How to Write Viral YouTube Video Titles [Expert Tips]

Going viral on YouTube is very hard to do with how much content is now on the platform.

Unless, of course, you know what you’re doing.

We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about marketing on YouTube than we’d like to admit… and one team member has created videos with millions of views.

So here’s a list of viral YouTube title format categories, plus a few templates for each…

Group 1: Titles that involve money.

• [$X item] vs. [$X item]: Which one is better?
• I tried this [ridiculous $X item]—was it worth it?
• I spent [$X] on [Weird thing]

The Ryan Trahan series on trading a penny for something worth a lot through a series of trades was popular considering it involved money and invoked curiosity.

How Ryan Trahan’s $0.01 Series Broke YouTube (Forever)

Group 2: Titles that involve weird topics.

Basically MrBeast type videos.

• I did [Crazy thing] for [Amount of time]
• I tried doing [Crazy thing] without [Thing you normally need]
• I spent [Amount of hours] with [Thing]

Group 3: Informational titles.

• [Number] of things you didn’t know about [Thing]
• How to get better at [Thing] without doing [Thing you normally need to do]
• [Number] of ways to get better at [Thing] in [Timeframe]

Group 4: Video essay-style titles.

Take a polarizing character – e.g., Elon Musk, Donald Trump – and see if it goes viral.

• The downfall of [Thing]
• Why [Thing] sucks
• How [Thing] ruined [Thing]
• Why you probably hate [Thing]
• Exposing [Thing or person]’s dark secrets

There are thousands of successful YouTube channels which thrive purely on the title formats above.

After all, it always starts with a title.

My Video Went Viral. Here’s Why

Does the time you post have anything to do with it?

YouTube LEAKS The BEST Time To Upload on YouTube To Go VIRAL in 2024 (not what you think)

But, remember

The best titles are sometimes the titles that only you can write.

If you can think of something totally unique, give it a go.

Related

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