A hook is a promise made in under two seconds. It tells the viewer what they will get if they stay, and it has to land before their thumb moves. We write more hooks than anything else at Trendora, usually five for every video we edit. Here are the structures we return to most often.
Hooks that create curiosity
- The reveal: “Watch what happens when we open the oven at the wrong time.”
- The mistake: “We got this wrong for three years.”
- The contrast: “This one cost £12. This one cost £240. Can you tell?”
- The unfinished list: “Three things nobody tells you about linen. The last one changed how I shop.”
Hooks that make a promise
- The specific how-to: “How to style one blazer five ways for work.”
- The shortcut: “The 20 second fix for a dull morning routine.”
- The result first: Show the finished thing, then say “Here is how we got there.”
- The number: “We tested 140 ads in four weeks. Here is what won.”
Hooks that speak to one person
- The call-out: “If you own a small bakery, watch this.”
- The relatable truth: “Nobody actually reads the ingredient list. So we made it a carousel.”
- The opinion: “Unpopular opinion: your brand does not need to be on every platform.”
- The question: “Why does every skincare ad look the same?”
A hook is not clickbait if the video keeps the promise. It is just good manners.
How to write your own
Start from the payoff. What is the single most valuable or surprising moment in the video? Write five hooks that point at it from different angles, then read them out loud. Cut any word that does not earn its place. A strong hook is usually under ten words.
Then make the hook work three ways at once: in the first frame of the visual, in the on-screen text and in the first spoken line. If one of those layers is missing, you are relying on viewers to have their sound on and their full attention, which they rarely do.
Test hooks like ads
The fastest way to improve is to test. Film the same video with two or three different openings and post them a week apart, or run them as small paid tests. Compare three second hold rates. After a month you will know which structures your audience responds to, and your hit rate will climb.
