LinkedIn shows only the first two or three lines of your post before the "see more" fold. That opener is the single highest-leverage sentence you write. Below are proven hook formulas you can fill in for any topic. Write three or four and pick the sharpest, the best writers always draft more hooks than they use.
Curiosity hooks
- The number reveal: I reviewed 500 cold emails. 94% made the same mistake.
- The teaser: The best hire I ever made almost did not get an interview.
- The open loop: One sentence from a mentor changed how I run meetings. Here it is.
Contrarian hooks
- The myth-buster: Everyone says post daily. It is terrible advice for most people.
- The unpopular opinion: Your pricing page matters more than your product demo. I will explain.
- The reversal: I used to think X. After Y, I believe the opposite.
Story hooks
- The in-media-res: It was 11pm and our biggest customer was churning. I had one email to fix it.
- The origin: Three years ago I was cold-DMing strangers. Last month we crossed 1,000 customers.
- The failure: I have failed at this twice. Here is what the third time taught me.
Value hooks
- The how-to: How to write a LinkedIn post in 10 minutes without sounding like AI.
- The list promise: 5 mistakes killing your outreach (and the fixes).
- The steal-this: Steal the exact framework I use to plan a month of content.
Question hooks
- The provocation: Why do smart founders write such boring posts?
- The relatable pain: Ever spent an hour on a post that got 3 likes?
The rules that make any hook work
- Be specific. "500 cold emails" beats "a lot of emails". Numbers and names create belief.
- Front-load tension. Start at the interesting part, not the setup.
- One idea. A hook that promises two things dilutes both.
- Deliver the payoff. A great hook on a weak post trains people to scroll past you next time.
- Keep it short. Under 15 words survives the mobile truncation.
Generate hooks in seconds
When you are stuck, do not force it. Our free LinkedIn hook generator writes five hooks in different styles for any topic, no sign-up needed. Pick the strongest and build the post around it, or let Loomin write the whole post in your voice from a free trial.