How to Write Killer LinkedIn Hooks That Stop the Scroll

There are 3 distinct sides to writing a killer LinkedIn hook:

1: Viral content framework

2: Keyword

3: Count to 10

Let’s get into it.

The Viral Content Framework

If you haven’t read this newsletter piece I published several weeks ago, I suggest you should go take a look. You will learn a lot.

Don’t just read it once. Re-read it. Study it. Make it your own. Build your own custom philosophy around it.

Attention is the new currency in today’s world and if you can’t hook, you won’t get attention.

A hook is what gets people instantly invested in what you have to say.

Think about the title of this article. A novice could have titled it – how to write a LinkedIn headline. Or how to write a catchy first line on LinkedIn.

Both are good, but they do not invoke an image. There is a reason I added, “that stop the scroll” on the headline of this article. I want you to get that mental picture.

There is someone scrolling through LinkedIn, they get to your post and they stop to actually read what you have to say. What made them stop is known as your hook.

Your hook is mostly in the first and second line of your LinkedIn post. That is what people can read before “…see more”.

And people don’t read it, they just glance through it. I am guilty of this and so many other people are too. We don’t read, we just skim.

We only pause to read when we see something in your skimming that gets our attention. And this is the purpose of a hook. The hook is to get you that attention.

If attention is currency, then your hook is your greatest asset.

The viral content framework consists of 4 elements that sums up to the acronym – RACE.

R stands for relevance – How relevant is what I am saying to the audience?

A stands for authority – Why should anyone believe what I’m saying?

C stands for contrast – How is this different from the other things people already know?

E stands for emotional trigger – Does it make people feel something?

A good piece of content makes people learn something. A great piece of content makes people feel something. Never underestimate the impact of people’s feelings.

Every viral content I know has triggered a feeling in the people who saw it and engaged with it. When it comes to content, feeling is greater than wisdom.

To write a killer LinkedIn hook, your first and second line has to have at least 2 of these 4 elements very strongly. The more the better.

In my experience, all my viral pieces have a very strong C element – they have a very strong contrast.

Here is another reminder to go study that article on the viral content framework.

Keywords

As you know, I am not one of those people who talk about LinkedIn on LinkedIn. I believed it is quite weak and it gives people the illusion that they are good at content when they are not.

I talk about remote work on LinkedIn. My keywords revolve around remote work, remote, working remotely, async, hybrid, etc.

And if you have noticed, something relating to my keyword is usually in my first line or second line. I do this to trigger the algorithm.

The last thing I want is LinkedIn sending my posts to people who don’t care about remote work. I want to avoid that by all means. I want LinkedIn sending my posts to people who have engaged with posts that have to do with remote work.

And one of the ways I do that is by putting my main keyword in the post as early as possible. Yes, in some cases, it just doesn’t fit. And in those cases, don’t force it. But they must be rare cases.

Never forget the golden rule of LinkedIn – stay in your niche.

Let the LinkedIn algorithm know you for one thing. It might be limiting for your personality, but trust me this is how the game works if you want to use the platform professionally. (If you don’t want to, that is also fine).

I have lots of thought concerning several other things that I could be sharing on LinkedIn. I have thoughts on finance, private equity, global macroeconomics, construction, history, business models, etc. But I resist all that temptation and post only about remote work on LinkedIn.

And my niche is not in vain. Now, I have a lead magnet connected to it. And my list has been steadily growing organically.

The difference between viral content that bring you opportunities and content that doesn’t is niche. What you say must be tied to your expertise and it must begin with your main keywords.

Don’t overdo this. If you do, the LinkedIn algorithm might think you are a bot.

Count to 10

I learned this method a long time ago from a book. I’m not sure which book it is from.

The idea is to write on a page, numbers 1 to 10 in a vertical order (like you are about to make a list). Then, you start writing the ideas you have (which in this case, is your first line on LinkedIn).

No matter how good what you wrote is, you keep going until you get to 10. After getting to 10, you consider everything you’ve written thus far and choose which one is the best. You can use the viral content framework to judge.

I still do this today for many of the things I write. Only in very rare cases are my best ideas on number 1. In most cases, I get the best idea on number 6, 7, or 8. Another common one is to get the best idea at number 4.

Most people don’t count to 10. They just go with the first thing that came to their mind. And in many cases, that is often the worst idea.

The first thing that came to your mind is probably the raw form to make you grasp the concept. To make others grasp it, you have to tweak it.

By the time you get to number 3 or 4, what you have is so completely different from number 1. And that keeps getting refined as you go down the list.

You should try this.

For whatever content you have, force yourself to come up with 10 compelling alternate headlines (using the viral content framework) before you pick one.

If you do this, your LinkedIn hooks will be so strong that it makes people stop the scroll every time.

If you learned something from this, help us reach more people by sharing with a friend or colleague. Thanks!