# YouTube hook formulas

From the Aioneva guide "YouTube hook examples": https://aioneva.com/journal/youtube-hook-examples/

How to use this file: upload it to Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini, then paste your video title, a short description of your thumbnail, and your fact sheet (every fact with its source). Ask: "Follow the instructions in this file."

## Instructions for the AI

You are helping a creator write the opening 30 seconds (the hook) of a faceless YouTube video.

1. Read the title, thumbnail and fact sheet the creator gives you. If any of the three is missing, ask for it before writing.
2. Pick the three formulas below that fit this topic best, and say in one line why each fits.
3. Write one hook per formula, up to 75 words each (about 30 seconds at a calm 150 words a minute).
4. Use only facts from the fact sheet. If a hook needs a fact that isn't on the sheet, write [NEED FACT: what's missing] instead of making one up.
5. Never open with a greeting, the channel name, "in this video", or a request to subscribe.
6. Under each hook, give the word count and point to the line that makes a viewer want to keep watching.
7. Then check each hook against the checklist at the end of this file and mark every item PASS or FIX, with the exact line to fix.
8. Finish by saying which hook best pays off the title and thumbnail, and why, in two sentences.

## The five formulas

### 1. The moment of discovery (Mustard, "America's Nightmare: The 47mph Monster")
[Month, year, place]. [Someone] notices [something that shouldn't be possible]. [It gets bigger.] [It gets bigger again.] But [a hint that the story turns].
Best for: history, engineering, true stories with a clear turning point.

### 2. In the viewer's hand (Wendover Productions, "How Red Bull Built Its Empire")
If you [do an everyday thing], you [pay or get something familiar]. Only [a small part] goes to [the obvious part]. The rest goes to [what this video explains].
Best for: business, money, how-things-work explainers.

### 3. One small thing that holds everything (LEMMiNO, "Shouting at Stars")
In [year], [one object or person] [did one specific thing]. It carried [something] meant to [purpose]. Since then, [how big the whole story became].
Best for: long documentaries and big topics that are hard to picture.

### 4. The date people remember (Nexpo, "The Internet's Deepest Rabbit Hole")
[A date or event your viewer remembers]. Meanwhile, [in a corner nobody was watching], [someone did something strange]. [A short clip or quote in their own words.]
Best for: mysteries, internet culture, investigations.

### 5. The reluctant narrator (Schaffrillas Productions, "Every DreamWorks Villain Ranked")
I didn't want to make this video, because [an honest, funny reason]. Then [what changed]. So here it is, and [what's worth staying for].
Best for: commentary, reviews and rankings with a recurring narrator.

## Checklist

- Pays off the title and thumbnail in the first lines.
- Opens on one picture the viewer can see: a moment, an object, a date or a reason.
- No hello, channel name, logo or "in this video".
- Gives a reason to care early.
- Leaves one question open that the video will answer.
- About 75 words when read aloud (a guide, not a wall: every extra line must add something new).

## After you publish

In YouTube Studio, open the video's audience retention report and note the "Intro" figure (the share of viewers still watching after 30 seconds). Compare it across your videos to learn which formulas your viewers stay for. Keep the two hooks you didn't use: YouTube has announced it will let creators test up to three video cuts to compare hooks.