchen When Trying To Lose Weight
- 10 Things to NEVER HAVE On Your Resume When Job Hunting
We <3 YouTube
Title: HOW Youtube Changed My Life (in 4 months) | My Journey to Full-Time Creator
Framework: HOW [Entity] Changed My Life (in [Short time frame]) | My Journey to [Desired end goal]
Hook score: +2448
Why this works:
Desire – This creator’s audience would love for YouTube to change their lives and to be a full-time creator.
Time Frame – The time frame of 4 months adds to the desire (it’s a relatively short time to have your life changed) and it makes this video feel more tangible, real and interesting.
Curiosity – This opens a loop and builds two questions in the audience’s mind:
- How did his life change?
- How did YouTube change his life?
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience how something changed your life in a relatively short time frame.
Examples of this framework in action:
- HOW a Sewing Machine Changed My Life (in 2 months) | My Journey to Full-Time Business Owner
- How the Bible Changed My Life (in 6 months)
Flop of the Week
Title: Back on Icon (Episode 558)
Hook score: -99
Why this flopped: This is a particular pet peeve of mine: posting podcast episodes on your non-podcast channel.
YouTube wants you to binge watch channels, but when you post different formats (i.e. vlogs, podcasts, video essays, talking head listicles, etc), it makes that a lot harder for the viewers.
The best channels, like MrBeast, Diary of a CEO, all post one format. I’m not saying you can’t publish multiple formats on your channel, I’m just saying success on YouTube will typically come a lot easier if you don’t.
And not to mention, this title could be a lot better. Instead of focusing the title on the creators, I’d focus it on the most interesting part of the video.
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.