📈 How to Write Hooks

Read time: 4 minutes

"I spent 4 hours on this post and it only got 571 impressions."

A new creator told me this last week, his voice cracking with frustration.

I looked at his post.

The content was genuinely useful - actionable advice backed by his experience.

But his first three lines? Completely forgettable business speak.

No tension, curiosity or authority whatsoever.

This is one of the biggest mistakes I see people make.

They assume LinkedIn works like a work conversation where the person you’re talking to has already decided they want to listen to you.

On social media, it doesn’t work like that.

You're competing against millions of other options – all available at the flick of a thumb.

What does that mean for you?

It means that even if your post includes career-changing insights it doesn’t matter if no one ever clicks "see more."

Well then, how do you get people to click “see more”?

After analyzing 100,000+ LinkedIn posts and obsessing over hooks for the last 14 months, I've found 5 simple text hook formats that consistently stop the scroll:

Here they are:

1. Authority Hooks

Establish credibility with specific data or your experiences:

17 years at Google, countless lessons,
these 6 shaped my career the most:

Melody Olson’s hook helped her post get 3,427 likes.

2. Contrarian Statement Hooks

Challenge conventional wisdom:

The best public speakers aren't naturals.
They're cheaters.

This hook makes readers curious about what these "cheating" techniques actually are. This post hit 13,000+ likes and 4.0M+ views.

3. Conversation Hooks

Make it feel like an overheard conversation so readers feel like they’re getting insider information:

“Why are you spending $115,789… on one week?”
My $25M mentor wasn’t joking:

This hook grabs attention by dropping specific numbers and showing a mentor challenging Nick Lalonde.

It makes people curious about why you'd spend so much and what happened next. It got Nick 432 likes.

4. Disagreement Hooks

Take a stand against popular opinions OR state an unpopular opinion and disagree with it:

Women don’t belong in the SEAL Teams…

Jon Macaskill went on to disagree with this controversial take and netted himself >2,300 likes. He inflamed people with his hook and didn’t even end up taking a controversial stance!

5. Curiosity Hooks

Create an information gap.

This is one of my biggest competitors on LinkedIn.
[Photo looking friendly with a competitor] 

This contradiction between the text and the image makes people curious about the relationship and led to 3,600+ likes for Lara Acosta.

The 3-Line Mobile Test

Most people use LinkedIn on mobile, where only 3 lines show before "see more."

Before posting, always check that your scroll stopping hook is above the line (I use the Saywhat post previewer).

Make Your Hooks Work Today

1. Choose the right hook type for your goal

   • Teaching? → Authority hook

   • Challenging norms? → Contrarian Statement

   • Sharing a story? → Conversation hook

   • Taking a stand? → Disagreement hook

   • Offering a resource? → Curiosity hook

2. Keep it under 3 lines on mobile

   • Write, then check on Saywhat’s post previewer

   • Ruthlessly edit until it fits

3. Target your specific audience

   • Name them directly or use their language

   • The more specific, the higher the engagement

Or just use my simple Saywhat Collab prompt for hook writing.

Try one hook type this week and send me your post on LinkedIn after you post - I'd love to see how it performs!

See you next time,

Will

P.S. I write all my posts in Saywhat Collab - it has helped me get >109,092,248 impressions since 1st January. You can try it without spending a penny.

If you’re curious, here's what our users say about it.

Will McTighe

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