Guides

How to write a hook for short videos, with examples

By the Cuey team. Updated 2026-11-11. 7 min read.

The hook is the first sentence of your video, and on TikTok, Reels and Shorts it decides whether the rest gets watched. A good hook makes a specific promise to a specific viewer, fast. Here are patterns that do that, and the rules that keep them honest.

Three rules first

• Under 15 words. You have roughly two seconds before people decide.
• A clear stake. The viewer should know what they'll get or avoid by staying.
• The body pays it off. A hook that over-promises gets the click and loses the follow.

Eight patterns

1. The mistake

Name a mistake your viewer is probably making.

You're filming every morning, and three mistakes are eating your views.

2. The result first

Lead with the outcome, then explain how.

I doubled my watch time by changing the first sentence. Here's what I changed.

3. The question with a stake

Ask something the viewer wants answered, not a yes-or-no question.

Why do some talking videos feel effortless and yours feel stiff?

4. The contrarian claim

Disagree with common advice, then back it up.

Stop memorising your scripts. It's the reason you sound rehearsed.

5. "You" in a situation

Put the viewer in a moment they recognise.

You've recorded the same intro eleven times and it still sounds wrong.

6. The specific number

Numbers promise a contained, finishable video.

Three things I check before every video, in thirty seconds.

7. The cold open

Start in the middle of a story.

Halfway through my first live talk, the slides went black.

8. The before and after

Show or describe the change, then the method.

Take one, I'm reading. Take two, I'm talking. Same script.

Test more than one

Write three hooks for every video, each from a different angle, and pick the one you'd stop for. If you post often, alternate patterns and see which ones keep viewers past the first few seconds in your analytics.

Record the hook on its own

Because the hook matters most, it's where you'll do the most takes. Record it separately from the body so a fluffed first line doesn't cost you the whole video. Our teleprompter guide covers recording in parts.