But while it’s true we can keep our attention on things for longer than the apocryphal 8 seconds, that doesn’t mean your readers automatically will.
Your audience has more choices than they do time - they could watch streaming shows, play video games, share or consume social media, doomscroll the news, window shop ecommerce stores, take personality quizzes, do the
daily Wordle, etc, etc, etc.
So if you want them to choose to stick around and read your newsletter, you need a hook right off the bat to catch their attention.
I have five hook ideas for you to use to make your audience curious enough to
keep reading.
Challenge Orthodoxy
Start by challenging a widely held belief to pique interest. I started this very email out by challenging a common belief about attention spans.
This generally works because it helps readers feel like
you have inside information that the majority of folks don’t yet know.
Start with a Surprising Statistic
Opening with a statistic works because it immediately presents readers with concrete, compelling evidence that highlights the importance of your topic. By presenting a quantifiable fact you ground your message in reality and raise curiosity for the other
data you might have.
This approach demonstrates your authority on a subject and primes readers to trust and value the insights and strategies you're about to offer.
Tell a Personal Story
Using a personal story as a hook is a powerful
strategy because it can create an immediate emotional connection with your readers. Personal stories draw readers into a narrative, making them feel like part of a shared experience rather than just recipients of information.
This approach taps into the universal human affinity for story, allowing readers to see themselves in the story, empathize with your
challenges, and become invested in the outcomes.
We’ve written about using this hook to massively increase our newsletter engagement over the last year.
Present a Solution
Presenting a solution right at the start of your newsletter is effective because it offers immediate, actionable value. This strategy positions your newsletter as a must-read because it contains keys to actually overcoming your audience’s challenges.
It builds
trust and credibility, as you're not just talking about issues; but also providing actual steps to solve those issues.
Pro Tip: Solutions that can be quickly and immediately applied are a cheat code here. We found that an email with simple to implement readability tips got more than 6 times the normal amount of responses we usually get. And 98% of the replies were
positive.
Treat your Content Like a Secret Unlock
This last one is all about framing. Generate a sense of excitement and exclusivity by using phrases that position what you’re about to talk about as a rare tip. Phrases like “I bet you didn’t know this…” and, “why are there not more people talking about…” are great ways to set up your content as a
secret unlock.
This framing can work particularly well in subject lines to pique readers’ curiosity enough to open your email.
What hooks have been working for you? Reply to let us know what we missed, what you think we got wrong, or what
other types of things you’d like to learn about.
