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: [Entity/ experience/activity] Changed My [aspect] in [timeframe] & It Can Change Yours Too…
Why this works:
- curiosity— this title starts with a bold claim “changed my life in 6 weeks“, bold claims spark curiosity in the viewer’s mind. Viewers want to know if that change is possible in that timeframe.
- inspiration — the last part of the title says “It can change yours too…“, this acts as a powerful motivator suggesting that the transformation that the creator went through is possible in the viewer’s life too.
- desire — there is a universal desire for improvement in certain aspects of our life, this title taps into that desire.
- thumbnail — this thumbnail seems to be inspired by similar thumbnails that worked well on YouTube. Check the thumbnail of this video for example. She added her own spin to the thumbnail that fits her niche. That is why you should also look for thumbnails and titles of videos from different niches for inspiration, or read my newsletters every week 🙂
Examples of titles:
- Instagram changed my life in 6 weeks & it can change yours too…
- Meditation changed my life in 7 days & it can change yours too…
- Keto diet changed my energy levels in 4 weeks & it can change yours too…
- Coding boot camp changed my career in 6 months & it can change yours too…
Title framework: People [negative adjective] than you are [desired result]
Why this works:
- negative — the use of negative adjectives like “dumber“, “lazier“ etc, can evoke emotional responses in the viewers, which can drive engagement with the content.
- contrast — the title creates a clear contrast between the subject with the negative adjective and the desired result. This is counterintuitive and motivates the viewer. People will think that if others with these disadvantages can be successful they can do it too.
Examples of titles:
- People Lazier Than You Are Getting Promoted
- Students Dumber Than You Are Getting into IITs
- People Weaker Than You Are Climbing Mountains
- People Shyer Than You Are Becoming Public Speakers
You should not go 332 meters below sea level, because…
Here is an analysis of a YouTube short that got my attention a couple of weeks ago. The video got 12 million views on YouTube and today we are gonna see why it went viral.
Do me a favor and watch the above videos and come back to read further (please don’t get lost in scrolling I share some important tips below).
Hook Framework: How [deep/high/far] does [subject/entity] actually go? it goes much much [deeper/higher/far] than people realize.
Examples:
- How far can technology actually go?
- How high do rockets actually go?
- How deep does history actually go?
Why does this work?
here are some reasons why this video got 12 million views, and how you can do it too.
builds curiosity with interest peaks — a good video will have an interest peak or a reason to watch after the hook. This video also has one:
“it goes much much deeper than people realize. while the depth itself is scary the journey to the bottom is even scarier“
This is called the interest peak.
This part shows that they are going to discover some scary truths/revelations about the ocean in this video and this will make them watch till the end to find out.
Humans have a desire for novelty as well, they want to know new/unusual things about topics.
How can you do it? after your hook add an interest peak that can make people more interested in watching the video till the end. it can be as simple as
- countering their objections to your video hooks (eg: “no, it is not what you think“)
- adding authority to the video (eg: “I have studied this for X years“)
- risk reversal (eg: “and you can do this in 1 min“)
progression — The video uses the same concept of progression that we discussed in the previous letter.
the creatures in the ocean start to get scarier as the depth increases, it starts with less scary (dolphins) a bit more scary (killer whales), and then even scarier (Japanese crab).
So the viewer expects the ending to be even scarier.
That is where this video disappoints the viewers and makes them engage more with the video.
We will talk about that next but before that,
How you can achieve this? (for those who missed my previous letter)
- Introduce problems that get more difficult as you solve them in your videos before revealing the conclusion or the climax.
- Tell the viewers that they should wait for something at the end of the video (like: “The 4th point is my favorite”).
abrupt ending — the videos that end without a proper ending can leave the audience scratching their heads to know what happened.
They may come into the comments and engage with the video afterward or even watch it again.
To achieve this in your videos:
- don’t extend the ending of the videos, stop it once you get the point across
- loop the ending to connect the ending and the start of the video seamlessly
- end before delivering the complete value in your videos (I wouldn’t recommend that if you are trying to build a personal brand through educational content but you can try it.)
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