LinkedIn hooks: 12 opening lines and why they work

A LinkedIn hook is the first line or two of a post, the part readers see before "see more". The feed shows roughly the first 210 characters, so the hook has to give a specific reason to keep reading: a number, a surprise, a clear stake or a question you can answer. The best hooks come from your own experience, because readers can tell when a line was borrowed.

Four kinds of hook

1. The specific number

• "We screened 214 CVs for one warehouse job. Eleven met all five essentials."
• "Our cheapest product brought in 31% of last month's orders."
• "Three branches, same menu, ratings of 4.7, 4.6 and 3.9."

A number is checkable and concrete. Use your own; never round it into something bigger.

2. The admission

• "I spent £4,000 on ads before I knew my break-even."
• "I turned down our best hire on the first read of her CV."
• "We stopped replying to Google reviews for six weeks and didn't notice."

Admissions work because they cost the writer something. Only use ones that are true.

3. The position

• "Career gaps should never count against a candidate."
• "A group review average hides your worst branch."
• "Post four times a week or not at all."

A clear position invites agreement and disagreement. Back it with your reasons in the body.

4. The useful promise

• "The five questions I ask before every viewing in London."
• "How to work out break-even ROAS in one line."
• "What I put in the first 230 characters of my About section."

This is the hook for how-to posts. The body must deliver exactly what the line promises.

Hooks to avoid

• "I'm humbled to announce..." tells readers nothing.
• One-word openers with dramatic line breaks read as a template.
• Vague questions such as "Want to grow on LinkedIn?"
• Claims you cannot support. Readers screenshot.

Write hooks from your own material

1. List five things that happened at work this month with a number attached.
2. List two mistakes you learned from.
3. List one opinion you would defend in a meeting.
4. Write each as a first line under 210 characters.

That gives you eight hooks drawn from fact. Our guide to what to post as a small business owner has more prompts.

How Reachwyn helps

Reachwyn plans four posts a week from one theme, each with a hook formula chosen from twenty across four pillars. Facts come only from your Story Bank, so a hook like "We screened 214 CVs" only appears if you recorded it. A humanizer audit then flags generic openers before you approve.

Related reading from Braivex

The number hooks above are illustrations of situations other Braivex tools deal with: screening with HireSieve, branch ratings in Loculens and break-even maths in our ROAS guide.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a LinkedIn hook be?

Short enough to land before "see more", which appears after roughly 210 characters in the feed.

Should every post start with a hook?

Every post needs a first line that gives a reason to read on. It does not need to be dramatic.

Can I use hook templates?

Use them as structures, then fill them with your own facts.

Talk to us

See how Reachwyn plans a week of hooks from one theme at reachwyn.braivex.com, or book a scoping call on the contact page.