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: X Years of [topic of authority] Knowledge in .
Why this works:
- authority — the phrase “30 Years“ automatically increases the perceived authority of the creator. If he has been doing this for 30 years, it should be worth listening to.
- curiosity — the thumbnail creates curiosity by suggesting you can go from 0 to a million dollars with the knowledge he is about to reveal in the video.
I have seen more people trying this type of video title and thumbnail in their niche. This type of video tends to be longer (close to 60 minutes or more), but note that YouTube is also pushing more long videos recently.
Examples of titles:
- 20 Years of Sales Knowledge in 1hr 24mins
- 34 Years of Cooking Knowledge in 37mins
- 11 Years of Web Development Knowledge in 2hr 46mins
- 8 Years of Instagram Knowledge in 5 mins
Title framework: I Tried [authority figure]’s [systems they are known for]
Why this works:
- social hacking — the use of an authority figure’s name is a proven way to hack views as people already know these figures.
- curiosity — people who know the authority figure may not be fully aware of their systems/methods. This creates an open loop and they want to know more about it.
Note: Videos with first-person narratives like “I Tried“, “I Built“, “I Made“, etc, tend to perform well on YouTube.
Examples of titles:
- I Tried Andrew Tate’s How To Get Girls Course
- I Tried David Goggins’s Morning Routine
- I Tried C Bums’s Workout Routine
- I Tried Warren Buffett’s Investment Strategy
How to use captions to get viewers’ attention
Here is an analysis of an IG reel that got my attention some weeks back. 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).
- use of captions at the start — when you scroll to a new reel your attention goes to the top half of the video. Here the creator has placed his head there around which the captions reveal one by one as he speaks.
Viewers are lazy and they don’t like to move their eyes too much, this is a clever way to get their attention. The viewer is never disturbed by the captions as it show up at the exact location where they are looking. - looping video — the perfect loop at the end creates a seamless rewatch experience. More replay means more average watchtime which Instagram likes.
- actionable insights — the best way to make your videos valuable and keep the audience’s attention is to provide actionable insights in your videos that the viewer can implement quickly.
In this video, he shows how to implement storytelling in your landing pages/websites quickly. - series videos — this is a video of the storytelling series that the creator is doing. Series videos in your niche can help get the viewers to watch the previous videos in the series and help convert them to followers.
That is it for this week, if you found this helpful, here is the previous letter.
-Sayar