How to Create Compelling Hooks

On how to set a hook that catches a reviewer's attention. The first three pages decide your paper's fate. If these pages are compelling, a reviewer will continue through the literature review, the method, & the conclusion. If you are lucky, the reviewer will then deliver an upbeat assessment with three essential elements: 1. The idea is interesting. 2. The paper has great nuance. 3. The contribution is unexpected. If your first three pages are not compelling, a reviewer will find a reason to set the paper down, find fault in the method, or dismiss the contribution. If you are unlucky, the reviewer will offer a deadly assessment with three elements: 1. The idea is interesting. 2. The paper lacks nuance. 3. The contribution is obvious. What is the difference? The hook. In the first three pages, good authors quickly weave a narrative that is pregnant with possibilities, intrigues a reviewer to continue & convinces a skeptic that you can complete the story. Some might argue that writing doesn't matter. An early career scholar recently told me as much. He thought empirics sealed the deal. I disagree. 9 out of 10 top journal papers set a well-written hook, such that reviewers can quickly see the study's value, help you find answers to problems, & accept its limitations. Especially when setting the hook, writing matters. So how do you set a hook? How do you know it is well-written? First, begin with an intriguing observation. A strong hook points to the unexpected, such as volatility in cryptocurrency markets adversely impacting the poor. Why? Because pointing to the unexpected evokes a casual reader's interest. Second, offer evidence of the phenomenon. A strong hook will offer unexpected evidence, such as cryptocurrencies' impact on the poor goes beyond financial losses; it also increases their energy costs. Why? Because pointing to unintended consequences, suggests a gap in understanding without actually saying a gap exists. In my experience, overtly stating a gap often fails to convince readers. Implying one exists tends to be more persuasive. It lets the reader use their imagination. Third, suggest a theoretical or empirical point of curiosity. A strong hook evokes curiosity, such as government regulation can evoke voluntary actions that mitigate the risks that crypto poses to the poor. Why? Because counterintuitive explanations or solutions, whether intriguing or outrageous, motivate reviewers to keep reading. Here is the crucial part. That hook should be the first thing you write & the last thing you polish. The entire paper should align with that hook, whether written out longhand or sketched out in bullet points. How to do it? Write it once, polish it, have someone read it, write the paper, then write it again. Keep doing it until you are sick of it. Then do it again until your reader is satisfied. Then do it to the conclusion, too - but that's a different post! Best of luck! #academicwriting

B2B tech companies are addicted to getting you to subscribe to their corporate echo chamber newsletter graveyard, where they dump their latest self-love notes. It's a cesspool of "Look at us!" and "We're pleased to announce..." drivel that suffocates originality and murders interest. Each link, each event recap and each funding announcement is another shovel of dirt on the grave of what could have been engaging content. UNSUBSCRIBE What if, instead of serving up the same old reheated corporate leftovers, your content could slap your audience awake? Ego-stroking company updates are out. 1. The pain point deep dive: Start by mining the deepest anxieties, challenges and questions your audience faces. Use forums, social media, customer feedback and even direct interviews to uncover the raw nerve you're going to press. 2. The unconventional wisdom: Challenge the status quo of your industry. If everyone's zigging, you zag. This could mean debunking widely held beliefs, proposing counterintuitive strategies or sharing insights that only insiders know but don't talk about. Be the mythbuster of your domain. 3. The narrative hook: Every piece of content should tell a story, and every story needs a hook that grabs from the first sentence. Use vivid imagery, compelling questions or startling statements to make it impossible to scroll past. Your opening should be a rabbit hole inviting Alice to jump in. 4. The value payload: This is the core of your content. Each piece should deliver actionable insights, deep dives or transformative information. Give your audience something so valuable that they can't help but use, save and share it. Think tutorials, step-by-step guides or even entertaining content that delivers laughs or awe alongside insight. 5. The personal touch: Inject your personality or brand's voice into every piece. Share personal anecdotes, failures and successes. 6. The engagement spark: End with a call to action that encourages interaction. Ask a provocative question, encourage them to share their own stories or challenge them to apply what they've learned and share the results. Engagement breeds community, and community amplifies your reach. 7. The multi-platform siege: Repurpose your anchor content across platforms. Turn blog posts into podcast episodes, summaries into tweets or LinkedIn posts and key insights into Instagram stories. Each piece of content should work as a squad, covering different fronts but pushing the same message. Without impressive anchor content, you won't have anything worth a lick in your newsletter. 8. The audience dialogue: Engage directly with your audience's feedback. Respond to comments, ask for their input on future topics and even involve them in content creation through surveys or co-creation opportunities. Make your content worth spreading, and watch as your audience does the heavy lifting for you. And please stop with the corporate navel-gazing. #newsletters #b2btech #ThatAshleyAmber

I started a keynote last week with an interpretive dance to the Lion King opening theme song. You know that one that goes: "Ingonyama nengw' enamabala" How many of you just sang that in your head? As soon as my pretty bad interpretive dance was done, the entire room sang that opening line together as loudly as they could. Then, I had them turn to a neighbor and share: What movie had a lasting impact on your life? Why did I do that? The first ten minutes of any meeting or presentation determine its success. The first line in a LinkedIn post has to draw them in. The first five seconds of a video have to capture attention. Marketing pros call this a hook. A hook is an opening to an experience so compelling, it grabs your attention. It makes you want to dive into more. Why is the hook so important? In psychology, there's a phenomenon called the primary bias. It's defined as the way our brains have a tendency to remember and judge an experience by our first encounter with it. We get that first impression to define the experience we're giving to others. What if we applied a hook in other places besides in marketing copy? What if you used a hook in your standard team meeting? Something that makes everyone get involved and focused straight out the gate. What if you used a hook in your learning sessions, for example? Instead of a standard icebreaker, you focused on what would make participants curious and invested in the topic they are learning. I want to know from you, LinkedIn friends: What are your best practices for using a hook to capture attention?