The art of the hook: how to engage readers from the first sentence

Aaron Sorkin must have a huge water bill. 

Sorkin - writer of The West Wing - has his own unique way of dealing with writer's block, and it has come to be known as the Sorkin shower method. Whenever he's stuck, he takes a shower. For him, that could mean 8 showers per day.

Why begin like this?

Blocks are a common problem for writers in every field, and very often, that problem arises right at the start. How to begin? 

For me, coming up with a good hook is usually what inspires me to write an entire article in one sitting.

The opening line of this article is one of many examples of a hook. 

What is a hook?

The hook in any piece of content is the opening sentence that captivates the reader and makes them want to continue reading. 

When it comes to the saturated domain of digital content, where everyone is vying for attention, it's the most important line of an article. It can make the difference between them reading what you've written and going back to scrolling for whatever they're looking for.

A well-crafted hook doesn't just grab attention; it sets the tone and expectation for the entire piece. It's a promise to your reader that what follows is worth their time. It does this not just by stating what the article is about. If you just want something boring and commonplace like, "In this article, we'll delve into...", you may as well just use ChatGPT. But no. It makes the reader want to continue because it intrigues or entertains them. It could take the form of a thought-provoking question, a startling fact, a shocking opinion, or a vivid anecdote.

I'm going to do more than just tell you why you should use a hook. I'm going to share examples of different kinds of hooks and how you can use them in your own writing. But first...

Why write a hook when you can just use "AI"?

I'm so glad you asked! 

Coming up with a good hook relevant to your topic requires thought. And one thing language models can't do is think. 

Even if you want to use a language model or some other trendy "AI" tool to complete an article so it's more filler than killer (which I don't recommend), you won't get anywhere prompting it to come up with a good hook. So, if you're hoping to outsource thinking to a bot, I've got bad news: you can't (or rather, you shouldn't) replace your brain with an "AI" tool. You're still going to have to spend time coming up with a hook that works.

Types of effective hooks

Granted that coming up with a hook isn't something you can automate, let's go through a few types of hooks to inspire you.

1. The question hook

As the name suggests, this is as simple as posing a thought-provoking question to spark the curiosity of the reader.

Examples

"Have you ever heard of the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?" 

"What if I told you the world has an unlimited energy resource?"

 

2. The strong statement

You can begin with a bold or controversial claim. This challenges the reader's preconceptions and piques their interest to understand (or even get angry at) your argument. 

Examples

"The wicked tend to win."

"Vegans are the healthiest group of people in the world."

 

 3. The statistic hook

An intriguing factoid or stat, especially if it's not well-known, can draw the reader in.

Examples

"Did you know that space smells like seared steak?"

"Almost two-thirds of American adults, at some point in their life, lived in a home with at least one gun."

 

4. The metaphor/simile hook

This creates a vivid image in the reader's mind to set the stage for your narrative.

Examples

"A business blog is a magnet pulling clients to your business."

"Writing a research paper is like running a marathon when it's 95 degrees Faranheit."

 

5. The anecdotal hook

Using a personal touch can make your writing instantly relatable and engaging for your target audience.

Examples

"My earliest childhood memory was of my father punching me in the face."

"Imagine you're in a bar with a couple of your fellow programming buddies."

Applying hook techniques to your writing

To apply these hooks and variations of them to your own writing effectively, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

Know your audience

Your hook needs to be relevant to your reader, not just to yourself. For example, the hook I used in my article, 'What are embeddings in AI?' - "Imagine you're in a bar with a couple of your fellow programming buddies" - wouldn't work for an article aimed at anyone but programmers.

Keep it relevant

I could have started with any of the above hooks. For example, "My earliest childhood memory was of my father punching me in the face." That wouldn't have worked in this case. Why? Because even though it's an example of a hook, it's not directly related to an article about writing, and it's pretty heavy. It would have quickly become confusing as the narrative continued and would have failed to set the tone for the rest of the article.

 

Create intrigue

The purpose of the hook isn't to tell the reader what you're going to write about. That can come later. It should make them want to find out where you're going with this sentence. Giving it all away at the beginning kills the intrigue. So, make it relevant, but don't make it too obvious.

Try out different things

You might not nail it the first time. The opening line might take you down the wrong path. After a paragraph or two, you could end up confused about how to proceed. This may be because you've chosen the wrong hook. So try another one, and see where it leads you. 

I began this article with three different hooks until I came up with one that made sense and helped the narrative flow more naturally. If you have to force it to keep it relevant, you probably made the wrong choice.

Revise and refine

Alternatively, you might just need to tweak things a little. Either revise the hook itself or edit what follows to keep things coherent. Once you've finished your article, read it again and again, and keep revising it until you've got it right.

A parting thought

I hope you have fun applying these ideas and tips to your writing. But here's one final tip before you go. 

Everyone says how important it is to engage your reader at the beginning. Not as many emphasize the importance of the ending (and I'm not talking about CTAs here). Tips for how to end your content may well be the subject of a future article. But for now, here's just one tip: 

Try to think of a way to end by referring to the hook you began with. It brings a wonderful sense of completion and can remind the reader of the point you started with. 

If you can't think of a way to do that, I suggest you take a shower.