Brainstorming video titles is never easy, but fortunately, you don't have to do this alone. On YouTube, everyone is pulling inspiration from each other. If one creator goes viral with a video title, thousands more will remix the same idea.
And that’s what title expert Jake Thomas has been studying for years. He looks at the most successful video titles on YouTube and shares those insights in his weekly newsletter, Creator Hooks.
In this article, we’ll share the high-performing titles that Jake has discovered, plus a few others that get massive clicks on YouTube. Watch this video to hear his insights, or keep reading for the complete list of titles!
Adding “stop this” to your title is an easy way to take your video from “meh” to mesmerizing. After all, viewers are bound to be curious when a video claims they’re doing something 100% wrong.
Just imagine it: You’ve been cooking eggs on the stove your entire life, and now YouTube is suggesting a video titled “Stop Making Eggs on The Stove.” It’s enough to make you question your whole life! Now you’re thinking, How am I supposed to cook eggs?
That sense of curiosity is why people click on a YouTube video. For example, fitness channel ATHLEAN-X got 5.1 million views on a video titled “Stop Doing 100 Pushups a Day. I’m Begging You!”
Millions of people want to improve their daily habits, whether that’s exercising, being productive, or detoxing from social media. That’s why titles promising a clear solution get clicked on more often; viewers are looking for tips they can use right now!
Dr. Amina Yonis, a productivity creator, used strategy to write a title for her most popular video yet. It’s called “4 One-Minute Habits That Save Me 20+ Hours a Week.” It has over 800,000 views!
“This video targets a huge, broad audience. Everyone wants to save 20 hours a week. Also, the timeframe of one-minute habits makes this video way more enticing,” Jake says.
According to Jake, this title achieves two things at once. It provides quick tips (one-minute habits) and says why the video is beneficial (save 20+ hours a week). That’s a powerful pitch!
Titles that promise life-changing results cause viewers to dream bigger, fantasize deeper, and imagine more clearly. They create a sense of hope so strong that millions of people watch the video.
Read More: 3 Secrets for Writing Click-Worthy YouTube Titles
“I used this framework in an A/B test recently,“ Jake says. “Title A was ‘This Will Have a Huge Impact on Your Mix - Excite Audio LifeLine Console.’ Title B was ‘This Plugin Will Change the Way You Mix Forever,’ and that increased the click-through rate by 40%.”
But it’s not just the idea of changing one’s life that people love; it’s the idea of change in general.
That’s why a channel like BassFishingHQ can get over 900,000 views with a video titled “This Study Changes Everything We Know About Bass Fishing.”
This YouTube title plays on a viewer’s fear and curiosity at the same time. Implying that someone should never do a specific task or refrain from some behaviors is pretty controversial! Most people will either click on the video to see if it’s talking about them or click to start a debate in the comment section.
Controversy aside, this title gets massive views on YouTube. One example is “20 Halloween Candies You Should Never Eat” from a channel called Stay Wise. The video has over 400,000 views!
People love experiments on YouTube because they learn something new without going through a full, all-encompassing experience. Think of it like a shortcut to success.
Pairing this idea with the title “I Tried…and This Happened” allows you to introduce a challenge, connect it to a core desire, and get people excited about the outcome.
One example is “I Tried YouTube Automation For 150 Days (Channel Exploded)” from Black Hustlers Club. This title introduces the challenge of automating a YouTube channel, from hiring voice actors to thumbnail designers. It targets the popular goal of making money on YouTube, and claiming that the “channel exploded” gets people excited to watch the video.
It has over 200,000 views and counting!
Imagine writing a title that promises to:
It sounds like a dream come true, right?
That’s how viewers feel when they see the “how to do something” + “how long it takes” formula. It addresses a problem they have while promising a solution that works quickly.
"What’s interesting about [these titles] is that their videos can get views from browse features, suggested videos, and also, they can help you rank in YouTube search,” Jake says.
One example is “Become a Better Reader in 8 Minutes” by Elizabeth Filips. Many people want to read faster, but how many videos promise to do that in eight minutes? Not many! That’s why it has over 1 million views.
Secrets are bound to draw eyeballs. They make people feel excluded, and that triggers a healthy dose of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Use this to your advantage when writing video titles for YouTube. You only need six words to get the ball rolling, and those are “what no one tells you about.”
To see this in action, check out “The Best Relationship Advice No One Ever Told You” by Mark Manson. It gained over 200,000 views in just four days!
See what we did there? We used the previous tip to make you read this section. 🙂
But seriously, there are things no one tells you about writing video titles. The biggest one is that you don’t even have to write them. Artificial intelligence is rising, so plenty of AI writing tools will do the work for you.
Lydia Sweatt is a writer who loves balancing her article/blog time indoors with a healthy dose of nature. She bikes, hikes, and identifies edible plants along the way.
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