In marketing and copywriting, a hook is exactly what it sounds like – a concept or idea that
hooks your audience’s attention! Your hook determines whether or not your potential
customer keeps reading or keeps scrolling! There are a lot of ways to capture attention –
some more effective than others. This is a list of the hooks that I frequently use in my
headlines and ad copy. Just like my Posse-Approved psychological triggers and storytelling
formulas, these hooks are not mutually exclusive. Often a great hook utilizes more than
one of these concepts/angles. 
For your easy-reference and inspiration,
Threat, Warning, Pain: Capturing attention through caution. Avoiding pain is more motivating than gaining pleasure. This primal fact is at the heart of this hook.
Get, Achieve, Benefit: This hook is about moving towards pleasure. It is the exact opposite of the previous hook. It evokes a feeling of, “This could help me! I should pay attention to get/achieve this.”
Science: Naturally, trusted real-life evidence is one of the best ways to get attention and create believability. In this type of hook, specific statistics, proof and case studies build trust and authority.
Story & Mystery: As you already know, a great story is kryptonite for waning attention spans. Stories can take the form of a real-life testimonial (pulling the social proof trigger), a personal experience, future possibility, ancient legend, mystery and so much more.
Supposition: This hook is based more on feeling, than about achieving a tangible benefit. Its job is to put people into a dream state. “Imagine what your life could be like if…"
Education & FYI: When you’re dealing with an unaware market, this hook is a good go- to. It’s the foundation of most content marketing, where your focus is on educating your prospects on something new. “Did you know…”
Confirm Beliefs: By confirming an existing belief, you are giving your prospect a sense of validation. This is the “Aha! I knew it!” hook. After confirming this belief, pivot to a “but did you know this” concept. Be careful not to completely violate a common assumption. A slight twist on an existing belief is better than trying to convince them of a whole new paradigm. If it’s too hard to swallow, you will have a hard time selling.
Irony: A striking, paradoxical, original, or unusual idea that makes people go “Wait, whaaat?!”
FOMO: This hook uses social proof (actual or perceived) to create the sentiment that your prospect is missing out on a certain benefit or secret. The good ol’ “everyone knows/uses this. Why don’t you?!”
Status & Ego: This hook plays to your prospect’s ego by focusing on how other people will perceive them. The focus of this hook is to show how your product or service can help boost your prospect’s own self-image.
Comparison/Analogy: Comparing one product to another, either by highlighting similarity (it’s the Uber of dog walking!) or difference (not your typical dog walking app). It’s best used for a very product-aware market, because it relies on comparing one option to another. A baseline level of awareness needs to be present for this hook to be effective.
Demonstration: Self-explanatory — you show people how it works! This coincides with an increasing popularity in video marketing.
Us vs Them: This hook pulls the ‘common enemy’ psychological trigger. It works by speaking to your audience’s values and identity, creating asense of belonging as you “band together” in opposition to a larger issue.
Mechanism: This hook focuses on a unique solution, approach, method, feature or system that makes your product easier, faster, better, simpler, or more effective than the other guys. You’re answering the “why didn’t I get results before?” question and giving insight into what was missing (aka your solution).
Relevancy: What’s relevant to your market today? Get attention by speaking to issues and topics that are top of mind and relevant to your audience. Think demographics, geography, political environment and current events.
Here are 16 ways to grab your audience’s attention!
Novelty: Novelty is the “Oh! This is different...” type of hook. When something is brand new, different, or never-seen-before, this creates a curiosity gap that makes it worth investigating.Threat, Warning, Pain: Capturing attention through caution. Avoiding pain is more motivating than gaining pleasure. This primal fact is at the heart of this hook.
Get, Achieve, Benefit: This hook is about moving towards pleasure. It is the exact opposite of the previous hook. It evokes a feeling of, “This could help me! I should pay attention to get/achieve this.”
Science: Naturally, trusted real-life evidence is one of the best ways to get attention and create believability. In this type of hook, specific statistics, proof and case studies build trust and authority.
Story & Mystery: As you already know, a great story is kryptonite for waning attention spans. Stories can take the form of a real-life testimonial (pulling the social proof trigger), a personal experience, future possibility, ancient legend, mystery and so much more.
Supposition: This hook is based more on feeling, than about achieving a tangible benefit. Its job is to put people into a dream state. “Imagine what your life could be like if…"
Education & FYI: When you’re dealing with an unaware market, this hook is a good go- to. It’s the foundation of most content marketing, where your focus is on educating your prospects on something new. “Did you know…”
Confirm Beliefs: By confirming an existing belief, you are giving your prospect a sense of validation. This is the “Aha! I knew it!” hook. After confirming this belief, pivot to a “but did you know this” concept. Be careful not to completely violate a common assumption. A slight twist on an existing belief is better than trying to convince them of a whole new paradigm. If it’s too hard to swallow, you will have a hard time selling.
Irony: A striking, paradoxical, original, or unusual idea that makes people go “Wait, whaaat?!”
FOMO: This hook uses social proof (actual or perceived) to create the sentiment that your prospect is missing out on a certain benefit or secret. The good ol’ “everyone knows/uses this. Why don’t you?!”
Status & Ego: This hook plays to your prospect’s ego by focusing on how other people will perceive them. The focus of this hook is to show how your product or service can help boost your prospect’s own self-image.
Comparison/Analogy: Comparing one product to another, either by highlighting similarity (it’s the Uber of dog walking!) or difference (not your typical dog walking app). It’s best used for a very product-aware market, because it relies on comparing one option to another. A baseline level of awareness needs to be present for this hook to be effective.
Demonstration: Self-explanatory — you show people how it works! This coincides with an increasing popularity in video marketing.
Us vs Them: This hook pulls the ‘common enemy’ psychological trigger. It works by speaking to your audience’s values and identity, creating asense of belonging as you “band together” in opposition to a larger issue.
Mechanism: This hook focuses on a unique solution, approach, method, feature or system that makes your product easier, faster, better, simpler, or more effective than the other guys. You’re answering the “why didn’t I get results before?” question and giving insight into what was missing (aka your solution).
Relevancy: What’s relevant to your market today? Get attention by speaking to issues and topics that are top of mind and relevant to your audience. Think demographics, geography, political environment and current events.
