TikTok hook generator

A hook is the first thing people read. On TikTok it’s slide 1 of a slideshow; on Instagram it’s the first carousel card or the opening text of a Reel. This hook generator writes 20 of them at a time for your niche and audience, spread across eight hook types.

You get 5 free runs per day. It’s built for social posts, not essays. If you need the opening line of a school paper, a tool made for academic writing will serve you better.

How to use the hook generator

1. Enter your niche. Be specific. “Meal prep for night-shift nurses” gets better hooks than “food.”
2. Describe your audience. Say who they are and what situation they’re in, such as “first-time landlords with one rental.”
3. Add a topic (optional). One post idea, like “cleaning a rental between tenants.”
4. Generate. You get 20 hooks across the eight types below.
5. Pick three and rewrite them in your voice. Treat the output as a first draft, then test.

The 8 hook types, with examples

Each type earns attention in a different way. Here’s how each one works, with examples across several niches.

Curiosity

Opens a gap the viewer wants closed. Name something specific, then hold back the answer.

• “The $4 tool my bakery uses more than the oven”
• “Why our best-selling candle almost didn’t launch”

Mistake

Names an error the viewer might be making right now. It pairs well with the mistakes listicle format.

• “5 mistakes that make your Etsy photos look cheap”
• “Stop doing this on your first day at a new gym”

Contrarian

Challenges something your audience believes. It only works if you can back the claim up on the next slides.

• “You don’t need a logo to start your business”
• “Posting every day might be why your page is stuck”

List

Promises a set number of useful items. Use the real count of points the post delivers, and make each one worth a slide.

• “7 free apps every new landlord should install”
• “3 questions to ask before you hire a wedding photographer”

POV

Drops the viewer into a scene they want to be in, or one they recognize. The POV format shows how the rest of the slides follow.

• “POV: you finally automated your invoices”
• “POV: your skincare routine takes four minutes now”

Before/after

Shows a change and promises to explain it. The second slide should deliver the “before” fast.

• “My client’s kitchen before and after a $600 refresh”
• “Our onboarding email, version 1 vs version 7”

Question

Asks something the viewer answers in their head. Good questions have a surprising or uncomfortable answer.

• “Is your dog eating too fast?”
• “Would you pay $12 for this coffee?”

Story

Starts in the middle of something that happened. It works best when the first line already contains a turn.

• “A customer returned our best seller with a note I’ll never forget”
• “I quit my agency job with one client and two months of savings”

What makes a hook work on a slideshow

• Specific beats general. Numbers, named audiences and concrete objects (“the $4 tool”) stop a scroll better than “tips for success.”
• One idea per slide. If slide 1 needs two sentences, split it, or cut the weaker idea.
• Big, readable text. The hook has to read at phone size, inside the area the app doesn’t cover. The size guide lists the safe zones.
• The image agrees with the words. A mistake hook over a photo of the mistake works harder than one over a stock image.
• The post pays it off. A hook that overpromises gets swiped away and costs you trust. Write the payoff slide first, then the hook.

How to test hooks

1. Change only the hook. Post the same slides with a different first slide, a few days apart.
2. Test types, not just wording. Try a mistake hook against a question hook before polishing either one.
3. Compare the same numbers. Look at views, saves, shares and comments in each post’s analytics after the same amount of time.
4. Don’t judge on one post. One result is a data point, not a verdict. Run the same test across a few topics.
5. Keep a swipe file. Save the hooks that win, sorted by type. The hooks library is a good starting collection.

Common hook mistakes

• Clickbait with no payoff. People notice, and they stop trusting your first slides.
• Vague promises. “This changed everything” says nothing about what changed.
• Burying the point. If the interesting part is at the end of the line, move it to the front.
• Copying a viral hook word for word. Borrow the pattern, not the sentence.

From hook to full post

The hook is slide 1; the rest of the post has to deliver. To see how a viral post pairs its hook with the slides that follow, paste it into the slideshow analyzer. It labels each slide’s role and names the hook type.

TokCloner starts from a slideshow or carousel that already worked. It keeps the hook pattern and slide structure, then rewrites the text for your business with new images, as 1080×1920 slides. Plans start at $29 a month and there’s no free plan; see the TikTok slideshow maker.