Hardcore Hooks
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It’s gotta be an Instant GAG.
I don’t care if it’s a reel, a blog post, a carousel for LinkedIn, TikTok, or a podcast episode. It needs a hook. And you gotta lead with it.
Because these days? Small talk in your marketing equals immediate scroll away.
Crafting a great hook is a step you cannot skip over if you want your marketing to work.
There is an art and a science to crafting the perfect hook.
And I do mean CRAFTING. The hook often takes the longest to write- as short and punchy as it winds up being.
When I was a journalist, I’d often have to write the whole article before I was ready to craft that lead. Heck, Don Draper took whole episodes of Mad Men to come up with the perfect one-liner.
So, if you’re struggling to write, script, or craft a visual hook- of course you are. It’s hard.
But the better you get at it, the more attention your marketing will snag and keep and convert into dollars.
And to be perfectly honest, I need to work on this too. I’m getting serious about it as I revamp my video marketing. So I thought I’d share what I’ve gleaned from research and my own top-performing content that I will be bringing to my 2026 content.
Dispense with the lead-up
Aggressively grab attention
Live by TL;DR
Don’t hard sell
It’s about THEM, not you.
Let’s get into the weeds.
1 Dispense With the Lead-Up
Don’t work up to the point; lead with it.
This is a struggle for many people. My old boss, a skilled seller of high-end professional services, told me in sales conversations he’d never be so bold and blunt upfront. Because there is a whole art to warming a prospect up in conversation and easing them into the pitch.
But marketing isn’t a face-to-face conversation. You can’t rely on that instant human-to-human connection. Marketing gets filtered by a screen, a billboard, a podcast player.
With the infinite options of content to consume, yours better hook that attention immediately or it’s going to get drowned out.
You absolutely cannot open with something bland and small-talky.
You gotta smack them right in the face and get them right in the feels. In a way that would be totally rude or outlandish were you to do it in-person.
2. Aggressively Grab Attention
So how do you craft a hook that grabs attention? You got options. Here are a few whose marketing has definitely worked on me.
1 Be Controversial
Now I don’t mean to say you should be offensive for the hell of it. Especially if you’re punching down- that’s just plain being mean, even if you attempt to dress it up as “satire” or “sarcasm.” (Punching down means to make fun of someone with less power & privilege- like an extremely wealthy person mocking the poor, or white people slinging lazy racial stereotypes as jokes.)
My preferred form of being controversial is to be blunt and bold about something your audience believes in but is afraid to speak about. Or something they can relate to but were ashamed or embarrassed about it- before you normalized it by talking about it.
Basically, saying the quiet part out loud.
Here are a few examples of creators who are good at creating controversial hooks:
Anjeanette Carter, LinkedIn Ghostwriter, Copywriter, Freelance Mentor
Carter rocks a no-nonsense, tough love hook for a LinkedIn post that can hurt your feelings in a good way. No wonder she has 21k+ followers on LinkedIn and a ton of engagement on each post.
Alyssa Zander, Codependency Coach & Author
Talk about hurting your feelings in a good way! Zander helps folks heal their relationships and codependency by taking accountability for their own triggers, behaviors, and patterns. No wonder she's at 402.4K followers on TikTok and cleared 150K on Instagram, regularly raking in millions of views! (Fun fact, she’s been a guest on The Irresistible Marketing Pod twice! Check out episode #4 Taking The Manipulation Out of Marketing and #61 So You Want To Go Viral.)
Claire Auden, Narcissistic Abuse Educator & Coach
Auden blasts through the brain fog narcissistic abuse victims experience after prolonged gaslighting and manipulation with truth bombs that hit hard. She gives permission to victims to trust their gut about their abuser rather than buying into the public image they spend so much energy crafting. No wonder she has an enviable following and is all over my TikTok algorithm.
2. Gag Them With Beauty
As a species, we LOVE beauty. We had a whole Renaissance about it. We erect museums around it. We travel the world to find it. The cult of celebrity is a thing because we worship beauty. Beauty makes us feel things. It unlocks things we stored away in our hearts.
So if you can stop them in their tracks with something beautiful - visual, audio, even a beautiful idea - you’ve got them.
Here are some examples of creators whose marketing is addictively beautiful.
Madeline Edwards, Singer
A few months ago, a video titled “just a girl who sings songs about schizophrenia” happened across my feed and I was immediately hooked by the woman’s gorgeous voice, gentle guitar, and the audience members who looked like they were about to cry- just like me. I watched that video about a zillion times and the song, American Psycho, landed high up on my Spotify Wrapped playlist. Oh, I’m going to listen to *everything* she releases, and you will too after hearing this song. I can assume that equals some very pretty streaming dollars.
Rebecca Beyer, Ethnobotanist, Witch, Author, Forager, Tattoo Artist, Primitive Skills Teacher
One of the prettiest Instagram grids you’ll ever see is that of my friend, Rebecca Beyer’s business, Blood and Spicebush. Her posts are all gorgeous colors, plants, illustrations, seasonal appreciations, and witchy concoctions. Her socials celebrate her love of nature, dedication to her crafts, and her immense creativity. It makes the viewer want to go outside and find new plants to love, romanticize the day-to-day, and put some effort into expressing themselves creatively. No wonder she has a massive following, her offers regularly sell out, and she just released her fourth book! (PS she was a guest on The Irresistible Marketing Pod episode #15 You ARE The Niche.)
Dita Von Teese
No one cultivates a beautiful visual spectacle like Burlesque Queen, Fashion Icon, and all-around Diva Dita Von Teese. Her social media is a fête of Old Hollywood Glam- literally. Whether emulating the gorgeous pieces that graced the screen in the early & mid-20th Century or collecting actual vintage from those eras or enticing us to buy perfumes with names like “Scandalwood”, Dita’s marketing is the definition of glamour.
3. Make Them Dream
THIS COULD BE YOURS! That’s a hook- if the “this” is desirable enough. You could see it, or do it, or be it. Aspirational- but make it accessible.
Dancers, rollerskaters, cooks - a lot of “how to” videos do this really well, but so can service providers!
The trick is taking something desirable that on the surface seems out of reach and then breaking it down into manageable pieces. Suddenly, it’s no longer too big a jump to imagine they could have/be/do/make the big/scary/improbable/complex thing they want.
But you do have to wow them first with something they immediately want or envy or aspire to. Then very quickly follow up with how they can realistically have it.
Here are a few examples of creators who do aspirational - but make it accessible - really well.
Jardy Santiago
My version of pandemic sourdough bread was trying to learn house dance- all thanks to Jardy Santiago’s fun dance videos with insanely complicated-looking footwork performed with an enviably suave swagger that he then broke down into accessible pieces, allowing the viewer to feel into and believe they could learn to move like that too.
Savage X Fenty
Before Rihanna launched her Savage X Fenty lingerie line, I never thought I’d look good in lingerie, because I didn’t look like a Victoria’s Secret Angel. I wasn’t tall and skinny, I didn’t have the bust, and I wasn’t exactly white. But the Savage X Fenty marketing blasted that notion right out of my head. Here were people of all shapes and sizes, hair textures, and ethnicities absolutely SLAYING these cute lingerie sets. Soon, I was a VIP subscriber to the monthly lingerie boxes.
Manifestation Babe
Part of the intro to Kathrin Zenkina’s wildly popular Manifestation Babe podcast promised “to help you see the infinite potential within yourself to be, do, and have anything that your heart desires.” A concept that drew me right in, despite my significant layer of skepticism. Zenkina’s experience as an 8-figure entrepreneur, her interesting money mindset shifts, and her rags-to-riches backstory continually challenged my default glass-half-empty thinking in the best way. And while I personally tend to resonate more deeply with more intersectional and trauma-informed approaches to mindset and manifestation, I have definitely bought a Manifestation Babe workshop or two and am truly grateful for how they have shifted some mental blocks.
4. Humorize, Romantacize, or Normalize Something the Viewer Has *Feelings* About
I’ve mentioned before that my favorite type of marketing alleviates shame. There are few other emotional experiences I can think of that create such instant affinity with a brand. Because shame is so heavy. It isolates us from the herd and stops us from pursuing our dreams because we think we don’t deserve them.
But when marketing can make us stop feeling so bad about our lives? Amazing. Give us more of where that came from.
Some of the most powerful ways to alleviate shame with marketing are to humorize, normalize, or romanticize aspects of the audience’s lives that are rarely, if ever, celebrated. Here are some examples of folks who do that well.
Humorizing “Shameful” Experiences
Former Summer House reality stars turned comedians Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo do a fantastic job of this on their wildly popular Giggly Squad podcast, socials, and comedy tours that regularly sell out venues- including two dates at Radio City Music Hall. Whether they’re normalizing how hot girls have digestive issues, how watching TikToks is basically the same as reading The New York Times, having a lot of body hair to take care of, they take girlhood - even the parts we’re regularly shamed for- and make it fun.
Compassionately Normalizing Our Struggles
Whether it’s over-apologizing, struggling with boundaries, or feeling like a burden, Victoria Albina, coach, author, and host of the popular Feminist Wellness podcast, makes it make sense- without the shame. Then she gives practical tools for changing your habitual responses to stressful situations.
Romantacizing Your Life
No one has made me want to fall in love with my new city, Long Beach, more than professional rollerskater Coco Franklin. Sometimes I get depressed, longing for the green and the changing leaves, the rain, and the yearly snow of Oregon. Then I’m scrolling on Instagram and Coco Franklin is joyfully gliding through the palm tree-lined, skate-friendly streets of Long Beach along the freaking ocean. Bikini-clad and literally skating into the sunset year-round. Oh yeah, I think. My new home is awesome. A rollerskater’s paradise where I could take a live class from my Instagram skate heroes… IN PERSON.
3. Live By TL;DR
Here’s the thing about grabbing attention: the punchline comes first. It hits you right in the face. You get it within seconds. The content is easy to consume because you’re immediately interested. It doesn’t take any effort to keep watching or listening or reading- because it’s the most interesting option you have right now.
Structurally, this means the content is designed to have the hook be the first thing people see. It’s “above the fold” in the design- or before they have to scroll. It’s the biggest font and surrounded by blank space so the eye goes right there. It’s in the title frame. There’s no millennial pause before the video starts with a bang with the hook right away.
But then the whole thing is also short enough to hold your attention. Actual length varies. It’s as long as it needs to be, but there’s no fluff detected. Everything in there is intentional, on purpose, with purpose.
4. Don’t Hard Sell
These are all examples of marketing that has worked on me. But did you notice how none of them sold up front? Even if they were running a special or a sale. They sure told me about it, but not as the hook.
Nope. A sale, a discount, a cart close does NOT qualify as a hook.
Instead, it gives an emotional payoff that immediately benefits me. It gives me a reason to want to pay for more of where that came from.
Like when New Seasons lets you sample an amazing new cheese and suddenly you’ve bought everything for a super aesthetic charcuterie board for the dinner party you’ve now decided to host because you’re sort of person who has exquisite taste in cheese and you must spread that joy.
The cheese was what made me want to buy. And it tapping into a version of myself I wanted to be- the sort who hosts elegant, delicious dinner parties with aesthetic, tasty appetizers. Not that it was buy 1 get 1 free or the cute little cheese knives were 25% off.
A discount on something I don’t see immediate value in still doesn’t make me want to buy it.
And more than the cheese, it was about what the cheese did for me. The yummy taste. The creative inspiration. The good feelings from that.
Because, in marketing…
4. It’s about THEM, not you.
Want your marketing to work? Then accept that they, the audience, the potential buyer, are the main character. Not you, not the sale you have going on right now, not even your offer.
Everything must be designed with their experience in mind. What is of immediate value to them? What will give them an emotional payoff to watch/listen/read til the end?
So.
Your marketing can’t be about you needing the money- even if you do. It can’t be about how you aren’t going to believe in your business until you have X amount of buyers. It can’t be about how you won’t believe you have something important to say until you have X amount of followers.
Because when it’s about YOU, entertaining, interesting, and helping your aligned buyers becomes secondary to the emotional labor and literal buy-in you are desperate for. This makes it feel like WORK to buy from you. And tell me, are you willing to psych yourself up to make a significant, shaky investment that the seller doesn’t seem to entirely believe in themself? Are you willing to be responsible for the self-esteem, self-image, and future prospects of a stranger on the internet asking you to part with your money?
The marketing has to be about your aligned clients, not you.
Which means that you need tools, appropriate places, and support to work through your need for validation, your fear, and your doubt so they don’t take over your marketing. This is crucial.
If you are lacking tools, space, and support to work through these issues- I’d love to cheerlead you 1:1 or in a fab club of entrepreneurs working through the same things. And no shame, because this is stuff the majority of entrepreneurs have to learn to sort through.
Honing Marketing as a Craft
If marketing is a new skill for you, please don’t expect yourself to have instant mastery. Just like any skill, you’ll have to practice. And keep practicing. Marketing is vast and constantly evolving, and you’ll have to keep trying and learning new skills to keep up with it. Just like while I consider myself an experienced horsewoman with a pretty good handle on lower-level dressage, I know nothing about barrel racing. And if I wanted to get good at barrel racing, I’d have to go back to Square 1 and let myself be a beginner until I exposed myself to enough instruction and feedback and practiced it enough to get good at it.
That’s why I did this whole blog post/podcast episode on hooks! Because hooks are something I need to work on. Especially in my video marketing. Because I want my reels and TikToks and YouTubes to pop off and they haven’t yet. And that used to make me feel really bad about myself- even though I have way more experience in copywriting than I do in video marketing. But I’ve been working to shift my mindset so that instead of feeling like a failure, I allow myself to simply accept that I am a beginner at video marketing who hasn’t yet put in her reps to get good. That’s all.
It turns out a lot of The Squad 🎉, feel the same way. (The Squad 🎉is my club for big-hearted, black sheep, rebel entrepreneurs growing never-been-done-before businesses by getting great at marketing.)
So we’ll be doing a video marketing challenge for January 2026. With modules for Getting Into Character, Hooks, Aesthetics, and Transitions, we’ll be turning video marketing into a giant art project, with friends. That’s way more fun than just grinding away and showing up with no results. Plus, we’ll be holding ourselves and each other accountable and cheering each other on.
You’d be very welcome to join. And if you do so now, you get immediate access to our private community and the rest of our December 2025 events for free. These include our Marketing Block Busting masterclass, 2026 Business Planning, our new Persona Preen for crafting our marketing stage personas, and Avoidance Avoidance group for emotional support co-working on the projects we’re most tempted to procrastinate.
So if your marketing hasn’t popped off yet and entrepreneurship is feeling lonely, you can literally change that right now, today. Your Squad 🎉awaits.
