# Hooks & Formats

The hook is the first 1–2 lines. It decides whether anyone reads the rest.
On X, hook quality has a bigger impact on reach than any other lever — the
algorithm's Engagement Velocity window (the first 15–30 minutes) is won or
lost here.

Spend 50% of your writing time on the hook. Write 10–15 versions. Pick the best.

---

## The RARE Framework

A strong hook does four things (S.J. Noorman):

1. **Relevance** — the target reader feels "this is about me"
2. **Awareness** — words they already understand (no jargon they have to decode)
3. **Results** — hints at what they'll gain by reading
4. **Emotion** — triggers curiosity, empathy, recognition, or surprise

---

## Hook Quality Formula

A hook's pulling power is a product of three things:

**Hook quality = Curiosity gap × Credibility × Specificity**

If any one is zero, the whole thing falls flat.

### Curiosity gap (Nicolas Cole)

Reveal the beginning and the end. Hide the middle. The gap forces the click.

> "I went from 183 followers to 59,500 in 18 months. Here's what almost killed
> me in month 3."

You know the start (183) and the end (59,500). You don't know what went wrong.
You click.

### Credibility

Numbers, names, time anchors — anything that signals "this person has done the
reps."

Weak: "I studied X accounts."
Strong: "I studied 1,000 X accounts over 6 months."

### Specificity

Add qualifiers until you reach *uncomfortable specificity* (Cole's rule).

Weak: "Here's how I grew on X."
Medium: "Here's how I grew from 0 to 10K followers on X."
Strong: "Here's how I grew from 0 to 10K followers on X in 90 days without
posting a single thread."

The third one is uncomfortably specific. That's why it works.

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## The Three Questions Every Hook Must Answer

Before publishing, check:

1. **Who is this for?** (The reader should recognize themselves in line 1.)
2. **What is this about?** (No guessing.)
3. **Why should they read it?** (What do they gain?)

If any answer is fuzzy, rewrite.

---

## Hook Anti-Patterns

- **Contrast-negation openings:** "Not X. Not Y. It's Z." Overused. Just say Z.
- **Rhetorical questions without payoff:** "Ever wondered why...?" Skip it.
- **Vague openers:** "Let me tell you something." No.
- **Overclaiming:** "This will change your life" — unless it literally will,
  you burn trust.
- **Generic "thread" CTAs:** "A thread 🧵" without a hook is just a label.

---

## Hook Before/After Examples

### Example 1: Tool review

**Before:** `I tested 5 AI coding tools. Here's what I found.`

Problems: no curiosity gap, no credibility anchor, no promised specifics.

**After:** `I stress-tested 5 AI coding tools by building the same full-stack
app in 48 hours. One saved me 12 hours. The others were useless. Breakdown:`

What changed: time anchor (48h), credibility (real test), specificity (saved
12h), curiosity (which one?).

### Example 2: Build in public

**Before:** `Just launched my new app. Check it out!`

Problems: no hook, no reason to care, pure self-promotion.

**After:** `I built an iOS app with zero coding experience using only AI tools.
It hit #1 Paid on the App Store in 3 days. Here's exactly how — and what almost
killed it:`

What changed: identity contrast (zero experience), result anchor (#1), time
frame (3 days), curiosity gap (almost killed it).

### Example 3: Contrarian take

**Before:** `AI coding tools are overrated.`

Problems: vague claim, no stake, no proof.

**After:** `90% of "AI coding tool" reviews on X are from people who never
shipped a product. I've shipped 3. Here's what actually works vs. what's
demo-ware:`

What changed: specificity (90%), credibility (shipped 3), clear opponent
(demo-ware), promised payoff.

---

## Short Tweet Formats

Pick the format that matches your goal.

### Opinion / Statement
One sharp claim. No hedging.
> "Most founders who 'need a co-founder' actually need a therapist."

### Screenshot-worthy line
Designed to be quoted out of context.
> "Your output is downstream of your inputs. Most people try to fix their
> output. The real leverage is the inputs."

### Question that forces a reply
Reply weight is 150× a Like. Write content that earns replies.
> "What's a skill you'd teach your 20-year-old self first?"

### Personal redefinition
"X isn't Y. X is Z." — reframes how people think about something familiar.
> "Writing isn't about being clever. It's about being clear."

### Dickie Bush's 75/25 ratio
- 75% broad content (relatable, viral-friendly, anyone could write it)
- 25% deep content (personal story, unique angle — builds recognition)

Broad content gets reach. Deep content gets followers.

---

## Thread Structure (8–12 tweets)

A thread has four parts. Each has a job.

### 1. Hook (tweet 1)

Must answer: who is this for, what's it about, why trust you, what do they get.

Template slots:
- Credibility element ("I studied 1,000…", "As a 10-year…")
- Scene anchor ("In 2024…", "Last week…")
- Core payoff ("How to…", "Why…")
- Specific delivery ("10 bullets on…", "A breakdown:")

### 2. Main Points (tweets 2 to N-2)

Each tweet's first line is a mini-headline — it could stand alone. Use 1/3/1
rhythm (see below). Sweet spot is 8–12 tweets total; over 15 loses readers.

Every tweet must **advance** the story (Rate of Revelation). If a tweet doesn't
add new information, delete it.

### 3. TL;DR (second-to-last tweet)

Summarize the core takeaways as bullet points. Many readers scroll here first —
give them a reason to go back and read.

### 4. CTA (last tweet)

One clear action:
- Follow for more
- Bookmark for later
- Subscribe to newsletter
- Reply with your take

Pick one. Don't stack.

---

## The 1/3/1 Rhythm

A tight pattern for paragraphs inside tweets and threads:

```
One hook sentence.

Three sentences that expand.
They build context.
They add evidence.

One sharp closer.
```

Variants: 1/4/1, 1/5/1, 1/2/5/2/1 for longer pieces. The pattern gives readers
rhythm — short lines act as dopamine checkpoints, making them keep scrolling.

---

## Cole's 7 Thread Templates

Any thread you write will fit one of these. Pick intentionally.

| Template | Structure | Use when |
|----------|-----------|----------|
| **Framework** | "To solve X, I do Y, to achieve Z" | Teaching a system |
| **Story** | Give the ending first → start over → reader stays for the middle | Sharing a journey |
| **Actionable** | Checklist of concrete steps | Giving a playbook |
| **Curation** | "I read everything by [name]. Here's the best:" | Borrowing authority |
| **Lessons** | "N things I learned doing X" | Reflecting on experience |
| **Mistakes** | "N mistakes I made doing Y — so you don't have to" | Teaching via failure |
| **Contrarian** | "Everyone says X. Here's why they're wrong." | Staking a position |

Pick one template per thread. Don't mix — the structure is what gives the
reader predictability and completion.

---

## Topic Generation: The 4A Matrix

One topic × four angles × multiple formats = hundreds of pieces.

- **Actionable:** Tips, Guides, How-to — teach the reader to do something
- **Analytical:** Stats, Trends, Frameworks — back it with data
- **Aspirational:** Lessons, Mistakes, Habits — inspire possibility
- **Anthropological:** Fears, Failures, Uncomfortable truths — touch humanity

### Dickie Bush's big/small problem split

- **Big problems** (how to be happier): wide audience, shallow hook → growth
- **Small problems** (how to grow a podcast from 2K to 10K): narrow audience,
  deep resonance → retention

Write both. Big to pull in, small to keep.

---

## Long-form (X Article) Structure

When writing >280 chars worth of post as an article:

1. **Hook** (1–2 sentences) — same rules as tweet hooks
2. **The Setup** — context, why this matters now
3. **The Magic** — the process, the method, the framing
4. **The Catch / Conflict** — what goes wrong, the twist, the caveat
5. **So What** — your opinion, the stake you're putting in the ground
6. **The Choice** — what the reader should do (or think) now

Markdown H2 for each section. Short paragraphs. White space between them.
