Hooks
How the first ~3 seconds earn the next 30
Each of these 27 opens onto every Short in the library that uses it: 264 Shorts from 13 businesses, best first by views ÷ the business’s usual.
Audio
Audience Callout
Names the viewer's own problem to their face — "if you ever…", a pain-point question, a dare or accusation in the second person — not a warm first-person confession, not an order to act
Question
A spoken question opening an information gap — why/what/who, trivia, a pick-one — not a price question
Withheld Secret
Claims insider or hidden knowledge and holds it back — secrets, private numbers — not a plain list announcement
Stop Doing X
Sets up a common belief or standard advice to overturn it — "stop doing X", "actually it's the opposite"
Stat Drop
Leads with an extreme figure, did-you-know stat, or credential-by-volume stated as fact — not a price or a question
In Media Res
Viewer lands inside an already-running conversation, argument, or call with zero setup — not a performed character voice
Listicle Promise
Announces or immediately starts a numbered list, ranking, or rapid name-drop recital — not a secret-framed number
Payoff Promise
Promises what the video will deliver — a superlative or bold claim (biggest, best, world's first), a transformation or walkthrough result stated up front — not a secret held back, not a figure stated as fact
Confession
Warm peer-to-peer voice: sighs, complaints to a friend, shared flaws, self-deprecation, universal truisms
Breaking News
Newsreader energy: announcements, leaks, urgent claims, story updates — not the creator's own series
Flat Premise
Creator plainly states what this video is, what they'll do, or what they believe — no rhetorical device, no explicit promise
Absurd Premise
A deadpan bit: an impossible, reversed, or nonsense premise asserted sincerely — not a question, not inside a skit
Music Only
No speech; a song, lyric bed, or borrowed meme audio carries the open — not when on-screen text is the named hook
Ambient & ASMR
No spoken hook; room sound, ASMR texture, or stray non-verbal noise fills the open — not a music bed
Text-Carried
Nobody speaks, but a caption or graphic explicitly carries the hook's message — not a silent open with no text
Visual
Face First
Arm's-length talking head, face crowding the frame, speaking straight to camera in a real location — not a tripod head with graphics
Motion Cold-Open
Action already underway with no setup — enters mid-gesture, mid-task, mid-demo — not a macro insert
Result First
Opens on the completed dish or product before any process — payoff-first reveals — not process close-ups
Product In Hand
A commercial product or device is the opening subject — held to lens, thrust at camera — not a non-commercial prop
Split Screen
Frame split between the creator or skit and a second retention panel of unrelated footage — not two speakers in one conversation
Chaotic Montage
Rapid, cluttered, or unrelated footage as the opener — stock churn, gadget walls, whip-pan onto a mess — not split-screen filler
Graphic
Title Card
A composed title lockup or stacked text block over the footage — episode, dish, or product titles, black title plates
Emoji Sticker
Pasted-on graphic objects — emoji stamps, meme cutouts, photo collages, floating app icons
Static Caption
A plain caption line held on screen — pill, box, card, or auto-caption treatments — not word-synced, not a premise caption
Karaoke Caption
Speech-synced captions revealing one word or chunk at a time — pop, bounce, glow — not color-driven
POV Caption
A pinned caption framing the scenario before it plays — "pov:", an if/premise header, a tease line promising a payoff
Brand Watermark
A brand mark, logo bug, or watermark is the distinguishing overlay — alone or riding alongside captions
