Hooks
First-three-seconds openers: templates, prompts to generate them, and how to test them.15 entries.
Generate 20 hooks for a topic and rank them by a stated rubric
One prompt that produces 20 openers across the 8 archetypes, scores each on four named criteria, and returns the top 5 with the score shown, so the ranking can be argued with instead of trusted.
Hook for a generated video: what must be in frame 1 when a model draws it
The first-frame rules for Veo, Kling and Runway: start mid-action, name the motion already happening, keep text out of the generation, and generate the hook shot as its own 4-second prompt first.
A/B test hooks with campaign links: judge after a week on installs, not views
The creator-growth method: same video, different hook, one store campaign link per variant, installs per campaign read after a week. Includes the iOS ct= link shape and the noise rule.
Bold claim hook: say the thing you can prove in the next 20 seconds
Template and rules for the claim hook: one declarative sentence that the viewer expects you to fail to back up, plus the rule that the proof must be in the video, not in the caption.
Contrarian hook: disagree with the standard advice, then earn it in 20 seconds
Template for the hook that reverses what the audience has been told, with the two rules that separate it from rage bait: quote the standard advice fairly, and name the case where it still holds.
Curiosity-gap hook: withhold one fact, promise it by a stated second
Template for the hook that opens a gap and names when it closes, with the rule that keeps it from being clickbait: the withheld fact is real, single, and delivered where you said it would be.
Number hook: a count the viewer can track, and the one item that justifies it
Template for the hook built on a number (3 mistakes, 5 tools, 7 days), with the rule that the number must be small enough to finish and the last item must be named as the reason to stay.
Pain-point hook: name the exact moment, not the general problem
Template for the hook that opens on the viewer's own bad moment, with the specificity test (a place, a time, an object) that turns 'struggling with X' into a line the right viewer cannot scroll past.
Question hook: the opener the viewer answers in their head before you do
Template and rules for the question hook, with the test that separates a question that holds (the viewer has an answer and wants it checked) from one that is skipped (nobody cares either way).
Result-first hook: show the finished thing in frame 1, say how long it took
Template for the hook that opens on the outcome, the one that works with sound off and for products whose output is the content; the first frame is the result, not you holding it.
'Stop doing X' hook: the correction that must come with the replacement
Template for the interrupt hook that names a habit the viewer has and tells them to stop; the rule that makes it work is that the replacement is in the same sentence or the next one.
Hook rewrite: a boring opener in, 5 stronger versions out, each with the reason
A prompt that diagnoses why an opener is weak (generic, unprovable, needs sound, buried number) and rewrites it five ways, each labelled with the archetype and the fault it fixed.
Hooks for a product with nothing to show: text and voice carry the first 3 s
For an API, a CLI, a service, a habit, anything without a screen worth filming: five hook shapes built on a typed line, a number and a voice, and what goes on screen instead of the product.
Re-hook at 3 s and at the midpoint: two lines that carry a viewer past the drop
Retention is lost twice, after the hook pays off and halfway through; this prompt writes the second promise for 3 s and the third for the midpoint, each as a line the viewer can check before the end.
Visual hook rules: first frame, text on screen, sound off, and how long you have
The checklist for what the viewer sees before any word is heard: first frame, text, the sound-off case, and the attention windows the creator-growth skill states (about 0.1 s, 0.5 s, 1-2 s by age).