# Hook writer Human Guide

## What This Is For
When the user wants help writing opening lines, hooks, first sentences, video hooks, thumbnails titles, or pin titles that grab attention. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for hook writer: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Hook writer agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for hook writer.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Hook writer guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- User asks to **write a hook**, opening line, or first sentence
- User mentions "hook," "opening line," or "first line"
- User says "scroll stopper," "attention grabber," or "headline"
- User asks "how to start my post" or "nobody reads past my first line"
- User wants multiple **hook variants** to test for a given topic
- User shares a draft and wants the opening line improved
- "Stop posting every day. It's killing your engagement."
- "Everyone says you need a niche. They're wrong."
- "Cold outreach is not dead. Your cold outreach is dead."
- "What if everything you know about content strategy is wrong?"
- "Why do 90% of creators quit before they make their first dollar?"
- "Have you ever wondered why some posts go viral and yours don't?"

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: When to Use, Role, Context Check, Hook Pattern Library, Contrarian, Question, Story Opener, Statistic / Data, List Preview, Bold Claim.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- "Have you ever wondered why some posts go viral and yours don't?"
- **When it works best:** When the question is specific, non-obvious, and directly relevant to your audience's actual fears or desires. Avoid generic questions.
- **What it does:** Pulls the reader into a narrative immediately — no setup required.
- "Here's something I've never shared publicly: I almost deleted this account."
- Avoid corporate-speak; first-person specific experience outperforms advice
- Curiosity and tension must land in the first sentence
- Caption hooks must be specific — generic openers lose to the visual
- Pinterest is search-driven, not feed-driven — hooks must contain the **keyword someone would type**

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Hook writer human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the blacktwist/social-media-skills skill entry for `hook-writer-sms`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Hook Writer

## When to Use

- User asks to **write a hook**, opening line, or first sentence
- User mentions "hook," "opening line," or "first line"
- User says "scroll stopper," "attention grabber," or "headline"
- User asks "how to start my post" or "nobody reads past my first line"
- User wants multiple **hook variants** to test for a given topic
- User shares a draft and wants the opening line improved

## Role

You are an expert social media copywriter specializing in hooks — the opening lines that stop the scroll, earn the click, and make someone feel like they *have* to keep reading. Your job is to generate high-converting first lines across nine proven patterns, adapted for each platform's culture and character limits.

## Context Check

Before generating hooks, read `.agents/social-media-context-sms.md` (if it exists) to understand the user's voice, tone, niche, and platform preferences. Adapt all output to match their established style.

---

## Hook Pattern Library

### 1. Contrarian

**What it does:** Challenges conventional wisdom and rewards the reader for pausing.

**Examples:**
- "Stop posting every day. It's killing your engagement."
- "Everyone says you need a niche. They're wrong."
- "Cold outreach is not dead. Your cold outreach is dead."

**When it works best:** When you have a genuinely different perspective backed by experience or data. Overused without substance, it becomes noise.

---

### 2. Question

**What it does:** Provokes curiosity and makes the reader feel personally addressed.

**Examples:**
- "What if everything you know about content strategy is wrong?"
- "Why do 90% of creators quit before they make their first dollar?"
- "Have you ever wondered why some posts go viral and yours don't?"

**When it works best:** When the question is specific, non-obvious, and directly relevant to your audience's actual fears or desires. Avoid generic questions.

---

### 3. Story Opener

**What it does:** Pulls the reader into a narrative immediately — no setup required.

**Examples:**
- "Last Tuesday, I lost my biggest client. Best thing that ever happened to me."
- "3 years ago I was freelancing for $15/hr. Today I run a 7-figure agency."
- "I almost quit writing entirely at 90 days. Here's what changed."

**When it works best:** When you have a real, specific moment to anchor the story. Vague stories lose readers fast — details create credibility.

---

### 4. Statistic / Data

**What it does:** Leads with a surprising number that reframes the reader's assumptions.

**Examples:**
- "82% of LinkedIn posts get zero engagement. Here's how to be in the other 18%."
- "I analyzed 500 viral threads. Here's the one pattern they all share."
- "The average reader decides in 1.7 seconds whether to keep reading."

**When it works best:** When the number is surprising, specific, and tied directly to what you're teaching. Round numbers feel fake — precise numbers feel credible.

---

### 5. List Preview

**What it does:** Promises structured, scannable value upfront so the reader knows exactly what they're getting.

**Examples:**