There is an emotional psychological reason for using a hook in your content—whether it's marketing, storytelling, or any form of communication ie: your website!

And that is to instantly capture the audience's attention and engage their emotions, motivating them to want to learn more.

Let's talk about Hooks for a second and why they matter:

Attention Grabbing: Hooks are designed to stand out amongst the noise. In an age where people are bombarded with information, a compelling hook grabs attention QUICKLY. This is critical because you typically only have a few seconds to catch someone’s interest before they move on.
Think about it this way… You see someone drive off with their phone on the roof of their car. Do you stand there and yell “Hey, so i was just observing your car drive and i’m thinking maybe you want your phone and by the way it’s on your roof”. Or do you yell “HEY, YOUR PHONE IS ON YOUR ROOF!”.

My point is, that a hook is there to make the point.
No fluff. But what we can do to make is more engaging and resonant with our people is to add depth to the ‘main point’.
Emotional Engagement: Effective hooks often tap into specific emotions such as curiosity, fear, excitement, or joy. So, by triggering an emotional response straight up, hooks connect on a deeper level, making the message more memorable and impactful.
Remember how we want to make them FEEL. Feeling rule supreme!
Emotional engagement is key in transforming passive readers or viewers into active participants.
Curiosity and Intrigue: Many hooks work by sparking curiosity. They often pose a question, present a surprising fact, or introduce a startling statement that can only be resolved by engaging further with the content. This plays into the psychological principle of the 'information gap' theory of curiosity, which suggests that when people feel a gap between what they know and what they want to know, they take action to learn more!
Relevance and Relatability: Hooks that are psychologically effective often resonate with the audience's existing needs, desires, or pain points. They reflect back an understanding of the audience’s situation or aspirations, making the content feel tailored and relevant. (USE your word banks!) This is a personal relevance and it increases the likelihood that your perfect people, your audience will feel a connection to the message, seeing it as directly applicable to their own lives.
Motivation and Action: Finally, it goes beyond just capturing attention, a strong hook can motivate action. So, by engaging emotions and sparking interest, a well-crafted hook can drive your audience to continue reading, click on a link, share the content, or even change their behavior. Think emotional arousal in decision making!

Hot tip -Jump on your socials and notice what you have saved. What was the hook? Why did it speak to you? How do YOU relate to their hook?

There is a reason you saved it. Now rewire that hook and make it your own.

Example:
Seen hook: “The part of divorce no one talk about”

YOUR hook: “The dark part of being a creative that no one talks about”.

Then you can delve into something like your real experience as a creative and what you do to feel inspired when you’ve lost all hope for example.

Don’t copy, get inspo. And make it PERSONAL.

LOVE LANGUAGE

Hooks are so much more than just a robotic beginning of a post. Or website copy. Or emails..

Hooks are an extension of you and how you operate in this world.

As a creative, if you were to write yourself a letter in the kindest way, as if it was to child you, describing what your art making process ignites inside of you, would you start it with:

”Dear little me. I make art. This is what i do. It makes me feel good.”

NO, YOU WOULD NOT.

You are creative for a reason, you have depth and you adore meaningful interactions. The art of a good hook is to describe a feeling, in a way that grabs attention. In a way that leaves the reader able to immerse themselves in what you do!

That letter to little you, is the heart of how you can interact in your copywriting and language to humanise you, making you more relatable, trustworthy, and connected.

The Language of Your Art, the Architecture of Your Marketing

If you were to describe your art, you wouldn’t start with “I’m a photographer, a designer, a writer.”

You’d start with this:
The first time you held the camera and felt it wasn’t a tool but a translator. The moment your hands pressed against a canvas and color bled into movement. The silence in your head when words suddenly arrived—not as an idea, but as a force.

That is where the work begins.

If you were to write about the behind-the-scenes of your business, you wouldn’t start with “I’m building a brand.”

You’d start with this:
The way your body tensed before hitting publish on something raw. The night you almost quit because the algorithm whispered you were irrelevant. The strange, unshakable pull to create anyway — to carve a space in the digital void that felt like home.

Marketing, at its essence, is nothing but storytelling.
Not a tactic. Not a strategy.
A transmission of truth, encoded in your unique energetic fingerprint.

But here’s where we dismantle the myth:
Not all creators move through the world the same way.
Not all artists should market themselves the same way.

Because your energy—your creative impulse, your magnetism, your entire way of being—is dictated by something deeper than a formula.

It’s time to unlearn.
It’s time to create from your design.

(that’s what i would write for me…but you get the idea)

100+ Hook Ideas for Creatives & Business Owners

Storytelling & Emotional Hooks

"I almost quit. Here’s why I didn’t."
"This wasn’t supposed to happen, but it changed everything."
"I’ve never talked about this before, but it’s time."
"What I thought I wanted vs. what I actually needed."
"This moment broke me—but also built me."
"If I could go back and tell myself one thing, it would be this."
"I spent years doing it ‘the right way’—and it led me nowhere."
"Let me take you back to the exact moment everything shifted."
"At first, I ignored it. But the feeling never left."
"I thought success would feel like this. Turns out, I was wrong."

Behind-the-Scenes & Personal Journey Hooks

"I didn’t plan on sharing this, but it’s too important not to."
"This is what my process actually looks like (messy, raw, and real)."
"The part of my business no one ever talks about."
"You see the final product. Here’s what it took to get here."
"Here’s the thing no one prepared me for."
"This is what I wish I knew when I started."
"People assume I have it all figured out. Here’s the truth."
"I almost didn’t post this, but maybe you need to hear it."
"This is what I get asked about the most, so let’s talk about it."
"Here’s what’s been happening behind the scenes."

Creativity & Artistry Hooks

"You don’t edit for perfection. You edit to let the soul of the moment breathe."
"This piece isn’t just about what you see—it’s about what you feel."
"True artistry doesn’t decorate; it disrupts, challenges, and awakens."
"Every piece I create carries a question, an ache, a mark."
"Art isn’t meant to please—it’s meant to make you feel something."
"If you don’t feel it while creating, no one else will feel it either."
"I don’t just create; I translate the things we struggle to put into words."
"The boldest statement you can make is refusing to dilute your truth."
"Your art doesn’t need to be ‘understood’—it needs to be felt."
"Don’t chase applause; dare to provoke a reckoning."

Business & Branding Hooks

"Most people focus on selling. The real magic is in making people believe."
"If your brand doesn’t make people feel something, it’s forgettable."
"The difference between a brand and a business? Emotion."
"You don’t need more content. You need more clarity."
"People don’t buy what you do. They buy what you make them feel."
"Your brand is not your logo. It’s the way people experience you."
"Marketing isn’t about being seen. It’s about being remembered."
"If you want to stand out, stop trying to ‘fit in’."
"Your most valuable asset isn’t your product—it’s your story."
"If your message doesn’t give people chills, you’re playing it too safe."

Truth-Bomb & Disruptive Hooks

"You don’t need more followers. You need more depth."
"If you feel like you’re ‘too much,’ you’re probably on the right track."
"Forget the niche. Find the nerve."
"Playing small won’t protect you. It’ll just make you invisible."
"Stop waiting for the ‘right time.’ The right time is when you decide."
"You weren’t made to blend in. You were made to break patterns."
"Being authentic isn’t a strategy. It’s the only way to last."
"Nobody remembers the safe, the polished, the expected."
"If you’re waiting for permission, you’re giving away your power."
"Your ‘weird’ is your advantage. Stop hiding it."

Content & Writing Hooks

"Here’s why your content isn’t landing (and how to fix it)."
"You don’t need more content. You need more conviction."
"Your audience doesn’t need more information. They need a feeling."
"If your words don’t move people, they’re just noise."
"Your content isn’t the problem. Your clarity is."
"You don’t need to be the loudest—you need to be the clearest."
"What most people get wrong about writing online."
"The best content doesn’t tell—it transports."
"Here’s the difference between content that gets ignored vs. content that sticks."
"The secret to writing content that actually connects? Say the thing they’re already thinking."

Psychology & Emotion Hooks

"The reason you’re stuck isn’t strategy—it’s resistance."
"Fear isn’t a stop sign. It’s a signal you’re on the edge of something real."
"If you’re afraid to be seen, your audience can feel it."
"The real reason people aren’t buying? They don’t feel you yet."
"The best marketing isn’t clever—it’s human."
"Connection is currency. If you master that, you’ll never struggle to sell."
"People remember how you make them feel—not how perfect your content is."
"If your audience doesn’t trust you, they won’t buy from you."
"Your energy speaks before your words do."
"People don’t want to be convinced. They want to be seen."

HOOKS