How to Write Hooks: 12 Hook Formulas and a Rubric
To write a hook, pick a pattern that fits the goal of the post, fill it with one concrete detail your reader recognizes, then check it against a rubric of seven yes-or-no questions, where being true is a gate. The pattern gives the shape. The detail does the work. A hook that could open a post in any niche will get skipped in all of them.
Below are twelve hook families with their formulas and traps, followed by the rubric.
What makes a hook work?
A hook is the line that decides whether anyone reads the second line. On most platforms that means the first line before the feed cuts the text off, the cover slide of a carousel, or the subject line of an email.
Good hooks share two things. They name something specific, and they open a gap the reader wants closed, usually a cost or a surprise. Everything else is format.
What are the main hook formulas?
These are the twelve families Copix works with. Brackets are the slots you fill.
| Family | Formula | Trap |
|---|---|---|
| Count | [number] [things] that [outcome] [for whom] |
Padding the list to a round number |
| Contrarian | [common belief] is why [bad result] |
Contrarian for its own sake |
| Mistake call-out | If you [common habit], [specific cost] |
Shaming the reader instead of the habit |
| Curiosity gap | The [one thing] that [surprising effect] |
A gap the body never closes |
| Scene open | [time], [place], [something about to go wrong] |
A scene with no tension |
| Result first | [specific result] in [time or constraint] |
Inventing the result |
| Sorting question | Do you [situation only your reader is in]? |
A question everyone answers yes to |
| Before and after | Before: [state]. After: [wanted state]. |
An after state nobody can back up |
| Myth bust | [myth stated plainly] then the correction on its own line |
Packing both into one balanced sentence |
| Direct how-to | How to [outcome] [constraint] |
Bland without a constraint |
| Confession | I [admit something the reader also does] |
Confessing things that never happened |
| Observation | [exact behavior the reader has seen but never named] |
Vague observations |
Two of these need proof: result first and before and after. If you don’t have a real number or case, use a placeholder until you do, or pick another family.
Which hook formula should you use?
Choose by the goal of the post. The family that earns replies is rarely the one that earns saves.
- Reach: contrarian lines travel because people share what they argue with. Observations and scene opens travel because people share what they recognize.
- Saves: count and how-to hooks promise something worth coming back to. Myth busts get saved for the correction.
- Replies: sorting questions and confessions invite an answer. Contrarian lines invite disagreement.
- Clicks: curiosity gaps and mistake call-outs make the reader want the rest. Result-first lines do too, when the result is real.
- Sales: before and after lines tie the hook to the change the offer makes. Mistake call-outs work here as well.
The platform matters second. On LinkedIn about 140 characters show before the cut, so line one has to be a complete thought. A reel’s on-screen text has about two seconds, so keep it under 60 characters. An email subject gets cut around 40 to 50 characters on mobile. Platforms change these limits, so check before you rely on an exact number.
How do you score a hook before you post it?
Run it through seven checks. Each is a yes or no.
| Check | Passes when | Fails when |
|---|---|---|
| Clear | A stranger gets it in one read | It needs the second line to make sense |
| Specific | It names something concrete, like a number or a place | It could fit any niche |
| For one reader | The intended reader feels it’s about them | It speaks to everyone |
| Tension | There’s a gap or a cost | It states a fact with no stakes |
| Voice | It sounds like the speaker, with no AI tells | It sounds like a template |
| True | Every claim is real or a named placeholder | It implies a result nobody can show |
| Fits | It fits the format’s length and job | It needs trimming to fit |
“True” is a gate, not a point. A hook that scores six out of seven but invents a result fails outright. The cost isn’t limited to that post. A reader who feels tricked by one hook trusts the next one less.
When you write several hooks for the same post, check them as a batch too. If they all start with the same three words, or all start with “How” or a number, you are testing one idea five times. Vary the family, not just the wording.
Which openers should you avoid?
Some first lines have been used so often that readers skip them on sight. Avoid opening with Did you know, Are you tired of, Let's talk about or In today's. They delay the point, and they mark the post as written from a template.
The fix is to start on the detail. Instead of a line about saving time, start with the thing that wastes it: “The Monday report takes me 90 minutes and nobody reads page two.” Use your own numbers, not ones you made up for the hook.
Do you need a tool to write hooks?
Not for a handful of posts a week. Write five hooks per post, from at least three families, and score each against the table above. Pick the one that passes the most checks, and never one that fails “true”.
A tool helps when an AI writes your first drafts, because models fall back on the same few openers. Copix gives your assistant a hooks tool. In patterns mode it ranks the families for your platform and format, weighted by the goal, and returns the slot rules and banned openers. In score mode it grades up to 20 hooks: it checks five of the seven points itself and leaves “one reader” and “true” to the model and to you, since only someone who knows the facts can judge them. See it with the other tools in the tools section.
A hook opens the piece; the structure behind it decides whether readers stay. The copywriting frameworks guide covers that, and making AI writing sound human covers the voice. Plans are on the home page.
FAQ
How long should a hook be?
As short as the slot allows and no shorter than clear. Copix’s checks treat 2 to 18 words as the clear range, then apply the format’s character limit.
Should a hook be a question?
A sorting question works when only your reader would answer yes. A question anyone would answer yes to is weak, and a run of questions reads like a template.
Can I reuse hook formulas?
Formulas are shapes, so reuse the family and change the detail. The same formula with the same detail every week is what readers learn to skip.
What is the difference between a hook and a headline?
A headline names what the piece is about. A hook makes the reader want the next line. On a web page the headline often does both; in a social feed, the hook carries more weight.
How do I add Copix to my assistant?
Connect it as an MCP server. The setup guide has the steps for each client.