Viral Hooks

A hook's only job is to buy the next three seconds. It does that by opening a loop the viewer needs closed — tension, not topic. "How to price your services" is a topic; "You're losing jobs because your price is too LOW" is a hook.

Step 1 — Intake

• The content's actual substance (what will the video/post deliver?)
• Audience (who exactly stops scrolling for this?)
• Platform (changes format — see Step 3)
• The creator's position (owner sharing hard-won lessons? expert teaching? behind-the-scenes?)

If the substance is thin, say so before writing hooks. A great hook on an empty video trains the audience to skip you — retention is the algorithm's real currency.

Step 2 — The formula library

Generate across at least five of these, and label every hook with its formula:

1. The Stop — open with the prohibition. "Stop posting your prices on Facebook."
2. Curiosity Gap — withhold the one thing. "The mistake 90% of new landscapers make in year one."
3. The Enemy — us vs. them. "Your web guy doesn't want you to know this."
4. Receipts — specific number + outcome. "$4,200 from one Google post. Here's the post."
5. Contrarian — attack the accepted advice. "Posting every day is killing your account."
6. Cold Open Story — drop them mid-scene. "I watched a plumber lose a $9,000 job in 30 seconds."
7. The List Promise — count + payoff + stakes. "5 things I'd do today if my restaurant had zero customers."
8. The Call-Out — name the viewer. "If you own a salon, stop scrolling."
9. Before/After Tease — show the after, promise the how. "This page made $0 for two years. Last month: $11k. One change."
10. The Question That Stings — ask what they've wondered. "Why does your competitor outrank you with a worse website?"

Step 3 — Platform rules

• TikTok/Reels/Shorts: the hook is spoken in the first 1–2 seconds AND on-screen as a text overlay (many watch muted). No logos, no "hey guys, welcome back" — the hook IS the first frame.
• LinkedIn/X: the hook is line one, standing alone before the fold ("...see more"). Under ~140 characters. Line two must escalate, not restate.
• All platforms: the first three words carry the weight. "So today I wanted to talk about..." is dead on arrival — start at the tension.

Step 4 — Quality gates

• Specificity beats cleverness: "$4,200" beats "a lot of money"; "in 30 seconds" beats "fast."
• Never write a check the content can't cash. If the video doesn't actually reveal the $4,200 post, the hook is clickbait and retention will bury it.
• The hook must be true. Small businesses run on local trust; one caught exaggeration costs more than ten viral videos earn.
• Read it in the creator's voice. A 55-year-old contractor saying "no cap this hack is insane" is a skip, not a hook.

Step 5 — Deliver

## Hooks for: [topic]

1. [hook] — *The Stop*
2. [hook] — *Receipts*
... (10 total, ≥5 formulas)

## Top 3
**1. [hook]** — why it wins: [tension it opens + audience fit]
   ↳ Line 2: [the follow-through that pays off the hook]
**2.** ...
**3.** ...

## Overlay/caption notes: [platform-specific placement]

Always write line 2 for the top picks — a hook that line 2 can't sustain was never a hook, just a headline.

What not to do

• Don't produce 10 variations of one formula; the spread is the value.
• Don't use fake urgency ("before this gets taken down") or engagement bait ("comment YES if...") — platforms downrank both, audiences smell both.
• Don't open with the creator's name or business name. Nobody stops for an introduction.

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