The REAL Reason Why Your YouTube Channel Is Failing

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 even more time and see all of the titles and thumbnails from Creator Hooks in one place, check out  Creator Hooks Pro .

Quittin Time

ditched google calendar thumbnail

Title: I Ditched Google Calendar and Time Blocking — Here’s Why

Formula: I Ditched (Positive Activity) — Here’s Why

Hook score: +427

Why this works:

Curiosity – This title builds curiosity two ways: 1) It’s counterintuitive. Why would you stop something that’s helpful? 2) “Here’s Why” finishes this title off with an open loop.

Negativity – This title is all about ditching something helpful.

How you can use this hook: Tell your audience how you ditched something helpful.

Examples of this hook in action:

  • I Ditched Meal Prepping and Counting Calories— Here’s Why
  • I Ditched International Travel — Here’s Why

Over The Hill

overrated player thumbnail

Title: MLB’s Most Overrated Player: The Rise and Fall of Javier Báez…

Formula: (Entity)’s Most Overrated (Entity): The Rise and Fall of (Person)…

Hook score: +436

Why this works:

Extreme – People on YouTube love extremes. In this case, the “most overrated player” worked well (not just “a really overrated player”).

Negativity – People love to hear drama-filled stories like this one.

How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about the most overrated thing in your niche.

Examples of this hook in action:

  • USA’s Most Overrated City: The Rise and Fall of San Francisco…
  • The Most Overrated Game: Rise and Fall of Grand Theft Auto…

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Jalapeno Business

jalapeno thumbnail

Title: How To Grow Jalapeño Peppers (For Beginners) From Seed To Harvest – Pepper Geek

Formula: How To [Activity] (For Beginners) From [Start] to [Finish]

Hook score: +594

Why this works:

Desire – This creator’s audience wants to grow jalapeno peppers.

Beginners – Making this video specifically for beginners attracts the biggest, hungriest subset of the audience.

How you can use this hook: Tell your audience how to do something for beginners from start to finish.

Examples of this hook in action:

  • How To Flip Houses (For Beginners) From Purchase to Sale
  • How To Sew A Dress (For Beginners) From Start to Finish

Messiah Mess

jesus thumbnail

Title: The REAL Reason Why Jewish People Reject Jesus As The Messiah

Formula: The REAL Reason Why (Negative Event or Action)

Hook score: +924

Why this works:

Curiosity – This title makes you feel like you’re getting in on a secret.

Negativity – This is the car crash effect in action. People are drawn to drama.

How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about the real reason something is the way it is.

Examples of this hook in action:

  • The REAL Reason Why Your YouTube Channel Is Failing
  • The REAL Reason Why Every Kid Has ADHD Now

Cheap Street

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Title: The $300 Street Photography Camera No One Knows About

Formula: The (Relatively Cheap) (Object) No One Knows About

Hook score: +2445

Why this works:

Curiosity – This title makes you feel like you’re getting in on a secret.

Desire – This creator’s audience loves cameras, especially relatively cheap ones.

How you can use this hook: Tell your audience about a cheap tool you like that nobody knows about.

Examples of this hook in action:

  • The $50 Fishing Reel No One Knows About
  • The $20 Podcast Mic No One Talks About

Flop of the Week

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Title: Pregnancy Checklist: How to Plan for Birth

Hook score: -84

Why this flopped: This channel is all about productivity, finance, and self-improvement.

This video about pregnancy doesn’t really fit with what the audience watches this channel for.

Plus, pregnancy is pretty niche compared to the above topics, too.

So to avoid this mistake, know why your audience watches your channel and deliver on that.

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.

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