Hook, intro and retention guides for creators
The complete map of video-hook intent: YouTube hooks and intros, Shorts, TikTok and Reels openings, curiosity and emotion, pattern interrupts, retention and fill-in templates — each guide scored with the same engine that powers our video analysis reports.
YouTube hooks
Openings, examples, psychology and retention for long-form YouTube.
Best YouTube hooks: the openings that actually keep viewers watching
A scored breakdown of the opening lines that survive the first watch-time gate — and the ones that quietly lose half the audience before the intro ends.
Read guideYouTube retention hooks: openings engineered for watch time
Clicks are won by thumbnails. Watch time is won by the questions your opening refuses to answer immediately.
Read guideYouTube curiosity hooks: building a gap the viewer has to close
Curiosity is not mystery. A gap works when the viewer knows exactly what is missing.
Read guideYouTube emotional hooks: matching emotion to intent
Emotion is not decoration on top of a hook. It is the reason a viewer's hand stops moving.
Read guideYouTube storytelling hooks: opening in the middle of the story
Stories retain because unfinished narratives are uncomfortable. Start where the discomfort already exists.
Read guidePattern interrupt hooks: resetting attention before it drops
Attention decays on a predictable curve. Interrupts are how you restart the clock.
Read guideYouTube intros
Intro structure, ideas and the first-ten-seconds workflow.
Best YouTube intros: ideas and examples that keep viewers watching
An intro is not a logo animation. It is the thirty seconds where a viewer decides whether the next ten minutes are worth their attention.
Read guideHow to start a YouTube video: a scripting workflow for the first ten seconds
A repeatable process for writing, testing and rewriting the opening before you ever hit record.
Read guideAttention grabbing intros: winning the first half second
Before the viewer hears your hook, they have already decided whether to keep looking.
Read guideShorts hooks
Vertical openings built for completion and loops.
TikTok hooks
Native delivery for the fastest-swiping feed.
Reels hooks
Saveable, utility-led openings for Instagram.
Cross-platform
Best practices and templates that work everywhere.
Short form video hooks: what transfers between Shorts, Reels and TikTok
One idea, three feeds, three slightly different openings. Here is exactly what changes.
Read guideVideo hook templates: formulas you can fill in and score
Templates are not scripts. They are the shapes that consistently survive the first three seconds.
Read guide