How to write a LinkedIn hook people actually read
The hook is the only part of a LinkedIn post everyone sees. The feed shows roughly three lines before it folds the rest behind “…more”, so the first sentence decides whether the rest of your post exists for anyone. Most hooks fail for the same reason: they are written for the author, not the reader — an announcement, a feeling, a warm-up. This guide is about the mechanics: what the first line has to do, the few patterns that reliably do it, and how to rewrite a weak opening into a strong one without turning it into clickbait.
Give the first line one job
The hook does not have to summarise the post, sound clever or contain a keyword. It has to make the next line worth a tap. Write it as a promise the post will keep: a specific claim, a number with a story behind it, a question the reader already has. And keep it short enough to survive a phone screen — under about 80 characters, with a line break straight after it, so it stands alone above the fold instead of being cut mid-sentence.
Start from the reader's situation, not yours
“I'm excited to announce” starts with you. “Most founders post for three weeks and then stop” starts with the reader — it names something they recognise. The fastest fix for a weak opening is to ask what the reader is dealing with right now and open with that. Announcements, thanks and “thrilled to share” can come later in the post, once the reader has a reason to be there.
Use a pattern that carries a promise
Four openings do most of the work. The specific number: “We replaced a three-hour weekly meeting with one document.” The contradiction: “The best LinkedIn advice I got was to post less.” The admitted mistake: “I spent a year building a feature nobody asked for.” The question the reader is already asking: “Why does a post with 40 reactions bring more clients than one with 400?” Each of them promises a payoff the reader cannot get without reading on. That promise is the hook; the pattern is only the shape it takes.
Delete the first twenty words
Most drafts start with the setup — when it happened, who was there, why you were thinking about it. The hook is usually the sentence after that. Read your opening and cut until the first line is a claim someone could disagree with, or a fact someone would want explained. If the post still makes sense, the deleted words were a warm-up.
Make the second line pay
A hook followed by another tease loses the reader it just won. Line two starts delivering: the number gets its context, the contradiction gets its reason, the mistake gets what it cost. The reader tapped “more” for a payoff, and the post has about one line to prove it is coming.
Avoid the tells readers have learned to skip
“You won't believe”, a row of emojis, ALL CAPS, “Agree?”, “Thread” and a question with an obvious answer are patterns people now recognise as bait. They still get a tap from some readers and cost you the ones you want. If the post cannot earn attention with a plain claim, it needs a better claim, not a louder opening.
Test it on a phone before you post
Look at the hook the way the feed shows it: alone, above the fold, on a narrow screen. If the line wraps and gets cut mid-thought, shorten it. If it makes sense only with the paragraph under it, it is not a hook yet. MediaPilot's free post preview at media-pilot.io/tools/linkedin-post-preview shows the cut and warns when the first line is too long.