Guide
How to write a hook for a video ad: about 8 words in the first 3 seconds
Updated
A video ad hook is the first 3 seconds of your ad, about 8 spoken words. Its job is to give a stranger a reason to keep watching, not to sum up your product.
In short
- A good video ad hook is about 8 words long and fits in the first 3 seconds.
- The hook's job is to give a stranger a reason to keep watching, not to sum up your product.
- The six hook types break a common belief, say who it is for, give a number, show the product working, admit a downside or repeat a customer's question.
- Show the hook as text on screen in the first second, because many people watch with the sound off.
- Film six openings in one sitting, one of each type, and test which one keeps the most people watching.
- Fit in 3 seconds of normal speech
- 8 words
- Hook types to try, one opening each
- 6
- Words per second at a normal speaking pace
- 2.5
What is a video ad hook?
The hook is the opening of your ad: the first 3 seconds, or about 8 spoken words. It only has to make people stay for the next sentence.
- A hook is not a summary of your product, a slogan or a list of benefits.
- An opening that describes your product or your brand gives a stranger no reason to stay.
- Read your first line to someone who does not know your business. If they ask a question back, it works as a hook.
How many words fit in a hook?
At a normal speaking pace of about 2.5 words a second, 3 seconds fits about 8 words.
- Aim for about 8 words.
- A first line of 15 words or more is too long to work as a hook.
Words that fit in your opening
At 2.5 words a second, a normal speaking pace.
| Length of the opening | Words that fit |
|---|---|
| 2 seconds | About 5 words |
| 3 seconds | About 8 words |
| 5 seconds | About 13 words |
Length of the opening: 2 seconds
- Words that fit
- About 5 words
Length of the opening: 3 seconds
- Words that fit
- About 8 words
Length of the opening: 5 seconds
- Words that fit
- About 13 words
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How to write a hook in 5 steps
Write several hooks for the same ad, then test them against each other.
Writing a video ad hook
Start with one hook type
Any of the six below
Write it the way you would say it
About 8 words, in your own voice
Make it specific
Swap general words for a number, a name or a date
Put it on screen
The same words as text in the first second
Repeat for the other five types
So you have six openings to test
The 6 types of video ad hooks
Try all six types, not just your favourite. Six versions of the same type are too alike to show which kind of opening works for you.
- Say each hook out loud as you write it. If it sounds natural, you can film it well.
- If you sell a physical product, always test a demonstration, because showing the product working needs no words.
6 hook types with examples
| Hook type | What you do | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Contradiction | State a common belief, then break it | "Everyone says post more. That is why this stopped working." |
| Named audience | Say exactly who it is for | "If you spend under a thousand a month on ads, listen." |
| Specific number | Show that someone counted | "We spent eleven thousand on a launch that made four sales." |
| Demonstration | Show it working before you speak | The product in action in the first frame |
| Confession | Admit the downside first | "This costs more than the alternatives. Here is when it's worth it." |
| Real question | Repeat a question customers email you | "Does this work on curly hair, or is that just the packaging?" |
Hook type: Contradiction
- What you do
- State a common belief, then break it
- Example
- "Everyone says post more. That is why this stopped working."
Hook type: Named audience
- What you do
- Say exactly who it is for
- Example
- "If you spend under a thousand a month on ads, listen."
Hook type: Specific number
- What you do
- Show that someone counted
- Example
- "We spent eleven thousand on a launch that made four sales."
Hook type: Demonstration
- What you do
- Show it working before you speak
- Example
- The product in action in the first frame
Hook type: Confession
- What you do
- Admit the downside first
- Example
- "This costs more than the alternatives. Here is when it's worth it."
Hook type: Real question
- What you do
- Repeat a question customers email you
- Example
- "Does this work on curly hair, or is that just the packaging?"
Weak hooks and how to rewrite them
Each rewrite swaps general words for something specific: a number, a person or a real event.
- "Introducing our new..." asks a stranger to care about your launch.
- "We help busy founders..." could be anyone, and gives people nothing to picture.
- "Tired of...?" asks a question with an obvious answer.
- "Our customers love..." makes a claim with no person attached and nothing to check.
- Cross out any word a competitor could also use, and put a number, a name or a date in its place.
Four openings, before and after
Left is a typical first draft. Right is a stronger rewrite.
Skincare launch
- Before
- Introducing our new all-in-one system
- After
- This has four steps. I do two of them
Content tool
- Before
- We help busy founders save time
- After
- One video last month became twelve ads
Editing service
- Before
- Tired of expensive video editing?
- After
- A cheaper editor did not fix my ads
Customer reviews
- Before
- Our customers love the results
- After
- Three people this week asked about hard water
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Skincare launch | Introducing our new all-in-one system | This has four steps. I do two of them |
| Content tool | We help busy founders save time | One video last month became twelve ads |
| Editing service | Tired of expensive video editing? | A cheaper editor did not fix my ads |
| Customer reviews | Our customers love the results | Three people this week asked about hard water |
How to make a hook work with the sound off
Many people watch feeds with the sound off, so the hook has to work as text too.
- Show the hook's words as text on screen in the first second.
- Choose a first frame that makes people curious on its own. On Instagram it also becomes the thumbnail on your profile.
- Keep text away from the top and bottom edges, where Instagram and TikTok put their buttons and captions.
- Do not split the hook across two caption screens.
- Make sure the rest of the ad keeps the hook's promise. A hook the ad does not pay off annoys people.
Hook text on screen, readable with the sound off
8 of the 15 hook styles in Cutroom. Each shows your opening line as text over the first seconds.
Slab
Outline
Spotlight
Title
Type
Stamp
Glow
Sweep
How to make a hook sound natural, not like an ad
A hook that sounds like an ad gets scrolled past. Write it the way you would say it to a friend.
- Leave out a logo, a title screen or a jingle under the first line.
- Avoid words like "premium" and "innovative", which nobody uses about their own life.
- Start in the middle of a thought, such as "So I tried this for a month", not "Welcome back to my channel".
- Look at the camera lens, not at your own face on the screen.
Ad copy vs how a person would say it
Both columns make the same claim. The right one sounds like a person talking.
Software
- Ad copy
- Introducing the fastest way to edit
- How a person would say it
- I edit a video in ten minutes now
Skincare
- Ad copy
- Advanced hydration for every skin type
- How a person would say it
- My skin no longer feels tight by lunchtime
Agency
- Ad copy
- We deliver results for our clients
- How a person would say it
- Our last three clients all signed up for another year
Course
- Ad copy
- Transform your business in thirty days
- How a person would say it
- In thirty days you will have a price, an offer and a first ad
| Ad copy | How a person would say it | |
|---|---|---|
| Software | Introducing the fastest way to edit | I edit a video in ten minutes now |
| Skincare | Advanced hydration for every skin type | My skin no longer feels tight by lunchtime |
| Agency | We deliver results for our clients | Our last three clients all signed up for another year |
| Course | Transform your business in thirty days | In thirty days you will have a price, an offer and a first ad |
10 hook examples you can adapt
Use the idea and put your own numbers, places and products in. A line copied word for word sounds copied.
Hook examples
| Opening line | Hook type | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Your quote was not too expensive. It arrived four days late. | Contradiction | Trades |
| We charge more than the shop down the road, and here is what they leave out. | Confession | Any service |
| Your colour fades in three weeks and it is almost never the dye. | Contradiction | Salons |
| If you run a salon with fewer than five chairs, this is for you. | Named audience | Salons |
| Can I use this on wet hair? Three customers asked this week. | Real question | Hair products |
| Watch me fix the repair we get called out for most. | Demonstration | Repair services |
| Posting every day did not bring us more bookings. | Contradiction | Any business |
| I was wrong about this for about two years. | Confession | Coaches, consultants |
| This took eleven minutes and I am going to show you all of it. | Demonstration | Any product |
| I charge double what I charged last year and I am busier. | Specific number | Any service |
Opening line: Your quote was not too expensive. It arrived four days late.
- Hook type
- Contradiction
- Fits
- Trades
Opening line: We charge more than the shop down the road, and here is what they leave out.
- Hook type
- Confession
- Fits
- Any service
Opening line: Your colour fades in three weeks and it is almost never the dye.
- Hook type
- Contradiction
- Fits
- Salons
Opening line: If you run a salon with fewer than five chairs, this is for you.
- Hook type
- Named audience
- Fits
- Salons
Opening line: Can I use this on wet hair? Three customers asked this week.
- Hook type
- Real question
- Fits
- Hair products
Opening line: Watch me fix the repair we get called out for most.
- Hook type
- Demonstration
- Fits
- Repair services
Opening line: Posting every day did not bring us more bookings.
- Hook type
- Contradiction
- Fits
- Any business
Opening line: I was wrong about this for about two years.
- Hook type
- Confession
- Fits
- Coaches, consultants
Opening line: This took eleven minutes and I am going to show you all of it.
- Hook type
- Demonstration
- Fits
- Any product
Opening line: I charge double what I charged last year and I am busier.
- Hook type
- Specific number
- Fits
- Any service
How to tell which hook works best
Run the six versions at the same time, in one ad set, with the rest of the ad the same. Then compare how many people keep watching past the first 3 seconds.
- In Meta Ads Manager, add the column 3-second video plays, and divide it by impressions for each version.
- Many advertisers call this share the hook rate. The version with the highest hook rate stops the most people.
- Meta gives more budget to some versions than to others, so compare the rates, not the totals.
- A high hook rate is not a sale. Keep the best two or three running, and pick the winner on sales.
Where Cutroom fits
Film the ad once, then make a version in Cutroom for each headline you want to test on screen.
- You upload the recording to Cutroom, up to 3 minutes long.
- Cutroom keeps the lines you say, so a recording with six spoken openings plays all six. To test spoken openings, film each one as its own recording.
- You write the headline on screen yourself, or pick one Cutroom drafted, in one of 15 hook styles.
- You get a finished 9:16 MP4 for each version, with captions made from your own voice.
- Someone has to be on camera. Cutroom edits video of a real person talking.
What six hook versions cost in Cutroom
| Item | Credits |
|---|---|
| Editing the recording | 100 |
| Six 30-second exports, 10 credits each | 60 |
| Total for six versions | 160 |
| Lite plan | $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits |
Item: Editing the recording
- Credits
- 100
Item: Six 30-second exports, 10 credits each
- Credits
- 60
Item: Total for six versions
- Credits
- 160
Item: Lite plan
- Credits
- $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits
Questions people ask
- What makes a good hook for a video ad?
- A short first line, about 8 words, that says something specific and real, such as a number, a mistake or a question customers ask. Show the same words on screen at the same time.
- How long should a video ad hook be?
- About 3 seconds, which is 7 or 8 spoken words. Cutting a weak hook down to 8 words usually makes it stronger, because the filler goes first.
- Should the hook mention the product?
- Usually not in the first sentence. The product is what you sell, not what makes people stop. The exception is a product that looks surprising, because showing it in action is a hook on its own.
- How many hooks should I test per ad?
- Six is a good number, one of each type. You can film six openings for the same ad in one sitting and keep the rest of the ad the same.
- How do I know which hook works best?
- Compare how many people watch past the first 3 seconds. In Meta Ads Manager, divide each version's 3-second video plays by its impressions, then pick the final winner on sales.
- Should the hook be spoken or written on screen?
- Both, at the same time. People who watch with the sound off read the words on screen, and people with the sound on hear them.
- Is it bad to look scripted?
- Looking prepared is fine, but sounding like you are reading is not. Learn the first sentence by heart, then say the rest in your own words.
Write six openings, not one, and film them in one go. Your first video is free.