---
aliases: ["Hook Writer"]
tags: [pm-skills, skill]
skill: hook-writer
description: "Generate scroll-stopping hooks — the first line of a post, thread, video, or email that decides whether anyone keeps reading. Use when asked to write a hook, an opener, a first line, a thread starter, a video cold-open, or to make something more clickable. Produces multiple distinct hook options across proven angles (curiosity, contrarian, result, story, stakes), each labelled with why it works and which platform it fits."
---

# Hook Writer Skill

The hook is 80% of the result. A brilliant post with a flat first line dies; a mediocre post with a great hook travels. This skill writes hooks the way top creators do — multiple angles, each engineered to stop the scroll — so you can pick the one that fits.

## Working from a brief

Given just a topic or a finished piece, **generate the hooks anyway**. Infer the audience and the payoff, and never return a single safe option — the value is in the *range*. Mark any invented number *(assumed — use a real one)* because specific numbers are part of what makes hooks land.

## Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):
- **The topic / the content** the hook is for
- **Platform & format** (X, LinkedIn, YouTube title, Reel cold-open, email subject)
- **Audience** and the **payoff** (what they get if they keep reading)

## Output Format

Give **8–12 hooks grouped by angle**, each with a one-line *why it works* and the format it suits:

- **Curiosity gap** — open a loop the reader needs closed
- **Contrarian / pattern-break** — challenge a common belief
- **Specific result** — a concrete, numeric outcome
- **Story / in-media-res** — drop them into a moment
- **High stakes / cost of inaction** — what they lose by ignoring it
- **Listicle / promise** — a clear, scannable payoff
- **Question** — a sharp, non-obvious question (used sparingly)

Then:
- **🏆 Top 3 picks** — the strongest for the stated platform, ranked, with why.
- **Hook teardown** — one line on the *mechanism* the best hook uses, so the user can write their own next time.

Keep each hook in the platform's natural length (a YouTube title ≤60 chars; an email subject ≤50; a Reel cold-open speakable in 2–3s).

## Quality Checks

- [ ] Multiple genuinely different angles, not variations of one line
- [ ] Each hook is specific (names, numbers, stakes), not vague
- [ ] Top picks match the platform's length and norms
- [ ] No clickbait that the content can't pay off — the hook must be honest
- [ ] The teardown gives a reusable mechanism

## Anti-Patterns

- "Here's everything you need to know about X" (zero tension)
- Ten rewrites of the same hook
- Clickbait the body betrays (kills trust + reach long-term)
- Hooks too long for the platform (a 90-char YouTube title, a 3-line "first line")

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