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Hook Lab

Improve retention with scroll-stopping openings

Generates and rewrites hooks optimized for your platform and audience intent. It produces multiple hook styles (curiosity, contrast, payoff-first) and recommends which to test, based on your goals and content type.

House RecipeCreative3 min

PROMPT

Create a skill called "Hook Lab". When given a topic + platform + audience, generate 15 hook options: - 3 curiosity hooks - 3 contrast hooks - 3 payoff-first hooks - 3 "common mistake" hooks - 3 story/relatability hooks Then: - Recommend the best 3 hooks for my goal. - Provide a 2-second opener script for each. - Provide on-screen text (<= 8 words) and a suggested first shot. Finally, give a simple A/B test plan (one variable at a time) and how to read results.

How It Works

You provide your topic and audience. The skill outputs hook variants, a recommended "first 2 seconds"

blueprint, and a lightweight test plan.

Inputs

  • Platform + format (shorts, reels, long-form, thread)
  • Topic and target viewer
  • Tone (serious, funny, calm, punchy)
  • Goal (watch time, saves, clicks, follows)

Outputs

  • 15 hook variants (5 styles x 3 variants)
  • A "first 2 seconds" script
  • On-screen text suggestions (short)
  • A/B test plan (what to change and how to measure)

Examples

  • Input: "How to price UGC services."

Output: "15 hooks + 2-second opener + on-screen text suggestions."

  • Input: "My reel starts slow and people swipe."

Output: "Rewrite opening with payoff-first and contrast hooks."

Sources

  • https://www.reddit.com/r/InstagramMarketing/comments/1lc34ab/what_makes_a_good_hook/
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/SocialMediaMarketing/comments/1njfv8a/i_analyzed_1000_viral_hooks_and_found_some/
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/InstagramMarketing/comments/1s5pvh0/creators_who_post_shortsreelstiktok_do_you_use/
Tags:#hooks#retention#short-form#testing