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Most people think they can write like Justin Welsh and grow a massive following on LinkedIn.
That playbook died in 2024. He has 867,000 followers. That's not just a number - it's 800,000 people who already trust him enough to stop scrolling.
EVEN if he has an off day and his post isn’t great.
If you're new, you don't have that luxury. You don't have his brand equity.
You have 3 seconds, zero goodwill and have to earn every second of attention you get.
And it is only getting harder. AI slop is flooding the feed and now everyone sounds the same.
Generic contrarian hooks that worked in 2025 get scrolled past without a thought.
You have to do more to stand out.
The Problem With Most Hooks
Most people write hooks like this:
"Hard work isn’t enough."
"No one deserves to be micromanaged."
These are generic observations that don’t tell anyone why they should listen to you. AI can write a hundred of them in a minute.
They don't tell me who you are. Why you know this. What makes your perspective different from the 50 other people posting the same idea.
Without that context, you run the risk of being another AI-sounding account trying to go viral.
However, there are four hook styles that actually stand out.
Four Hook Styles That Work Today
1. Proof of Authority
This is probably the strongest hook format for LinkedIn - you tell people what you’ve achieved and that is the justification for why people should listen to you:
“After 17 years of managing athletes…”
“Zoominfo does $1.2BN in ARR…”
They are also completely uncopyable!
2. Story Hooks
Start with a specific moment:
"This investor laughed at my pitch deck and told me my company was dead"
"My boss called me into his office. I knew what was coming"
"I opened my laptop to 47 rejection emails"
Stories with cliff hangers create curiosity and make people want to keep reading.
3. Proof of Work
Show the effort that you’ve put in so others don't have to:
"After interviewing 47 CMOs about their hiring process..."
"I sent 200,000 cold emails and analyzed the ones that got responses.
Here's what worked:”"I tested 30 different LinkedIn post formats.
1 consistently outperformed:”
You're saying: I did the work. Here's what I found. Save yourself the time.
This is a great hook format for beginners who may not have much experience yet - it just requires you to put in the work.
4. The Unexpected Angle
Weird hooks can win too:
"How to ragebait a VC"
"I got a $200k job by posting a meme on LinkedIn"
"My best performing cold email, I wrote drunk"
These hooks work because they are unexpected and stand out.
This Matters More Than Ever Today
AI can write mildly contrarian hooks all day.
It can't share your personal experiences interviewing 100 people or describe stories from your 10 years in the industry.
The bar for "interesting" has gotten higher on LinkedIn and generic observations don't cut it anymore.
You need to give people a reason to stop scrolling. And that reason is usually you. Your work, your authority, your story.
Start showing why you're worth listening to.
Your hooks should tell people why you're worth their time, not just what you think.
See you next week,
Will
Will McTighe
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