Templates
YouTube Shorts hook list
Hooks are opening jobs, not magic words. Map each pattern to a real timestamp from your source. If the tape has no proof, skip the pattern.
Free to copy. Not a performance promise. Review every clip before publish. Direct publish is live for YouTube and TikTok only.
Spoken line, then on-screen. One pattern per clip.
- 01
Problem first
Name the pain in 8 words
No intro bumper
- 02
Mistake first
“Stop doing X if…”
Then the fix
- 03
Result first
Show the outcome, then method
Need a visual
- 04
Numbered promise
“Three checks before you ship”
Must deliver three
- 05
Disagree
Challenge a common tip
Have the reason ready
- 06
Question
Ask something the viewer can answer
Answer immediately
- 07
Demo cut-in
Hands/UI already moving
Talk after motion
- 08
Quote
Guest line that stands alone
Name the speaker
- 09
Before/after
State both states
Need both shots
- 10
Constraint
“You have 10 minutes…”
Keep the constraint honest
- 11
List open
“First of three…”
Good for series
- 12
CTA later
Do not CTA in second 1
Earn the click at the end
How to use
- Watch or scan the source for standalone moments.
- Assign one pattern per clip. Do not stack three hooks in three seconds.
- Write the spoken first line and the on-screen line separately.
- Reject anything that needs the previous paragraph of the long video.
- After publish, note which pattern held 3-second retention in your analytics — not as a universal law.
Filled example
Tutorial “First product demo” 22 min. Clip A 0:38 mistake-first: “Stop starting with the dashboard tour.” On-screen: STOP. Clip B 8:12 demo cut-in: cursor already in settings. Clip C 18:04 numbered promise: three checks. Titles drafted in the same review pass.
Limits
- A hook list is not a ranking factor you can copy from a blog.
- Retention depends on the niche and the payoff, not the label of the pattern.
- Do not overlay claims you cannot show in the clip.