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.
CIA Secrets
Title: Ex-CIA: What You Aren’t Being Told About Iran | Mike Baker
Framework: (Authority Figure): What You Aren’t Being Told About (Controversial topic)
Hook score: +335
Why this works:
Authority – This title builds trust by starting with “Ex-CIA”.
Curiosity – “What You Aren’t Being Told About Iran” brings some FOMO, secrecy, and opens a loop.
Timeliness – Obviously, this is a trending topic right now, so that brings some extra interest to this video.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience what you aren’t being told about something, according to an authority figure.
Examples of this framework in action:
- Ex-OpenAI Employee: What You Aren’t Being Told About AGI
- Lawyer: What You Aren’t Being Told About Ring Security Systems
Sans Sugar
Title: How Much Sugar Can You Remove Before It Ruins a Cookie?
Framework: How Much (Helpful, but unwanted entity) Can You Remove Before It Ruins (Entity)?
Hook score: +429
Why this works:
Curiosity – This builds curiosity by asking a question.
Desire – Most people would love to have a delicious-tasting cookie without any sugar, so this video gets you close to that.
How you can use this framework: Ask how much of something you’d like removed can you actually remove before it ruins the whole thing.
Examples of this framework in action:
- How Little Sleep Can You Get Before It Ruins Your Health?
- How Much Editing Can You Remove Before It Ruins a YouTube Video?
- Write better YouTube titles
- Grow your channel
- Save time
Check out Creator Hooks Pro here.
P.S. Here’s a big win from a Creator Hooks Pro customer:
“The Creator Hooks Pro title generator gave me inspiration for this title and it’s made $4,850 in adsense alone.”
– Jeff Hampton, Hampton Law, 360K Subscribers
Iron Out The Issues
Title: 5 Things Golfers Get WRONG About Hitting Irons
Framework: 5 Things (Specific audience) Get WRONG About (Action)
Hook score: +670
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 golfer wants to accidentally hit their irons wrong.
Specific audience – Obviously, this video is for golfers, but the title makes it extra clear by calling them out by name.
Note: they use this format a lot on their channel, so why did this one do so well?
Well, it’s possible the intro was better, or maybe golfers get more things wrong about hitting their irons than putting, or maybe it was just luck.
Two things I’m taking from this:
- You’re not guaranteed to go viral when you model a proven formula, but you do increase your odds of creating a successful video.
- Knowing your audience’s hopes, dreams, fears, and beliefs will help you create better content.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about things they get wrong when doing something.
Examples of this framework in action:
- 5 Things Runners Get WRONG About Zone 2 Workouts
- 5 Things People Get WRONG About Baking Sourdough Bread
Black Death Debate
Title: The Black Death Never Made Sense – Until Now
Framework: The (Controversial topic) Never Made Sense – Until Now
Hook score: +1081
Why this works:
Curiosity – This opens a loop and makes you wonder why it makes sense now.
Negativity – People love dramatic topics like the Black Death.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience that something dramatic never made sense until now.
Examples of this framework in action:
- Ozempic Was The Perfect Weight Loss Solution – Until Now
- Toxic Relationships Never Made Sense – Until Now
Money Milestones
Title: When Your Net Worth Explodes (3 Tipping Points)
Framework: When Your [Big change] (3 Tipping Points)
Hook score: +3238
Why this works:
Desire – This channel’s audience would love for their net worth to explode.
Curiosity – This list of tipping points builds a ton of curiosity because people want to know when they’re gonna hit their financial goals.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about when something great will happen to them, specifically about 3 tipping points.
Examples of this framework in action:
- When You Get REALLY Good At Guitar (3 Tipping Points)
- When Parenting Becomes Easier (3 Tipping Points)
Flop of the Week
Title: Weeknight Dinner Gone Gourmet
Hook score: -89
Why this flopped: There are a few things wrong with this title.
- It’s a little too clever and not clear enough. Exactly what am I getting out of this video?
- There’s no real curiosity or emotion. “Gourmet” is a cool word, so I guess there’s some desire there, but it’s just a little too plain.
Here are some other ways we could reword this:
“This 10-Minute Gourmet Dinner Is Perfect For Weeknights”
This adds a time frame to make it more clear, specific and desirable for quick weeknight cooking.
“The Easiest Gourmet Dinner You Probably Haven’t Tried”
This adds a little bit of contrast (Easiest -> Gourmet) and ends with a little bit of FOMO and curiosity.
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.