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- [00:00]
Sean Cannell
Hey, if you haven't heard, this Friday, January 3rd we are hosting a live YouTube strategy workshop. And if you're interested in grabbing a ticket, just go to think media sale.com the only way to get a ticket to this event is actually included in the biggest sale of the year that we ever do of our YouTube growth bundle. The cool thing is that inside of the bundle is a lot of cool stuff like the YouTube starter kit, AI prompts, guide, editing basics course, and our game changing 5 hour YouTube work week system. So whether you're a busy parent, working professional or complete beginner, these proven strategies and resources are going to help you start and grow a successful YouTube channel in 2025. But if you also want to work.
- [00:47]
Jake Thomas
With me, putting together your game plan.
- [00:49]
Sean Cannell
Learning some of the latest changes and opportunities on YouTube, then you're not going to want to miss the virtual event that's happening in just a few days depending on when you're hearing this. And you could grab a ticket and all the other cool stu all for one low price@thinkmedia sale.com but it all ends Friday so the sale is ending, the event's happening. If you can't actually attend the event live, no big deal. You can get access to the recordings, but go to thinkmedia sale.com to claim this special offer before it ends and I'm committed to helping you make 2025 your best year ever, ever on YouTube. All right, let's jump into today's podcast episode. 99% of creators do not understand how important titles are to the success of their video. And even if you already think that you're paying attention to the importance of titles, you're still probably missing out on the opportunity for more views and more subscribers if you master this skill. Our guest today on the Think Media Podcast is the creator of the Creator Hooks software and newsletter. And he has studied thousands of YouTube titles that have generated millions of views. And he really has distilled down the principles of viral videos that any channel, whether entertainment or education, can apply to their content. In fact, he has created 43 click triggers that can be used in titles. And so on today's episode of the Think Media Podcast, as you apply this information, your next video very well might be your best video. And this is going to be simple and easy to understand at a beginner level. But if you're also ready to take your skills to an advanced level, this might be one of the geekiest YouTube podcasts you've ever listened to that's going to help you grow your channel Faster. So, Jake Thomas, welcome back to the Think Media podcast.
- [02:51]
Guest
Sean, thanks for having me. I'm pumped to be here.
- [02:52]
Sean Cannell
So this is actually part two of our conversation. I want to encourage listeners to check out the show notes and save for later to listen to part one, because we laid a ton of foundations about titles, but we. I wanted to kick off part two talking about click triggers. You've actually created some new ones. I don't think we're going to get to all 43 in this episode. Um, but we certainly can go through the list, and there's some new ones that have really been surprising to you that are underutilized. So this is some juicy information that really isn't available Anywhere else on YouTube right now, which is kind of a rare promise to make, but true. And so give us a big idea here. First, what is a click trigger? Why does it matter? Why is it missing from probably most people's titles? What exactly is that?
- [03:38]
Guest
Yeah, so a click trigger is just like the angle. You know, what angle are we going to take on this title? You can think of it as like, okay, what emotion am I going to evoke in my audience when they read this title? And this is kind of incredible for a lot of reasons. Probably the. One of the reasons I love this the most is one, it works really. Or actually, one, it works really well, but two, it makes writing a ton of titles really easy. So, you know, when you sit down to write a title, you'd be like, okay, like, why don't we do, like, how to start a YouTube channel. Okay, how to start a YouTube channel in 2024. Okay, that's all I can think of. Right? Like, you. You know, for many of us, you know, your. Your title is your title, and it's hard for us to think out of the box, but if you go through a list of click triggers and. Or, you know, a different list of angles, it's a way easier way to, you know, to. To write titles and to write a bunch of them. And then from that, you know, you can kind of decide on, all right, what is the best one, you know, because if you write 30 titles, you're really going to find out, you know, what. What you like and what kind of matches your video and what you think your audience is going to like. You're going to find that out way more efficiently and effectively than if you only write two or three. You know, So a quick example might be like, okay, I want to open up a loop. All right, you know, so maybe it's. Do this. You Know before you start your next, before you publish your next YouTube video, it's like, okay, do this. What do I do? You know, that opens up a loop, it builds curiosity and it makes people, they have to click and figure out, oh, do what? I need to know what this is before I publish my next video. So that's a simple way to build curiosity and then also to kind of back it up. We've got 43 click triggers, but it really comes down to three click worthy emotions, Curiosity, fear and desire. And most of the click triggers are just practical ways to build those emotions in your audience's mind.
- [05:31]
Sean Cannell
Gotcha. So what we're talking about here is different angles we could write as far as how we position a video, how we position our title, which might be really expanding for, for many of us because sometimes we look at a blank page, we're like, what do I title this video? We don't only realize that maybe we're trying to come up with one title, but the fact is there's almost maybe infinite ways we could go. And if we narrow that down, there's really powerful ways we could title or position our video. There's decent mediocre ways, and there's probably some really weak ways. And so just tapping into some of these psychological triggers could be the difference between getting a hundred views or a hundred thousand. And so before we dive into these, how many titles do you like to brainstorm for one video before you feel comfortable that like, before you feel like you've given it an adequate shot? Like, how many do you kind of, even if you're brainstorming with your software or people are using AI, how many do you maybe move over and say, okay, these are like my top five, my top ten. How many do you brainstorm?
- [06:36]
Guest
It kind of depends on how I came up with the idea. Sometimes I'll see a video that was just, you know, crazy outlier, did really well for another channel and it's like, boom, that's it. Like that, that is what I'm doing. And like, it's just, it's perfect, you know, you already know you love it. However, you know, sometimes those flop. I do like to have, you know, a couple of, a couple of backups. I'll write 10, 20, 30, 40 titles just to, you know, and kind of the less confident I am in the title, the more I'll write. The more confident I am in the title and the angle, the less I'll write. And you know, that might not be the best thing. It's probably best to always write at least 20 or 30 titles just so you can really kind of suss out what you think is kind of the. What will make people click and what matches the video. Well, but, yeah, I try to. I try to write as many as I can.
- [07:29]
Sean Cannell
That's powerful. So that right there is an unlock for listeners. A lot of times we're trying to come up with one title. Imagine if you wrote five or 10 or even 20 titles and then chose the most powerful one, how much more potential your video would have. Well, let's kind of roll through these and just kind of defining what they are. I might hit a couple for speed, but the first one's authority. And so what. What is authority as a way of writing a title?
- [07:57]
Guest
So authority is kind of borrowing somebody else's credibility. Borrow someone like, you know, their namesake. So there are two different ways to build to, you know, to build authority in your titles. So you can use somebody's name, you know, you can say, you know, Elon Musk did, blah, blah, blah, you know, and you're using the authority of Elon Musk. His name recognition, his polarity, what people think of him. So especially if you're talking about maybe rockets, Elon Musk's number one rule to building rockets. That's probably a stupid title, but okay. It's not just the number one rule to build rockets. It's Elon Musk's number one rule to build rockets. So it brings more credibility there, and you're just borrowing his credibility. You can also use somebody's position as well. So you might say the, you know, the Russians president, blah, blah, blah. Like, I mean, that's a bad example because everybody kind of knows who Putin is. But, like, you know, you might say, you know, the richest man in the world. Maybe the richest man in the world. You know exactly who that is. But maybe it's some dude, some old guy who you've never heard of his name, but everybody knows what richest man in the world is. Another example I like was it was from a YouTube video, is how U.S. military linguists learn languages fast. And like, you know, U.S. military linguists are known for learning languages fast. So that you borrowed that position of them, you didn't say how, you know, John Smith learned languages fast. Like, okay, I don't know who that guy is. That means nothing to me. But by sharing their position, that brings a lot of credibility there.
- [09:33]
Sean Cannell
That's smart. And so it might say something like, you also could say expert reveals. And I've noticed on like, a video podcast channel, like, Diary of a CEO. The powerful insight is if you knew the person, you may have just said this, that it's. You might say, Elon Musk is on the podcast and he's on, you know, with Andrew Schultz or something, and he can get a guest of that size. But also what they'll have is they'll have a lot of doctors and lawyers and like, you wouldn't know their name, so they'll say doctor Reveals or Expert Lawyer Reveals. And that would be an authority title, correct?
- [10:08]
Guest
Exactly, yeah. And that's just, you know, it's a. It's a really simple way to title your videos so that everybody understands them. I think that might be a big mistake that a lot of people make is they'll drop in somebody's full name and it's like nobody knows who that person is. They've got a long, you know, first and last name take that's taken up a ton of valuable real estate in your thumbnail or your title. Just, you know, drop their position, their authority position, and it's going to be more exciting for people and easier to understand.
- [10:36]
Sean Cannell
Gotcha. So then the next one is beginners. This could be pretty straightforward. You're targeting those who want to learn a new topic or a skill and you're calling them out. And anything deeper on the opportunity for beginner content on YouTube?
- [10:52]
Guest
Yes. So, quick story. I was learning how to play the piano a couple years ago. I was binge watching, I think it was Piano, the piano channel on YouTube. And like, later that night, I'm laying in bed and I'm like, wait, what did I just do? And what I did was I watched every video that had the word beginner in it. Because I was a beginner, I was insecure about my piano playing skills. So I felt like every video was like, was too advanced for me. But if it had the word beginner in it, that was for me. Like, I felt like they made that video specifically for me. I felt called out, I felt comforted because I knew it wasn't going to be, you know, too, too advanced, you know, so it makes beginners feel like the video is made for you. Beginners are the biggest subset in every audience, right? Every, every, you know, everybody starts as a beginner, and then there are fewer intermediates and then even fewer experts. But you're targeting the biggest, hungriest, most eager to learn audience when you call out beginners in your titles. And that's why it's so effective.
- [11:46]
Sean Cannell
And an example of this could be Complete Python Guide for Absolute Beginners start coding in 24 hours. Python is a coding language, a programming language for listeners. And so beginners is now another angle. So you could take the angle of authority. You could take the angle of beginners. Number three is confirms suspicions. This would be validating existing doubts or beliefs. How do people use this one successfully?
- [12:13]
Guest
So this one is one of the more rare, more rare titles, more rare click sugars that I see. But I love it. So the public needs to have kind of a preconceived notion, a suspicion about something. And then your title kind of hints at like, hey, what you thought is actually true. So my favorite example of this is ex Taco Bell employee reveals the truth about Taco Bell's meat. And it's like, oh, we all knew that there was something crazy about Taco Bell's meat. And when ex Taco Bell employee reveals, it's like, oh, I knew it. I knew it. You know, so you just want to give your audience the chance to say, oh, I knew it. It's hard. It's hard. Those scenarios don't always pop up, but when they do, they can be really fun.
- [13:01]
Sean Cannell
Another example could be. Is your phone spying on you?
- [13:05]
Guest
I love that one.
- [13:06]
Sean Cannell
Everyone's deny. Everyone. The companies are all denying that your phone is listening, and yet all of us know are like, all I know is I was having a verbal conversation, and then the ad I got targeted with was the fact that they're listening to me. You know, I was talking about, I need jeans. And then jeans were advertised on my Instagram. And so that's confirmed suspicions. And I hope listeners are already connecting. Like, when you start to learn to think this way, you start realizing there's so many different ways to package and position even the content you're going to create. So how often are you trying to nail your title and angle before you press record?
- [13:44]
Guest
Every time. Every time. Way before. I mean, there's a lot of benefits. So my. My process is like, all right, what will people click on? Okay, all right, they. My audience is interested in this. Let's frame it this way. You know, let's have a. This. You know, we're going to use these click triggers to kind of frame it this way. Okay, boom. Now we have a couple of our titles. Now we make our thumbnail that kind of correlates with that. And now we make our intro that correlates with the title and thumbnail. And we make our content that kind of delivers on the promise that we made in the title. And the cool thing about, you know, we mentioned writing 10, 20, 30 titles, you might be like, oh man, that's a lot of work. But like, you're not wasting the titles that you didn't use. You can have them as backup titles. You can use those to inspire thumbnail text. You can use those to inspire your intro. You can use those as like, subheadings, you know, throughout your content. You can use those as ideas for your next video. Um, you know, so you're, that that list of potential title ideas from a bunch of different angles can go a long way in helping you, helping your channel, helping those videos, you know, so, yeah, I mean, that's, it's, it's so helpful to know what you're doing before you start recording so that you can deliver on that promise. And if you start with the, the idea of like, okay, I know people are going to click this, let's make a video that delivers on that promise, your chances of that video succeeding, like, are incrementally better, you know, exponentially better. Not incrementally, exponentially better.
- [15:14]
Sean Cannell
Exponentially better. So if, if possible, the goal is to write and brainstorm some titles and zero in on the best one out of your list and then let that influence the content. But also in the reality of, you know, the majority of people listening to this are like, shoot, I've already made that mistake. I actually, once I upload the video, I'm now looking at the blank YouTube title area and like, what do I put here and what should I put here now? And there may be a little late to the game. However, even if you are still at that phase and you didn't pre plan your title, there's still probably a big opportunity to think about how you might craft and position the video. Wouldn't you agree?
- [15:52]
Guest
Yes. Yeah, I mean, it's, it's not too late. It's not a deal. But it's also not too late. You know, it's, it's kind of playing the game on hard mode, but because then you gotta be like, all right, my video is about this, so I need to make this super interesting. How do I do that? And running through those click triggers so you know, you have your, what your video is about and then you can kind of mix and match with, with all those different click triggers is a kind of the best way to do it. But yeah, it's, it's certainly worth it, but does make it a little hard.
- [16:21]
Sean Cannell
Number four is conflict. Is this highlighting opposing forces, challenges and disagreements to create intrigue and tension?
- [16:28]
Guest
Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know, just when there's you know, when, when there's conflict, there's kind of two parties, you know, kind of disagreeing. I'm doing the same exact thing that you did with, with my hands.
- [16:40]
Sean Cannell
Yeah.
- [16:40]
Guest
I mean, you know how you, you might also think about this as like kind of drama, you know, drama, conflict. People, people love that. You know, it's, that's what makes a great story. But also if you include, you know, if you include, include conflict in your title, you can tell a story in 10 seconds. Right. Or you can kind of hint at a big story. And people love conflict. So a super powerful click trigger there.
- [17:03]
Sean Cannell
So traditional medicine versus alternative healing or maybe two different groups that are battling out. Carnivore diet versus the vegan diet. And maybe that's too extreme. Although that would be an interesting video. Maybe it's Carnivore versus Paleo and someone's really trying to decide between the two. And that versus title. I think media we love versus. I mean conflict actually could just be two cameras. It's just versus the Canon ZV or the Sony ZV E10 versus the DJI pocket three. It's really a battle like which one is right for you? It becomes a battle between two products. Are these some different ways you could use it?
- [17:41]
Guest
Yeah, yeah. I mean it's a battle, you know, and, and you're talking about specifically versus videos. Another example is tennis has a serious pickleball problem. You know, there's this conflict between tennis and pickleball. You know, what I learned from my failed coffee shop? You know, there's like, you know, he, he tried to start a coffee shop. There was some like, some conflict. Like he, he failed. You know, there's just, you know, there's some drama there, you know, so, you know, plumbers hate me for sharing their secret. You know, that's another example. You know, Etsy finally has a competitor. You know, those are just kind of, you know, kind of fun ways to just kind of add some drama, add some conflict into your titles.
- [18:19]
Sean Cannell
Whoo. This is that Save this video to your, you know, repeat list. Come back if you're driving and walking your dog and grab a notebook so you can write out some of these ideas. Those are some great title ideas. And you're sharing formulas and frameworks that we can plug our own niche and topics into. And that was just on conflict. I imagine in this episode we're going to get through 10 of these. But number five is conspiracy. This suggests hidden knowledge or a cover up. Like maybe the weight loss conspiracy. Big Pharma doesn't want you to discover how else might you use conspiracy?
- [18:54]
Jake Thomas
Are you ready to start your YouTube channel but you don't know where to begin? Or have you been posting videos but you're frustrated because you're just not getting the views and nobody is seeing them? For a limited time, you can get the number one best selling YouTube strategy book, YouTube Secrets for free at ytsecrets.com this book is the proven blueprint that has helped thousands of people go from zero subscribers to a thriving channel.
- [19:19]
Sean Cannell
All I ask is that you pay.
- [19:20]
Jake Thomas
Shipping and then I will mail you the brand new updated second edition of YouTube secrets. And when you place your order today, there's a couple other super cool things that'll hook you up with first, you're going to get instant access to a free Deep Dive masterclass where I will break down the exact strategy I'm currently using to generate over 120,000 views per per day every single day on YouTube and generate over $100,000 per month on the platform, as well as the three biggest mistakes that most creators make when starting and trying to grow their channel. That class is free to watch instantly.
- [19:55]
Sean Cannell
When you pick up this special offer.
- [19:56]
Jake Thomas
Now you're also going to get my video series called the Perfect Video Recipe. One of the updated chapters in the second edition is titled the Perfect Video Recipe.
- [20:06]
Sean Cannell
It's actually a formula for how to.
- [20:08]
Jake Thomas
Structure YouTube videos to get maximum views and how to break through in the YouTube algorithm. This is the exact formula that readers of the book and our students are using to generate millions of views. And again, that'll just be included when you jump on this limited offer. Third, you're going to get access to our 1000 Subs Club email newsletter which delivers actionable weekly tips to your email inbox that will help you get to 1,000 subscribers fast. And we also do really cool weekly giveaways that includes lighting and microphones and YouTube equipment plus plus software that will help you on your creator journey.
- [20:44]
Sean Cannell
But here's the thing.
- [20:45]
Jake Thomas
Supplies are limited on this free book promotion. So if you want to grab this offer, go to ytsecrets.com right now and just place your order covering shipping and I'll get this book in the mail.
- [20:56]
Sean Cannell
To you right away.
- [20:58]
Guest
Yeah, so conspiracy is just like, you know, thinking about them, right? You know, they what they don't want you to know what you know, what you know, it's just kind of, you're kind of sticking it to the man and conspiracy. So like, you know, I got a couple of examples here. You Know, the side of China the media won't show you. You know, let's see, like, the scam bagged soil companies don't want you to know. You know, there's just some. There's just some conspiracy, some kind of disagreement there between, you know, what. What mainstream people or, you know, what mainstream media wants you to think or. Or what the. What the man wants you to think versus, you know, kind of what. What everybody kind of knows. And it's obviously, people love conspiracies. So if you can kind of, you know, play that and that. That's how it kind of. That's why it pays to try to come up with a title beforehand. Right? So, like, you might be talking about, like, you know, for, you know, for this title, the scam bags bag soil companies don't want you to know. You might be like, all right, well, let's talk. Let's make a video about. All right, bag soil. Why bag soil is bad for you. Okay, Maybe it's, you know, the bad ingredients in bagged soil. You know, mistakes people make with their soil. But if you start with, like, okay, how would I write this from a conspiracy angle? Oh, like, the scam bag soils don't want you to know. It's like, boom. Now you can kind of in your intro, you can kind of deliver on that. On that promise of like, oh, this is a crazy scam versus, you know, if you. If you just put, like, scam in your title, but, like, there's no mention of a scam in your intro. And people can be like, did I like, is this. Is this the right video? I think it's right video, but I'm not really sure, you know, but yeah, so that's what. That's why it pays.
- [22:40]
Sean Cannell
If you end up taking that angle and then you really lean into it, you might start your music, your video off with even if you just shoot talking head with even maybe your. Your tone, maybe you dim the lights. Maybe you play some dramatic music, and then you play into the title because you've defined it ahead of time. This is. Brings up this idea of what do you think for the listener that's hesitating from wanting to lean into what you might call clickbait, but also might be missing out on an opportunity for ethical clickbait by saying, okay, well, I don't want to, like, create or stir up drama, but if, in fact, you become sometimes what people call clickbait is just good marketing and good packaging. And if there is something. If you do shine a light in your industry to something you very well, everybody else in your industry is getting, maybe it's a niche industry, hundreds or thousands of views, and you might have a breakout video from this level of thinking and this level of creating an angle. What would kind of your coaching be for someone to actually basically become better at clickbait and do it in an ethical way?
- [23:49]
Guest
I. Potentially, a potential controversial take is. I think most of us are a little bit too sensitive when it comes to clickbait. You know, there's. There's that. But then if you deliver on the promise that you make in your title. I don't think it's clickbait. You know, if you, if you, if your video is titled the scam bag soil companies don't want you to know, and you say, hey, here's the scam that bag soil companies don't want you.
- [24:12]
Sean Cannell
To know, it's not clickbait, right?
- [24:14]
Guest
It's like you're literally just describing what your video is about and that. But you need to kind of start with quote clickbait to think of, all right, what is actually what would make for a really cool and interesting video? It's like, wait, well, it's not clickbait if we actually make a really cool, interesting video, you know, so just trying to. Trying to put a little bit more effort in the front end and thinking, all right, what will people click? What will make for a great video? Now let's deliver on that promise so that we'll have a great title, a great thumbnail, and a great video. And wow, our channel is going to grow because we have great stuff.
- [24:51]
Sean Cannell
And this is genius. It comes kind of like a loop of creativity to where you actually challenge yourself to reach into a much more interesting title and then challenge yourself to say, can I not. The goal isn't to click bait and not deliver. Plus, I would hurt my brand. The goal is actually to then live up to that in terms of research, content development. Now it's influencing my content, which then loops back around to perhaps, how could we tweak the title even further? And so applying these principles, man, there are so many views waiting for creators on the other side of implementing what we're learning here. Okay, number six is a constraint. Explain what this is.
- [25:32]
Guest
So constraints make videos so much more interesting, right? So it might be like, I walked 100 miles in the desert, like, okay, cool. Good for you. I walked 100 miles in the desert with no water. Oh, sweet. I walked 100 miles in the desert with no water and no shoes. Like, dang, like this is actually getting crazier and crazier just because we're adding a constraint. So especially if you're talking about challengers or how did you do something? How did you accomplish a really cool goal with a constraint? So one, people might identify with that constraint. It's like, oh, I also, you know, how I, how I, how I went, how I got 100,000 subscribers on YouTube being camera shy, it's like, okay, like, I'm also camera shy. Like, I identify with that constraint. But also how, how did you do that? Because that's, that's like really hard. Like, wouldn't like, shouldn't you be like, you know, really charismatic if you're going to be on YouTube? So it just adds another level of, of challenge of, you know, kind of builds intrigue, you know, so kind of the easiest way to build a constraint is to use the word only, you know, so how I, how I started, how I got 100,000 subscribers on YouTube using only my phone, you know, so that's a constraint that makes it interesting, but it's also, you're talking about a really cool desire. You know, you're talking kind of, you know, leaning into what your audience wants. So, you know, those are all, you know, kind of fun ways to just make your. Make your videos more interesting.
- [27:00]
Sean Cannell
So how to achieve a result in a limited amount of time or with a limited amount of resources, like maybe how to build a reselling business in just 30 minutes a day or how to earn a thousand dollars a month reselling in just 30 minutes a day, not specific result. So achieve result, limited time resources. Number seven is contrast. This might type into versus a little bit when we talked about that conflict. But what's the difference between conflict and contrast, which is our seventh click trigger?
- [27:33]
Guest
So conflict is when there are kind of, you know, two parties that disagree or you're trying to do something and there's like a big barrier. Contrast is when you pair opposites together. And that is one of my favorite ways to build curiosity. So, like, people say, oh, yeah, like, build curiosity in your titles. Like, sweet. How do you do that? The first thing that most people do is they try to ask a question. But there are a bunch of different ways to tactically build curiosity, and contrast is one of them. So an example is how the most underrated high school recruit made the NFL. It's like, wait, underrated high school recruit, NFL? Ton of contrast there. That doesn't make sense. This simple productivity system made me $100 million. It's like, oh, wait, simple productivity. $100 million total opposite does not make sense. Mr. Beast's series about $1 versus, like, trillion dollar yacht. There's contrast between $1 yacht and trillion dollar lot. And that series got him, like, literally a billion views just by using contrast. That's the kind of. The power of click trigger is what we're talking about here is like, literally one concept got a billion views for one channel. So, yeah, when you're thinking about contrast, okay, think about how can I pair two opposite things together? That kind of don't make sense. It's really similar to counterintuitive, which might be your next one. But contrast and counterintuitive are very similar. And just thinking about pairing opposites together, that don't make sense. So the user has to click and figure out, all right, what's happening here.
- [29:13]
Sean Cannell
And. And the greater the gap, the better is kind of what I hear you saying. Like, the greater the gap you can create. Like, wow, that's quite a spread.
- [29:21]
Guest
Yeah, no, definitely. And, you know, so another one is like, how this dumb product made a million dollars. Like, dumb product, like million dollars. Total opposites. Lots of contrast there. You know, just. Yeah, just really thinking about pairing opposites. And I agree with you. You know, if you can. There's a lot of. There's a lot of, you know, difference in the two products then. Or the two concepts then. Yeah, they're probably going to do better.
- [29:45]
Sean Cannell
Amazing. Okay, so, yes. And then after contrast number eight, actually I have controversy.
- [29:51]
Guest
Ooh.
- [29:52]
Sean Cannell
Addresses disputed or debated topics. Break it down.
- [29:57]
Guest
Yeah. So controversy is kind of an easy way I like to think about. Controversy is just disagreement. It's like, all right, you know, what do most. What do people disagree on? And, you know, a lot of us don't love controversy because we don't want to be disagreeable. Right? So maybe. Maybe I'm like, projecting my insecurities on other people. But, like, I want people to like me. I'm a people pleaser. I don't really want to be controversial. However, people pleasers, like, that's not. That doesn't make for a great YouTube title. You know, polarizing, bold opinions, controversial opinions. That is what kind of gets attention online. And if you want to, you know, if you want to play the game, that is one move you can make. So all these click triggers are different moves that you can make. You know, they're not. I'm not saying you have to be controversial. I'm just saying if you want, it's an angle to, you know, to take. So, you know, for example, you know, Adobe is horrible. So I tried the alternative. It's like, wait, Adobe is, like, awesome. Like. Like, not everybody agrees that Adobe is horrible. That's kind of a controversial take. You know, I thought The Spotify top 10 couldn't get worse. You know, for some people, they agree with that, but for other people, it's. It's controversial. So you're. You're kind of. You're bringing in some drama and saying, like, hey, like, this is what I think about, you know, about this thing. And then, you know, another ones are like, you know, while Token. While Tolkien hated Disney, you know, there's a little bit of, like, controversy of, like, you know, these two. That's a little bit of conflict as well. And some of these are bleeding into each other. But if you, you know, I have 43 of these different click triggers just to kind of help you think about things a little bit differently. And, you know, a lot of them, there's a ton of overlap. Many of these of these titles have 3, 4, 5, 6 different click triggers. But if you think about, okay, let me write this title from a controversial standpoint, then, you know, that'll. That kind of tells your brain, like, you know, it kind of prompts your brain to, you know, to think about it from a different angle from, you know, from a controversial angle. So another one is I believed this lie about Jesus for years. It's like, dang. There's, like, that's, you know, there's a lie. That's a pretty controversial, controversial subject there, you know, so just, you know, trying to prompt your brain, you know, if you think about AI, trying to prompt your brain to. To think about things differently, that's really great.
- [32:20]
Sean Cannell
And probably the most basic way to do it is you could say something like, the controversial truth about organic foods, you need to know. But that would actually be using the word. Whereas some other ways you can maybe do it better is you're making, like, a bold statement like, remote work is dead. Why the Office is making a huge comeback. Or the metaverse is a flop, it's failing in what's next, Or AI is overrated. Why human creativity will always rule you go into all of these things. Influencers are the new celebrities. Traditional fame is over fast fashion is a crime. Great word. Why sustainable style is the only way forward. And so crypto is a scam. The bubble is about to burst. People are getting triggered as they're listening to this. Social media is toxic. It's time to disconnect. So thinking about. And then if you tie that into Maybe your convictions or. I think what really good content creators do is sometimes good journalists are already using these titles. You could react to an article and it doesn't mean you agree. So you actually title your video and you go, so the New York Times just said that the 9 to 5 grind is obsolete and the future of work is actually flexible. In this video we're going to see, is that true? And I actually. Are we going to prove or disprove that? So you're maybe tapping into click triggers, you're maybe tapping into trends, and you're then packaging some really powerful content by understanding how you can really, you know, grab human psychology with the way you're positioning and packaging your content.
- [33:57]
Guest
Yeah, definitely. I kind of reacting to controversial stuff is. Is awesome. That's a great, That's a great point.
- [34:03]
Sean Cannell
Okay, we're only going to do 10 today, so we have two more. And counterintuitive is the next one. You mentioned that a little bit earlier. That's number nine.
- [34:11]
Guest
Yeah. So counterintu. Intuitive is. Is. It's counterintuitive, you know, counter to what people are thinking. There is a kind of an underlying assumption here that you know what your audience is thinking. So in order to do all of this, all the, to use all these click triggers, you need to know your audience very well. You need to know, what are they, what are they thinking that is controversial? You need to think, you know, what are the, what are, what are their desires, you know, what are their, you know, their current beliefs, their current excuses, their current false beliefs. You need to know your audience really well to, to write good titles. And I don't think people talk about that enough is, you know, you, you just. The person who knows their audience the best is going to have a great chance of winning or a better chance of winning. So. And if you know your audience really well, you'll be able to apply these more effectively. So when you're counterintuitive, you know, you're challenging their assumptions. You know, you're being counter to what most people are thinking. You know, you, when you write a counterintuitive title, people are like, wait, like, hold on, is this, is this true? They kind of double take and then they think, like, wait a minute, I need to click this video. I need to, I need to see what's going on here. An easy and awesome one is the luxury fashion is for broke people. You know, you're kind of, you're pairing. It's very similar to contrast, but it's like, wait, luxury. Like, how is luxury fashion for broke people. Um, you know how this. How this guy, how he became a. A billionaire working a normal job? I think I'm botching that. That was from Noah Kagan's channel. You know how to run fast at a low heart rate?
- [35:47]
Sean Cannell
It's like.
- [35:48]
Guest
No, like, when you're running fast, you have a high heart rate. Like, that just doesn't make sense, you know? And especially if you're. You know how to run fast at a low heart rate, you're kind of tapping into desire there as well. Because the audience wants to run fast, but they're talking about a low heart rate. And it's just so counterintuitive. It doesn't make sense. So people have to click and find out. And that's another very tactical way to build curiosity is to just challenge your audience's assumptions and write a counterintuitive title that goes against what they think.
- [36:19]
Sean Cannell
So you're saying why a common belief for your audience is actually the opposite. Like why working less actually makes you more productive? I think about, for content creators and for aspiring YouTubers and those creating content, there are a lot of common beliefs that are actually myths. I need expensive equipment to succeed. No, a lot of people succeed with just basic equipment or even a smartphone. I need to go viral to be successful. No, it's sometimes about getting the right views, not just more views. More views equals more money. No, again, the right views can make a lot more money than a lot of views and also depends on your business model. I need to post content every day to grow my channel. I actually saw the smart move in, say, the YouTube education space with somebody who said, you know, the thumbnail text or the title was something like, consistency is actually YouTube being consistent on YouTube is bad. Or you might have saw that one. And because everybody's just like, yeah, the key is to be consistent. You gotta be consistent. In my book YouTube Secrets, literally one of the C's is consistency. And of course, in. In the midst of sharing these, it's kind of like, I think you can make these truths or chat, you could bring these up and back up the statement without while both things being true. Because obviously, like, if you're consistent, some level of consistency is absolutely required. If you don't keep posting, but there are channels that they get away. One upload a month sometime, one upload a quarter. And thus it's. That's very counterintuitive to the plight that most content creators are on. And so it's a very powerful question to say, okay, what are some of the Common beliefs in your industry. And you said it right. We say the same thing. Creator. The creator who understands the viewer best wins, which would be a whole nother side of being able to. When brainstorming, whether you're just doing this from listening to this episode and taking notes, writing down some of these titles, whether you grab Jake's software, which we'll link to the in the show notes as well, it's super helpful. Just all of these click triggers and it'll help you do it. But still, man, you've got to be a student of your community, a student of your audience, understanding their pain points, what keeps them up at night? What are they? What are their desires? What are their fears? What are their aspirations? Who else do they know? Who. What names would they recognize? What trends or brands would they recognize? What things would be irrelevant to them? All of that data is really going to give you an edge. That's why the creator who understands the viewer best wins. We're going to hit number 10 in just a second, but let's do a full roll call on your stuff first and then we'll finish out with the last one. And I do want to say we hopefully could get Jake back at a future time because we just minted a new miniseries. On the Fake Media podcast, we'll go through all 43 of these click triggers. We got through 10, so it'll probably take us at least three more episodes. Sure. There'll be plenty more to talk about. So if you are on the YouTube version, let us know if you would like us to bring Jake back on to get through all 43. Assuming that's happening, there'll be a playlist in the show notes and I don't know if we could do audio playlists. So audio you might want to visit the video version and check out that playlist link where we will gather all those episodes and foundationally previous to even these 10 click triggers that we're hitting in this episode, there is a foundational episode that is a much listen next as soon as you're done with this one. And so again on the Think Media podcast, check out the show notes wherever you watch or listen. But Jake, shout out some of the resources you have before we get to the 10th click trigger of the episode.
- [40:08]
Guest
Yeah, so on socials, Twitter and LinkedIn search Jake Thomas. You'll see me hat, beard, and a cute golden retriever. That's me. Creator Hooks is a free newsletter and I break down kind of five videos, five viral videos and why they Worked. The why they work section is the click triggers, essentially. It's like, here are the, you know, three, four, five click triggers that these titles used, right? And then I kind of share, you know, how you can use that for your channel. And I share kind of, you know, if we format like, you know, if we took the framework of this, here are some other other ways we could write. Use the same format and use the same title. You know, kind of get you inspired. So, yeah, frameworks are. The click triggers are in there. And then I have Creator Hooks Pro, which is a title generator that does all these title. All these click triggers for you. Right. You know, I am. I love that, you know, when I write titles, I write them, you know, from each click trigger to help me think of a bunch of different angles. The software does it for you. So it's really fast and easy, and it'll actually help you think about your title from different angles and, like, different ways and help you get inspired to kind of get out of your head and defeat blank page syndrome and like, you know, and put down a bunch of really good title ideas and get the wheel spinning there.
- [41:23]
Sean Cannell
So you can check those out in the show notes. Definitely sign up for the free newsletter and if you want to grab the software as well, if you're serious, if you're a serious YouTube creator, click Triggers is a software that I use. We are probably an affiliate for that by the time that this video comes out. But that's been something I've been paying for with my credit card for like a year now, and it's one of my favorite softwares and so love collaborating with Jake. We've known each other for a couple years, and again, you don't need it, but it is a tool in your tool belt that does give you an unfair advantage. By just learning these skills, you can make so much progress. But as you start to. Let me just encourage you, reinvest in your YouTube business, especially once money's come in. Reinvest in the best tools, reinvest in education, because there's massive opportunity and small tweaks lead to giant peaks. A change of a title, a change of an angle. It actually is kind of overwhelming like it is for me. I'm like, man, that video did 75,000 views. I probably could have done 150 or, like, what did I miss? It's small details make a big difference. And so if you want to check out that software, there's a link in the show notes. Number 10 is credibility, and this is establishing trust through proof. Like you said, some of these Overlap, but kind of what's the difference between authority and credibility? And define credibility for us.
- [42:50]
Guest
Yeah, so authority is using somebody else's position or their. Or their name. Credibility is kind of proving that you did the work, you know, proving why you are worth listening to. So one example is I'm 40. If you're in your 20s, watch this. It's like, okay, you establish credibility by saying that you're 40. You know, your experience you have. You know, you're. You're. You've been to where I currently am now I want to listen to you because you know what? It's like, you've been there, you know, 10 years of YouTube advice in 10 minutes. You know, that was kind of, you know, a trend that's popping around a lot. And it's like, hey, like, I have authority. I have credibility here. Like, I have, you know, I've been in YouTube for 10 years. Right. You know, time frame is a very simple way to build. You're just, like, dropping your experience and in a. In how many years you have experience is a really simple way to. To build credibility and then also just kind of sharing, like, experiments, you know, so, like, I paid five designers on fiverr to create a book for the same cover. It's like, it's not like, here's. Here's what I think about, you know, these, you know, about this. You know, this design. It's like, I actually did something. This is, like, credible, you know, this isn't just my opinion. I invested five dollars a day for two and a half years. Here's what happened. It's like, okay, like, this isn't just like some random dude sharing, you know, just like kind of, you know, sharing his thoughts on investing. He actually did something. This video has credibility because he's sharing the results of his. Of his experiment. And especially when we get in, AI is only becoming more prevalent. Authenticity and credibility, I think, are going to be the two biggest drivers for. Are you successful on YouTube or not? I could look up. So I had elbow tendonitis. I could look up on ChatGPT. How do I fix my elbow tendinitis? And cool, I might get an answer. Or I could look up a physical therapist on YouTube how to fix my elbow tendonitis. He's got credibility and authority and authenticity. He's a real person. So I just feel so much better watching the, you know, getting my answer from a credible person, you know, than I do, AI kind of telling me, giving me an answer, you know, so. So credibility, proving that you did something or why you're worth listening to is a great way to, to get people's interests and get people's belief in your content and to get them to click.
- [45:18]
Sean Cannell
You know, it is interesting because there's kind of a little known secret of how Google determines what content gets ranked and how what content should be surfaced in search. Of course, Google owns YouTube and it's the EEAT formula which is experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Like you said, with AI just pumping out a bunch of information. When somebody's hearing from a real human experience, they're 40 years old. Expertise comes with that. You've lived the 40 years authority, you've got the degree or you've got the, and then trustworthiness because you're also a real person and not maybe just repackaging information from various blogs and videos. Man, that's so interesting that people will be looking for credibility and that'll be what is getting ranked. I just want to throw a couple tests at you. If we had a title like Dermatologist Reveals Truth about Anti Aging Creams, would that be credibility or authority or a mix?
- [46:18]
Guest
I probably a mix. I would probably say authority just because it's very clear authority. You're, you know, it's a, it's very obvious that it's authority, but it's, you know, you could certainly, you know, consider it as credibility. I would, I might say for credibility. I tried every anti aging cream for, you know, I traded, you know, every, every anti aging cream for two years. Here's what I learned and there's, you don't have authority because you're not a doctor, but you do have credibility because you actually did something because you, you've tested.
- [46:48]
Sean Cannell
That's interesting. How about this? Scientists prove it. This supplement actually works. Parentheses study linked.
- [46:55]
Guest
I mean I probably both, you know, study brings some, some credibility, right? I think anytime, you know, with, with doctors, scientists, you definitely have authority there for sure. And you know, for a long time I didn't have credibility as a, as its own click trigger because I was like it's the same as authority. But then I started seeing a lot of kind of personal experiments and I'm like, you know what this needs to be its own click trigger. And that, that's just, you know, it helps me, it helps my software kind of, you know, come up with titles from slightly different angles, you know, because, you know, like we just said, like a lot of these, they're kind of the same, but if you, but those slight differences help you think about titles from different angles. Even Though they're kind of. They're almost the same thing. It'll help you get two extra titles, you know, from. From this kind of one. One example. And when we're talking about, oh, you. It's best if you can write 10, 20, 30 titles. You know, these subtle little differences are really good for kind of helping you nail down what you want to talk about. Plus, if you know this anti aging thing, the anti aging topic, those could actually be like two separate videos. It's like, wow, I actually really highlight both of those titles. Yeah. And if the first one did well, I'm certainly doing the second one.
- [48:11]
Sean Cannell
That's a great point. In the brainstorming process. You realize it's kind of a couple different angles. One's maybe based off an authority figure, maybe a celebrity tried the anti aging cream. You looked at their results, you sort of tapped into their authority. Then maybe one. So would you say if you reference a study and one of my favorite things to do in the niche is to look for people do creator economy reports. So I'll be like, I will say, new study reveals the truth about how much people are earning in the creator economy. That is that credibility.
- [48:40]
Guest
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
- [48:41]
Sean Cannell
So the study, and then the study itself is. Is the credibility. And. And if that title is Brainstorm, but there is no such study, well, then obviously that's also a good thing to identify you. You go, maybe you go, oh, that's a very powerful title. Are there studies? Is there anything. It kind of forces you to do your research and. Or your reading or your studying of your niche. Doing research leads you back to then actually saying, okay, credibility is a click trigger that I could use. Well, 46 minutes into this podcast, I don't know what the edit will be. This was a very dense episode. So don't miss part two. Part one, subscribe. And if you are in the YouTube version, let us know if you want us to get through the other three.33 click triggers. If you thought this episode was dense and you love this geeky stuff, we're here to help you grow your channel faster, get more views, get more subscribers. So definitely subscribe like rate, review wherever you watch or listen to the podcast. Thanks again for being here. My name is Sean Cannell, your guide to building a profitable YouTube channel. And we'll catch you in the next episode.