Writing Posts That Stop the Scroll

The 1.3-Second Test

You have 1.3 seconds.

That’s how long research suggests the average person spends deciding whether to stop scrolling and read your post or keep moving. Not 10 seconds. Not 5 seconds. About the time it takes to blink.

In those 1.3 seconds, your hook either grabs attention or it doesn’t. Everything else–your brilliant insights, your perfect call-to-action, your gorgeous carousel–none of it matters if people don’t stop scrolling.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll know how to:

• Write hooks that pass the 1.3-second test
• Structure captions that keep people reading to the end
• Craft calls-to-action that actually drive engagement
• Adapt your writing style for different platforms using AI

Recall: Your Foundation

In Lesson 2, you created an audience persona and defined content pillars. Keep those handy–they’re the foundation for everything in this lesson. When you know exactly who you’re writing for, hooks and captions become much easier.

The Anatomy of a Scroll-Stopping Hook

A great hook does one thing: creates an open loop in the reader’s mind. It raises a question they need answered.

The 7 Hook Formulas That Work

Here are proven hook patterns, with examples:

1. The Contrarian Statement

“Posting every day is actually hurting your Instagram growth.”

This works because it challenges a common belief. People stop to see if you’ll back it up.

2. The Specific Number

“I analyzed 500 viral LinkedIn posts. 73% had this one thing in common.”

Numbers create credibility and curiosity. What’s the one thing?

3. The Story Opener

“Last Tuesday, I almost deleted my entire social media presence. Here’s why I didn’t.”

Stories are irresistible. We’re wired for narrative.

4. The “You” Direct Address

“You’re making this mistake on every single Instagram post. (I did too.)”

Calling out the reader directly makes it personal. Adding “I did too” removes defensiveness.

5. The Before/After

“6 months ago I had 200 followers. Today I have 15,000. Here’s exactly what changed.”

Transformation creates curiosity about the journey.

6. The Hot Take

“AI-generated content is killing social media. But not for the reason you think.”

A strong opinion plus a twist keeps people reading.

7. The Question

“What if you could create a week’s worth of content in 30 minutes?”

Questions activate the brain’s desire to answer.

Quick Check

Look at the last 5 posts on your feed from accounts you follow. Which hook formula did the ones you actually stopped to read use?

Using AI to Generate Hooks

Here’s where AI becomes incredibly powerful. Try this prompt:

“I’m writing a social media post about [topic] for [platform]. My audience is [persona summary]. Generate 10 hook options using different formulas: 2 contrarian statements, 2 specific number hooks, 2 story openers, 2 direct address hooks, and 2 question hooks. Make each hook under 15 words.”

Don’t use the first option AI gives you. Use it as a starting point, then refine. The best hooks often come from combining two AI-generated options or tweaking one to add your personal experience.

Caption Structure: The Engagement Framework

Once your hook stops the scroll, your caption needs to keep people reading. Here’s a framework that works across platforms:

The HBCE Framework

H - Hook (First 1-2 lines) Stop the scroll. Create curiosity.

B - Body (Main content) Deliver on the hook’s promise. Use short paragraphs, line breaks, and formatting that’s easy to scan on mobile.

C - Credibility (Social proof or personal experience) Why should they trust you? A quick personal story, a stat, or a client result.

E - Engage (Call-to-action) Tell them exactly what to do next.

Example in Action

Here’s the HBCE framework applied to a LinkedIn post:

[Hook] I got 47 sales calls last month from LinkedIn. I didn’t send a single DM.

[Body] Here’s what I did instead:

I posted 4x per week using a simple content system.

Each post followed one of 3 formats: → Personal story + lesson → Industry insight + hot take → Step-by-step how-to

The key? Every post ended with a clear next step (not “follow me for more”).

[Credibility] This system took me from 500 to 12,000 followers in 8 months. But more importantly, it brought in 47 qualified sales calls last month alone.

[Engage] What’s your biggest challenge with LinkedIn content? Drop it below and I’ll share a specific tip.

Platform-Specific Formatting

The HBCE framework adapts to each platform:

AI-Powered Caption Writing

Here’s a powerful prompt for generating full captions:

“Write a [platform] post about [topic] for my audience of [persona].

Use this structure:

• Hook: [choose a formula from the 7 types]
• Body: [format: list/story/how-to/opinion]
• Include a personal-sounding credibility element
• End with a call-to-action that encourages [saves/comments/shares]

Brand voice: [your voice description from your strategy brief] Length: [platform-appropriate word count]”

The Edit Pass

AI gives you a draft. Now make it yours:

1. Replace generic examples with your real experiences
2. Adjust the tone to sound like you, not a marketing textbook
3. Add specific details (numbers, names, dates make content feel real)
4. Read it aloud–if it sounds robotic, rewrite the awkward parts

This edit pass takes 3-5 minutes and transforms AI output from “pretty good” to “that sounds exactly like me.”

Quick Check

Try generating a caption right now using the prompt above. Then do the 4-step edit pass. Notice how the final version is better than either pure AI output or what you’d write from scratch.

Calls-to-Action That Actually Work

Most CTAs fail because they’re too vague (“let me know in the comments!”) or too demanding (“sign up, subscribe, and share this with 10 friends!”).

Great CTAs are specific and low-effort:

The pattern: tell them exactly what to do and make it easy to do it.

Adapting Content Across Platforms

The same idea can work on multiple platforms–but it needs different packaging. Here’s how to prompt AI for platform adaptation:

“I have this post that performed well on [Platform A]: [paste the post]

Rewrite it for [Platform B]. Keep the core message and insight, but adapt:

• The hook style for [Platform B]’s culture
• The length and formatting
• The call-to-action
• The overall tone

My audience on [Platform B] is [any differences from Platform A audience].”

Key Takeaways

• Your hook has 1.3 seconds to stop the scroll–make every word count
• Use the 7 hook formulas as starting points, then personalize
• The HBCE framework (Hook, Body, Credibility, Engage) structures effective posts
• AI generates the draft, your edit pass makes it authentic
• CTAs need to be specific and low-effort–tell people exactly what to do
• Same idea, different packaging for each platform

Up Next

In Lesson 4, you’ll learn to build content calendars and batch-create content. This is where the system really comes together–instead of scrambling for ideas every day, you’ll have weeks of content ready to go.