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Creator Hooks

Hey there!

Welcome to Creator Hooks — a weekly breakdown of 5 videos that are crushing it right now, why they work, and how you can use the same strategies to grow your channel.

Btw, If you want to make more money with your channel through brand sponsorships, my friend Justin Moore from Creator Wizard has a free weekly report that's gonna help you:

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• Immediately get better looking and tell funnier jokes (probably)

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Zero To Hero

(be sure to download images to see the thumbnails)

Title: How A ZERO Star Recruit Became An NBA Superstar

Formula: How A (Underdog) Became A (Winner)

Hook score*: +326

Why this works:

Curiosity - The contrast between “zero star recruit” and “NBA Superstar” sparks curiosity and packs a lot of warm and fuzzy emotions.

Authority - This video is about Ja Morant, an NBA superstar that people know and like.

Timeliness - This video was published during the NBA playoffs, when everybody was talking about Ja Morant.

How you can use this hook: Tell the story of a zero to hero superstar in your industry.

Examples of this hook in action:

• How A Nearly Divorced Couple Became Happily Married Again

• How An Unknown Forest Became America’s Favorite National Park

Hallelujah!

Title: Gospel Piano 101 (Beginner Piano Lesson)

Formula: [Popular Subtopic] 101 (Beginner [Industry] Lesson)

Hook score: +327

Why this works:

Beginner Tips - This video is all about showing beginners (a large, hungry subset of an audience) how to learn something they really want to learn.

How you can use this hook: Give your audience a 101 lesson on a subtopic that they’re excited to learn about.

Examples of this hook in action:

• Shopify 101 (Beginner Ecommerce Lesson)

• Nature Photography 101 (Beginner Photography Lesson)

Mean Green Views Machine

Title: I tested VIRAL GREEN STICK MASK & THIS HAPPENED! | Does the magical green mask work? 😳

Formula: I tested VIRAL (Trending, Viral Product) & THIS HAPPENED!

Hook score: +360

Why this works:

Great Thumbnail - This thumbnail does a great job of showing (not telling) what the viral green stick mask does.

Curiosity - This title opens a loop by saying, “This Happened,” but not telling you what “this” is.

Timeliness - This video was published at a time when everyone was talking about the viral green stick mask.

How you can use this hook: Tell your audience what happened when you tested a viral product.

Examples of this hook in action:

• I tested Viral Ab Workouts For 30 Days & This Happened

• I bought Trending Alt Coins & THIS HAPPENED

P.S. This newsletter will help you write great titles, but if you want to know what topics your videos should be about, check out TubeBuddy for free.

(Affiliate)

Shake These Habits

Title: 10 Bad Habits That Destroy Your Confidence

Formula: 10 Bad Habits That (Unwanted Action)

Hook score: +371

Why this works:

List - People love clicking on list videos.

Negativity - Nobody wants to destroy their confidence, so they have to watch this video to make sure they’re not doing any of these habits.

Curiosity - The thumbnail text opens a loop by talking about “these habits” but not saying what they are.

How you can use this hook: Make a list of the habits that will cause an unwanted action or result related to your channel.

Examples of this hook in action:

• 10 Bad Habits That Destroy Your YouTube Retention

• 5 Bad Habits That Destroy Your Credit

She’s So Fly

Title: Why does this lady have a fly on her head? | National Gallery

Formula: Why does (Intriguing Title & Thumbnail Story)?

Hook score: +3636

Why this works:

Great Thumbnail - This thumbnail and title work so well together.

Curiosity - After seeing this thumbnail and reading the title you have to watch the video to find out why she has a fly on her head.

How you can use this hook: Start with an intriguing image for your thumbnail and ask a question in your title to build curiosity and make your audience feel compelled to watch your video.

Examples of this hook in action:

• Why does this Redfish have a blue tail?

• Why does your iPhone have a yellow dot?

Flop of the Week

Title: Tyreek Hill's INSANE Workout Routine & Diet

Hook score: -81

Why this flopped: 9 out of the last 10 videos on this channel are about the NBA. The one video that wasn’t about the NBA was this one, and it only got 77K views — much fewer than their average of almost 400K.

But this video didn’t only flop because it was about the wrong topic.

That wrong topic is also the last thing on most of this creator’s audience’s minds right now. They’re only thinking about the NBA playoffs that are currently going on, not the NFL, which is currently in the offseason.

Also, the video was a lot shorter than most of the other videos on the channel.

So if you’re going to branch out with your content, at least do it at a time when that topic is trending.

Alright, that wraps up this week’s Creator Hooks!

Have any questions about the hooks in this edition?

Reply to this email and let me know!

And if you know a fellow creator who needs help with writing better titles, please forward this email to them and send them to creatorhooks.com.

Here’s to the war on boring content.

- Jake

P.S. Follow me on Twitter for more title tips @jthomas__

P.P.S. See previous editions here

*The hook score is a calculation of how many views the video got more than the average for that channel. The higher the score, the better the video did.