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.
Here is a {length}-second script for a short video about {topic}: {script} The hook at 0-3 s buys three seconds. Two more promises are needed: a RE-HOOK at 3 s, right after the opener, and a MID-HOOK at the midpoint ({length} divided by 2). Each is one spoken line, max 10 words, that names a specific thing still to come and roughly when. Rules: - The re-hook at 3 s is a specific promise about the end: 'the third one is the one you do', 'the number at the end is under two dollars'. Not 'stick around'. - The mid-hook is a turn: a complication, a result that is not what the first half implied, or the countdown reaching the best item. It must change the direction of the video, not restate the hook. - Both are on screen as text in the same words, 2 s each. - Neither is a CTA. No 'follow for part 2'. The download ask, if the video has one, stays where it was. - Check that both promises are kept: quote the line in the script that pays each one off, with its second. If a promise has no payoff, rewrite the promise, not the script. Return: the re-hook with its second and its payoff line, the mid-hook with its second and its payoff line, then the script with the two lines inserted and marked [RE-HOOK] and [MID-HOOK].
In Claude Code, paste the prompt as a message.
Example
Script: the 40-second ‘3 product-photo mistakes’ video (hook: ‘Three product-photo mistakes, and the third one is why your listing looks cheap’).
RE-HOOK at 3 s: ‘Number three takes one tap to fix.’ Payoff: 32-37 s, ‘Cut it out and put it on white; the app does that in one tap.’
MID-HOOK at 20 s: ‘You can’t fix this one in an editor.’ Payoff: 21-25 s, ‘Step closer, crop later.’ (the zoom mistake cannot be undone after the shot).
Script with inserts: 0-3 s: Three product-photo mistakes, and the third one is why your listing looks cheap. 3-5 s: [RE-HOOK] Number three takes one tap to fix. 5-14 s: One. Shooting under the kitchen light… 14-20 s: Two. Zooming in. The phone throws away pixels; the edge goes soft. 20-22 s: [MID-HOOK] You can’t fix this one in an editor. 22-25 s: Step closer, crop later. 25-37 s: Three. The background… 37-40 s: Save this for your next listing.
Third example, for a 60-second storytime: RE-HOOK at 3 s ‘I baked it to throw it away.’ MID-HOOK at 30 s ‘Then I got the phone call.’ Both paid off at 40-48 s.
Tips
- Read the retention graph on the last three videos before writing these: the drop after 3 s and the drop near the middle tell you where the promises go. The graph is in the platform's analytics for every video.
- A re-hook that is kept builds trust for the next video; a re-hook that is not kept is the last video that viewer watches. Quote the payoff line before you record.
| works with | Claude Code: Runs as a skill or a prompt in the terminal; can read your files and write the result. · Claude: Paste into claude.ai or the Claude app. · ChatGPT: Paste into ChatGPT; works with any GPT model. · Any LLM: Model-agnostic: Gemini, Mistral, a local model. |
| cost | Free. No API, no key. |
| status | Unverified: written from the technique, not yet run end to end by us. |
| license | CC BY 4.0 for the text here; skills are MIT. |
| updated | 2026-11-01 |
| for agents | rehook-at-three-seconds-and-midpoint.md |
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