Title & Thumbnail
This skill packages a video before you record it. You bring a topic or a rough idea. It hands back six titles, one for each of six different angles, and a thumbnail concept built to pair with each title. You pick one, and only then do you script and record. Packaging first saves you from filming a video nobody clicks. It also tells you early when an idea is weak: if none of the six angles makes a title you would click yourself, the idea needs work, not the title. Use it for YouTube videos, and for any long video, webinar replay or podcast episode that needs a title and a cover image. Once the video is recorded, upload-optimizer in this pack writes the rest of the upload around the title you pick here.
Before you start
- Read the Business Context file first. It might be called Business Context, or be a brand brief or offer doc. Look for it in the Project knowledge or in this chat. Pull out: who you serve (their business or life stage, what they want), who you do not want watching, what you sell and the problem it solves, how a sale happens (booked call, checkout, application), the proof you are allowed to make public (client results, numbers, your own track record), the words your clients use for their problems, your brand voice, and your channel's niche. Never ask for something the file or the chat already answers.
- Ask only for what is missing. Put every question in one short message, four questions at most. Skip any item the file or the chat already answers. If nothing is missing, skip the questions and start. Priority order:
- Your business, if there is no Business Context file and the chat does not say: "Who do you sell to, what do you sell, and how does a sale happen (booked call, checkout, application)?" This counts toward the four.
- The topic. One line is enough. This is the only input you must have.
- The real story behind it, if there is one. A result, a client situation (no names needed), a mistake you made, a number. It turns the case study and economics titles from generic into real.
- Your search words. The 3 to 6 phrases your buyers type when they look for help with this. Skip if the file lists them.
- Your thumbnail setup. Will your face be on it? Any colors, fonts or look you always use?
- Competitor titles, only if web search is off: "Paste 3 to 5 titles of videos on this topic that you see in your YouTube search or feed." This counts toward the four too, so it usually fits only when the file already lists your search words.
- If more than four items apply, ask the top four and use these fallbacks for the rest. No search words: build them from the topic and the client words, and mark them "likely, not checked". No story: use placeholders like [your result]. No thumbnail setup: assume you are on camera against a plain background, and say so. No competitor titles: write "not checked" on the Checked against line.
- Check what is already out there. If web search is on, use it to find 5 to 10 videos on this topic that show up for your search phrases. Keep each link. Note their titles and the angles they use. Search cannot sort by views, so do not state view counts or rankings unless the page you opened shows them, and describe a thumbnail only if you can actually see it. Never list a competitor title from memory. If web search is off, use the titles the user pasted.
- Do not stall on a vague topic. If the topic is broad ("sales calls", "hiring"), do not ask for clarification. Infer the strongest angle for your buyer and proceed. If the input is three words or fewer, pick the most commercially useful reading for that buyer, state it in one line at the top of the output, and proceed.
How it works
Work through these steps in order. Show the result in the format under "What you get", not as a list of labeled steps.
Step 1. Turn the topic into one promise
Write one sentence: who this video is for, and what they get or avoid by watching it. Every title in the set must serve this promise from a different angle. If you cannot write the sentence, the topic is still two or three videos. Split it and package the strongest one.
Step 2. Set who to attract and who to repel
- Attract: the buyer from the Business Context file. If there is no file, use the user's answer to the business question. If there is no answer either, infer the most likely buyer from the topic and mark it "inferred" on the Attract line.
- Repel: the viewers the Business Context file says you do not serve. If it does not say, and you sell high-ticket to business owners, default to: beginners, side-hustle seekers, tool hunters and make-money-fast seekers. If you sell to beginners or consumers (new coaches, fitness, career or life coaching), never repel them: they are your buyers. Repel whoever cannot buy from you instead. Mark any repel list you chose yourself as "default".
A title that pulls the wrong viewer brings views that never buy and teaches the algorithm the wrong audience. Every title speaks peer to peer with your buyer (for B2B buyers, operator to operator). Never talk down, never lecture.
Step 3. Map how the right viewer finds it
Viewers reach a video two ways, and each title leans toward one:
- Search. They type a problem. The title needs the words they type, near the front.
- Feed and suggested videos. They are scrolling. The title needs tension, a surprise, or a result that makes them stop.
Pick 3 to 6 search phrases from the Business Context file, the client words or the user's answer. Weave them in where they fit naturally. Never stuff a title with keywords.
Step 4. Write one title per lane
Write exactly one title for each of these six lanes. Each lane serves a different viewer intent and a different keyword cluster. Never write the same angle twice with new words.
| Lane | What it does |
|---|---|
| Case study | Leads with a specific result, client or situation you are allowed to share. Grounds the video in proof. |
| Breakdown | Promises a clear explanation of how something works. Pulls in systems thinkers. |
| Operator lesson | Shares what you learned by doing this yourself. Builds authority through experience. |
| Economics | Leads with money, return, cost or time. Pulls in buyers, not learners. |
| Mistake | Names a mistake your buyers make. Gets clicks because viewers see themselves in it. |
| Inside view | Takes the viewer behind the scenes of a real system or piece of work (yours, or a client's only with permission). Shows you as the one who does the work, not the one who explains it. |
Title rules:
- 55 to 75 characters, spaces included. State the count for every title. If a title falls outside the range, rewrite it.
- How to count. If code execution is on, count with it. If not, count word by word (letters plus the spaces and punctuation between words) and aim for 60 to 70, so a small miscount still lands in range. Count a placeholder at the length of the likely real value (for example $40K = 4) and mark that count with ~ until it is filled.
- Front-load the meaning. Put the words that matter in the first 40 characters. Phones and the suggested feed can cut the rest.
- Peer voice, not tutorial voice. "How to" is fine when it sounds like someone sharing a method they use, not a teacher explaining basics.
- Match the brand voice in the Business Context file. If it does not say: calm, analytical, sure of itself. Never hype. It must read like it was written by someone who has done this work, not someone who studied it.
- Banned words: insane, crazy, shocking, secret, hack, revolutionary, game-changer, unlock, skyrocket.
- Only real proof. Numbers, results, timeframes, percentages and "most people" claims are all proof. Use them only if the Business Context file, the user or a cited source backs them. If the lane needs one you do not have, write a placeholder like [your result] and flag it, or drop the claim.
- Promise only what the video delivers. A title the video cannot pay off costs you trust and watch time.
Step 5. Design a thumbnail for each title
The title and the thumbnail create the click together, not separately. The thumbnail shows, the title tells. Neither one should do the other's job.
For each title, describe:
- Visual: composition, setting and expression. For example: "You at a desk, looking straight at the camera, slight lean forward, plain dark background." One focal point only. If you will not be on camera, build it around one object, one screen or one before-and-after.
- Text overlay: 2 to 4 words at most. It must NOT repeat or paraphrase the title. It adds a second idea: the feeling, the stakes, or the question the title raises.
- Tone: the emotional quality it projects, such as calm authority, quiet urgency or controlled skepticism.
- Pairing logic: one sentence on why this image reinforces the title's pull.
- Differentiation: how it looks nothing like generic AI or business content. Avoid robot graphics, neon colors, shocked faces, floating dollar signs, arrows pointing at nothing and stock handshakes.
Then run the phone test on each concept: picture it at the size of a thumb on a phone screen. Can you read the overlay? Is the face or object big enough to read the expression? If not, cut detail until you can.
Keep every concept makeable with a simple photo shoot, a screenshot or a plain graphic. No 3D renders, no elaborate sets. A screenshot shows your own data or a mock-up, never a real client's screen.
Step 6. Check the set against the field
If you gathered competitor titles in "Before you start" (found with a link, or pasted by the user), compare. If three or more of the videos you checked use the same frame (for example "5 mistakes..."), do not lead with that frame. The goal is a title that stands out next to them, not one that blends in. Never copy a competitor title word for word.
Step 7. Recommend one
Pick the one title and thumbnail pair you would run, and say why in one or two lines. Judge it by the business goal, not by views alone: which one pulls the buyer most likely to buy the way the Business Context file says sales happen (booked call, checkout, application), while still earning the click. If two are close, say which one to test first and what would make you switch.
Step 8. Check before you hand it back
- Six titles, six different lanes, six different angles.
- Every title shows its count and sits in 55 to 75 characters. Counts that include a placeholder carry a ~.
- No overlay repeats or paraphrases its title.
- Every title speaks peer to peer with the buyer, in the brand voice. No hype, no banned words.
- No invented numbers, results, timeframes, percentages, "most people" claims or client stories. Placeholders are flagged.
- No client name, result or screen appears without permission. Screenshots are your own or mock-ups.
- Every competitor title was found with a link or pasted by the user. The Checked against line is filled in.
- Attract and Repel come from the file or the user, or are marked "inferred" or "default".
- Every thumbnail passes the phone test and can be made with a simple shoot.
- One clear recommendation.
What you get
Always use this structure, written as normal formatted text (not inside a code block). Keep each field to one line. Never pad.
Packaging: [topic]
- The promise: [one sentence: who it is for and what they get]
- Attract: [buyer, plus "(inferred)" if you had to guess] | Repel: [who you do not want, plus "(default)" if the file does not say]
- Search phrases: [3 to 6 phrases, plus "(likely, not checked)" if you built them yourself]
- Checked against: [n titles found by search, links under the table / n titles you pasted / not checked]
- Angle chosen (only if the input was vague): [one line]
TITLE OPTIONS
Title 1. Case study [Full title] ([number] characters, with ~ if it holds a placeholder)
- Search angle: [keyword fit and what the viewer is looking for]
- Psychological lever: [what it triggers in the viewer]
- Viewer type: [who exactly this pulls]
Thumbnail:
- Visual: [composition, setting, expression]
- Text overlay: [2 to 4 words]
- Tone: [emotional quality]
- Pairing logic: [why it reinforces the title]
- Differentiation: [what makes it stand apart]
Title 2. Breakdown [same structure]
Title 3. Operator lesson [same structure]
Title 4. Economics [same structure]
Title 5. Mistake [same structure]
Title 6. Inside view [same structure]
The set at a glance
| # | Lane | Title | Overlay | Characters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Case study | [title] | [overlay] | [count] |
Field check: [the frame most of the checked videos share, and how this set stands apart, then each link on its own line. Leave this out if the set was not checked.]
My pick: Title [#]. [One or two lines on why, tied to the buyer and the way they buy.]
Placeholders to fill: [any [your result] style gaps, or "none"]
End with this single line:
Pick a title to proceed, or say "use #X" and I will write the opening 30 seconds and a short outline that keeps its promise.
If the user says "use #X", give:
- Opening line: the first 1 or 2 sentences, spoken on camera, that restate the title's promise in plain words.
- First 30 seconds: why this matters to the viewer now, and what they will walk away with. No long intro, no "before we start" housekeeping.
- Outline: 3 to 5 sections, each one sentence, in the order that pays off the promise.
- Where the promise is kept: the timestamp range where the title's claim is fully delivered.
- Call to action: one line tied to the offer and the way a sale happens in the Business Context file (book a call, buy, apply).
Short example (placeholder business: a sales coach for agency owners who sells on booked calls, topic "follow-up after sales calls"). Two of the six titles:
Title 4. Economics What a Slow Follow-Up Really Costs an Agency in Closed Deals (60 characters)
- Text overlay: "Gone by Friday"
- Pairing logic: the title puts a price on the delay, the image shows the moment the deal slips away.
Title 5. Mistake Why Agency Owners Lose Good Deals Right After the Sales Call (60 characters)
- Visual: a phone face up on a desk showing a mock-up "let me think about it" message with no reply, you slightly out of focus behind it.
- Text overlay: "They went quiet"
- Tone: quiet urgency
Rules
- Package before you record. The title and thumbnail decide whether the video gets watched. Script to the chosen title, not the other way around.
- Six lanes, six angles. Two titles that say the same thing with different words count as one. Rewrite the weaker one.
- Count, do not guess. Count with code when it is on. By hand, aim for 60 to 70. Every title shows its count, and every count is in range.
- The overlay never repeats the title. If the overlay could replace the title, one of them is wasted.
- Serve the real buyer. Attract, repel and voice come from the Business Context file. Speak peer to peer with your buyer (for B2B buyers, operator to operator). Never push away the people who actually buy from you, and never apply the high-ticket B2B defaults to a business that sells to beginners or consumers.
- No teacher voice, no hype, no banned words. If the file sets no voice, calm authority beats excitement.
- Never invent proof. No made-up results, numbers, client names or stories. Timeframes, percentages and most-people claims in a title are proof too. Use them only if the file, the user or a cited source backs them. Otherwise leave a clear placeholder like [your result], or drop the claim.
- Protect your clients. Screenshots in thumbnails use your own data or a mock-up. Blur client names, emails, logos and numbers. A client's result or name goes in a title or thumbnail only if the client allowed it to be public (the allowed proof in the Business Context file).
- Never invent the field. Only compare against competitor titles you found with a link or the user pasted. No view counts or rankings the page does not show.
- No clickbait the video cannot pay off. No false urgency, no fake controversy, no promise the content does not keep.
- No generic AI or business thumbnails. No robots, neon, shocked faces, floating money or stock handshakes.
- Do not stall. Ask one short message at most, then produce the full set. A vague topic gets your best reading, stated in one line, not a round of questions.
- Commit to one pick. The six options are for choosing, but the user always gets a clear recommendation.
- Plain words. If a busy founder could not repeat the title after one read, rewrite it.
- Hand the title on as is. When the video is recorded and you run upload-optimizer, tell it the title was picked with title-and-thumbnail, so it keeps the title and does not rewrite it to a shorter range.
Part of the free 20-skill pack by Ruben Davoli at BeaverMind (beavermind.ai).