I am not afraid to say it, readers are fish. They are slippery little buggers. If you tried to go to a river with no experience and catch a fish bare handed, it wouldn’t take long for you to understand the importance of a hook. Sure, you can make it without one, but you are probably being a bit cocky.
The same hook will not work on every fish, just like the same hook will not work on every reader. If you are looking to capture the widest audience you can, variety is your friend. Whether you are looking to add some variety to your current arsenal or you are building your first list of hook options, this post will help.
Shocker (Risky)
Pig guts! Nails on the chalkboard! Murder! Intrigue! A shocker hook can come in a few different forms. The most important aspect of a shocker hook is that it is unexpected and disruptive. This could come in the form of a single word or phrase at the start of your article or post that seemingly has nothing to do with the content. It could also be a visual element that seems out of place or perhaps is shocking in and of itself. You can also choose to do something the reader doesn’t expect in the way you format your writing. Poetry often comes in differentWhen the reader is expecting an article about peanut butter and jelly and the first thing they are reading is about snails, it will probably catch their attention and make them ask “why?”
The tricky part about a shocker hook is that you risk losing a reader if you hook them in with empty shock value. If you cannot answer the question of “why?” by relating the shocking element back to your overall post, then the reader is more likely to feel their time has been wasted. In this way, a shocker hook can actually cause more damage than good if you overuse it or use it in vain.
You also run the danger of choosing something so shocking it simply scares your reader away. This one I recommend approaching with caution.
A Short Story (Anecdote)
Are you a creative writer? Depending on your audience and the purpose of your writing, a short story might be a good way to hook in the reader with a little emotional investment. True stories are always the most powerful, but a made up story can tug at heartstrings just as effectively if you can create one that leads well into the topic of your writing.
The goal of a story is to get your reader emotionally invested and to add value to the reading. Consider the (made up) story below as an example of a story that could have been used as a hook for this post:
“Aria never used a hook in her writing. She spent countless hours crafting quality content on topics she knew would be helpful to readers. Her wrists burned. The coffee on the counter was cold. Her eyes were strained at the blue of the screen after hours of revision. What was she doing wrong? It was then that she discovered the importance of a well-crafted hook.
After implementing these hook strategies, Aria quickly saw the gap in her strategy. Within a few months, her click through rates had dramatically increased and her website was growing faster than ever before. First impressions, she found, truly make an impact.”
A story like this one can establish the value of the content you are providing. Since the audience in this case is a writer, they can likely relate to the feeling of burning wrists after typing or a cold cup of coffee next to their computer after hours of focus. Nobody wants that hard work to go unrewarded, and the thought that adding a hook could solve that problem give the reader a reason to push forward and read your content,
Facts/Statistics
Did you know that Giraffes are 30 times more likely to get struck by lightning than people? Stand out like a Giraffe with a good hook.
Clearly, the fact or statistic doesn’t necessarily need to be directly tied to the topic of your writing, but you need to find a way to link it to the topic regardless. Again, it is important to consider your audience. A hook like this one about the Giraffe is not going to work well in an article or post that is primarily academically or professionally geared. It would be more appropriate to use a real fact or statistic that is directly tied to your topic in such situations.
The goal of a fact or statistic is to find one that is going to do what the other hooks have already tried to do: establish value in your writing. The hook is grabbing the reader’s attention to be sure, but it should always be the first step in giving them a reason to read on as well.
Humor
Henry Ward Beecher once said, “A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.” This is coming from a man in the 1800s who lived through the civil war and a public trial considering his adultery against his wife. The dude knew some struggle.
When a reader clicks on a post that seemingly has content that could benefit them in some way and sees the sea of words they have to surf through, it can immediately change their mind and send them running for the hills. Humor in the first few lines can give them hope that the journey upon which they are about to embark is padded and comfortable. No need to run! Even if the post ends up not being what they needed, they can rest assured feeling that they will enjoy the ride.
Interesting Quote
If the first quote that comes to mind is painted on a piece of wood and hung in your mother’s living room wall, I would suggest you steer clear. If you don’t know what I am talking about I mean quotes like, “Live, Laugh, Love” or “you have to see through the rain to see a rainbow.” Anything over-used and generally anything you find that is attributed to “unknown” or “anonymous” is probably better suited for Pinterest boards than the hook of your post,
A good use of a quote as a hook is to find something that is related to your topic and attributed to somebody who has some form of a story attached to them. It really doesn’t even need to be someone all that famous, but if the quote is interesting and you can talk additionally about who said it, then it makes the content seem more real.
Quotes can fit in a number of the other categories as well. That is why the humor section of this blog post started with a quote. The emotional appeal of the quote is what you are going to use to capture your reader. Make them laugh, make them cry, make them think deeply and introspectively. If the quote you choose doesn’t evoke any emotion very strongly, you should probably look for a better one.
Hook ‘Em And Keep ‘Em
This isn’t catch and release, people. You are hooking readers for keeps. It goes without saying that hooking a reader is completely useless if you can’t keep them on the line.
My suggestion to avoid this is much like the strategy I would use for the introduction or the conclusion of a post as well: Finish the body of the post first. By doing this you not only give yourself more of a direction when looking for a hook, but you also ensure that you are not crunched for time and still needing to crank out another 500 words. Sprinkle in some humor. Do your research. Make the stay worthwhile or the reader isn’t going to be coming back.
You just sunk a hook into your prospective reader’s cheek! How considerate of you. Remember these tools: Shocker, Short Story, Facts/Statistics, Humor, and a well selected Quote and use them in your next post. Try hook attempts out on your friends or colleagues and ask them for feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Keep practicing and you continue to win more with your writing.