Jake Thomas
@jthomas__
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Helping you write better YouTube titles using psychology | Weekly newsletter at
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I A/B tested 103 YouTube titles last month.
Here’s what worked:
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I study 200 YouTube channels every week.
All I do is read video titles, look at how many views they got, and try to find patterns between successful videos.
Here are 10 phrases I see working each week:
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Your first 1,000 followers on Twitter are the hardest.
So I asked 20 people how they did it.
Here’s what they said:
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I’ve written over 1,000 YouTube titles.
The best way to write a great title is to copy what’s proven to get people to click.
Here are 12 formulas that work:
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The best YouTubers are masters of psychology.
Here are 10 psychological hacks to steal from them:
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My YouTube titles have gotten 1,000,000s of views.
But I couldn’t have done it without the tools that save me time and give me ideas.
Here are 9 of my favorite tools:
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The best YouTube titles have one thing in common:
They evoke curiosity.
But most people have no idea how to do this.
So here are 6 ways to build curiosity:
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I asked 10,000 YouTubers, “What’s your biggest regret?”
Here were the 11 most common answers:
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Great YouTubers are masters at using psychology.
Here are 8 psychological hacks to steal from them:
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My little side project YouTube channel went from 35,000 to 350,000 views/month.
I only publish 1 video per week, and they honestly kinda suck.
But I think it’s grown because I’ve focused on the 80/20 of what actually matters to YouTube.
Here’s what worked:
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10 Power Phrases to use on YouTube”
🌞Change my Life
⚖️The Truth About
🛑I Stopped
🛏️I Regret
🥷Do This
⏱️In [Time Frame]
🐣Beginner
🚫Without
🤡You’re Doing It Wrong
🧙♂️This Is What I’d Do
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I’ve studied 1000s of YouTube videos to see what makes people click.
Here are the top 10 elements in viral videos:
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I compiled 635 viral YouTube videos in a database.
Here are some fun stats for you:
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My YouTube titles have brought in 1,000,000s of views.
I have 4 methods that make writing great titles fast and easy.
Here they are:
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I compiled 300 viral YouTube videos in a database.
Here are some fun stats for you:
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90% of people are making their YouTube videos backward.
It’s an easily fixed mistake that will help you get more views and grow your channel.
Here's how to make videos people actually want to watch:
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If you use it right, YouTube gives you all the tools to be a successful creator.
But most people don’t know what to look for.
Here are 7 free YouTube hacks to grow your channel:
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The secret to writing great YouTube titles is psychology.
But most people don’t know how to use it to get people to stop scrolling and click their videos.
Here are 9 psychological hacks to write better YouTube titles:
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I put 1,000 YouTube search results into a database.
I found some surprising trends that will help you get better at YouTube SEO.
Here’s a breakdown:
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Writing better YouTube titles can change your life.
But most people suck at them.
So here are 9 rules to write amazing titles:
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I’ve spent 1,000 hours studying viral YouTube videos.
There are several power words that appear over and over again no matter what niche you’re in.
Here are 11 of them:
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The fastest way to blow up on YouTube:
Trendjacking
But most people have no idea how to do it.
Here are 8 ways to use trendjacking to grow your YouTube channel:
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I got my first job as a YouTube channel manager in 2019.
But I was so bad at writing titles I almost got fired.
I finally figured it out though, and we 3x’d our subscribers.
What changed? I learned the concept of modeling.
Here’s how it works…
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I’ve studied 1000s of YouTube channels.
Here are the 5 biggest mistakes people make when writing YouTube titles:
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Writing good YouTube titles is all about psychology.
But most people don’t know how to use psychology to get more people to click their videos.
Here are 10 psychological hacks to get more views on YouTube:
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I’ve written 100s of YouTube titles that sucked.
But just because a video fails at first, doesn’t mean you can’t change the title and make it successful.
Here are 10 changes to turn your failing video into a success:
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Simple way to make a YouTube title better: be more specific.
"I Did Pushups"
"I Did 100 Pushups"
"I Did 100 Pushups Every Day"
"I Did 100 Pushups Every Day For 30 Days"
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Every creator needs these 2 skills:
1. Getting people's attention
2. Getting them to click
If your content isn't doing well, it's probably because you suck at these.
But there are psychological hacks you can use that are almost like cheat codes.
Here are 10 of them:
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1/ “How To” vs. List
In 3 tests of “how to” vs. list titles, list titles had a higher CTR in all 3.
Ex:
“How To Make YOUR Videos Look CINEMATIC” (1.90% CTR)
“5 Tips To Make YOUR videos Cinematic” (2.51% CTR)
⬆️ 32%
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Here’s a skill every educational YouTuber needs:
Saying the same thing 100 different ways.
This is because only a handful of topics actually work well in each industry.
But it’s hard!
So here are some frameworks for you:
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A big mistake most YouTubers make:
Not looking for inspiration outside of their industry.
This is how everyone ends up creating the same copycat videos.
So here are 12 channels that write great titles in different industries:
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I’m writing 30 threads in 30 days to:
1) Teach people about the psychology of what makes people click
2) Meet people
3) Grow my newsletter
You can keep up with them all in this thread of threads:
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99% of YouTube titles suck.
I’ve studied 1000s of titles to see what exactly gets people to watch your video.
Here are 10 easy hacks that work:
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I started a new YouTube channel last month.
I can't say I earned my first dollar yet... but I did earn my first $0.75 😂
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The most important part of a Twitter thread is the first tweet.
But 99% of people suck at writing them.
Here are 10 examples of great first tweets of viral threads:
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Videos to publish these next 2 months:
“How to __ in 2024”
“10 (Niche) Trends In 2024”
“7 Predictions For (Niche) In 2024”
“5 Outdated (Niche) Trends In 2024”
"5 __ Changes That Will Have A Big Impact In 2024"
“If I Were To Start A New __ In 2024, This Is What I'd Do”
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People on YouTube are weird.
They don’t want to know how to achieve their goals or watch happy videos.
They want to be teased and scared.
Here are 10 ways to use fear and curiosity to grow on YouTube:
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The secret to writing a great YouTube title is curiosity.
It gets people’s attention and makes them feel like they *have* to watch your video.
But most people don’t actually know how to build curiosity.
Here’s the easiest way:
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Bad YouTube titles:
• Unclear
• Overhyped
• Tell, doesn’t show
• Stuffed with keywords
• Wordy
Good YouTube titles:
• Clear
• Easy to read
• Speak to audience’s dreams & fears
• Use curiosity (tastefully)
• Specific
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99% of people suck at writing YouTube titles.
But there are 2 strategies that anybody can use to become a master right away.
Here’s how to use them:
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The easiest way to write better YouTube titles:
Model successful videos.
But most people are doing it wrong, and their channels aren’t growing because of it.
How to model successful videos to write great titles:
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10 tips to write better YouTube titles…
From 10 creators who’ve mastered them:
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2/ Labels
Instead of talking about specific subjects, giving subjects a broad label often (but not always) helped increase the CTR.
Ex:
“What Happened to Shabazz Muhammad?” (4.52%)
“The Most Overhyped NBA Prospect” (5.68%)
⬆️ 26%
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It feels like all the successful YouTube channels use fear and negativity.
But you don’t need to do that to blow up your channel.
Here are 10 ways to write great YouTube titles without being negative:
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YouTube nerds:
I'm running an a/b test on a thumbnail.
Thumbnail A has a higher CTR, but lower AVD
Thumbnail B has a lower CTR, but higher AVD
Which one are you going with? (Assuming the changes in CTR and AVD are comparable)
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Most people are wasting time creating YouTube videos.
Not because it’s not worth it, but because nobody is watching them.
And nobody is watching them because your titles aren’t getting people to click.
Here are 10 tips to write clickable YouTube titles:
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YouTube titles are amazing because just 5-10 words can be the difference between 100 views or 100,000 views
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Fear is one of the best ways to get people to watch your YouTube videos.
But many people feel like it’s too clickbaity, or their channels are all about positivity.
So here’s how to use fear in your titles without feeling icky:
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Creator Hooks just hit 200 subscribers!
Here are the 2 things I'm focusing on now:
1. Make it really helpful.
2. Don't quit.
I've had a tendency to quit things too early in the past, so I'm just trying to last long enough to get noticed (h/t
@nathanbarry
).
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I’ve been wondering what makes a “good YouTube video”.
And yesterday I accidentally found a way to get a little bit closer to the answer:
I watched two videos on the same topic back to back and realized what made me like one more than the other.
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I was doing some research for Creator Hooks and I came across this example of how well modeling can work.
Here are 2 screenshots from 2 different channels.
The titles circled in green follow the same format and got way more views than the titles underlined in red.
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Top 10 elements that make people click on YouTube:
🤔Curiosity
👎Negativity
📋List
📅Timeliness
👑Authority
🌴Deep desire
⏱️Time frame
🐣Beginner tips
🧗Extreme/epic topic
⚠️Refute an objection
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12 YouTube title formulas that work:
📖The truth about
🥊__ vs. __
👧Why __
🩸(Pain Point)? Do This!
🏡Inside ___
👵I Regret ___
🎩5 Tricks To ___
🧐__ In History
✅10 Ways To __
🤓How to __ as a beginner
🥂Top 10 __ in 2022
🎓How A Pro ___ ACTUALLY ___
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Before we get into the data, quick disclaimer:
A/B testing on YouTube isn’t perfect, and these results won’t necessarily work for you, too.
But I hope these strategies will inspire you to try new things on your channel.
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Most people think you need a catchy thumbnail and a clever title to go viral on YouTube.
But what you really need is a big idea.
Here are 6 ways to come up with big ideas:
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would you be interested if I taught a course on how to write better YouTube titles?
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10 bad habits holding you back from YouTube success:
1. Video first
2. Making what YOU want
3. Fluffy intros
4. Not studying other niches
5. Not modeling success
6. Having too many CTAs
7. Blaming the algorithm
8. Overthinking
9. Impatience
10. Overcomplicating titles & thumbs
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I wrote 105 YouTube titles for A/B tests this week.
My brain is fried 😵💫
But hopefully some interesting data coming your way soon!
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Creator:
@arvidkahl
Tip:
Make it about people, not numbers. People will introduce you to their friends if you're cool and helpful. After all, you don't get 1000 followers at once: you get 1 follower, 1000 times.
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This has gotta be the easiest way to spice up your title:
Adding the video length.
It makes the video feel more tangible and less intimidating/easier to commit to.
Ex:
"20 Thru Hiking Tips in 6 Minutes for Your FIRST Thru Hike"
"Genius YouTube Advice for 15 Minutes Straight"
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YouTube nerds, what's the best answer to this question:
“My videos have high ctr and high avd, but they just aren't getting that many views… what am I doing wrong?”
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Hey 100K+ YouTubers...
What's your biggest tip for going from 10K to 100K subscribers?
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5/ “Habit”
I’ve seen the word “habit” do well on YouTube often, and it won in two A/B tests here.
Definitely something worth exploring more.
Ex:
“THIS Is Killing Your Golf Swing” (4.66% CTR)
“THIS Habit Is Killing Your Golf Swing” (5.13% CTR)
⬆️ 10%
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I almost got fired from my last job because I was so bad at writing YouTube titles.
It was stressful and there was nobody talking about how to write better titles.
Which is why I started Creator Hooks.
Here’s what I wish I knew back then about YouTube titles:
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No matter how good your YouTube video’s title is…
If it’s about a boring topic, it’s doomed to fail.
Here are 3 ways to choose great video topics every time:
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We just added a title & idea generator to Creator Hooks Pro!
It's another step to making this the fastest way to generate good ideas and write better titles.
Here’s how it works:
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6/ “Beginners”
Calling out beginners worked several times here.
Ex:
“The Best Camera For Content Creators In 2022” (5.81% CTR)
“The Best Camera For Beginners In 2022” (7.33% CTR)
⬆️ 26%
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You’re one video away from changing your life.
Here are 10 ideas to steal:
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Bad YouTube titles:
• Wordy
• Vague
• Boring
• Long
Good YouTube titles:
• Clear
• Singular focus
• Simple
• Emotional
• Proven topic
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I hate when people say "that won't work for my niche."
Here's a great example of 2 titles in totally unrelated niches using the same framework:
"7 Cheap Cars That Drive Like Supercars"
"5 Reptiles That Act Like Dogs | No Fur, No Allergies, All The Love"
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I don't want to be the guy giving YouTube tips when he can’t back it up or show proof.
So I ran 103 YouTube title A/B tests last month and put the results into a book.
I shared the CTRs, what worked, and what didnt.
Here's the link if you’re interested:
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1/ Making the video first
Don’t make the video and then try to form a title and thumbnail around it.
Start with a topic, title, and thumbnail that you know is going to get people to click.
Then make a video that delivers on that promise.
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7/ “Change __ Forever”
The phrase “Change __ Forever” actually worked 3 different times in titles here.
Ex:
“It's The KEY To Awesome Photos” (3.69% CTR)
“This Will Change The Way You Take Photos Forever” (4.04% CTR)
⬆️ 9%
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4/ Question vs. Statement
Statements did better than questions in 4 out of 5 tests.
They didn’t win by a lot though — an average of 8%.
Ex:
“Is This Brooklyn's Best KEPT FOOD SECRET?🤐” (6.25% CTR)
“Brooklyn's Best KEPT FOOD SECRET (6.8% CTR)
⬆️ 9%
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RPM increased by 47% on my most popular video after I manually added the mid-rolls.
Definitely something I should've done earlier 🤦♂️
Do you manually add the ad breaks in your YouTube videos, or do you have YouTube do it automatically for you?
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9/ Negativity
You might not like it, but making your titles more negative might be one of the easiest ways to increase your CTR.
Ex:
“How Billionaire Jeff Bezos Spends All His Money” (2.30% CTR)
“Dumb Things Jeff Bezos Wastes His Billions On” (3.13% CTR)
⬆️ 36%
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I've written 1000s of YouTube titles and have dozens of pages of notes on how to write a good title.
If I put it all into an ebook... would you buy it?
What would you want to know about writing YouTube titles and coming up with ideas?
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People ask me all the time, “how long should I wait to change my title and thumbnail?”
I don’t have a great answer for this, but here’s how I made this decision for my latest video:
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11 power words for viral YouTube videos:
🌱Changed
🍪Habits
🛑Stop
👨👧Why
🤖Regret
🐍Don’t
🍾2022
🌎Everything
🚢-EST
🤫Secret
📅Every day
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Creator:
@sahilypatel
Tip:
Twitter Growth is directly proportional to the number of people you help without asking anything in return.
~Help by writing useful threads
~Help by engaging w their tweets
~Help by supporting when they launch
~Help by answering their question in DM
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2/ The Pain Paradox
People would rather watch videos about moving away from pain rather than towards pleasure.
Payette Forward has my favorite example of this about iOS 15 settings you need to turn on and off (check the differences in views)
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3/ Short Titles
The average character length in titles that lost the A/B test (had a lower CTR) was 48.26
The average character length in titles that won the A/B test (had a higher CTR) was 44.82
Obviously not a big difference, but interesting to note.
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The most important part of a YouTube video is the topic.
But it’s hard to come up with ideas people actually want to watch.
Here are 10 ways to find video ideas guaranteed to get views:
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Growing the new channel has been a bit slow (and having a new baby hasn’t helped) but things are looking up with this latest video!
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If I were trying to rank videos in YouTube Search in 2023, here are the 3 types of videos I would make:
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30% of YouTube viewers quit watching in the first 30 seconds.
But if you want to blow up on YouTube, you need to keep people engaged.
Here are 7 ideas for a great intro:
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