You can talk for a long time about being creative, creating quality content with beautiful pictures and trending music, adding the right hashtags and publishing videos at the right time. But in the end, you won’t get results for a completely unexpected reason — you failed to hook the viewer in the first 3 seconds. Nowadays, content is in abundance and everyone has little time. So if your video is not interesting at once, the user will not care how hard you tried to make it and how useful it is — he will just scroll down.
That’s why it’s important to use not only the “push the pain — offer a solution” rule, but also to use “magic pills” — hooks that will hook and hold the viewer.
4 hook formulas:
- Emotions — use words with emotional coloring: amazing, shocking, unexpected, awesome and so on.
- Make a list — you can quickly run your eyes over them, which means they are easier to perceive. Ideally – no more than 5 things that are “something out there”. These can be tips, mistakes, lifehacks, reasons, tools, and so on.
- Use “it” — just put the word in your hook to make the user curious to know what “it” is. “This is what you should know…”, “Here’s why this won’t work…”.
- “How I did X in N weeks” — use numbers, amounts of money, percentages and more.
Use “powerful” words
These are persuasive words that evoke emotion – both positive and negative. They can evoke fear, joy, anger, feelings of danger or safety, excitement, surprise, and so on.
Examples of powerful words:
– Attractive
– Insane, Controversial, Contradictory, Controversial
– Uncomfortable, Extraordinary, Eye-opening
– Irresolute, Forgotten
– Right now
– Dangerous, Cardinal
– Genius.
– Jaw-dropping
– The biggest mistake of all
– Hidden, Broken, Hilarious
– Instant, Crazy, Incredible, Insider
– Little known
– Large-scale
– Nightmarish, Never Seen Before
– Strange
– Painful
– Unexpected, Shocking, Strange
– World-class.
– Number 1, The one that never fails, The one that makes you think, The trade secret.
– Unconventional, Unexpected
Speak directly to the viewer
According to a study conducted by TubeBuddy and HEY.com, saying “You” in the first 5 seconds of a video increases views by 66%. And saying “You” twice in 5 seconds increases views by 97%.
How exactly do you do this? Here are a few options:
– “Are you trying to…?”
– “In front of you…”
– “Have you ever wondered why…”
– “Did you know?”
– “That’s how you…”
– “Do you have a problem with?” — “Do you want to know how…?” — “For your next project?”
– “Have you ever wondered?”
– “Have you seen…”
– “Hi, I’m…, are you watching…?”
– “Hey, what’s up, guys?”
– “Hey, guys?”
– “I’m going to show you a little trick. What do you have to do?”
– “How can you do it?”
– “How do you make yourself?”
– “If you work at…”
– “If you are…, this video is for you.”
– “If you are like me, you…”
– “If you are planning to…” — “If you’re going to…”
– “If you’ve been watching?”
– “In today’s video, we’re going to show you how to…”
– “Let me show you how to do it.”
– “Maybe you’ve already seen it?”
– “Would you like to?”
– “The technique you’re going to learn today is this?”
– “Today I’m going to share some tips with you…”
– “Today we will teach you (or show you) how?”
– “With ABC, you can…”
– “You know when you do ABC and then you?
– “You won’t believe it…”
– “See this…?”
– “You’re going to be thrilled today because” — “You’ll never believe it.”
Hook templates — just pick one and use it
The hook should make it clear right away who the video is for and what problem you’re proposing to solve. Most viewers will see you in their feed and may not know who you are or what you’re offering, so don’t be lazy to introduce yourself.
The “IF – (AND) – THEN” template
– If you have a (PROBLEM), then try this
– If you are struggling with (PROBLEM), then try this
– If you have a (PROBLEM), then I have a simple/quick/improved/easy/quick solution for you
– If you are (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL) and are not (ACTION), then try this
– If you are (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL) and are not (ACTIVITY), then you are losing a lot of (WANTED RESULTS)
– If you are a (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL) and you want (PREFERRED RESULTS) but not (ACTIVITY), then you are wasting your time, and here’s why
– If you are a (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL) and you are not using this tool / website / software etc. Etc, you are losing money / subscribers etc. Д.
– If you want (WANTED RESULT) fast, try this!
– If you don’t (EXECUTE ACTIVITY), you can lose a lot of (WANTED) results.
– If you are trying to (GET A WANTED RESULT) try this!
– If you want (WANTED RESULT) but you don’t have the (INSTRUMENT / RESOURCE), here’s one thing you can do
– If I had a (PROBLEM), here’s what I would do.
– If I was a (PURPOSE AUDITORIUM) and wanted to (GET WANTED RESULTS), here’s what I would do
– Stop (ACTIVITY) if you want (WANTED RESULTS), instead try this.
– Your (PROBLEM) and here’s how to solve it
– You can make your (INSTRUMENT FOR WANTED RESULTS) more (WANTED RESULTS) if you do this
– It helped me to (DO THE WANTED RESULT), and it can help you, too.
– This simple trick has helped me (TAKE A WANTED RESULT), and it can help you, too.
– This technique helped me (GET A WANTED RESULT) quickly, and it can help you too.
– How I (ACCEPTED A Mistake) and how you can make sure it doesn’t happen to you again.
– How did I (DO THE WANTED RESULT) and how you can make it happen to you
– Here’s a lesson I learned from (ACTION) that will help you (GET A GOOD RESULT)
– If you are a (PURPOSE AUDITORIUM), here is a lesson that I unexpectedly learned from (Unexpected Activity) that can help you (TAKE A WANTED RESULT).
– If you want to (GET A WANTED RESULT), I can tell you what I did.
– You know when you (WANT A WANTED RESULT) and you have no idea how, this is what you need to do.
– You know when you’re trying to (GET THE WANTED RESULTS) and you feel like what you’re doing just isn’t working, well try this
– The reason you don’t (HAVE THE WANTED RESULT) is because you don’t do / don’t understand / don’t use this one thing
– You will never be able to (DO HAVE THE WANTED RESULT) if you are (DOING THE ACTION) and here’s why
– The biggest reason why you don’t (GET THE WANTED RESULT) is because you don’t do / don’t understand / don’t use this one thing
– (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL) is not achieving (WANTED RESULT) for one of 3 reasons
– 3 reasons why (ACTIVITY) won’t work for (WANTED RESULT)
– Have you ever heard of (TECHNICAL TERMIN) well, here’s what it is and how it can help you (WANTED RESULTS)
– Have you ever wondered how people (GET WANTED RESULTS) They use a very simple tool/technique/strategy/hack
– Have you ever wondered how people (SOLVE A PROBLEM). Here’s how:
– Have you ever seen one of these (INCREDIBLE TOOL), well here’s how it can save you a lot of time/money if you (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL)
– The hidden secret of (WANTED RESULT) is as follows
– The hidden secret (WANTED RESULT) is (SURPRISE).
– Here’s a secret you should know.
– Here’s what I hate about (THAT YOUR AUDIENCE LOVES).
– Here are 3 signs that show you will (GET THE RESULTS YOU WANT).
– Here are 3 signs that show you won’t (GET THE WANTED RESULTS)
– Here are 5 traits that show you have (PROBLEM)
– 3 traits that show you will succeed (WANTED RESULT)
– 3 traits you will never get (WANTED RESULT)
– Here’s how to (GET THE WANTED RESULT) in less than (TIME)
– Here’s how to avoid (Fear/problem)
– You can (GET A WANTED RESULT) and here’s how.
– You can avoid (PROBLEM) and here’s how.
– Here’s what you need to do to (GET A WANTED RESULT)
– Here’s what you need to do to avoid (PROBLEM)
“WHAT IF I SAY ” — just add this phrase before any of the following hooks:
– You will never be able to (GET THE WANTED RESULT) if you (DO THIS). Do you agree or disagree?
– You will never be able to (GET THE WANTED RESULT) if you ((DO THIS)). Is this true or untrue?
– You will never be able to (GET the desired result) if you (DO THIS).
– You can always (GET THE WANTED RESULT) if you (DO THIS).
– You don’t need a perfect (INSTRUMENT) to (GET THE WANTED RESULT), you just need a (INVISIBLE INSTRUMENT).
– You won’t believe how awesome this (INSTRUMENT) is if you’re trying to (GET A WANTED RESULT).
– If you’re a (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL), you won’t believe how awesome this (INSTRUMENT) is if you’re trying to (GET A WANTED RESULT).
– Never (DO ACTION) without accomplishing these 3 things
– All (PEOPLE DOING THE WANTED RESULT) have one thing in common
– Do it immediately if you want (WANTED RESULTS).
– Do it immediately after you (ACTIVITY)
– Do it (NAME A CRUCIAL HACK) before you (EXECUTE A REGULAR ACTIVITY) to get (WANTED RESULTS)
– All successful (PURPOSE AUDITORIES) do this
– 3 useful (TOOLS) that every (PURPOSE AUDITORIUM) should have
– 3 useful (TOOLS) everyone should know about (TARGET AUDIENCE)
Templates with numbers and triggers
– Top 3 (TOOLS) everyone (TARGET AUDITORY) should have
– Top 3 (INSTRUMENT) every (TARGET AUDITORIA) should know about
– Top 3 Mistakes Everyone Makes (PURPOSE AUDITORIA)
– Top 3 mistakes everyone (PURPOSE AUDITORIUM) makes when trying to (DO THE WANTED RESULT).
– If you (DO THAT THING) within 30 days, here’s what happens
– If you (DO THAT THING) for 30 days, here’s what will happen to your body/finances/skin/account, etc.
– The next time you (REPEAT YOUR PURPOSE AUDITORIAL ACTIVITY) do this.
– Next time (REPEATED ACTIVITY OF YOUR TARGET AUDITORIUM) try this
– Whether you should use (A) or (B) as (TARGET AUDITORIA)
– Which is better (A) or (B) and why
– There is a crazy hack that I use to (GET THE WANTED RESULT)
– Here’s a little hack that makes (HARD WORK) so much easier
– If you are a (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL), you need to try this out
– If you’re (EXECUTIVE ACTIVITY), you need to try this.
– If you are trying to achieve (desired result), you need to try this
– The only (INSTRUMENT) you need when you are trying to (MAKE A WANTED RESULT) is as a (TARGET AUDITORIUM).
– If you have a (PROBLEM), you need to see it.
– Here is the secret (NICHE) you need to know.
– Here is everything you need to know about (GETTING THE WANTED RESULT).
– This is the most important thing I learned when I (EXECUTIVE ACTIVITY).
– This is the most important thing I learned when I was trying to achieve (WANTED RESULT)
BIGGEST ERROR Template
– The #1 mistake you make when using (THE TOOL YOU USE FOR SUCCESS) is as follows:
– Mistake #1 (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL) when attempting (RESULT) is as follows:
– If you are trying to (ACCELERATE A WANTED RESULT), this is the #1 mistake you make:
– If you are (PURPOSE AUDITORIAL) and want to (DESIRED RESULT), this is probably the biggest mistake you are making
– If you’re trying to (WANTED RESULT), avoid this mistake.
What should be after the hook?
The recipe for a simple but powerful video structure:
- The hook.
- Addressing the pain and promising to provide a solution.
- Immersing the viewer in an emotion or desire.
- A solution.
- A reason to subscribe to you. In addition to the appeal, also articulate the benefit to the viewer. And don’t make it too long so that the viewer doesn’t get bored. Any appeal should take as little time as possible, because the viewer, realizing that the video is coming to an end, will simply flip further, because he has already got what he wants.
Remember, what matters for video promotion is the viewing time and the percentage of viewers who have watched to the end. So keep the interest and attention of the user until the last.
Now you know the simple but effective formula to create a popular video for Reels or TikTok. Save these hook templates and use them to make your task easier.
