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.
Falling From Fame
Title: The Stunt That Ended Buster Keaton’s Career
Framework: The (Activity) The Ended (Entity)
Hook score: +401
Why this works:
Negativity – This title is full of drama, which grabs the audience’s attention and interest.
Curiosity – The title opens a loop and makes you wonder what the stunt was, but the thumbnail probably deserves most of the credit here.
The thumbnail builds so much curiosity because it shows the moment right before something dramatic happens.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about a specific thing or event that ended something. Bonus points if your thumbnail shows the tense moment right before that thing happens.
Examples of this framework in action:
- The Mistake That Ended The Roman Empire
- The Play That Ruined RG3’s Career
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Millionaire Method
Title: If I Wanted to Go From $0 to $1M in 12 Months, Here’s What I’d Do
Framework: If I Wanted to Go From (Starting Point) to (End Goal) in (Relatively Short Time Frame), Here’s What I’d Do
Hook score: +423
Why this works:
Desire – This creator’s audience would love to go from $0 to $1M in 12 months.
Beginners – “Going From $0” insinuates this video is for beginners, which attracts the biggest, hungriest group in any audience.
Time Frame – The time frame of “in 12 months” makes this video more tangible and interesting. Plus, since it’s relatively short, it increases desire, too.
Curiosity – This ends by opening a loop and making you want to know what he’d do.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience what you’d do if you wanted to start from scratch and reach a big milestone in a short period of time.
Examples of this framework in action:
- If I Wanted to Go From Microwave Meals to Master Chef in 8 Weeks, Here’s What I’d Do
- If I Wanted to Go From Overweight to Shredded in 3 Months, Here’s What I’d Do
Hidden Hatred
Title: 7 Signs That Someone Dislikes You and is Hiding it | STOIC PHILOSOPHY
Framework: 7 Signs (Negative Occurance) (Concealing Action)
Hook score: +2188
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 is all about drama, which people love.
Curiosity – “and is Hiding it” makes you feel like there’s some secrecy going on.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about 7 signs something bad and secretive is going on.
Examples of this framework in action:
- 5 Signs That Your Boss Wants to Fire You and is Hiding it
- 5 Signs Your Garden Is Dying But Doesn’t Look Like It Yet
Sayonara Settings
Title: iOS 18.1 Settings To Turn OFF Now! (Important!)
Framework: [Entity] Settings To Turn OFF NOW! (Important)
Hook score: +2400
Why this works:
Negativity – This video warning viewers about turning settings off has 3.4M views, while the video about turning settings on from the same channel only has 471K views. Turning settings off brings fear of what might happen if you don’t turn them off, instead of turning them on and thinking about the benefits you’d get from them.
Curiosity – This title is vague and open-ended, which builds curiosity about what the settings are and what could happen if you don’t turn them off.
Timeliness – iOS 18.1 was just released, so people are thinking about this topic right now.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about the settings they need to turn off for something they use.
Examples of this framework in action:
- Instagram Settings To Turn OFF Now! (Important!)
- MacBook Air Settings To Turn OFF Now! (Important!)
Stupid but Splendid
Title: This Stupid TRICK Helped Me Play In Every Key On Guitar
Framework: This Stupid TRICK Helped Me (Achieve Goal)
Hook score: +3513
Why this works:
Desire – This creator’s audience would love to be able to play every key on guitar. And note that this isn’t just about getting better at guitar. It’s a specific desire, and the word “Every” gives it an almost epic feeling.
Curiosity – This builds curiosity in two ways:
- It opens a loop and makes you want to know what the trick is.
- It’s counterintuitive that a “stupid” trick would help you do something awesome.
Negativity – This isn’t about a cool trick, it’s about a “stupid” trick, which grabs attention.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about a stupid trick that helps them do something awesome.
Examples of this framework in action:
- This Stupid TRICK Helps Me Be More Productive Every Day
- This Simple TRICK Helps Me Sleep Well Every Night
Flop of the Week
Title: 27 Years of No Bullsh*t Sales Advice in 16 Mins
Hook score: -90
Why this flopped: This title format is trending right now, so why did it flop?
Well, the not-fun answer is sometimes videos flop for a variety of complicated reasons and it’s hard to identify exactly what went wrong.
But we don’t do not-fun answers here.
This section is to brainstorm ways we’d improve the packaging, so let’s do it.
One of my go-to moves in titles and thumbnails is to challenge assumptions.
In this case, instead of “This Sh*t Is So Easy” in the thumbnail, I’d use challenge common sales assumptions by saying something like “Stop Following Up” or “Stop Using A Script”.
You could also build curiosity with something like, “I Wish I Knew This…”
Regarding the title, we could try to simplify it by shortening it to, “27 Years of Sales Advice in 16 Mins”.
If the topic and/or thumbnail are both great, you often don’t need a fancy title to get people to click.
Or we could change the angle and make it more specific by trying something like, “Everything You Need To Know About Selling Software In 2025”.
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.