Write Better YouTube Titles In 54 Minutes (Jake Thomas | Creator Hooks)

Summary

In this insightful video, Jake Thomas, writer of the 'Creator Hooks' newsletter, shares his data-driven approach to crafting compelling YouTube titles that evoke curiosity, fear, or desire. He emphasizes the importance of not just mimicking top channels but learning from creators a few steps ahead. Jake discusses his research process, including studying successful title patterns and leveraging human psychology for higher click-through rates. He also addresses the balance between using proven title formulas and maintaining authenticity in content creation.

Takeaways

• 😀 The importance of writing compelling video titles is emphasized, as they can be the primary reason for viewers clicking on content.
• 🔍 Jake Thomas, the writer of 'Creator Hooks', focuses on leveraging human psychology to create YouTube titles that evoke curiosity, fear, and desire.
• 📈 Jake's approach to title creation is data-driven, using a database of 408 titles to identify patterns and successful frameworks.
• 🧐 It's suggested that creators should model their titles after those of successful channels slightly ahead of them in growth, rather than the biggest names in the industry.
• 📝 For beginners, copying the successful elements of others' work is a time-tested method for learning and improving one's own skills, including title writing.
• 🔑 The 'click-worthy' emotions of curiosity, fear, and desire are often combined in successful titles, with curiosity being particularly impactful.
• 💡 The idea of 'opening a loop' in titles, starting a story without finishing it, is a strategy to pique curiosity and encourage clicks.
• 🎯 Targeting specific audiences, like beginners, in titles can increase clicks by making the content feel more relevant and accessible.
• ⏱ Timely and evergreen topics can be repackaged in new ways to maintain viewer interest and capitalize on current trends or long-standing desires.
• 📉 Jake discusses the process of identifying successful title patterns through extensive research and note-taking, highlighting the value of time investment in studying what works.
• 🎨 The 'art' of title writing involves cleverness and an intimate understanding of the audience, while the 'science' involves replicating proven successful structures.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of Jake Thomas's newsletter 'Creator hooks'?

The primary focus of Jake Thomas's newsletter 'Creator hooks' is to help people write better YouTube titles based on human psychology and data-driven insights.

Why are emotional responses important in creating YouTube titles?

Emotional responses are important in creating YouTube titles because they can trigger curiosity, fear, or desire, which are click-worthy emotions that can cause viewers to click on the video.

What does Jake suggest when it comes to researching YouTube titles for your channel?

Jake suggests modeling people a couple of steps ahead of you in terms of success, rather than the biggest names in the business, as they may have influence outside of YouTube that guarantees their success.

How does Jake approach the process of studying YouTube titles?

Jake approaches the process of studying YouTube titles by spending hours every week scanning different channels, noting down titles with high view counts compared to the channel's average, and identifying patterns in successful titles.

What is the significance of using 'curiosity' in YouTube titles according to Jake?

According to Jake, curiosity is the most impactful emotion to tap into when creating YouTube titles because it can be combined with fear or desire to create a compelling reason for viewers to click on the video.

What is Jake's method for identifying successful title patterns?

Jake's method involves using a Google Sheet to document titles, their publish dates, view counts, and the emotional triggers they contain, allowing him to identify patterns and common elements in successful titles.

What advice does Jake give for creators who are just starting out on YouTube?

Jake advises new creators to model successful channels that are a few steps ahead of them in terms of growth, rather than trying to emulate the strategies of already established and influential creators.

How does Jake handle the balance between using effective emotional triggers in titles and maintaining authenticity in his content?

Jake suggests using personal experiences or stories to leverage emotional triggers like fear while reducing the 'ickiness' factor, thus maintaining authenticity in the content presentation.

What is Jake's perspective on the use of the word 'and' in YouTube titles?

Jake believes that using the word 'and' in titles can dilute the message and make it less focused, suggesting that creators should focus on one main subject or idea per title.

What is the role of 'idea' in the process of creating a YouTube title, according to the conversation?

The role of 'idea' in creating a YouTube title is crucial as it forms the foundation of the title. Even the best wordsmithing or graphics cannot compensate for a weak underlying idea.

How does Jake approach A/B testing for YouTube titles?

Jake waits at least five days before conducting A/B testing to ensure the data is accurate and not influenced by the initial high click-through rates from loyal subscribers. He uses tools like TubeBuddy or Thumbnailtest.com to facilitate the testing process.

What is the importance of brevity in YouTube titles as discussed in the script?

Brevity in YouTube titles is important because long titles can confuse viewers, lack focus, and may not be easily understood at a glance, which can lead to lower click-through rates.

How does Jake use his understanding of title creation to improve his email subject lines?

Jake applies the same principles of curiosity, desire, and fear in his email subject lines to increase open rates, using concise and focused language to grab the recipient's attention.

What is Jake's view on the use of chapter markers in YouTube videos?

Jake does not use chapter markers in his videos as he prefers viewers to watch the entire video rather than skip to specific sections, although he acknowledges that others have had success with this approach.

What is the 'Creator hooks' newsletter and how does it benefit its subscribers?

The 'Creator hooks' newsletter is a resource where Jake shares insights and strategies for creating compelling content, particularly focusing on YouTube title creation. It benefits subscribers by providing them with data-driven techniques to improve their video titles and grow their channels.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Art of Crafting Click-Worthy YouTube Titles

In this segment, the importance of creating compelling video titles is emphasized to avoid viewership pitfalls. The discussion introduces Jake Thomas, author of the 'Creator Hooks' newsletter, who leverages data-driven methods to enhance YouTube title effectiveness. Jake's approach is highlighted by his analysis of 408 titles, identifying patterns that incite curiosity, fear, or desire. The conversation delves into title research strategies, the use of human psychology for increased views, and the pitfalls of modeling titles after already successful channels, suggesting instead to learn from those slightly ahead in growth.

05:02

🔍 Researching YouTube Titles: A Data-Driven Approach

Jake shares his journey into the world of YouTube titles, beginning with his experience in marketing and a pivotal role managing a fishing channel. His boss's emphasis on the importance of titles for the success of content investment resonated with him. Initially struggling, Jake eventually discovered the power of modeling successful titles and the significance of identifying and replicating successful patterns. He also discusses the process of studying titles, noting the importance of time investment and observation to identify what makes certain titles stand out.

10:04

🧐 The Emotional Core of Effective Titles

This paragraph explores the emotional aspects of title creation, focusing on the three key emotions that drive clicks: curiosity, fear, and desire. Jake explains how these emotions can be combined to create a compelling title and discusses the importance of avoiding bland statements. He also shares his method of organizing and analyzing title data in Google Sheets, revealing patterns and common elements in successful titles across various industries.

15:05

🎯 Targeting Specific Audiences with Titles

The speaker discusses the strategy of targeting specific audiences in titles, such as beginners, to create a sense of personal relevance and urgency. The use of the word 'beginner' is highlighted as a powerful tool to attract viewers who identify with that stage. The paragraph also touches on the importance of timeliness, regrets, and the use of click triggers to evoke emotions and increase click-through rates.

20:06

💭 Balancing Authenticity with YouTube's Title 'Game'

The conversation turns to the balance between authenticity and leveraging YouTube's title strategies. The speaker shares his internal conflict between creating content that resonates with his values and playing into the platform's trends to drive views. The discussion acknowledges the tension of using fear-based tactics and the importance of finding a balance that aligns with the creator's ethos while still being effective on the platform.

25:07

📉 Embracing Regret and Desire in Title Crafting

This paragraph delves into the use of regret and desire in titles, offering insights into how these emotions can drive viewership. Jake shares his personal experiences and strategies for using these emotions effectively, while also discussing the importance of authenticity and avoiding tactics that feel 'icky.' The speaker emphasizes the need to serve the audience and to use data as a guide for understanding what works in title creation.

30:08

📝 The Impact of Brevity and Focus in Video Titles

The discussion highlights the significance of concise and focused titles. Jake shares his belief in avoiding keyword stuffing and maintaining clarity in titles. He provides data from his own experiences with email subject lines, demonstrating how brevity improved open rates. The paragraph also touches on the importance of understanding the platform's dynamics and the viewer's perspective when crafting titles.

35:08

🎨 The Art and Science of Thumbnail and Title Creation

This segment distinguishes between the art and science of creating thumbnails and titles. Jake shares his personal opinion on the importance of thumbnails in entertainment versus the significance of titles in educational content. He also discusses his process for A/B testing titles and the importance of waiting for accurate data before making changes.

40:09

🔑 Utilizing Chapter Markers and SEO in Video Content

The speaker inquires about the use of chapter markers in videos, discussing their potential impact on Google search results. Jake shares his personal approach to chapter markers, preferring to encourage viewership of the entire video rather than skipping to specific sections. The conversation also touches on the role of SEO and search engine optimization on YouTube, and how Jake considers these elements in his content strategy.

45:10

📈 The Data-Driven Curation of 'Creator Hooks'

Jake explains his process for curating the 'Creator Hooks' newsletter, focusing on identifying outlier videos that significantly outperform their channel's average. He discusses his method of sifting through numerous channels to find these anomalies and how he uses YouTube's recommendation algorithm to his advantage in discovering unique and successful content.

50:10

📝 The Interplay of Art and Science in Title Creation

The final paragraph explores the balance between the art and science of writing titles. Jake discusses the challenge of being clever and knowing the audience to create effective titles. He emphasizes the importance of storytelling and experience in establishing credibility with the audience, suggesting that creators should prove their expertise to resonate with viewers.

Keywords

💡Curiosity

Curiosity in the context of this video refers to the emotion that drives people to seek out new information or experiences. It is one of the 'click-worthy emotions' that Jake Thomas discusses as crucial for creating impactful video titles. The script mentions that titles often use curiosity combined with fear or desire to provoke a response. For example, the phrase '7 things plant experts do that you probably don't' from the transcript uses curiosity to entice viewers to learn something new.

💡Fear

Fear, as discussed in the video, is an emotion that can be leveraged in video titles to create a sense of urgency or concern, prompting viewers to click. It's one of the three core emotions, alongside curiosity and desire, that Jake Thomas suggests using to make video titles more engaging. The script illustrates this with the idea of using 'fear of missing out' (FOMO) to create curiosity, such as in the title '5 mistakes to avoid when buying your first steam mop'.

💡Desire

Desire in the video script is related to the aspirational feelings that viewers have, which can be tapped into when crafting video titles. It is one of the three 'click-worthy emotions' that Jake Thomas highlights. The script gives the example of a title like 'How a pro YouTuber actually makes thumbnails,' which plays on the viewer's desire to learn insider secrets and improve their own skills.

💡Emotional Response

Emotional response is the reaction evoked in viewers by the content of a video title. The video emphasizes the importance of creating an emotional response to encourage clicks. Jake Thomas explains that titles should elicit curiosity, fear, or desire to be effective. The transcript mentions that the best titles are those that create an emotional response that causes viewers to click.

💡Human Psychology

Human psychology is the study of human mental processes and behaviors. In the video, Jake Thomas bases his approach to writing video titles on understanding human psychology, particularly how to evoke certain emotions that lead to action, such as clicking on a video. The script discusses leveraging human psychology to get more views, which is a central theme of the video.

💡Data-Driven

The term 'data-driven' refers to making decisions based on data or evidence. Jake Thomas describes his approach to title creation as being data-driven, with a database of 408 titles analyzed for their emotional impact. The script mentions this approach as a way to understand what works in video titles and to replicate successful patterns.

💡Click-Worthy Emotions

Click-worthy emotions are the emotions that make a viewer more likely to click on a video. The video identifies curiosity, fear, and desire as the three primary click-worthy emotions. The script discusses how these emotions can be combined in video titles to increase the likelihood of viewers engaging with the content.

💡YouTube Titles

YouTube titles are the text headlines used for videos on the YouTube platform. The entire video script revolves around the importance of writing effective YouTube titles that can evoke an emotional response. Jake Thomas shares his expertise on how to research, leverage human psychology, and use successful frameworks to create compelling titles.

💡Copywork

Copywork is the practice of copying existing works to learn a skill, often used in writing and marketing. In the script, Jake Thomas suggests that copying, or 'handwriting old sales letters,' is a time-tested method for learning how to write effectively, including writing compelling video titles.

💡Analysis Paralysis

Analysis paralysis refers to the state of being unable to make a decision due to over-analyzing or overthinking. The video script warns against letting analysis paralysis stop creators from taking action. It emphasizes the importance of starting and learning from the process, even if the initial attempts are not perfect.

💡Authority

Authority in the context of this video relates to the credibility and trustworthiness that a content creator can establish with their audience. Jake Thomas mentions that using terms like 'pro' or 'expert' in video titles can convey authority, making viewers more likely to click and engage with the content, as it suggests insider knowledge or expertise.

Highlights

The importance of writing compelling video titles that evoke an emotional response to increase click-through rates.

Identifying 'click-worthy' emotions such as curiosity, fear, and desire in video titles to attract viewers.

Jake Thomas' data-driven approach to studying and improving YouTube video titles based on psychological principles.

The significance of researching and modeling successful titles from creators a few steps ahead in the same niche.

Avoiding the trap of copying titles from the biggest names in the industry due to their established influence.

The value of copying successful techniques as a learning method for creators, similar to how copywriters learn from old sales letters.

The process of identifying patterns in successful video titles by studying a broad spectrum of industries.

Using Google Sheets to organize and analyze data on video titles to recognize effective patterns.

The role of emotions in crafting video titles and how they can be leveraged to increase viewer engagement.

Examples of video titles that effectively use curiosity and fear, or curiosity and desire to attract viewers.

The importance of starting with a strong video idea before focusing on creating a catchy title.

Strategies for using specific audience labels, such as 'beginners', in titles to increase clicks.

The concept of 'click triggers' and how they can be utilized to make a title more enticing.

Jake's personal journey from struggling with YouTube titles to becoming proficient through research and practice.

The impact of thumbnail and description optimization on video performance in addition to titles.

Insights on A/B testing video titles and the importance of waiting for accurate data before making changes.

Jake's method for curating content for his 'Creator Hooks' newsletter by identifying outlier videos.

The balance between leveraging psychological principles in titles and maintaining authenticity in content creation.

Discussion on the use of chapter markers in videos and their potential impact on SEO and user experience.

The intersection of art and science in creating video titles, and the importance of understanding one's audience.

Jake's belief in the power of storytelling and personal experience as a creator to establish credibility and attract viewers.

Transcripts

no one's going to click on our video if

you don't write a good title what if the

only reason that people weren't watching

your videos was that you were choosing

bad titles the best titles create an

emotional response that cause you to

click

the three I'm calling them click-worthy

emotions are curiosity fear and desire

and it's usually curiosity plus fear or

curiosity plus desire that's Jake Thomas

he's the writer of a popular newsletter

called Creator hooks which is dedicated

to helping you write better YouTube

titles based in human psychology

what I love about Jake's approach is

that he's very data driven I've got a

database of 408 titles right now 61 of

them have curiosity 46 have desired 40

have fear or negativity so in this

episode you'll learn how to research

your own titles how to leverage human

psychology to get more views some of the

most successful Frameworks Jake has

found and why curiosity is the most

impactful emotion that you can tap into

but now let's talk with Jake

[Music]

[Music]

a lot of people when they're you know

just starting their

trying to do some research look at other

channels that are kind of like them but

I feel like a lot of people are also

sucked into the Trap of saying I'm just

gonna model off of the biggest names in

the business I'm gonna go and see what

Mr Beast is doing I'm gonna go see what

Emma Chamberlain is doing I'm gonna go

just like see what these people are

doing really well and model after that

because if it's working for them it

seems like it should work for me is that

the right way to think about it and if

not how should I be doing research

across different channels for my titles

I don't think it's the the right way to

do it so if I got Emma Chamberlain's

titles up right now cooking

Ugg season my childhood bedroom it will

be okay so like she has a title that's

literally just cooking and that's all it

is and unless you're Emma Chamberlain

that is not going to work for you unless

you have let's see 11.8 million

subscribers it will not work because

it's just just like a plain statement

there's no emotion there so no I think

that you should uh model people a couple

steps ahead of you you know like if

you're just getting started maybe you

want to model people in the you know 50

000 or you know five thousand fifty

thousand five hundred thousand someone

who's not like a just total celebrity

and just has like you know so much

influence outside of YouTube that no

matter what like they're going to be

successful so definitely don't look at

the people way high up try to find

people a couple steps ahead of you see

what they're doing and I think that's

like just definitely the best thing that

you can do especially getting started if

you don't know anything like even like

you know how do I write my intros how do

I do my lighting how long should my

video be when you're getting started all

the answers are there but just looking

at what is working for your competitors

and then you know as you kind of do that

you'll slowly get like kind of your own

feel and your own Vibe but definitely

the best way to do it is to kind of copy

first like people do like copy work like

you know you hand write old sales

letters to learn how to become a good

copywriter people have been recommending

that for like I don't know 70 years or

something like that and it's been

working for them don't try to be like

super original don't try to model an mha

Berlin no offense in her but it's

probably not going to work for you try

to find people a couple steps ahead of

you and do what they're doing I think

that's good advice for creators of any

kind actually because it's it's really

easy to go and and look after these

bigger channels or creators or Platforms

in general and think well if they're

doing it it must work but there have

been some times in my life where I've

looked at uh landing pages home pages

sales pages of big websites and said oh

this must be what works and then copied

that and then within like days or weeks

they change it because it probably

wasn't performing so like not only

should you look at people who are closer

to you but maybe you should even reach

out to people and ask if there's not

like clear public data you should reach

out and say hey I'm just curious how

this is going for you maybe not the

first question in their Twitter DMS but

you know get get to it because I think

that's a really smart advice sometimes

people are succeeding in spite of not

doing things in the most effective way

yeah definitely but also like if you're

just getting started like just just do

it like don't let analysis paralysis you

know kind of stop you from taking action

like all right cool like when I first

launched my um my newsletter I had like

a really really ugly newsletter title or

sorry newsletter um like landing page it

was terrible like my conversion rate was

bad when I got started and then I kind

of asked around and I started looking at

others and I eventually figured it out

but uh just like copying like the first

landing page that I saw like worked for

me to get up and just get moving and

another thing that someone told me this

a couple of weeks ago and it was you

can't sit your parked car and I was like

oh this is great like

um

yeah when you're when you're just

getting started like just move yes and

then figure it out yes how did you get

to YouTube titles of all things I've

been in like Marketing in general for

like 10 years or so I was uh I worked at

a Facebook Ad Agency and it was it was

terrible and our my favorite client they

were like Hey we're hiring a writer so I

was able to like jump on board with them

and I hadn't had I didn't have any

YouTube experience but he's like hey

you're going to be our editor-in-chief

our media buyer and our YouTube channel

manager and I was like oh this is great

like no no YouTube experience and my

boss was like a really really good

copywriter and he beat into my head the

importance of writing titles he's like

because we were a fishing channel and we

had like spent a lot of money to send

our fishing coaches out uh you know like

kayaking or out on the boat spending all

day like making content so we would we

spent a lot of money on our content and

he's like if you don't write a good

title then we wasted all of this money

you know filming creating uh you know

fishing catching all these fish and also

uh if you don't write a good title then

we're not going to get any of the

benefits like no one's going to click on

our video if you don't write a good

title so like the pressure was on that

sounds like a lot of pressure yeah it

was and the only problem was he was

great and like my favorite Boss by far

but he wasn't like a he didn't know how

to teach me how to write good YouTube

titles so it's kind of on my own uh I

almost got fired because I was so bad at

first oh no and like I actually talked

to him about it like a couple years

after and I was like yeah like when I

got started it wasn't the best he's like

yeah it wasn't it wasn't the best we

weren't sure if we were gonna keep you

you're telling me it wasn't the best

but but somehow I kind of figured it out

and the thing that like the thing that

made it click for me was we were a

fishing channel and my boss went on a

podcast of a hunting channel and they

did a podcast that was uh newbie hunting

gear and the guy said like that newbie

hunting gear podcast crushed it for them

so my boss came back he's like hey we're

gonna do a podcast about newbie fishing

gear so I was like all right cool like

let's do it turns out that was our best

podcast like for the month like for the

past few months that's when it kind of

clicked it was like okay I don't need to

be original I need to just like find

something that works and then model that

and it's not like copying right like you

know there was newbie hunting gear where

newbie fishing gear like we're just

following that same model and then once

I realized that I got on a roll and like

I finally understood like okay like it's

not all up to me to be like totally

original and write these great titles

and then we find it like turn it around

I didn't get fired our Channel like 3x

our Revenue Forex so everything was

everything was good after that and then

once like kind of I figured out all

right cool like this is how you write a

good YouTube title like from a beginner

then I slowly figured it out and I was

like oh cool like here are the patterns

that all of these successful YouTube

titles have now we can kind of get out

of that box of like just modeling to

like actually coming up with original

content how did you go about finding

these templates of breakout sort of

successes because it seems like YouTube

has just an endless amount of content so

how did you boil that ocean start to way

fine to specific title structures that

worked for you just spending a lot of

time studying YouTube titles you know

going to a bunch of different channels

and YouTube makes it super easy because

you can see the publish date you can see

how many views they have and just like

just spending hours every single week

for over a year or you know almost two

years now just like scanning like okay

like you know this video is published uh

you know a couple weeks ago but it has

like a hundred thousand views all of the

other videos published around it have

like ten thousand

okay there's something here and then you

take note of that and you do that you

know a thousand times a couple hundred

times then boom you start to see you

start to see pattern so it's really just

putting in time and studying and taking

really deliberate notes how much were

you looking at the same industry and

channels in that same industry versus

something that might be like a little

bit orthogonal to it like it's kind of

touching that industry versus something

that's completely out of that industry

but doing well really just like trying

to get a a broad spectrum of Industries

like the craziest thing is when I see

today I was looking at it was like a

like a hair Channel and one of their

best videos like I was like oh I've seen

like this exact model work on like all

sorts of other different channels yeah

so just really just trying to get a

really broad spectrum of titles and then

you know putting all those notes

together and like seeing the patterns

and it's like oh it really doesn't

matter like what industry this is in

like you know regrets always work well

or something like that when you're doing

this are you putting this into a

spreadsheet is it structured is it just

gut feel and if it is structured how

does that look it is a little structured

that's just in Google Sheets so I've

just got like the title The publish date

and like the the URL and it just started

as that and then as I started to

recognize patterns it's like okay like

let me know this one had fear Okay and

like then I would go through all the

other you know 100 titles that I had

before all right this one had fear this

one had fear this one had fear cool okay

like you know 30 of these titles have

fear and then I would start to notice

like new patterns so it was just it was

real it's really simple just in Google

Sheets and there's it's nothing fancy

just as I you know as I kept learning

new things like all right let me jot it

down let me see if I can organize this a

little better and just so people are on

the same page you're not talking about

the literal word fear you're talking

about the emotional pull of fear correct

yes correct okay talk more about that

because I I've heard you talk about some

of these emotions that you think

underlie a good title is it fair to say

that emotions are what make a good title

yeah so a couple a couple weeks ago I

was looking at this guy's Channel and he

was struggling with his YouTube channel

and he's like hey man like I'm putting

in all the work I'm like you know my uh

my thumbnails are getting better my

storytelling my editing is getting

better like what why am I not growing

and I looked at his titles and they were

all bland statements like there was no

emotion and the three I'm calling them

click-worthy emotions are curiosity fear

and desire and it's usually curiosity

plus fear or curiosity plus desire and

that's like the simplest way to explain

what makes a good title is just

curiosity for your desire you know and

there's a bunch of different nuances you

know below that but that's like the just

the high level version of what makes a

good title I like that you're focusing

on kind of emotional terms and ideas as

opposed to strictly like templated

language because I'm sure there are

Trends within language that work pretty

well but I would imagine they they

probably get stale also so when you're

looking at curiosity fear and desire and

saying I want to tie capacity to fear or

curiosity to desire how often are you

seeing trends like go in and out so far

I haven't and it's been a couple years

so I haven't seen any like big trends go

in and out yet like the main Trend that

I that comes to mind is like a like a 20

like 14 BuzzFeed article like 36 new

podcast mics you'll never guess number

17 or something like that doctors hate

this guy

yeah yeah and like

but it's still using like there's

curiosity there's like a little bit of

fear there you know it's a list and that

those things still work well it's just

like how you apply them people kind of

cut on and now it's like all right

that's too clickbaity for me but I mean

it's the still the same principles were

working back then and they're still

working now and I've read a lot of like

you know copywriting books from like the

30s

1930s 1950s 60s and they're all just

saying the same thing like it's it's all

psychology that gets people's attention

and gets people to click do you have any

examples of titles that are pulling on

curiosity and fear or curiosity and

desire that people can kind of start to

map this in their mind to what this

looks like just kind of to get like

super nerdy here I've got a database of

408 titles right now and 61 of them have

curiosity 46 have desire and 40 percent

have fear or negativity so wow a couple

of examples here seven things plant

experts do that you probably don't that

kind of opens up a loop there it's like

oh like in that opening a loop is a

great way to build curiosity you're

starting a story but not finishing it

when you read that title like oh what

are these plant experts doing that I'm

not so there's a lot of curiosity yes

yes it's there's fomo there you know

which is like you know fear of missing

out so there's fear there's also

curiosity like what are these things

that these plant experts are doing what

about desire give me a desire example

how a pro YouTuber actually makes

thumbnails like just the word actually

is like really simple you kind of feel

like you're getting in on a secret there

like how they actually do that it's like

okay like I thought that I knew how they

make titles or how they make thumbnails

but like here's how they really do it

here's how they actually do it kind of

feels like they're you know like kind of

giving you Insider information or you

know you know pulling back the curtain

there so you feel like you're getting in

on a secret so that's one way to build

curiosity but you're also speaking to a

desire so you know if you want to make

better thumbnails it's like oh here's

how the pros do it so there's Authority

there as well so you have desire you

have curiosity by revealing a secret and

then you also are you're talking about

Authority so like that has like some

instant trust and credibility

credibility there because this is how

the pros do it when you are writing

titles for yourself or for other people

knowing what you know what is your

starting point for making a title it

starts with the idea it's like putting

lipstick on a pig like if you have a bad

idea it doesn't matter how clever you

are at like word smithing good titles or

or how you know good of a graphic

designer or good of a thumbnail maker

are if you have a bad idea then you're

just wasting your time so it always

starts with the idea and that's that's

the most important thing and then just

coming from there it's like you know

what angle do we want to kind of attack

this topic and that kind of depends on

what have we done before and like a lot

of people say the secret to like

creating content is just saying the same

thing 100 different ways because there

are like there are some ideas or some

topics that just work well no matter

what so you just got to kind of you know

ride that wave while you can but the

secret is like just saying that a bunch

of different ways so for an example like

let's say we're a finance Channel

talking about like picking stocks so you

could say like how to pick stocks as a

beginner right so you know talk to

beginners and like be calling out

beginners is a great way to get people

to click because you're calling out a

specific audience not only is that

audience like like very specific like if

you're a beginner like if you see like

kind of your name right there in the

title it's like oh shoot this this video

is for me but also they're like the

hungriest right you know because they're

beginners they want to learn and they're

the most insecure so uh right now I'm

learning how to play the piano I'm

learning on YouTube and I went through a

through a YouTube um Channel teaching

piano and I was watching like all their

videos on how to play the piano after

like two hours I'm laying in bed and I'm

like wait what did I just do and I

watched all of the videos that had the

word beginner in them and that was

because I was like insecure about my

piano playing skills like rightfully so

because I was a beginner and I felt that

all the other videos were they were too

advanced for me like oh you know this

song or this exercise is too advanced

like give me something for me give me

something specific for beginners so I

was insecure like I felt that like like

this video was just for me so that

that's a you know one great uh way to

get people to click is to just call out

beginners right there in your title so

if you're you know making your stocks

video how to pick stocks for beginners

you could talk about like you know the

best uh the best stocks in uh you know

November 2022 timeliness is another good

one

um you could talk about like regrets

like I regret picking these stocks last

year people love regrets ah those are

just like a couple different ways of

saying the same thing over and over

again and I'm calling them click

triggers there's like 31 and we've

already talked about a lot of them like

you know revealing a secret opening a

loop regrets

um it's just like fear desire all that

stuff and those are just like kind of

moves that like moves that you can make

or like pitches that you have like in

Your Arsenal like you know how am I

gonna if you're a pitcher you're looking

at Aaron judge and like how am I going

to get him out first off there and judge

it's not gonna happen but uh but you're

like all right you know what am I gonna

throw him like you know the sink or the

slider the fastball change up you know

and that's how I kind of look at these

click triggers it's like all right

what's the best way uh to get people to

click and get people excited about this

topic the we had to use visual b-roll

there so that people watching this you

know like sports Aaron judge pitcher

what what does mean uh I'm also like

thinking to myself we've got to find

some way to get video of Jake playing

piano now

I love it

after a quick break Jake and I get even

more in the weeds of how he researches

and chooses titles and later we dive

into some of the theories that Jake has

that he's still collecting data about so

stick around we'll be right back

if you like creative elements you would

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creatorscience.com And subscribe for

free and I'll talk to you on Sunday

welcome back to my conversation with

Jake Thomas before the break Jake and I

were talking about his research process

and something I shared with Jake is that

one of my favorite ways to do my own

research is to pay close attention to

the things that drive me to take action

if I click something why did I click

that if I buy something why did I buy

that I have a I actually have like an

Evernote document from like 20 like 16

or 2015 or something and that was like

my first like uh obsession with titles

and like what gets people to click

because I was that was like when I was

really like learning everything I didn't

know anything I was just kind of

starting to try to make it online then I

was like oh wow like I'm you know um

this this article really caught my eye

so I would put in the document and I was

like oh this one caught my eye too I put

in the document and I noticed after like

the first five they were all fear-based

I was like all right is this just is

this just me like what what is going on

here fear is working very well on me I

hate that about our psychology it's such

a bummer but it's true but like the idea

of titling all of my videos to like prey

on people's fears and insecurities it's

just like so antithetical to what I want

to do but like I get it I get that it

works we have this little bit of tension

with with our Channel where we know like

hey you know what YouTube audiences

they love to talk about money they love

to hear about money they love to look at

money that historically has never been

what the show is about but like I get it

so we play the game a little bit but I'm

I'm constantly fighting against like

what how much am I youtubing this show

and going too far yeah are you like are

you just gonna try to find a balance

there are you gonna like stick to your

guns and like just know that it's a it's

a really good question because I and I'd

love to hear your take on this I feel

like we're already playing the game on

hard mode a little bit because long form

interviews not the typical content that

does well on YouTube now it seems like

there might be some Tailwinds there

where YouTube is saying like we actually

want to encourage this type of content

and behavior I feel like we're entering

an already hard game and playing it from

like the hardest perspective and titling

comes up sometimes because it feels like

we should lean into the name recognition

of the guest in the title because that's

probably our best angle and then Conor

does a really good job of finding some

of these these uh trends that you've

talked about like we've used the secret

a couple of times in the title but it's

hard because that video the payoff to

that video is one part of the interview

and there's all kinds of stuff that goes

into the interview so if it was just me

and I wasn't trying to play any type of

game it would just be like episode

whatever Jake Thomas and that would be

it but I don't think that would work so

well what do you think I agree I mean

there's that that balance and like I'm

doing it a lot so I have a dog YouTube

channel I got a dog email list and a dog

blog and then also I'm on Twitter and

then I do some other stuff for clients

and but on Twitter like one of my best

uh threads or like 99 of people suck at

writing YouTube titles and it's just

like just totally bashing fear like all

negativity there it's like every time I

do that like those types of titles just

work well and I don't know I go I go

back and forth one way to I'm just going

to kind of deflect this question

that is not what you do one one way to

uh to like make like turn that uh

ickiness dial down is to say like you

will regret uh you know not titling your

YouTube your YouTube videos like this

right that's like you're turning that

way up like that just feels icky like

you will regret it doesn't feel good but

if you say I regret titling my YouTube

video like this oh it's an experience

thing it's not like an attack it's like

yeah this is my experience yes yes

sharing your story you know my biggest

mistake I regret so like if you want to

use like the the like the really

effective emotion of fear but you want

to turn the ickiness dial down share

your own story or like he did this not

like just taking out the word you you

know that's the probably the best way to

do it but for me it kind of depends on

like how is my business going like if

I'm growing it's like all right cool

yeah I'm gonna be a little bit less

aggressive right now like I don't really

I don't need this thread to do super

well like I just want to kind of serve

my audience if I'm like dang the

newsletter is not really growing right

now I really need to step up growth then

I'll be like okay let me let me play

this game not on hard mode let me let me

do what I know works even though I may

feel not the best about it but still you

know still not like being like totally

fear-mongery and clickbaity I mean I

don't know if that's a good answer but

that's how I think about it a little bit

when you have like competing ideas for a

title let's say that the idea itself is

good you feel good about it and you're

looking at different types of titles

that all are playing on curiosity and

fear or curiosity and desire how do you

end up making a decision which one to go

with one thing that I'll do is I will

like just search my title and try to see

has this uh has this done well in the

past so like we let's say that you're in

kind of an obscure Niche like let's say

you were doing you know like steam mops

uh I don't know if steam mops are

popular maybe they are so if you were

like uh you know my biggest regret uh

you know buying my first steam mop or if

you wanted to say like I'm like all

right cool I could do that or I could

say like you know five mistakes to

buying your Steam Mop you could write

that same title but like with vacuums or

something like a little bit broader and

you because I'm just looking for that

Trend like has this has this trend for

something similar in this you know

similar to this has it worked before

like YouTube will tell you YouTube is

great like like I said they have the

view date and the or the published date

and the view counts so they'll let you

know yes this has worked or no this has

not worked let's say that I wanted to

lean into this strategy and as an

interviewer who's already pegged the

guest name is important for the title

which would you agree should I be using

that as one of the most important parts

of the title it depends for me uh no

like I'm I don't think my name I don't

I'm not like a heavy hitter but if

you're interviewing garyvee absolutely

you know if you were titling this

interview you might do something like

you know the best way to write YouTube

titles or five YouTube title mistakes

everybody you're probably making or

something like that something a little

bit spicier than that my name isn't care

doesn't carry a ton of weight so I would

either give my I'd either like skip it

or you could say like you know uh the

biggest YouTube title nerd or something

give me a label I don't think it would

be like the best thing to do yes you

could and uh one one of these days maybe

my name will carry weight but um but I

would give myself a label or uh you know

just you know talk about a benefit or

something or a mistake or fear or

something like that if I were to lean

into Justin Welsh let's say he has a

growing profile more people are

searching for his name if before we

release our episode we search Justin

Welsh and we look at the first

five videos that are listed there how

closely should we model the actual

titles of videos that are doing well

versus use that to say let's do

something completely different it

depends

so probably like with with Justin like

he's blowing up but also he's like not

that big like you know this isn't like a

this isn't a super big space right so if

you model it really closely that's kind

of that's teetering on the the um the

okay this is like kind of sort of

copying uh but not really so you know in

the case of like because like this is a

small smaller industry I don't know you

you might want to figure out what are

the elements like that are making people

click like the creative elements oh what

is yes what are these creative title

elements that are making people click

like do do all of them have like you

know two million dollars in them or do

all of them have you know solopreneur in

them or you know other things that you

might include and it's like okay I

definitely need to include the number

like you know how the solopreneur made

what you know however many millions of

dollars like that's it like that's a

great hook and I'm gonna do it but if

they're all different then it's like

okay cool like this is this is kind of a

free-for-all uh there's no real themes

here I'm just just gonna you know pick

you know the most interesting thing

about the video or the most interesting

thing about Justin and go for it how do

you think about brevity because as

you're listing off some of these they

they seem pretty concise and I could

easily reason my way into saying let me

just add like three tags because we talk

about three different categories in this

podcast so what if I just say here are

the five mistakes people make here are

the 10 best YouTube titles and also here

is why you need to be thinking about

curiosity desire and fear and put that

all into a title yeah I think there's a

I'm gonna spit like some cliche things

at you like if you confuse you loose if

there's like so many different uh like

it's kind of like keyword stuffing

almost but like not really keyword

stuffing just a bunch of different

things if you confuse you lose so if

your keyword is like really long then

you know it's just not easy to instantly

understand also uh no Focus no audience

so you know the more commas and the more

ands you put in your title like the

longer it is it's just not going to have

a focus it's not gonna have like as much

power to like it's not really gonna pack

a punch and people like oh I really I

really want to watch this I'm doing a

bunch of a b tests on whether or not the

word and or like having multiple

subjects affects a uh affects a title so

I will have some more data for you there

but I'm I'm just I'm trying not to use

the word and I'm trying to be brief I'm

trying to focus on just one thing just

like the single most powerful thing you

know this is YouTube and people are

scrolling and you know you want someone

to like instantly latch on to that one

thing if there are three different

subjects there then it's going to take

people a long time to read it a lot a

lot longer of a time to read it than if

it was just one subject it's going to

take people longer to understand it and

like that's too much work for their

brain if they're just scrolling so the

likelihood is greater that they're just

going to um that they're just going to

just kind of scroll on by here's some

data for you so my email subject lines

so I run the Creator hooks newsletter

and it used to be Creator Hooks and then

I would list out three things like you

know biggest YouTube fears YouTube

mistakes and hitting a million

subscribers so it was always that

Creator hooks colon three things and

then I switched to only having like only

kind of modeling one of the titles from

Creator hooks it was a little shorter it

was more concise it was one idea and my

email opened rate open rate went from

about 35 to about 50 percent oh wow so

it was like 35 to 40 and now it's like

45 to 55. so having you know just one

thing has helped I love this data this

is so good one thing that you haven't

mentioned is thumbnails or description

so I guess that's two things and I think

we both agree that having a good con

good idea with good content is

prerequisite let's say that that like

that's what you should focus on is

having a good idea have good content

because none of this probably matters if

not how do you weigh titles versus

thumbnails do descriptions matter at all

we are are getting a little bit out of

my expertise I'm mostly just nerding out

on titles as far as descriptions go I

don't think they matter that much I mean

YouTube is smart and they have a lot of

things that they're looking at you know

tags and descriptions I think are less

important than YouTube like actually

seeing what is in the video because they

do that and like all right this is what

the video is about like it doesn't maybe

it doesn't matter as much as like this

the description so they know what your

video is about thumbnails this is my

personal opinion but I think that

thumbnails are more important in

entertainment and titles are more

important in education

um I I think because you can show a

story much better in entertainment so

yeah you need to have a killer thumbnail

in education

it's not as it's not as important I

think it's still obviously very

important but I think that you need to

have a great idea and convey that idea

mostly in the title I think the the

title is kind of the best way to plainly

convey that idea spicy takes I like this

I like the spicy takes when you are

playing around titles and I know you

test titles you do a b testing on these

things how frequently do you do that

like when is too early to say and this

isn't performing the way I thought time

for me to go back to the drawing board

and try another title so I usually wait

I wait it out because I am fairly

confident in my titles for the most part

also I've seen like some of my videos

have blown up like after like a day and

a half like just kind of randomly like

you know here's my graph and all of a

sudden I'm like oh I didn't do anything

and then all of a sudden it like kind of

usually drops off too but I didn't I

didn't make any changes to make it blow

up I didn't make any changes to make it

slow down but what I always do with my a

b testing is I wait five days days

because if you test too early YouTube is

you know showing your video to your

subscribers so people are way more

likely to click on the first day and

then it kind of goes down and with a B

testing I use tubebuddy or

thumbnailtest.com those are two

different tools I think the only way to

a B test right now is switching the

title or or the or the thumbnail every

24 hours knowing that it switches every

24 hours if you launch your test on the

first day your first day is almost

always going to be the highest CTR

because the YouTube is going to show it

to like your most loyal followers and

people who are clicking on the first day

are usually your most loyal followers so

just kind of by default you're way more

likely to have a higher CTA on day one

than day two so that's just kind of

gonna give you bad data right there so I

wait at least five days for things to

kind of like settle down and it's like

all right cool now I'm going to test

this and I know that this is going to

give me the most accurate data because

that kind of wild crazy almost like

inflated data in the first couple days

is gone so I wait a couple days I test

it out I know a lot of people test it

out like within an hour or two hours and

yeah yeah and

I don't know how I feel about that I

usually don't do that I mean if it's if

your video is like really flopping like

yeah maybe maybe go with your plan B I

just like to get real data I love

studying the A B test data and it's not

perfect but if you use it as like a

compass say okay these Trends work for

me these Trends don't work for me like

not that okay this was 10.2 percent

higher like you know this is this is the

one it's more like okay cool like in 10

different tests like this theme is

working way more than this theme like

I'm gonna use this theme more going

forward so yeah so just wait it out um

or sorry that's what I do I wait it out

I know a lot of people don't do that and

then I try to get real data and I try to

just kind of learn from that I haven't

used tubebuddy or any of these tools

paint me a visual picture of what that

looks like to use a tool like that to

test these things with uh tubebuddy um

you can upload you know one alternate

you know so you're a b testing you can't

a b c d test so then you'll upload you

know a thumbnail or a title you can do

both I would definitely recommend only

doing one at a time unless you were

testing like a whole new idea then you

might want to have a new set of title

and thumbnail it's like super simple we

just upload it uh you know click like

run test and then you'll set like how

many days you want to test I usually

test for seven days per title so on

tubebuddy if you're only testing you

know another alternate then it'll be 14

days come back 14 days later and then

you can see the results like it'll show

you the click-through rate I'm going to

show you the Impressions you know clicks

for impression also show you the watch

time it'll help you know like you know

sometimes you might have a much higher

click-through rate but maybe your

average view duration went down and it's

like okay maybe this video is clickbait

or this title was like two clickbaity

like people just clicked it and went

away right away what I've often seen and

maybe like this is just me like reading

bad data and making like making

assumptions there I've often seen a

higher click-through rate correlate with

um a higher watch time I think that's

because people are just if you write a

more interesting title people are more

excited to uh watch it so like yeah more

people are clicking on it because

they're more excited to watch it so

they're gonna give it a longer shot than

like maybe people like people were kind

of doubting it like ah I'll click it and

like you know they're just going into it

like I probably don't want to watch this

video and you're just gonna confirm

their beliefs right away when you don't

have like some crazy insane intro so

when you're making an A B test in

tubebuddy they aren't able to do that in

real time across titles are they can

they serve like different audiences

different titles and give you a

real-time tests across okay so it's like

a global change for a period of time yes

yes I uh

I don't love that they they change it

every 24 hours and then they look at the

data for that time period and they kind

of aggregate that data so yeah I don't

love it it's not perfect and that's why

I say use it as a compass to say okay

like this is a trend not like all right

this is like this is the law

when we come back Jake and I talk about

chapter titles in YouTube and some of

the theories that he's still testing so

stick with me we'll be right back

hey thanks for watching creative

elements this is a brand new channel

here on YouTube so liking the videos

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interviews with creators just like this

for more than two years there are more

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to creative elements.fm playlists the

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description

hey welcome back you may have noticed

that in our videos we have chapter

markers all throughout the video and the

reason we do that is I've seen those

chapter markers get pulled into Google

search results so I asked Jake how he

thinks about chapter markers and if he

makes good use of them I don't use them

for my uh for My Dog Channel and maybe

this is me like like trying to be like

old school maybe too direct marketer but

like I want people to watch the whole

video I don't want them to like skip

like right to all right let me just skip

to this like single chapter only watch

like what I want like I kind of want to

suck them in and maybe this is like a

maybe this is a bad we'll watch this

whole video

yes that that is what I'm thinking and

uh maybe that's like not the best like

user experience maybe that's just me the

ingredient I don't know but uh that is

how I'm going about it right now if

someone has like some good data to

change why uh to change my attitude on

that I will happily uh listen but as of

now I am not doing chat and and I've

seen mixed review I've seen people who

are much smarter than me

let's tell you what I just told you I've

also seen people who are much smarter

than me actually use them on their

channel so I don't think that anybody

has like a a good solid answer for that

how do you curate an uh an issue of

Creator hooks how do you decide what

goes in at that week what you talk about

I imagine you are probably looking at

far more videos than make it end in a

typical week everything is based on a

hook score and what that is is how how

many views a video got above their

average for the channel kind of like

recent average so I'll look at you know

if a video got a million views I'll look

at the 10 videos like or the five videos

before and after so kind of 10 videos

and we'll calculate that average and

I'll be like okay cool like this you

know Channel averages about a hundred

thousand views of video but boom this

one had a million views so there's

something about this video that people

can learn from so the problem uh with

that approach is that some channels just

put out Banger after Banger and like

there's like there's no deviation from

the average so that is that is one

problem with that so that can like take

me a while where I'll just go through 10

channels and every video is a banger and

it's like oh well I can't use any of

these in the newsletter because like you

know there's nothing telling me that

this did better than the other so I have

a list of like 300 channels that I I'll

scroll through those 300 channels and

I've had a lot of people in travel

recently sign up for my newsletter so

I'm trying to just find like uh outliers

outlier videos in the travel industry I

will go and I'll poke around I'll find

like one channel that like does travel

videos like I'll watch one of their

videos and I'll see what's recommended

and like you know are there any other

channels or other kind of outliers that

were recommended I'll do that process

for like I don't know 20 or 30 minutes

and then I'll go to my home page and

it's all outlier videos of travel videos

so just kind of doing that process and

just playing around trying to find like

just one video that blew out up and

outperform the other videos on that

channel so yeah so the list and just

just playing around on YouTube for hours

and like two three four hours on a

Thursday or Friday afternoon and try to

get YouTube to suggest outlier videos to

me and then eventually I'll get five and

I'll put those in the in the newsletter

how often do you use the Curiosity plus

desire or fear framework for the subject

lines of your emails the whole like kind

of idea behind Creator hooks is that you

can use like kind of the same hooks no

matter like kind of what industry you're

in I just model one of the videos that

were in the newsletter so last week's

this new approach to YouTube will change

your channel forever that was based on

this video of this new approach to

photography will change your channel

forever you know for my email subject

line I modeled a photography YouTube

video title so

in a sense it is a little bit you know

clickbaity because it's not I'm not

delivering on the title but I'm more of

like kind of being an example of saying

hey here is how I would use this hook

and I'm going to use it in an email

subject line and it's still going to get

people to click and be happy they

clicked I've had like three people say

oh like you didn't deliver on you didn't

say what you said in the in the email

subject line and I've explained it to

them and everyone has kind of kind of

understood but yeah I'm just I'm just

modeling YouTube video titles from a

variety of Industries for my YouTube

email newsletter and that has worked

well for like 52 open rate I might try

this model more closely aligned with

what I am writing in the newsletter but

like the Curiosity desire curiosity fear

model for subject lines the problem is I

try to stay within like six to eight

words in a subject line so it doesn't

get truncated on a mobile phone and I

feel like it would be hard to do that

with this model like you'd have to be

real concise because you're gonna have

to start with some sort of emotional

language like how to or something where

you aren't even talking about what's in

the newsletter yet yeah that is one of

the most frustrating things is like

especially on YouTube just making sure

uh you're kind of within those character

limits a couple like reasons why that's

important is like one like if it's too

long you know if people are skimming

they're not going to see it and two it

also might get truncated you know it's

the same thing with email subject lines

like it depends where people are opening

your email it depends where people are

watching your YouTube videos if you

write a really long title it's going to

get truncated so that's that's

definitely like one of the hardest

things about writing titles is how can

you pack as much like emotion and

information while being like clear uh in

you know less than 55 characters or

whatever what we haven't talked about at

all is SEO search engine optimization

YouTube as a search engine how much do

you think about that when it relates as

it relates to titles because it seems

like an opportunity that I've heard some

people speak to but it doesn't sound

from what we've shared so far like

that's a big strategy on on your list

real quick can I tell you a story going

back to email subject lines I love story

time all right so I have a Blog it's

about Golden Retrievers and when I

started to start a Creator hooks I was

in the middle of a series on my blog and

it was like eight month old Golden

Retrievers chewing biting you know potty

training then I did three month old

Golden Retrievers four month old gold

retrievers five-month-old golden

retrievers and three and four month old

Golden Retrievers the email like the

click-through rate my click-through rate

is like

I don't know eight percent or so between

like six and ten percent when I was

doing kind of the boring subject lines I

was just like three month old Golden

Retrievers you know it's keyword

stuffing my click-through rate was like

four percent on those and I was like

dang this stinks like what if I did the

creator hooks approach to this so for

five month old Golden Retrievers which

is like not as like sexy as like two

month old golden retrievers like because

it's super new like if you have a five

month old Golden Retriever now you're

kind of settled in so I did why teenage

golden retrievers were the worst and

that doubled my click-through rate it

went for like four percent to like like

8.5 or like nine percent and that was

that was using negativity there it was

like you know using fear like and it was

also using a label like we talked about

labels earlier instead of five month old

Golden Retrievers it was Teenage golden

retrievers so it was a little bit

broader but also like still very

descriptive and then I used negativity

just talking about why they're the worst

Ted is 10 months old right now and he is

definitely the worst right now

[Laughter]

so you're saying right for the human

don't write for the robot

um I like that advice although it does

seem like man there's got to be some

marriage of the two because I feel like

I mean the magic that I see on this

channel is when YouTube is like hey we

should put this on the home feed we put

this in the browse features but it seems

like a lot of the back catalog success

right now like Justin Welsh that's

succeeding on the strength of his name

being searched and so I feel like

there's some marriage here that I'm

trying to find and it also depends on

kind of where we're trying to like where

we're trying to get our content shown so

in the email subject line it's all like

attention like kind of interruption

marketing right so in that case why

teenage gold retrievers are the worst

like worked a lot better than kind of a

another you know kind of like a boring

one but when I published the blog post

my subject line was five month old

Golden Retrievers keyword stuffing right

so it does depend on you know where

you're trying to get people like if

you're trying to rank in search it might

be a little bit different than if you're

trying to get views from like browse or

like the home page or like recommended

and stuff so like going back to SEO one

of the things that you could do is have

like kind of the main subject up front

and then have like one of the click

triggers like something that's going to

get people a click at the end you might

if we're talking about uh Justin Welsh

you know how Justin Welsh so you have

his name the keyword right in front you

know made 10 uh you know made a million

dollars in 2022 as a solopreneur or

something towards the end like you have

timeliness so like in 2022 you have like

you know made a million dollars like a

huge desire so just following up things

uh following up your main subject at the

end is one of a one of the better ways

that I've seen people rank on search so

you can use like a big desire so like

made a million dollars you could use

timeliness that one works really well so

just like slapping the current year at

the end of your title is like one of the

best ways to get people to click that is

most effective starting in like as early

as like November to like November

December it's like super effective in

January like if you're I don't know when

this is gonna come out but if you're

planning your content like have all of

your tutorials and like have all of them

in January and use in 2023 in every

single one and like just really pile on

the in 2023 just use that strategy as

much as you can in the early part of the

year because every single month it's

just gonna get worse like you know it's

if it's like August if you publish a

video that says in 2022 it's like okay

like 2022 is old news right it's August

it's been 2022 for eight months but like

you know towards the end of the year

okay now people are starting to think

about ooh 2023 it's gonna be like a you

know you're kind of like Trend jacking

um you know newsjacking Trend surfing

whatever you want to call it but it's

going to be on everybody's mind so and

also people like clicking on numbers so

it's just like a it's a great thing to

do for ranking in search you can also

um include an objection you might be

like uh how to get how to get stronger

without lifting weights yeah right like

someone's like oh man I don't wanna I

don't want to lift weights but I do want

to get stronger

um cool I'll do that or like you know

how to get hot without stopping your ice

cream habit yes they're like how to get

a six-pack without counting calories

like boom

oh that was so great I want to hear if

there's anything on your mind that you

have a hunch about and you're starting

to research but you don't have enough

data to back it up I want some some

spicy give me some spicy take size to

something you believe but you'd have you

don't have any data to back it up yet oh

so we talked about one earlier is I

think that people should not use the

word and in uh in titles so did you see

I think it was like the writers of South

Park so like the like easiest secret to

write a good story is to like just use

the word butt no we found out this

really simple rule that maybe you guys

have all heard before but it took us a

long time to learn it but we can take

these beats which are basically the

Beats of your outline and if the words

and then

belong between those beats

basically you got you got something

pretty boring what should happen between

every beat that you've written down is

either the word therefore or but

right so so what I'm saying is that you

come up with an idea and it's like okay

this happens right

and then this happens No No it should be

this happens and therefore this happens

but this happens therefore this happens

uh because there's like some conflict

yeah yeah exactly but I think and it's

kind of like uh dilutes a story at least

in a title like when you use the word

and you're saying oh cool this is about

more topics than one so yeah that that

is what I think I don't know if that's

true or not but uh yeah I think like the

more I think you know don't use the word

and just make everything about one

single subject another thing we could

talk about is like the art versus the

science of a thumbnail of a title the

science is like just like modeling right

so we can talk about okay cool I'm

starting a new channel I'm gonna be in

uh Fitness and I know that like

everybody wants to um you know how to

how to get a six-pack without counting

calories like boom that's

it's kind of science right it's like

it's proven everybody makes a video or

like five best chess exercises or

something so science is just like

modeling but then you have like the art

of writing a good title and that is uh

something that I'm like personally

working on like really hard but I think

that comes to one like being clever and

two knowing your audience so one example

of like the art of writing a good title

is uh Leon hendricks's title uh how this

dumb product made a million dollars So

yeah so there's contrast between like

dumb product a million dollars and

that's art right like like boom like he

that's very well worded you're using

contrast and contrast builds a lot of

curiosity but it's so much harder to

teach the art rather than science I

think I've kind of like studied uh this

the science of writing titles really

well but uh I think there are a lot of

people that just have like a natural

like talent for the art of writing

titles much better than me so I'm trying

to step up my game there but you know

that is just something to uh something

to kind of like you know think about and

like you know if you're looking to like

write a title or hire someone to write

titles like you know just thinking about

the art of it and also the art is like

knowing your audience too so you could

say how to make money online or you

could say how to make ten thousand

dollars a month online that's speaking

to like your audience's deepest desire

and um you know because a lot of people

like beginners like that's like the

magic number is ten thousand dollars a

month if you can uh word your audience's

deepest desires like better than they

can then like they're way more likely to

click so yeah just like the art the art

and the science is uh two two

interesting things

um that need to kind of play around with

and then there's also we talked about

topic uh so the idea there's the title

there's a thumbnail but there's also the

Creator many people are getting this

wrong as like people aren't answering

the question of why should I listen to

you and I got this from Alex ramosie if

you can prove that you know what you're

doing by like telling your stories or

your experience then you are going to

have way more success than somebody who

is just kind of like uh just sharing

what they read

yes exactly I don't know like what it is

about that but like people can just kind

of feel it right you can just if you're

listening to someone or reading

someone's or like you know watching them

they just feel that like you know what

you're talking about you've done that

you've been there

versus like oh you got like really nice

video and like it looks cool and like

your editing is great but it's just kind

of like repeated like stale content so I

think that so many people are messing

that up like they're they're not they're

not giving their audience a great reason

to listen to them they're not proving to

them that they have been in the trenches

and they've accomplished what your

audience is trying to accomplish I think

that's one thing that's holding a ton of

people back

I absolutely love diving into Data like

this and hearing from people who really

do the research so if you want to learn

more about Jake subscribe to his

newsletter at creatorhooks.com or follow

him on Twitter links to both are in the

show notes thanks to Jake for being on

the show thank you to Conor conoboy for

editing this episode and Nathan

townhunter for mixing our audio thanks

to Brian skill for creating our music

and Emily Klaus for creating our artwork

if you like this episode tweet at me at

J Klaus let me know or leave a comment

here on this video and if you really

want to say thank you please leave a

review on Apple podcast or Spotify

thanks for listening and I'll talk to

you next week