Hook Rubric (score out of 10)

1. Curiosity Gap (0–2)

• 2: Opens with 2–4 escalating questions about a single pain → identity. Leaves a clear mystery (“Why X but not Y?”).
• 1: One question or mild tension.
• 0: States a fact; no tension.

1. Identity First + Self-Discrepancy (0–2)

• 2: Affirms who they are (“you’re a top operator…”) then reveals paradox (“…yet your own product stalls”).
• 1: Affirms or paradox but not both.
• 0: No identity framing.

1. 5 Connection Actions (0–3)

   Give yourself 0–1 for each you include clearly (aim for ≥3):

• Encourage Dreams: name the Promised Land (asset, freedom, sale).
• Justify Failures: externalize (“service model trained you this way”).
• Allay Fears: low-risk path (“small, ugly first steps; won’t hurt client work”).
• Confirm Suspicions: validate a hunch (“planning feels productive but it’s a trap”).
• Throw Rocks at Enemies: define a safe villain (perfectionism, scope creep, feast-and-famine, “custom work treadmill,” vanity research).

1. Status Borrowing (0–1)

• 1: Quick prestige anchor (pro athletes, elite teams, named case study, “8–9 figure outcomes”).
• 0: None.

1. Micro-Reward (0–1)

• 1: Illicit/juicy phrasing (“steal the play,” “cheat code,” “swipe my vault”).
• 0: None.

1. Clear Payoff (0–1)

• 1: Specific promise + incentive to stay (“in 30 minutes you’ll get X; checklist at the end”).
• 0: Vague.

Pass bar: 7+/10. Kill or tweak anything <7.

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Assembly Order (40–50s total)

1. Question Cascade (8–12s): 2–4 “Why…?” building from task → process → identity.
2. Identity Flip (6–8s): Compliment → paradox.
3. Justify + Confirm (6–8s): “It’s not you; the system/reflex trained you.” + name the trap.
4. Throw Rocks (3–5s): One crisp villain.
5. Status Borrow (3–5s): One line.
6. Allay Fears (3–5s): “Small, safe first steps.”
7. Payoff + Micro-Reward (6–8s): “In 30 minutes you’ll get _; we’ll ‘steal’ _; stay for the checklist.”

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Line-Level Template (“Mad-Lib”)

[Q1] Why is it easy to _, but _ never happens?

[Q2] Why does _ feel productive, yet _ keeps slipping?

[Q3 – identity] And why, even as a _ who _, do you still ___?

[Flip] You’re not the problem — your ___ reflex trained by ___ is.

[Confirm] It rewards *, not , so you feel stuck.[Rocks] The real enemy is ** (e.g., perfectionism / scope creep / “custom work treadmill”).[Status] The teams who win — *** / [case study] — drill ___.[Allay] You can do this with tiny, low-risk reps that protect your client work.[Payoff + Reward] In the next 30 minutes, you’ll get the Agency→SaaS playbook to turn one repeatable win into recurring revenue — and we’ll steal my checklist/case-study vault at the end.

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Phrase Banks (steal these)

• Identity compliments: “operator,” “rainmaker,” “battle-scarred founder,” “the one clients call when it’s on fire.”
• Paradoxes: “brilliant for clients / beginner for yourself,” “plans soar / starts stall.”
• Villains: scope creep, context-switching, feast-and-famine, “custom work treadmill.”, the agency business model
• Status anchors: “every pro athlete,” “elite product teams,” “Mailchimp/Basecamp play,” “8–9 figure outcomes.”
• Micro-rewards: “steal the play,” “use my swipe file,” “borrow the drill,” “pocket the cheat code.”
• Payoffs: “first 10 paying users,” “minimum effective version,” “one workflow → one product,” “checklist + case-study vault.”

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Rhythm & Style Guardrails

• Second-person: 70–90% “you/your.”
• Sentence length: mostly 6–12 words; 1 punchy 3–5-word line.
• Readability: Grade 6. Zero jargon.
• Time: 110–140 words total (≈40–50s at 170–190 wpm).
• No solutions early: keep the core mechanic unnamed until payoff.

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QA Before You Record

1. Do I open with at least 2 escalating “Why?” questions?
2. Did I affirm identity and then reveal a paradox?
3. Did I externalize blame (justify) without absolving agency?
4. Did I name one villain crisply?
5. Is there one status anchor?
6. Is there a micro-reward phrase?
7. Is the payoff concrete and time-boxed?
8. Are sentences short and second-person?
9. Any technical jargon left? (cut it)

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