Everyone steals ideas.
That shot you saw in the movie, that idea you heard somewhere, that product that solves a problem, even this newsletter.
Most creators draw inspiration from which they create something new.
There is no shame in that.
So, here are some Viral YouTube titles, thumbnails, and Instagram reels from which you can take inspiration.
Title framework: [Timeframe] on [activity/experience] as a/an [disadvantage/descriptor] | What I learned
Why this works:
- curiosity — the thumbnail and the title suggest that he got 0 matches even after 3 months on dating app. We want to know what he did, what were his mistakes and how could we improve our dating game.
- relatable — this is a more relatable topic for younger men who faces the problem of finding no match on these dating apps. There was a stat that I heard somwhere that only 5% or 10% of men on these apps gets all the swipes/matches.
Examples of titles:
- 3 months on Instagram as a beginner – what I learned
- 1 Year of Living Abroad as a Solo Traveler | What I Learned
- 30 Days of Waking Up at 5 AM as a Night Owl | What Happened
- 3 Months dropshipping as a high school student | What I learned
Title framework: what happens if you [activity/action]? (results/interest peaking statement)
Why this works:
- extreme — the video is extreme and feels unreal.
- thumbnail — the thumbnail also plays a role in exaggerating the video, by adding in elements to make it look extreme (all those helicopters and tanks).
- TAM — it stands for “total addressable market”, this video is not just for GTA 5 gamers, people who have played any of the GTA games and anyone who knows about such games would be interested in watching this video. This video targets a more broad group of gamers and hence it can generate more views.
The bigger the addressable market the bigger the views you are going to get. So try to make your videos a bit broad to get maximum viewers.
If you make a video about “a workout split“ make it a bit broad by saying “why it helps you solve back pain“
Those who are interested in that workout would be less, but those who have back pain would be a huge audience.
I hope you got the point.
Examples of titles:
- What Happens If You Eat Spicy Food for 30 Days? (Surprising Health Effects)
- What Happens If You Sneak into an Award Function? (Hilarious)
- What Happens If You Only Use Solar Power in Your Home? (Saved $1000)
- What happens If you code with only Chat GPT (build a mobile app)
this guy from Karnataka got 100k followers from just 25 videos, and his secret is “build in public”
Here is an analysis of an Instagram reel that got my attention a few days ago. The video has generated over 2.6 million views on Instagram at the time of writing this letter. The page also has accumulated over 100k followers with just 25 posts and today we are gonna see why it went viral.
Do me a favor and watch the above video and come back to read further (please don’t get lost in scrolling I share some important tips below).
Hook Framework: I installed [a product] in a [location] and wait till the end to see how this can [drive a crazy result]
Examples:
- I started using [this workout plan] in my home gym, and wait till the end to see how it transformed my body in just 30 days.
- I installed [this AI tool] in my office, and wait till the end to find out how it’s saving my business hours of work every day.
- I created [a product] from my home, and wait till the end to see how it can make millions
Why does this work?
here are some reasons why this video got over 2.6 million views, and how you can do it too.
killer idea — a good idea gets some views, a great idea gets some more views but a killer idea gets views in millions.
This video has a killer idea: They are starting a new business from scratch and creating a business model that generates millions.
This idea is not easy for someone to do. It is unique and the hook perfectly creates curiosity in viewers.
“What? how can they rent something as basic as an umbrella“
“There is no way they can make millions from this“
“what if someone steals the umbrella“
“what if it is not monsoon”
these unanswered questions can lead them to watch the whole video
How can you do it? How can you come up with killer ideas?
Every killer idea that I come across has these elements in it.
- curiosity (“how to make money as a student“)
- extreme (surviving X hours in the most dangerous neighborhood)
- success & failure (“can I make 1 lakh with stock trading“)
- emotional (“this gift made my mom cry“)
- relatable (“why you can’t find love“)
- desire (“buying the new iPhone 16“)
Your ideas can have multiple elements from this list.
For example:
“Can I make 1 lakh rupees with stock trading“
This idea has success & failure + curiosity + desire elements in it.
You can also add these elements to your videos to make it better.
For example:
- you can start a video with an extreme idea (killer idea),
- you can show the “why” of the video in an emotional/relatable manner,
- and add a success failure story at the end and altogether you will have a killer video
rhythm — break the rhythm of the videos to keep the viewers engaged.
So what is rhythm, it is the flow of the video.
And breaking it can help the viewer engage more with your videos.
I will tell you how.
Long videos can get boring, they may lose interest and lose attention.
- A pattern break can help redirect their attention back to the video
- It creates anticipation leaving them wondering what’s coming next
- It can also add variety to your video by changing the pace of the video, style, or adding visual elements.
How did they do it in the video I shared above?
They changed the pace and style of the video around the middle of the video to add a conversation that reveals the next key point in the video.
Check the portion where they say:
“FREE?”
“Yes, our umbrellas are free for 24 hours“
“Then, how do you make money out of this app?“
Remember,
Don’t add more than 1-2 breaks in your short-form videos, you can add more than that in your long-form videos.
You can add a pause, a conversation, a broll that sets up the next part of the video, and texts to change the rhythm of the videos and keep the viewers hooked to your videos.
building in public — this is a thing that is becoming more common in the business world, especially startups.
They will build their product by documenting every step on the internet and generate interest in the product even before its launch.
I’m not kidding, just look at the Google trends data for the keyword “drizzle umbrella“ after they had posted their first video of the series on August 17th:
If you build in public you can create a series of videos that people can binge and engage with.
It inspires people to come up with, and try, their own ideas.
And it can get people to follow your company and products and convert them to sales when the product is launched.
That is it for this week, if you found this helpful, here is the previous letter.
Or check out all my letters from here. See you next Monday, God willing.
– Sayar