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.
Love Last
Title: Men DON’T Want Love First… They Want THIS Instead
Framework: (Entity) DON’T Want (Entity) First… They Want THIS Instead
Hook score: 3.6x
Why this works:
Curiosity – This opens a loop in two ways:
- By telling you what men don’t want, it makes you wonder what they do want.
- Using the word “THIS” and not specifying what “THIS” is.
Negativity – “Men DON’T Want Love First” is a bit of a warning.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience what something in your niche doesn’t want, and that they want “THIS” instead.
Examples of this framework in action:
- The Algorithm DOESN’T Want Better Videos… It Wants THIS Instead
- You Don’t Need More Willpower To Succeed… You Need THIS Instead
Renovation Innovation
Title: Construction Just Changed Forever — And Nobody’s Talking About It
Framework: (Entity) Just Changed Forever — And Nobody’s Talking About It
Hook score: 6.1x
Why this works:
Curiosity – This builds curiosity in two ways:
- “Changed Forever” opens a loop and makes you wonder what changed.
- “Nobody’s Talking About It” makes you feel like you’re getting in on a secret.
News & Epic – In “Just Changed Forever”, “Just” makes this feel like news, and “Forever” gives it a bit more of an epic feeling and raises the stakes.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about something that just changed forever, and nobody’s talking about it.
Examples of this framework in action:
- RVing Just Changed Forever — And Nobody’s Talking About It
- Mega Churches Just Changed Forever — And Nobody’s Talking About It
New Creator Hooks is Here!
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 what one person said about it:
No can do
Title: 7 Things I Can’t Enjoy Anymore After Joining the Military
Framework: 7 Things I Can’t Enjoy Anymore After (Activity or milestone)
Hook score: 8.6x
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 – Everybody loves drama and struggle like this.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about things you can’t enjoy anymore after a big change.
Examples of this framework in action:
- 7 Things I Can’t Enjoy Anymore After Losing 50 lbs
- 7 Things I Can’t Enjoy Anymore After Starting My Own Business
Rich Residents
Title: Where the Old Money ACTUALLY Lives in Jacksonville
Framework: Where the (Aspirational entity) ACTUALLY (Activity) in (Specific place)
Hook score: 12.2x
Why this works:
Curiosity – “ACTUALLY” makes you feel like you’re finally getting the truth or getting in on a secret.
“Old Money” brings authority (if you’re rich and looking for where to live in Jacksonville) and interest, since many videos about “Old Money” are doing well on YouTube these days.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience where or what authority figures are ACTUALLY doing.
Examples of this framework in action:
- Where Locals ACTUALLY Eat Pizza In Italy
- What Lawyers ACTUALLY Do When They Get Pulled Over
A lot for a little
Title: 15 Little Inventions that Solved MASSIVE PROBLEMS
Framework: 15 Little (Entities) that (Achieved big goals)
Hook score: 18.7x
Why this works:
List – Lists make videos feel more tangible (you know exactly what the video will be about), and they add some curiosity.
Curiosity – The contrast between “Little Inventions” and “MASSIVE PROBLEMS” builds curiosity and interest.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about little things that made a big difference.
Examples of this framework in action:
- 15 Little Apps that Make MASSIVE Money
- 15 Little Decisions that Changed MASSIVE Moments in History
Flop of the Week
Title: February Is When Most People Fail…Here’s Why
Hook score: 0.04x
Why this flopped: This video probably flopped for two reasons.
The first is that there’s not enough context in the title and thumbnail.
The video is about your New Year’s Resolutions failing, but it’s not clear enough.
When people are scrolling YouTube, they’re not really actively thinking, so your packaging needs to be crystal clear on what your video is about and who it’s for.
Here’s one way of rewording it:
“February Is When Most People Ruin Their New Year’s Resolutions…Here’s Why”
(Yes, this is a little long, but the most important bits are in the beginning, so it’s probably fine.)
Or something like this:
“You’ve Already Failed Your New Year’s Resolution… Here’s Why”
The second, and more important, reason this flopped is that it doesn’t really fit with the rest of the channel.
All of the other videos are specifically about military life, but this one isn’t.
I love the fact that he branched out and experimented with something new, but it doesn’t always work.
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.