# Hook Writer > Use to write the hook — the opening that earns attention — for any social content: a caption's first line, a video's first three seconds, a carousel cover slide, a thread opener, a YouTube title, or an email subject. Run when the user says "write a hook," "hook for this," "opening line," "first three seconds," "cover slide," "make this scroll-stopping," or when good content keeps getting ignored. Reads brand-profile and voice first so hooks sound like the brand, not viral-bait templates. Hooks must be TRUE to the content that follows — this skill extracts the hook from the post's strongest element and never overpromises. For full captions use caption-writer; for full video scripts use the video skills. This writes the opening itself. - Skill: `social-media-skills/hook-writer` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 6 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add social-media-skills/hook-writer` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/social-media-skills/hook-writer/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - License: MIT - Author: social-media-skills (https://skillmd.com/u/social-media-skills) - Updated: 2026-09-09 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/social-media-skills/hook-writer --- # Hook Writer The hook is the highest-leverage line in any piece of content. On a feed, attention is the scarce resource and the hook is the only thing competing for it — if the opening fails, nothing else you made gets seen. A great hook can carry mediocre content; a weak hook buries great content. Two ideas run through everything here: 1. **A hook works by opening a gap.** Curiosity, tension, stakes, dissonance, self-relevance — the hook creates something the reader *needs to resolve*, and the only way to resolve it is to keep going. Hooks are about the **mechanism**, not the template. "The secret to X nobody tells you" is a dead template because it names a mechanism (curiosity) without earning it. 2. **A hook is a promise, and the content must pay it off.** A hook that overpromises wins the tap and loses the trust — and platforms punish the bounce that follows. The strongest hooks are *extracted from the truth of the content*, not bolted on top of it. ## Step 0 — Read the foundation first Load `brand-profile.md` and `voice.md`. A hook in the wrong voice still fails; the fingerprint and "never" list apply to the opening line as much as the body. If neither exists, run `brand-profile` (and `voice-builder` if samples exist) first. ## Step 1 — Pin the format and its cutoff A hook for a caption first line is not a hook for a video's first three seconds. Identify the format and the constraint it imposes (see `references/formats.md`): - **Caption** — one line before the "…more" cutoff (~125 chars on Instagram). - **Video** — the first 1–3 seconds, across *three channels at once*: what's on screen, the first spoken words, and on-screen text. Must work muted. - **Carousel cover** — slide 1 is the hook; it must promise the swipe. - **Thread opener** — the first post must promise the thread's payoff. - **YouTube** — title + thumbnail together. - **Email** — subject + preview text, mobile-truncated. ## Step 2 — Find the hook *in the content* Don't invent a hook and hope the content matches. Mine the actual material for its strongest raw element: - the most **surprising** fact or result, - the highest **stakes** or cost, - the most **specific** number or detail, - the sharpest **point of view**, - the most **relatable** moment. That element is the hook's raw material. This is what keeps hooks truthful and makes them feel earned rather than baited. ## Step 3 — Generate many, across different mechanisms Write **5–10 candidate hooks**, deliberately using *different mechanisms* from `references/mechanisms.md` (curiosity gap, contrarian, stakes, specificity, identity, story, mistake, transformation, question, timeliness, authority). Variety is the point — the goal is to find the strongest angle, not to reword one idea ten times. ## Step 4 — Score and select Run the candidates through the rubric in `references/scoring.md` and keep the best 1–2. The rubric checks: does it open a real gap? is it specific? is it true to the content? does it fit the format's cutoff? does it sound like them? would a stranger *need* the next beat? Discard the rest without sentiment — most hooks you write should die. ## Step 5 — Tune to format and voice; confirm the payoff Polish the winner for the format (cut to the caption cutoff; add the visual + on-screen text for video; make the carousel cover legible at a glance). Re-check it sounds like the brand. And confirm the content actually delivers what the hook promises — if it doesn't, change the hook, not the truth. ## Deliver options, recommend one Give the user **2–3 distinct hooks** built on different mechanisms, then recommend one with a one-line reason tied to the goal/format. Real alternatives beat a single take, and seeing different mechanisms helps the user feel why one lands hardest. ## Quality bar — self-check - Does the hook open a **gap** a stranger needs to close? - Is it **specific** (a real number, detail, or claim), not vague? - Is it **true** — does the content pay it off without a bait-and-switch? - Does it land **inside the format's cutoff** (chars, or the first 3 seconds)? - Does it **sound like them** (fingerprint hit, "never" list respected)? - Did you generate several mechanisms and pick the strongest, not settle for the first? If it doesn't pass "would a stranger need the next beat?", it isn't a hook yet. ## Edge cases - **Thin or vague content:** ask what the single most surprising / highest-stakes element is. Don't fabricate a hook the content can't support. - **Nothing surprising in the content:** that's a content problem, not a hook problem — say so, and either find the relatable angle or suggest sharpening the post itself. - **Sensitive/regulated topics:** no fear-mongering, no overstated claims; respect the brand's compliance guardrails even in the opening line. - **Video, muted-first:** the on-screen text and the visual must hook on their own; assume sound off. - **Tempted to overpromise for reach:** don't. A truthful, slightly less sensational hook that the content delivers beats a viral-bait line that burns trust and bounces. ## Related skills - `brand-profile`, `voice-builder` — read first; supply voice and guardrails. - `caption-writer` — uses this for the first line; this skill is the deep version. - `reels-script`, `tiktok-script`, `short-form-video-script` — use this for the opening seconds. - `thread-writer` — uses this for the thread opener. - `experimentation-and-ab-testing` — when the stakes justify it, test the top 2–3 hooks on a real audience (YouTube's native thumbnail Test & Compare; rotating hooks across similar posts). The rubric picks your best guess; audience data outranks the rubric. ## References - `references/mechanisms.md` — the hook mechanism taxonomy (why each one works). - `references/formats.md` — hook craft by format and the cutoffs that govern each. - `references/scoring.md` — the scoring rubric, the generate-and-select method, anti-patterns. - `references/examples.md` — content → many hooks → scored → chosen, worked end to end.