Playbook: hooks that work
How to write a first line people stop for, with patterns and checks.
Your first line decides whether anyone reads the rest. On phones, LinkedIn shows about 140 characters before "…see more".
Seven patterns
- Confession: "I almost [did something big] last year."
- Specific number: "[Number] [things] I learned from [specific experience]." Only use a number you actually know.
- Contrarian: "[Common advice] is wrong for [specific group]."
- Before and after: "We used to [old way]. Now we [new way]."
- Question: one sharp question your reader has asked themselves.
- Scene: "[Place], [time]. [Something happened]."
- Result first: "[Outcome] in [time frame]. Here's what actually worked."
Checks before you post
- Under 15 words and under 70 characters, so it doesn't wrap twice on a phone.
- Specific: a real place, role, number or moment beats "success" or "growth".
- Honest: never promise something the post doesn't deliver.
- The second line pulls into the post: a short line, not a paragraph.
In YourPostWriter
In Write, click Suggest 10 hooks: each gets a score and the reasons. Test your first line with our free LinkedIn character counter (Free tools on the website).