“Writing headlines is a specialty — there are outstanding writers who will tell you they couldn’t write a headline to save their lives.” — Bill Walsh, copy chief at The Washington Post

You will see hook sentences everywhere in Book titles, blogs, LinkedIn posts, newspapers, and advertisements even politicians use this technique to grab our attention.

I still remember those LinkedIn posts that always caught my attention with their hook sentences. some of them were funny. some of them were very inspirational Well every post was yet their hook was too

So here are some of the hook sentences that I saw a lot of creators use:

Types of hook

While reading books about crafting the perfect hook sentence, I discovered something unexpected: there’s no definitive set of “types” for writing an engaging hook! Instead, you can create your own unique hooks, even by mixing different approaches. For example:

Feeling Tired While Working? Take a Nap!

this hook combines both a descriptive and a question style, making it more engaging. With hook sentences, there’s no strict limit — you can get creative and experiment as much as you like. Here are a few types that have really worked for me:

• Rhetorical questions
• Descriptions
• Anecdotes
• Statistics

1. Rhetorical Questions Hook: This hook made them think

What is a Rhetorical Hook?

Rhetorical hooks are types of opening sentences that leave readers with many thoughts about a topic.Rhetorical hooks example

Apple’s “Think Different” slogan

Apple used the slogan “Think Different” from 1997 to 2002 and this slogan made us think

Steve’s job is Marketing genius there is no doubt

Hook Sentence Breakdown

• It made emotional connections
• This slogan aligned with the brand identity
• It Challenges the Reader’s status quo encouraging people to break free from conventional thinking

2- Descriptions Hook: Let them see in the future

ge R.R. Martin: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

Okay, I have seen this type of hook used many times in the publishing industry where this hook will tell us what type of content they can expect.

For example “ I write a blog telling my audience about types of hooks and this I what I learned”

Airbnb’s “Live There” Campaign

There is no doubt this Campaign is a Description hook

Hook Sentence breakdown

• This Hook sentence paints an Image in the Readers’ minds and makes us think about their traveling experience
• Words sell the ideal lifestyle of travelers
• This Hook directly aligns with the brand values

3- Anecdotes Hook: Personal stories

Tell me something I don’t know, and tell it to me in a way I won’t forget.” — Nelson Mandela

Okay this type of hook is my favorite one because this type of hook We as creators use when we share personal stories

And this Old Spice campaign is the best example of it.

Okay, this ad campaign is so funny but this ad campaign defiantly falls into this category.

Ad Campaign breakdown

• Their target audience is men but they are targeting women lol
• and it’s Funny and memorable
• and this is Hook making a promise

and that’s why once Seth Godin wrote in his book called permission marketing “

Marketing is a contest for people’s attention. The promise that you make to your customers is all you have

4- Statistics Hook: Time to show some numbers

A single statistic can sometimes tell a more meaningful story than a thousand words.” — Malcolm Gladwell, journalist and author

Our human mind takes things seriously if we see numbers somewhere

Think Hook is perfect for that job

I swear to god I saw this Apple ad campaign in my LinkedIn feed many times.

and We as Marketers or copywriters learned a lot from this campaign.

Hook Sentence breakdown

• He mentioned those numbers internationally because at that time storing that amount of music was nearly impossible
• It made a personal connection with the readers
• This hook is short and yet simple

The Bottom Line

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to writing hooks. The beauty of creating a hook is the freedom to experiment. You can mix these types, get creative, and find what works best for your style.

The more you experiment, the more you’ll discover what engages your readers.

Now that you know the types of hooks and their power, it’s time to put them into action. Start experimenting with different styles.

Test which ones resonate most with your audience, and refine them to make your content stand out.