What Makes Someone Click a Title and Thumbnail?

Kate Tolo says a YouTube click is decided by the title and thumbnail. She calls that the ticket price, and a different creator pays a different price. A New York Times journalist pays it in how the piece is written so a reader gets the most out of the article. In email the price is the subject line. An app notification competes with a sea of other notifications, so the first three words need to be curious rather than a sales pitch.

She puts a Blueprint email in a crowded inbox and asks how it will stand out. One notification starts, when you come home today, leave your shoes at the door, then says the first four steps inside track 85% of the contaminants from outside. The example is the opening line, not a routine to follow. Standing out takes knowing what sits around the work. Creating with no sense of that context will not stand out. She says the exercise is copywriting, with different rules on each platform. She hates writing, and she still says anybody can practice it at home.