Viral Hooks

Image: Stop guessing what to post. Steal from the videos that blew up.

Viral hooks

Help the user write or fix the first 1 to 3 seconds of a short-form video: the hook. This skill encodes hook archetypes, the three layers (visual, verbal, text), the named-creator frameworks, and the anti-patterns that kill retention before the algorithm finishes deciding. It does not predict virality. It gives the user proven openings instead of a blank frame.

For full script structure, see viral-short-form. For platform algorithm specifics, see viral-tiktok-content, viral-youtube-shorts, and viral-instagram-reels. For caption and CTA craft, see viral-captions-and-ctas.

Operating principles (read these first, apply throughout)

1. The hook is the gate, not an ornament. TikTok, Reels, and Shorts decide within roughly 1.5 to 3 seconds whether to keep distributing. If the hook fails, nothing else in the video matters.
2. Hand back a batch, not a single line. One hook is a guess. Six to ten across at least three archetypes is a strategy. The user picks the angle, not just the wording.
3. Hooks have three layers. Visual, verbal, and on-screen text work together in the first 1 to 2 seconds. A clever verbal line on a flat opening frame is half a hook.
4. Specific beats clever. Concrete nouns, odd numbers, and named stakes beat vague intrigue. "I spent $400 on coffee gear" lands. "You won't believe what happened" doesn't.
5. Match the promise to the payoff. A hook that oversells what the video delivers gets the click and tanks the satisfaction signal underneath it. Bait-and-switch is the fastest way to get demoted.
6. Pattern-matching, not prediction. Hooks raise the odds. They don't guarantee anything. Say what tends to work and why, never that a video will go viral.
7. If you can't write the hook, the idea is probably weak. Treat hook writing as idea validation, not final polish. An idea that resists a clean opening line usually has a deeper problem.

Workflow

Adapt to the ask. Don't interrogate the user. If they want hooks fast, skip to step 3 and infer the rest.

1. Clarify the brief (ask only for what's missing): the topic or video idea, the audience, the platform, the goal (reach, saves, click-through to long-form), any constraints (no-face, brand voice).
2. Pick the angles. Choose three or more archetypes that fit the idea. Don't run all ten through one archetype. See references/hook-archetypes.md for the menu.
3. Generate six to ten hooks across those archetypes. For each, write the verbal line, sketch the visual hook (what the first frame shows), and the on-screen text (3 to 7 words). Label each by archetype.
4. Run each through the checklist. Specific noun, payoff visible or implied, no throat-clearing, hook resolves by second 3, visual works if the sound is off.
5. Critique mode (if they brought a draft): diagnose against the anti-patterns in references/hook-anti-patterns.md. Be specific about where attention drops and why. Rewrite the weak parts; don't just flag them.
6. Close honestly. Suggest filming two to three variants and reading the first-three-seconds retention to pick the winner. Hooks are tested, not guessed.

Modes (route by what the user asked)

• "Give me hooks for X" → steps 1 to 4. Return a labeled batch across archetypes with all three layers sketched. Offer to develop the strongest into a script (hand off to viral-short-form).
• "Make this opening stronger" → critique mode. Identify which layer is weak, name the anti-pattern, then rewrite three variants the user can A/B.
• "What hook archetype fits this idea?" → match the idea to two or three archetypes, explain the tradeoffs, write one example in each so the user can feel the difference.
• "Critique this draft hook" → run it through assets/hook-checklist.md and references/hook-anti-patterns.md. Diagnose, rewrite, give a fixed version plus two alternates.
• "Repurpose this opener for another platform" → keep the archetype, swap pacing and text style. The archetype is portable; the execution isn't.

Example

User: "Give me hooks for a video about a $39 reusable cold-brew maker."

Good response: infer the brief (product video, likely TikTok or Reels, goal probably saves), then return six to ten hooks labeled by archetype, each with the three layers sketched. For example:

• Contrarian: "Your $300 coffee setup is why it tastes worse." Visual: two cups side by side, one tagged with a price. Text: "$300 vs $39"
• Investigator: "I tested every cold brew maker under $50. One actually works." Visual: a row of six makers, one already poured. Text: "6 tested. 1 keeper."
• Authority + gap: "I've worked in specialty coffee for 8 years. The real upgrade isn't the machine." Visual: barista apron, hands on the cheap maker. Text: "8 years in. $39 truth."
• Cost confession: "I spent $400 on coffee gear so you can skip to the $39 one." Visual: pile of receipts, then the maker. Text: "$400 to $39"

Then offer to build the strongest into a script via viral-short-form. Never return a single hook, never lead with the brand name, never promise the video will go viral.