Help me choose a title for my next video

Bob Ohlemann

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rangermadeknives.com
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So a quick word about what I do. My channel is a instructional channel for knifemaking. I am getting close to finishing my most ambitious project to date; a full knife build from start to finish in one 20-25 minute video. Along with the video, I will be providing a link in the description so other knifemakers can download the pattern for the knife I'm making and build it for themselves. I will also be giving away the knife I make in the video to one of my channel subscribers in a random drawing.

Obviously, I want to maximize CTR so I need my Thumbnail and title to be on point! I've got a pretty good thumbnail layout that is recognizable and works well for me. I'm attaching a working copy of the thumbnail I'll be using but, there will be a different knife (yes, I made this one) and color scheme. "Win This Knife!" will be prominent in the thumbnail as shown.

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So here's where I could use some input; deciding on the best title. I have several that could work but, each has compromises. The key phrase "knife making" is the number one search phrase that pulls up my stuff. I don't know if that beats "Giveaway" in terms of pulling in traffic. Here's the titles I've come up with. Feel free to give me your opinion on one or all of these or suggest something else. Thanks.

1. Knife Making - Full Build w/ FREE Pattern Download

2. Build Along w/ Bob - FREE Pattern Download - Basic Knife Making

3. Make This Knife! I’ll Give You the Pattern and Show You How!

4. FREE Pattern Download - EDC Skinner - Start to Finish Build

5. Steal This Knife Pattern! Giveaway! Complete Build
 

KatyAdelson

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Because this is channel-specific, I've moved it to the "Reviews / Channel Feedback" forum section. :)
 

Bob Ohlemann

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rangermadeknives.com
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So, the video in question has now been posted for about 54 hours. It did pretty well initially based on sharing in other social media but, has now begun to seriously decline. Total of 365 views at this writing. Here is the thumbnail I went with initially.

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About 40 hours after posting the video, I changed the thumbnail to this, based on advise received from one of the members here.

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My title is, "Knife Making - Start to Finish Build w/ FREE Pattern Download"

I left "Giveaway" out of the title because I was concerned it would hurt my watch time analytic. My thinking was that it would pull in people who had no interest in my topic and they would not watch for very long because they were just looking for free stuff.

Definitely still trying to figure things out on the algorithm side; what works, what doesn't. I'd like to hear what you guys think.

Thanks,

Bob