Generate and refine hooks for any content format. Based on Kallaway's hook frameworks (extracted from 66 chunks across 8 episodes analyzing 100+ viral videos).
When to Use
- Writing a YouTube video hook or title
- Opening a newsletter, blog post, or social post
- Auditing an existing hook that isn't performing
- Generating multiple hook options to test
- Learning hook anatomy (power-word mode with annotations)
Not for: Full video scripts (use video-script-writer), thumbnails, SEO titles without a hook angle.
Modes
Mode 1: archetype — Generate 6 Variants
Given a topic, produce one hook per archetype. Each archetype has a distinct contrast mechanism.
The 6 Archetypes:
| Archetype | Contrast Mechanism | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Fortune Teller | Present vs. future | "X is going to change everything about Y" |
| Experimenter | Old method vs. new method | "I just tried X and here's what happened" |
| Teacher | Failing vs. winning | "Here's how to X (step-by-step)" |
| Magician | Visual stun + redirect | "Check this out..." + unexpected reveal |
| Investigator | Unknown vs. revealed | "Nobody is talking about X" / "The secret behind Y" |
| Contrarian | Conventional wisdom vs. your belief | "You're doing X wrong. Here's why." |
Process:
- Parse the topic for its core subject, audience pain point, and available angle
- For each archetype, generate a hook following its contrast mechanism
- Score each hook's contrast strength (1-10) based on the distance between the viewer's assumed belief (A) and the alternative (B)
- Recommend the archetype whose contrast best fits the topic and audience
- Run all 6 through the quality gate
Output: 6 hook variants with contrast scores + recommendation of strongest fit.
Mode 2: snapback — 3-Line Formula
The tightest hook structure. Three lines, three moves.
The Formula:
Line 1 — Context Lean: State the topic in as few words as possible for instant clarity. Add one lean-in: common ground, benefit, pain point, metaphor, or something mind-blowing. The viewer self-selects in or out after this line.
Line 2 — Scroll Stop: Begin with a contrasting word ("But," "However," "Yet"). This line stuns — stops forward momentum. Sets up the haymaker without delivering it.
Line 3 — Contrarian Snapback: Snap the viewer in the opposite direction. The bigger the shock, the bigger the snap. This opens the curiosity loop that the rest of the content must close.
Contrast types:
- Stated: Explicitly name both A and B ("Most people do X, but actually Y")
- Implied: State B only, let A be assumed ("This method is 8x more effective")
Process:
- Write Line 1 (context lean)
- Write Line 2 (scroll stop interjection)
- Write Line 3 (contrarian snapback)
- Run through the quality gate
- If any check fails, auto-rewrite the offending line
Output: 3-line hook + full diagnostic results.
Mode 3: power-word — 6-Bucket Construction
Build a hook by filling structural word-bucket slots. Produces an annotated hook that shows why each word is there. Best for learning and for hooks that need to be extremely tight (titles, thumbnails, Shorts).
The 6 Buckets:
| Bucket | Required? | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Yes | Who is this about? | "I", "you", "Tesla" |
| Action | Yes | What did/will they do? | "grew", "built", "discovered" |
| Objective | Yes | What's the end state? | "100K subscribers", "clear skin" |
| Contrast | Yes | What's the gap between A and B? | "zero to 100K", "without Accutane" |
| Proof | Optional | Why should I believe you? | "again", "after 10 years" |
| Time | Optional | How fast? | "in 30 days", "overnight" |
Process:
- Fill Subject → Action → Objective → Contrast (4 required buckets)
- Optionally add Proof and/or Time
- Assemble into a natural sentence
- Produce 3 variants: minimal (4 buckets), with proof, with proof + time
- Generate a copywork template with [BLANKS] for reuse on future topics
- Annotate every word's function
- Run through quality gate
Output: Annotated hook + 3 variants + reusable copywork template.
Mode 4: diagnose — 4-Mistake Audit + Rewrite
Takes an existing hook and audits it against the 4 failure modes. Diagnoses the problem, then rewrites to fix it.
The 4 Mistakes:
1. Delay — Topic doesn't appear in the first sentence. Every word before topic introduction = viewer decay.
- Fix: Move the topic to the very first clause.
2. Confusion — Jargon, passive voice, or ambiguous phrasing. If a sentence can be interpreted more than one way, it will be.
- Fix: Rewrite at 6th-grade reading level. Active voice. No undefined terms.
3. Irrelevance — "I/me" framing dominates. Pain point isn't agitated. Content feels "nice to have" not "need to have."
- Fix: Flip to "you/your" framing. Replace trend-reporting with pain-point-solving.
4. Disinterest — No clear A-vs-B contrast. Both A and B are obvious or expected. No curiosity loop.
- Fix: Increase the distance between A and B. Make B more shocking, specific, or counter-intuitive.
Process:
- Run all 4 checks against the existing hook
- Score each dimension (clarity, curiosity, relevance, comprehension) from 1-10
- Flag specific mistakes with severity (minor/major/critical)
- Rewrite the hook, fixing all flagged issues
- Suggest visual alignment (3-5 word text overlay + key visual)
- Run rewrite through quality gate to confirm it passes
Output: Diagnostic report + scores + rewritten hook + visual alignment suggestion.
Quality Gate (Applied to ALL Modes)
Every hook produced by any mode must pass these checks before output:
| Check | Rule |
|---|---|
| Length | 1-3 sentences max. Snapback mode: exactly 3 lines. Power-word: 1-2 sentences. |
| Topic clarity | Topic identifiable in the first sentence |
| Contrast | Clear A-to-B contrast present. Must be falsifiable (not a truism like "good to better") |
| Reading level | 6th grade max. No jargon or undefined terms |
| You-framing | "You/your" appears at least once (exception: Experimenter archetype uses "I" by design) |
| No vague openers | Never use "Wait till you see this" / "You're never going to believe this" / "This is insane" |
| Contrast score | Rate the A-B distance 1-10. Flag anything below 5. |
If a hook fails any check, rewrite before presenting.
Examples
Input: Topic: "Most YouTube creators waste their first 5 seconds." Audience: aspiring YouTubers.
Archetype mode (Contrarian):
"The first 5 seconds of your video are worthless. Not because they don't matter — because you're filling them with the wrong words." Contrast: 9/10 (conventional = "first 5 seconds are everything" vs. "you're using them wrong")
Snapback mode:
"Every YouTube guru tells you the first 5 seconds decide everything. But the data shows something different. The creators getting 70% retention aren't hooking harder — they're hooking smarter."
Power-word mode:
"You [subject] are wasting [action] your first 5 seconds [objective] on filler that kills retention [contrast]." Copywork template: [SUBJECT] are [ACTION] your [OBJECTIVE] on [CONTRAST].
Diagnose mode (auditing a weak hook):
Original: "In this video, I'm going to share some tips about making better YouTube hooks." Diagnosis: Delay (4 filler words before topic), Irrelevance ("I'm going to share" = I-framing), Disinterest (no contrast — "some tips" creates zero curiosity) Rewrite: "Your hooks are losing viewers in the first 2 seconds. Here are 3 fixes that doubled my retention."
Related Skills
- video-script-writer — Uses hook-writer for its intro, then handles body + outro
- youtube-title-creator — Title-specific optimization (overlaps with power-word mode)
- video-caption-creation — On-screen text hooks for short-form
The hook is the highest-leverage moment in any piece of content. Everything after it is earned by the first 2 seconds.