The first line of a post does more work than the rest of it. If it doesn’t grab them, the great stuff underneath never gets read.

Asking AI for “an intro” gets you one safe, beige opener. This prompt from my toolbox asks for five, each built a different way, so you get to pick the one that hits best and tweak it up from there. This is an important part I don’t always state (because I hate being repetitive) but AI output is boring and generic, but amazingly helpful if used properly. Just as with PLR….you want to polish it so that’s it not just more garbage in the digital dumpster known as the internet.

Write 5 opening hooks for my blog post. One of each type:

1. A question my reader is already asking themselves
2. A surprising fact (only use a number if it's real and you can name where it comes from, otherwise skip the number)
3. A one-sentence scene that drops them into the middle of the problem
4. A take that pushes back on common advice in my niche
5. The exact frustration they're feeling right now, said plainly

Topic: how to store water for a family emergency kit
My reader: busy parents who just started prepping and feel behind
Tone: friendly and direct, like a neighbor who's done this for years

Keep each hook to 1-3 sentences. Make them specific to my reader, not generic.

I ran it in Gemini for a water storage post aimed at new prepper parents. My favorite was the scene hook:

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“You’re staring at a grocery store shelf full of plastic gallon jugs, wondering if they’ll actually hold up in your hot garage or if you’re just one tiny leak away from a flooded mess.”

That’s a real moment a new prepper has had. The frustration hook nailed the busy-parent angle too, with soccer practice and work eating the week before they’ve stored the first five gallons.

Make It Yours!

Swap in your topic, your reader and how you sound. It works for emails and video intros, too.

Write 5 opening hooks for my [BLOG POST / EMAIL / VIDEO]. One of each type:

1. A question my reader is already asking themselves
2. A surprising fact (only use a number if it's real and you can name where it comes from, otherwise skip the number)
3. A one-sentence scene that drops them into the middle of the problem
4. A take that pushes back on common advice in my niche
5. The exact frustration they're feeling right now, said plainly

Topic: [YOUR TOPIC]
My reader: [WHO THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY'RE STUCK]
Tone: [HOW YOU SOUND]

Keep each hook to 1-3 sentences. Make them specific to my reader, not generic.

The Line You Should Not Touch!

“Only use a number if it’s real and you can name where it comes from, otherwise skip the number.”

Leave that one alone. Stat hooks are where AI loves to make up a number that sounds official. With that line in, mine cited FEMA’s guideline of a gallon per person per day, which is a real recommendation, instead of inventing a percentage.

Full Disclosure

It still checked the source box loosely, so look up any stat yourself before you publish it. And the contrarian hook opened with “Most ‘pro’ survivalists will tell you…” (AI loves the “Most People” move). Swap that for something you’d actually say.

Run the hooks you don’t pick somewhere else. The question hook makes a solid email subject line, and the scene hook can open a social post. Need something to write about first? The 30 blog post ideas prompt handles that.

Need The Posts Written?

Got the hook but not the time to write the rest? That’s where my PLR shop comes in: done-for-you content you can put your name on and use as your own.

Browse the PLR Shop →

Go write a better first line. The rest of your post has been waiting for it.