What’s the hook?

“What matters most on a sales page is connecting with your reader.

Whether that’s in 5 pages or 75 is secondary.

Nobody loses sales because their sales page is too long or too short.

They lose sales because their pages are too boring or confusing or unconvincing.”

• Ramit Sethi

There’s an online writer who talks a lot about finances and personal development.

He taught me that I have value to offer, and that I could teach people with the knowledge I have, and get paid for it.

I thought that was crazy.

I know some things.

How to buy advertising for big brands but how is that useful for someone else?

I pitched in front of these brands but how is that something you could show someone else?

I wrote a book about my lived experience with mental health, but would that really be useful to anyone else?

I can now see my beliefs and think: was I crazy?

If you have a product that works and is for sale you have something you can offer and teach 10 times out 10.

You can offer that thing to each, and get in front of an audience with it.

The challenge is identifying what the hook is.

This is common in journalism - you need to lead with the most interesting thing.

Finding the hook isn’t easy.

But it does get easier over time, through practice, feedback, and repetition.

To begin with you’re not sure what the most enticing piece of information is to other people.

So you get feedback through continuous pitching.

Feedback tells you if it’s engaging, if someone is interested, if that blank look of disinterest is real (it is).

You’ll know when something you’re talking about is engaging as it attracts interest.

My friend Brendon and I laugh about the opposite of this.

Sometimes we catch up for coffee. There is always a lot to catch up on. In our excitement sometimes we can go 20 or 30 minutes before sharing the juiciest story.

This is always a cause for laughter because we say we are burying the lead.

Don’t bury the lead.

The lead helps you get to the next step.

And then the next step.

Ultimately leading to the sale.

Continue remaining curious about the hook.

You can uncover what’s interesting to the customer by paying attention.

This will be an educational process.

It’s common for the thing that the customer cares about to be completely different from what you think is valuable.

Think about when a buyer is shopping for the cheapest price.

Getting the best deal is the most important thing today.

You have a deeper understanding of what your solution does, and know your solution looks expensive but saves your customer thousands of dollars.

The different levels of understanding are a great way to help identify a hook.

If the customer is focused on something else, and you know focusing on what you offer is the better place to focus you can deliver a concise piece of education to highlight that.

Here’s some example hooks:

Provide something novel.

If something is new, interesting, or unexpected, it is more likely to capture attention. This is an easy hook to get to if you’re doing something new or surprising. Even if your product is vanilla, there could be an angle to work that you’re not aware of. Ask friends, family, or associates what surprises them about what you’re doing. It’s amazing what my friends spot that’s obvious to them, and a complete blindspot to me.

A celebrity or influencer angle.

If there is an association with someone that is much more famous than you – work it. You don’t need to be friends with Richard Branson. You could mention you have learned to thrive with dyslexia – did you know Richard Branson also did this and regularly donates to causes related to dyslexia?

Do your research and try and think of wise you can make this interesting to people who don’t know you.

Overcoming big adversity.

Everyone loves a comeback story. If what you’re doing features a come back, you are doing a disservice by not shouting it from the hills. Shouting about it is not bragging. In Australia, we have a really big problem with blowing our own trumpet. Marketing amplifies what you’ve already got. It can make or break a business. Good marketing works with everything you have. After university, I had spectacular mental health challenges and was hospitalised for three months. I went to have a successful marketing career and wrote a book about my experience. It took time to feel comfortable and be more open about this in other areas of my life. If it’s a great story and can help others – don’t hold it back.

Some kind of stunt.

Let’s say your product is generic, there’s no famous people, and there’s not a single adversity that’s worthy of sharing… you can and should challenge that belief or you can throw in a stunt. Putting something out there and on the line is a power move. There’s a toilet paper subscription business called “Who Gives a Crap?”. They donate a big chunk of profits to communities in need in Africa. In Australia they are now a household name. They launched with its founder live-streaming sitting on a toilet and asking for money. The livestream was attached to a crowdfunding page so they could get the capital get started. What’s your stunt? Give it a go. It will likely fail we know it’s about the learning along the way. You’ll be nailing your stunts by your 100th time I promise.

With a hook you can get in touch with a channel partner with something that’s interesting. Test it in conversation. Run it past people you’re talking to and watch their reaction. Confusion, blank stares, and disinterest are bad. Smiles, nods, recognition, and twinkly laughing eyes are what you’re after.

This is a free pass for testing hooks on anyone.

It’s why PR people exist.

They are paid large sums of money to make a business sound interesting to your average person.

Hooks are interest gateways. They won’t convince people to buy your product, but they get you through the door and in with a chance of selling.