Your hook is too long (but here's how to fix it)

“My hook is too long, but I don’t know what to delete!”

Let’s solve this common problem using a simple framework.

The 3 most common reasons your hook gets bloated:

1. You’re explaining the concept in too much detail.
2. You’re spending too long “proving your credibility”.
3. You’re overcomplicating the concept with a crazy metaphor.

No matter which you’re experiencing…

…all three can be fixed with a single framework.

(And you won’t actually need to delete anything.)

But before we can fix the hook, you need to understand...

Critical vs Beneficial Information

• “Critical” information - highly likely to convince your target audience to keep watching. The video won't make sense without it.
• “Beneficial” information - the viewer will find this interesting, but they don't need it to understand or be convinced to watch the video.

Your hook should only contain critical information.

Fixing Problem #1 - Too Much Detail

Before - with critical and beneficial information

"I'll show you the bench press strategy that'll help you increase your one rep max by 10kg per month, every month, without injuring yourself. It's all about finding the right balance between loading more weight, eating properly, and making sure you're sleeping well enough."

After - with critical information only.

"I'll show you the bench press strategy that'll help you increase your one rep max by 10kg per month, every month, without injuring yourself."

The extra information about adding weight, changing diet and improving sleep is interesting, but:

• The viewer doesn't need it to understand the video's concept.
• It doesn't alter the promise of the video (which is what hooks them)... it goes into detail about the process, which is unecessary.

Fixing Problem #2 - Proving your Credibility

This is a simple fix.

You only need to prove your credibility once during the hook.

If we imagine the same video again (helping the viewer improve their bench press), you could prove your credibility in several ways:

• That you're a gym instructor with over 20 years of experience and 500+ happy clients.
• You've competed in yearly weight lifting competitions against the fittest athletes in the world.
• You've read over 200 books on the science of weight lifting and put your findings into practice across a career spanning more than a decade.

These are all great statements that prove credibility.

But your viewer will rarely need more than one of these to be convinced to watch.

Remember - we're trying to keep our hooks as to-the-point as possible.

The first credibility statement is often critical. The second, third (etc) are barely even beneficial.

Viewers don't need your entire resumé.

Fixing Problem #3 - Overcomplicating due to Unecessary Metaphor

Simplest fix yet.

Metaphors are great for explaining more complex ideas or teaching them in a memorable way.

But they’re rarely what a viewer needs to be convinced to watch.

See how annoying this hook extract is to read (lol):

"Increasing your one rep max is just like growing a healthy plant. You have to nurture it on a consistent basis over a long period of time. And while forgetting to nourish a plant once or twice won't kill it, it will prevent it from achieving the level of growth you were expecting over the next 12 months."

The metaphor is not critical to understanding the video's concept, or convincing me to watch.

In 99% of cases, you should save your metaphor for later.

So if we don't cut beneficial information out... where does it go?

Here’s the good news:

You don’t have to delete it. Most beneficial information you cut from your hook is perfect as a "setup" for your main video segments.

In the examples from this article:

• Extra detail, like alluding to the importance of multiple factors in increasing your one rep max, can be used during the setup for segment 1:

"Now, lifting heavier weights is actually the by-product of three incredibly important factors. So let's talk about how to optimize the first... sleep."

• Additional credibility statements can be added to a later segment to elevate a particular story, or to add credibility to a specific claim.

"So now you know how to optimize your sleep, let's talk about the second factor... diet. Starting with a lesson I learned when training for the world championships."

• Metaphors can usually be introduced during the setup for segment 1, rather than in the hook:

[Note from George - I don't know enough about sports science to write a clever metaphor about how growing a plant is similar to the science behind building muscle. You'll have to ask ChatGPT for that one.]

Remember - if the information is "critical" to understand the video's concept or to convince the viewer to watch, that stays in the hook

If the information is merely "beneficial", turn it into a segment setup.

That's all for this week! Any questions, just let me know :)

Speak soon,
George 👋