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Hook Generator

hook-generator

Generates attention-grabbing hooks for any content format including video intros, social posts, emails, articles, and ads. Use when a user needs opening lines that stop the scroll, wants to test multiple hook angles for a piece of content, or is struggling with how to start their content.

Add this skill
  1. This skill, packaged and ready to upload. hook-generator.zip
  2. In claude.ai or Claude desktop: Customize → Skills (+) → Create skill → Upload a skill, select the zip and toggle it on. Greyed out? Enable code execution under Settings → Capabilities.
  3. It’s live in your chats — no code, no setup. Want every Content skill at once? Add the whole plugin from the Content page (Customize → Personal plugins → Create plugin → Upload plugin).

When to Use This Skill

  • Writing a YouTube video and need a strong opening
  • Crafting social media posts that stop the scroll
  • Writing email subject lines or opening lines
  • Starting a blog post or article with impact
  • Creating ad copy that grabs attention in the first 2 seconds
  • Testing multiple angles for the same piece of content

Core Principle

A HOOK HAS 3 SECONDS TO EARN THE NEXT 30. Every hook must create a gap between what the reader knows and what they want to know.

Hook Formulas

The 12 Proven Hook Types

# Type Formula Best For
1 Contrarian "[Common belief] is wrong. Here's why." Thought leadership, LinkedIn
2 Curiosity Gap "There's a reason [surprising thing] and it's not what you think" YouTube, blog posts
3 Specific Number "[Number] [things] that [desirable outcome]" Listicles, Instagram carousels
4 Story Open "Last [month/Tuesday/year], I [specific event]..." Email, long-form posts
5 Direct Challenge "Stop [common mistake]. Do this instead." Reels, TikTok, tweets
6 Bold Claim "You can [impressive result] in [short timeframe]" Sales pages, ads
7 Question "What would you do if [relatable scenario]?" Community posts, email
8 Before/After "I went from [bad state] to [good state] by [method]" Case studies, transformation content
9 Social Proof "[Number] [people] already [did thing]. Here's what they learned." Landing pages, emails
10 Confession "I used to [embarrassing truth]. Then I discovered..." Personal brand, newsletters
11 Urgency "[Thing] is changing on [date]. Here's what you need to know." Time-sensitive content
12 Pattern Interrupt "[Unexpected statement that seems unrelated]" Short-form video, tweets

Workflow

Step 1: Understand the Content

Ask the user:

  1. What's the topic or main point?
  2. What format? (video, post, email, article, ad)
  3. What platform? (YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, email, blog)
  4. Who's the audience?

Minimum needed: questions 1 and 2.

Step 2: Generate Hooks

Produce 5 hooks using different formulas from the table above. For each hook:

  • Label the hook type used
  • Write the exact hook text
  • Note the recommended platform fit

Step 3: Rank and Recommend

Rank the 5 hooks by predicted engagement and explain why the #1 pick works best for the specified format and audience.

Examples

Example 1: YouTube Video About Email Marketing

Topic: Why most small businesses waste money on social media when email marketing has a higher ROI Format: YouTube video (first 5 seconds spoken to camera)

Generated hooks:

  1. Contrarian: "Social media marketing is a waste of money for most small businesses. I know that sounds insane, but look at these numbers." (Best for: YouTube, LinkedIn)

  2. Specific Number: "I made $47,000 from one email list of 2,000 people. Here's the exact strategy." (Best for: YouTube, Instagram Reels)

  3. Story Open: "Last March, I deleted all my social media apps for 30 days. My revenue went up. Here's what happened." (Best for: YouTube, podcasts)

  4. Direct Challenge: "Stop posting on Instagram. Seriously. Your time is worth more than 47 likes." (Best for: TikTok, Reels, tweets)

  5. Bold Claim: "You can build a $10K/month business with 500 email subscribers and zero social media followers." (Best for: YouTube, ads)

Recommended: Hook #3 (Story Open) — it creates immediate curiosity ("why would someone delete social media AND make more money?"), feels authentic, and sets up the entire video narrative.

Example 2: Instagram Carousel About Pricing

Topic: How to raise your freelance rates without losing clients Format: Instagram carousel (first slide text)

Generated hooks:

  1. Contrarian: "Charging less doesn't get you more clients. It gets you worse ones."

  2. Specific Number: "5 scripts to raise your rates by 30% (without a single client leaving)"

  3. Confession: "I charged $25/hour for 2 years. Then one email changed everything."

  4. Question: "Would your best client leave you over a 20% price increase? (Spoiler: no)"

  5. Before/After: "$25/hour → $150/hour in 8 months. Here's what I changed (it wasn't my skills)."

Recommended: Hook #5 (Before/After) — specific numbers create credibility, the parenthetical creates a curiosity gap, and the transformation is aspirational without being unbelievable.

Example 3: Cold Email Subject Line

Topic: Reaching out to e-commerce brands to offer email marketing services Format: Email subject line (under 40 characters)

Generated hooks:

  1. Curiosity Gap: "your welcome email is losing you $2K/mo"
  2. Question: "quick question about [Brand Name]'s emails"
  3. Specific Number: "3 emails = $12K (for brands like yours)"
  4. Social Proof: "did this for [Similar Brand] — thought of you"
  5. Pattern Interrupt: "don't hire an email marketer"

Recommended: Hook #2 (Question) — personalized subject lines with the brand name get 26% higher open rates, and "quick question" implies low commitment.

Recovery & Fallbacks

  • User doesn't know their audience: Generate hooks for a general audience, then ask which ones resonate — their preference reveals the audience.
  • All hooks feel generic: Ask for one specific detail, metric, or story from the user's experience. One real number transforms a generic hook into a compelling one.
  • User wants more than 5: Generate a second round of 5 using the remaining unused hook formulas.
  • Hook doesn't fit the format: Adapt — YouTube hooks should be spoken aloud (conversational), tweet hooks need to be under 280 chars, email subject lines under 50 chars.

Constraints

  • NEVER write clickbait that the content can't deliver on
  • Hooks must be truthful — no fabricated numbers or results
  • Always match hook energy to the content format (casual for TikTok, professional for LinkedIn)
  • Video hooks: keep under 10 seconds when spoken aloud
  • Email subject lines: under 50 characters, no ALL CAPS, no excessive punctuation

View source on GitHub →

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