What is a great hook? It’s the connecting point between the tangibles of the product… and the hazy inner needs of your prospect. Those needs include a steep requirement for believability, a yearning for magic and specialness, and a staggering hunger for something that wakes him up.
A great hook isn’t like a hand coming out of the ad and grabbing your reader.
Naw. It’s more like a black hole that sucks your prospect into the ad, kicking and screaming, and jettisons him through your pitch in a breathless ride that has his heart pumping and his deepest desires roiling.
For most of the ads you write, your reader will NOT come along willingly. He doesn’t WANT to be sold. He doesn’t WANT his hopes fired up — they’ve been cruelly dashed too many times before.
And he for sure doesn’t TRUST you for a second.
He will fight you all the way.
Which, for a top writer, is just fine. Once hooked, the pitch will get delivered to the prospect. If your product deserves to be purchased, you now can make that happen.
Does any of this sound like something that’s OBVIOUS to most people? Of course not.
Great hooks hide. You gotta go in after them.