Hooks

Generate Scroll-Stopping Hooks

The first 8-12 words of an X post determine whether anyone reads the rest. Generate multiple high-impact hook options optimized for the Phoenix algorithm's dwell time signal.

Input

The user provides:

• A topic they're posting about
• A rough idea of the post content
• An existing hook they want alternatives for
• A URL — read the content via WebFetch to understand the subject, then generate hooks based on the actual material (see ../../../reference/url-reading.md)

Process

Step 1 — Understand the Content

What is the core message? Who is the audience? What emotion should the hook trigger?

Step 2 — Read Hook Patterns

Read patterns.md for the full hook pattern library.

Step 3 — Generate 7-10 Hooks

Generate hooks across multiple pattern categories:

1. Curiosity Gap — Creates an information gap the reader must fill
2. Specific Number — Leads with a concrete, impressive metric
3. Contrarian — Challenges conventional wisdom
4. Pain Point — Names a frustration the audience feels
5. Before/After — Shows transformation in minimal words
6. Social Proof — Leads with credibility markers
7. Question — Poses something the reader can't ignore

For each hook:

• Keep to 8-12 words (the visible preview before truncation)
• Test: Would this stop YOUR scroll?
• Ensure it's honest — don't promise what the post doesn't deliver

Step 4 — Rank and Annotate

Rank all hooks by predicted effectiveness and annotate:

• Best for dwell — which hook will make people read the full post?
• Best for replies — which hook triggers an urge to respond?
• Best for bookmarks — which hook signals "save-worthy" content?
• Safest — which hook has lowest negative signal risk?
• Boldest — which hook has highest ceiling but more risk?

Step 5 — Output

Present all hooks in a scored table, ranked by Phoenix Score. The score represents what a full post would score with that hook (assuming a solid body + CTA):

#  Hook                                                Score   Best for
1. "2.3× faster than MLX — on a MacBook."              8.4/10  Dwell + bookmarks
2. "Your MacBook can fine-tune a 7B model in 12 min."  8.1/10  Specificity + curiosity
3. "Why I rewrote LLM inference in pure Rust."          7.9/10  Curiosity gap
4. "Most devs are overpaying for GPU cloud. Here's why." 7.6/10  Pain point + broad reach
5. "The local AI tipping point just arrived."           7.2/10  Boldest (high ceiling, more risk)
...

Also include:

1. Annotations per hook (best for dwell / replies / bookmarks / safest / boldest)
2. Recommended top pick with rationale
3. The complete first 2 lines (hook + bridge to body) for the top 3

Rules

• Never use engagement bait ("You won't believe...")
• No clickbait that the content doesn't deliver on
• Avoid jargon in the hook unless the audience is entirely specialists
• Specificity always beats vagueness ("2.3× faster" > "much faster")
• The hook must be true