Write scroll-stopping hooks

**Step 4 of the Create Quality Content pathway.** You've got pillars (Ch1), a voice (Ch2), and a week of posts (Ch3). None of it matters if the first line gets scrolled past. The hook is the whole game: it's the one line that decides whether the rest gets read.

This chapter gives you the patterns and a prompt that spits out 10 hooks per idea in seconds. Worth it: strong hooks routinely lift reach without changing the post underneath.

**The rule: the first line has one job, to earn the second line.** Forget summarizing or being clever. Create enough tension that stopping feels required.

**Seven patterns that stop the scroll:**
- **Contrarian:** "Most [audience] think X. They're wrong."
- **Mistake:** "The $10k mistake I see [audience] make every week."
- **Result-first:** "We cut [problem] in half. Here's the exact play."
- **Curiosity gap:** "Nobody tells you this about [topic]."
- **Direct callout:** "If you [specific situation], read this."
- **Number/list:** "3 things I'd do differently if I started over."
- **Story cold-open:** "A client almost walked. Then I said one thing."

**Rules that make any pattern hit harder:**
- Be specific. "Saved 6 hours a week" beats "saved time."
- Front-load the tension. Don't warm up.
- One idea per hook. No AND.
- Say it out loud. If it sounds like a brochure, cut it.

**The prompt.** Paste your post idea and your Voice Card from Chapter 2. Keep any real client details in your private AI workspace.

```
Role: You are a direct-response hook writer.
Objective: Write 10 scroll-stopping first lines for the post idea below.
Assets:
- Post idea: [PASTE IDEA]
- My audience: [WHO THEY ARE]
- My Voice Card: [PASTE VOICE CARD]
Deliverable: 10 hooks. Use a spread of these patterns: contrarian, mistake, result-first, curiosity gap, direct callout, number/list, story cold-open. Each hook is ONE line, under 12 words where possible, specific, no hype, in my voice. Number them. Then mark the 3 strongest with a star and say why in 6 words each.
```

**Pick like an editor.** Read the 3 starred hooks aloud. Choose the one that makes *you* want to keep reading. If two tie, save the runner-up: it's your A/B test.

**Next:** Chapter 5 mines your reviews and calls for the raw angles these hooks are built from.