How I Master the Viral Hook Game

If you can’t hook someone in 1.7 seconds, your social media growth is dead on arrival. Why? Because 8 out of 10 people only read the hook.

Miss that moment, and you lose 80% of your growth potential.

The problem? Most advice on hooks is bland and ineffective.

Today, I’ll share the 3-part hook formula that earned me 10 million+ impressions in two years. But first, let’s uncover why your hooks might be holding you back:

Let’s dive in!

The Strange Way Founders Sabotage Their Hook-Writing Skills

Here’s a cool fact: you can play 90% of hit songs with just four piano chords.

Smart learners don’t press random keys hoping for magic they master those four proven chords first. Only then do they experiment with new combinations.

Sounds obvious, right?

Yet, 95% of founders make the same mistake with hooks. Instead of using proven formats, they try to reinvent the wheel, writing hooks from scratch and losing their audience.

Let me explain why this happens and how to fix it.

There are 3 Reasons You’re Not Using Proven Hook Formats

Here’s why most people fail at writing great hooks:

1. You don’t know how to find proven hooks.

2. You don’t know how to make them fit your style.

3. Your ego stops you from “copying” others.

I’ll solve all three for you in the next two minutes.

Let’s start by tackling the ego problem.

Why Founders Avoid Viral Hooks (And Why It’s Holding Them Back)

Most founders don’t use viral hooks because they’re scared of looking like influencers.

I often hear corporate founders say, “I want to keep a professional tone.” But what they really mean is:

“I’m afraid of what my network will think if I try trendy hooks.”

Here’s the truth: nobody’s judging you as much as you think. People care far less about your hooks than you imagine.

Once you let go of that fear, you’ll unlock the potential to truly connect and grow.

Here’s the reality: people aren’t paying nearly as much attention as you think. The fear is all in your head

I say this with 100% conviction. For long, my most viral LinkedIn Post was literally:

“10 Habits That Transformed My Life”

Yes, it’s true—I play by the algorithm’s rules. But here’s what it got me: 100+ likes, over 45 thousand impressions, and more than $10,000 in revenue.

I’ll gladly trade my ego for results like that. Wouldn’t you?

Now, let me show you how to do it with my simple ROI framework:

• Research

• Optimize

• Improve

Step 1: Research

Stop wasting time trying to invent hooks from scratch. Instead, focus on finding proven formats that already work.

Here’s how simple it is:

1. Find creators dominating content in your niche (or a related one).

2. Use free tools to uncover their best-performing posts from the last three months:

   • For Twitter, use TweetHunter.io.

   • For LinkedIn, try Taplio.com.

   • On YouTube, go to a channel’s videos and click “Popular.”

   • For Facebook and Instagram ads, search Meta Ads Library and enter a business name.

3. Save their top 5 hooks.

4. Repeat steps 1–3 for 4–5 creators in your niche.

5. Organize all hooks in a spreadsheet and look for patterns.

Here's how I would templatize that hook:

Once you’ve gathered your hooks, break them down into templates or sections for easy use. This method ensures you’re working smarter, not harder!

Step 2: Output

Now it’s time to start writing.

If you nailed Step 1, this part is as easy as filling in the blanks.

Here’s how I’d reuse the same hook template if I were a personal trainer:

This is the king of fitness transformation:

Joe Wicks.

He has worked with celebrities like Kate Moss and David Beckham.

And last year alone, his fitness programs helped thousands achieve their goals.

Here are 7 fitness principles you can learn to transform your body:

By following this approach, you’ll have a proven framework to create high-impact content effortlessly.

(By the way, this hook was 100% AI-written using my House of Hooks)

Tip:

For every post you write, create 3 different hooks. Then, share them with 2–3 ideal customers and ask for feedback. This lets you test your hooks on a small scale before publishing. If you’re working with a ghostwriter, ask them to draft 3 hooks for each post.

There’s no single hook template that always works trends change constantly.

But no matter the trends, these 4 core principles will always make your hooks stronger:

1. Make it about them: Speak to the reader’s self-interest. Show how you’ll solve their problems or help them get what they want.

2. Use numbers that stand out: Be specific and bold. For example, I include my $1M+ annual revenue in over a third of my hooks because numbers grab attention fast.

3. Tease, don’t reveal: Focus on the result, not the process. Instead of saying “5 ways to improve outbound email,” try “The system we used to book 1,337 sales calls.”

4. Prove you’re credible: Most people don’t know who you are. Share results, revenue, or big-name clients to instantly build trust.

Run every hook through these 4 principles, and you’ll see the difference!

Step 3: Improve

Back in the 1920s, copywriters had to wait months to see if their mail ads worked. Testing 10 campaigns could take forever. Brutal, right?

Today, testing hooks is lightning fast you can get results in hours.

When I started on YouTube, I learned that top creators test their thumbnails and titles for days:

• Steven Bartlett tests 100 titles.

• Alex Hormozi tests 30+.

• I test dozens (and counting).

Here’s what you should do:

Every 2–4 weeks:

• Check your analytics to see which posts performed best.

• Reuse or tweak the hooks that worked.

• Note which hooks didn’t perform well and avoid them next time.

If you do this for six months straight, you’ll have better social media insights than 99% of founders. Better data = smarter decisions = bigger results.

For example, my “10 Ways To Transform Your LIfe” post only happened because I analyzed my most successful post ever: “Best Personal Growth Models of All Time.”

Use this system consistently, and watch your growth take off!

How to Scale to $100,000+ a Month with Hooks & Content

Follow the steps in this newsletter, and you’ll grow 2–3X faster on social media guaranteed.

Once you hit that level, your next challenge will be monetization.

When you’re ready, my team and I can help you build the exact content, monetization, and sales system that generated $12.1M for House of Founders all without spending a dime on ads. If that sounds like a fit for you, check out House of Founders Accelerator

With House of Founders Accelerator, you get a personal coach to help you build your strategy step by step. You’ll also gain access to every system I use in my own business (yes, all of them) and House of Talent a pool of top-tier experts in writing, sales, video, and more.

Not ready for that yet? No problem. My free content will still take you 80% of the way there if you study it carefully.

To help you move even faster, I created House of Hooks—a free AI tool that:

• Turns viral hooks into easy-to-use templates.

• Writes viral hooks for you based on proven formats.

• Helps grow your social media 10X faster.

>>> Access House of Hooks

That’s it for today let’s crush it together!

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