You made the greatest video on YouTube.

But if your title and thumbnail are bad... nobody will watch.

That is why I revamped this newsletter.

You get deep dives on YouTube analytics before and after videos change titles and thumbnails...and help you master how to hook your audience.

- Tyler 📈

How a Creator Hijacked Views

Old Title ‣ The Hijacking of Flight 9525
New Title ‣ How a Pilot Hijacked a Plane

Old Thumbnail▾
Commercial airliner flying towards a mountain.
"HIJACKED" white text pointing towards plane.

New Thumbnail▾
​Isometric view showing inside plane cockpit.
Red pilot character sitting at cockpit controls.
Blue pilot character kicking door of cockpit. No text.

Views boost ‣ 2,377,000+

Clickable factors▾

Open loop

• The new packaging generates instant curiosity that will drive the viewer to immediately seek out a conclusion.

Broad topic

• The video now hits a wider audience since many more people have flown on a plane than know about Flight 9525.

Fear

• The new title creates a frightening new possibility for viewers, making them eager to learn how to avoid it.

How to copy this packaging▾

1. Instead of using a generic story title, focus your title on the most interesting part of the story.

2. Select still frames captured during the video's key moments when creating your thumbnail.

3. Don't use words in your thumbnail that are already used in the title.

4. Use contrast in thumbnails to make your subjects stand out.

_______________

The Change That Made a Million Views

Old Title ‣ The Glitch That Made a Millionaire
New Title ‣ The ATM Glitch That Made a Millionaire

Old Thumbnail▾
​Red ATM machine on white brick wall.
"$1.6 Million Glitch" text with 'Million' highlighted in red.

New Thumbnail▾
​Up-close headshot of man.
Eyes covered in red colored stroke with 4 asterisks '****'.
4 large red asterisks on collage of money in background.

Views boost ‣ 1,419,000+

Clickable factors▾

Clear

• In this example, removing the ATM machine from the thumbnail and adding "ATM" to the title helped this video tremendously.
  
  At a glance, most people probably won't figure out the first thumbnail is showing an ATM. ​
  
  Always avoid confusing images that take viewers too long to figure out what your video is about.

Rephrase

• Moving the hook to the beginning of your title catches more attention and stops people from scrolling past your video. ​
  
  'The Glitch That Made a Millionaire' is too vague to maximize curiosity.
  
  Instead 'The ATM Glitch That Made a Millionaire' creates endless questions for the viewer... such as "could this happen to me?"

How to copy this packaging▾

1. Reuse popular thumbnail designs on YouTube. ​

Various channels have used 'up-close headshot with eyes covered' for many successful videos. ​

2. Show, don't tell. ​

In this example, using a collage of money is more effective at raising curiosity than "$1.6 Million Glitch" text.

_______________

Rise of the Machines

Old Title ‣ 3 AI Side Hustles That Can PRINT Money
New Title ‣ These 3 AI Tools Help Make Me $3400/mo

Old Thumbnail▾
​Black background.
2 futuristic robots on each side making eye contact.
"+3400/mo MAKE ROBOTS DO IT" green neon text in middle.

New Thumbnail▾
​3 yellow glowing logos of websites.
Arrows in between showing sequence.
White "MONEY MACHINE" text at the top.

Views boost ‣ 737,700+

Clickable factors▾

Perspective

• Framing a video based on your experience will increase viewer interest. ​ ​
  
  e.g., "How You Can Make Money” vs "How I Made Money".

Number

• Adding a specific number ($3400/mo) makes it more believable.
  
  The more specific, the better.

Benefits

• The left packaging makes the empty claim "PRINT Money", while the right packaging says the exact amount of money.
  
  This makes the video more achievable to the viewer.

Easy

• Humans want things fast.
  
  The term 'side hustles' doesn't imply speed or ease of access compared to the term 'AI Tools'.

​Curiosity

• Adding logos of tools in the thumbnail makes people interested, even if they don't know what the tools are.
  
  If they don't recognize the logos, they'll have to know what tools can build $3400/mo in passive income.
  
  But if they do recognize the logos, they'll wonder if the video shows them something they don't know.

How to copy this packaging▾

​1. Use less text in your thumbnails. No more than 4 words.

2. Create a hook related to your target audience and viewers interests.

3. Don't exaggerate. An unrelated stock image might not connect with your audience... but showing a quick blueprint of your idea definitely will.

Is there a YouTube channel you want to see reviewed?

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And if you know a creator trying to grow their channel, please forward this email to them and send them to creatorkeys.gg.

P.S. Follow me on Twitter for more strategies @TylerShuman.