One thing I love and at the same time hate about marketing and copywriting is how it’s a mix of an art and a science.
Not full art. Not full science. It just HAD to be a bit of both…
And why is that a problem? Because there are some things where you can’t possibly give a concrete definition that everyone agrees with.
But also you have to do your best to give a concrete definition so you can replicate it and get consistently good response in your marketing.
So, I’m sure the next jackass will give you a half-assed definition that disagrees with mine.
But in this post I’m going to give you the most concrete and actually useful definition of what a marketing hook is so you can keep reusing what you learn today for many years in your career, whether you’re a copywriter or someone who wants to apply copywriting in their business.
What is A Hook in Persuasive Communication
In its simplest term, a hook is what GRABS your audience’s attention by the throat and DEMANDS that they listen to whatever you have to say.
It’s the first few sentences that take someone from their default state to a state of focus towards your message.
Think of it like a fish hook, where you have to hook the fish so you can pull it out of the water and into your boat.
Or think of it like a hook punch in boxing, where it hits you straight to the face and demands that you pay attention to what is going on.
Ooor for a non–literal-hook example, you can think about it like someone is watching a cringey video you recorded when you were a teenager, they somehow found it and have pressed play, and you have to get their attention so they stop watching.
That being said, what someone actually means when they say ‘hook’ is different depending on what the medium and context is, so we’re gonna see different examples of what a hook is and what it looks like in different media.
What A Marketing Hook Is NOT
A lot of people confuse Hooks with Big Ideas. They are both vital for your campaign’s success and they can sometimes be identical.
But they are not the same.
A Big Idea is the main concept that gives life and desire to what you are selling. The core of what makes it enticing.
In simpler words, the big idea is the main reason the product is worth your money/time/attention.
And sometimes, just phrasing your Big Idea out loud is enough to give you a great hook.
But that’s not always the case — and in fact, some of the most successful ads ever had a hook that was VASTLY different from the big idea.
Why You Need A Marketing Hook
This is important: No one will ever care about more than YOU about what you do or what you want to say.
Because you care so much, you don’t need a hook to pay attention to it.
But for the rest?
You need to compensate and do something to generate similar levels of desire, attention and focus.
Tying it back to marketing, no one will buy your thing if they don’t know what they’re buying. And you have to grab their attention so you can tell them about this amazing thing you have or the amazing opportunity that’s in front of them.
Some things you need to keep in mind: Bored people don’t buy stuff.
Nobody reads advertising. People read what interests them; and sometimes it’s an ad.
Now let me raise your defenses for a bit. This is the same thing I’m doing right now.
I grabbed your interest with something that you care about – learning what a marketing hook is.
Then, I will offer you something else for free that you might find interesting, like these 100+ Proven Hooks That Worked.
And then, I’ll sell you something else that will help you sell stuff better.
I don’t know if YOU will buy. But I know a lot do and a lot more will.
And it all started with a hook.
This is the general definition of a hook. But in each medium, this materializes in a different way, so in the following sections, I’m going to show you what a hook actually is in each of these media.
What is A Hook in Videos
When you hear someone talk about hooks in videos — doesn’t matter if it’s in a YouTube video or an Instagram Reel or a Meta ad — they mean the first 3 seconds of your video.
Why it matters here: Obviously, people won’t get the whole information if they don’t watch the whole video. For ads and shorts and reels, it’s especially important to have a strong hook because it’s SOOO easy to tell them to piss off (you literally just have to flick your thumb a bit).
For longer videos like VSLs or YouTube videos, if people don’t stay and keep watching (which is a result of your hook), they obviously won’t be able to buy. You need them to stay long enough to show the value of what you have and the proof you have to show for it.
Example: There’s a single reason why most people stay broke and most businesses stay small
This is the first 3 seconds of the newest (at the time of this writing) Alex Hormozi video.
What makes it work: Now, whether you like Hormozi or not, I don’t give a fuck. Go throw darts at a poster with his face on, for all I care about.
But this is a good hook.
If you’re someone who’s struggling to make more money in their business and are frustrated with it, this hook will most likely speak to you.
Common mistake: People tend to focus so much on what they have and what they want to sell that forget to mention who this is for.
What is A Hook in Emails
When it comes to email, there are 2 parts that make the hook.
One of them is the subject line, as you correctly guessed.
But that’s not all.
Because once your reader clicks your email, before they start reading, they get Men-in-Black’d and suddenly they don’t remember anything.
So, you have to hook them again.
Why it matters here: Actually, the better your relationship with your list, the less it matters. Because people learn to open your emails because it’s you who’s sending them.
But if your list is newer or you get people through a welcome flow first, or you work for a bizop-type list that constantly burns through new leads, that list will never have a good relationship with the owner so you have to put more effort into subject lines and opening lines.
You can learn more about how to write unignorable subject lines in this post.
Example: SL: Why “More Leads” Might Be Killing Your Business
Opening line: Most entrepreneurs are addicted to “more.” More ads. More leads. More social media gimmicks.
What makes it work: This speaks directly to entrepreneurs with this exact mindset described in the subject and opening lines (plus the people who already agree with this message and want to stroke their ego)
I mean, imagine if you’re worrying about getting new leads, you have been increasing the flow for a while but your business still struggles.
The subject line will speak right to you.
Common mistake: People forget that we get 10s, 100s, some even 1000s of emails in a day. This means that the written content of the subject line is actually not enough to hook your reader.
If you want to learn how to write unignorable subject lines, check my blog post where I reveal my A.B.C.D.E. subject line framework.
What is A Hook in Sales Pages
In sales pages, the MAIN part of the hook is the headline. But you also have the eyebrow and the subheadline that also count as part of the hook.
(and in fact some consider it part of the headline itself)
Why it matters here: The whole role of a sales page is to sell you something (duh). And a sales page tends to be 2-4k words. In rare exceptions, it can also be 1,000 words or 5,000+ but you shouldn’t worry about those now.
Point is, it’s a lot of words and you need your reader to read all of them. So you need to give them a STRONG incentive to stay on your page instead of opening TikTok or Instagram or YouTube.
Example: Headline: How direct response advertising can increase your sales and profits.
Subhead: Even if your company has never used direct response. Read what Ogilvy & Mather has learned from half a billion coupons
What makes it work: It makes a clear promise in an unclear way (so you have to read to find out more).
And then it re-inforces the writer’s authority on the topic by mentioning half a billion coupons — where coupons are the things people used to send over mail to declare interest as a response to an ad, so you could pretty much think of it as half a billion sales.
Common mistake: People tend to be way too direct or way too hypey when it’s not always the right option. You need to think about your specific audience and your specific niche to choose the right hook.
What is A Hook in Books/eBooks
Books have hooks too.
And I’m not just talking about business books and shit.
Fiction books have hooks too.
They’re called blurbs!
Some would think it’s the first page, right?
But that’s actually FAR from the case.
Why it matters here: First of all, to read the book, you have to BUY the book. And after you’ve bought, doesn’t matter how much (or little) you’ve read, you’ve still paid for the book.
And the blurb’s job is to hook you.
(Of course now you can download the first few pages or first chapter of a book for free from places like Amazon, but it’s still the first CHAPTER that hooks you and even then, some books just keep building because the big idea presented in the blurb is interesting enough and needs time for the payoff)
Example: One Life to One Dawn.
In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.
Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?
What makes it work: The blurb immediately creates tension. It’s talking about a king who’s killing people. And then it amplifies it even further with the twist.
This together with the intrigue of “what could make someone fall in love with such a seemingly evil person?” makes you curious and interested.
(This is blurb is from The Wrath and the Dawn which I haven’t personally read, so I don’t know what the payoff is)
Common mistake: Many authors start their blurb from the… start. And in a story with a transformation, the start is the most boring part (obviously). You need to think more about the juicy details, the tension, or what makes this story different than all the other ones.
How To Write A Marketing Hook
Writing a marketing hook deserves its own article at the very least, that’s why I wrote one you can find here, but the gist of it is this:
No matter what your medium is, you want to
- Grab attention
- Generate desire
- Appeal to your reader’s curiosity
- Include an element of surprise
Don’t force every element in. Better to have a slightly ‘worse’ hook than make it weird and clunky.
Thanks for reading, you now know what a hook and what hookers write.
Before you go, you can find here for free the 7 deadly story starters that lead to a sinful amount of stories.