Social media · Lesson 2.2
Scroll Stopping Hooks for LinkedIn: The First Two Lines
On LinkedIn, most people see only the top of your post. In the feed, longer posts are shown only in part, with a "see more" link. LinkedIn does not publish a fixed cutoff that I could read, so check how your own post looks. If those lines do not give a reason to click, the rest of your writing might as well not exist.
So write the first two lines last, and write them as their own piece of work. This guide covers what a good opener does, three patterns to build from, and templates you can fill in.
Your first two lines must stand alone. They should raise a question, state a surprising claim or promise a result, and stop before the answer.
What the first two lines have to do
They have one job: earn the click on "see more". They do not have to explain, qualify or introduce you. Save all that for the body.
A good opener is short, specific and slightly incomplete. It should leave the reader with a small itch the next lines can scratch. The exact cut off point depends on the screen, so test how your own posts look on a phone and a laptop before you post.
Pattern one: the hot take
State a view that some of your readers will disagree with, then stop.
"Most LinkedIn advice about posting daily is wrong. Here is what I do instead."
The disagreement creates curiosity. Be sure you can defend the view in the body, and keep it about ideas, not people.
Pattern two: the number
A specific figure signals that real experience sits behind the post.
"I rewrote the same post 11 times. Version 9 got the most replies."
Use only true numbers from your own work. A made up figure damages trust far more than a vague opener does.
Pattern three: the question
Ask something your reader is already asking themselves.
"Why does your best work get the fewest views? It is rarely the idea."
Avoid questions with an easy yes or no. Pick ones that make the reader want the answer.
Templates to fill in
- "Most [group] get [topic] wrong. Here is the fix."
- "I [did thing] for [time]. This is what I learned."
- "Stop [common habit]. Do [better habit] instead."
- "The mistake I made at [stage of my career]:"
- "[Number] things I would tell my younger self about [topic]."
- "A client asked me [question]. My answer surprised them."
- "Unpopular opinion: [belief]."
- "[Result] without [thing people expect to need]."
- "Nobody warned me about [part of the job]."
- "Here is what [respected company or person] gets right about [topic]."
For ten more angles, see the formulas in 15 Hook Formulas. Most work on LinkedIn once you drop the video cues.
Format the opener to survive the cut
- Keep line one under about ten words so it does not wrap awkwardly on a phone.
- Put a blank line after the hook so the post breathes.
- Never start with "I am excited to announce". Everyone scrolls past it.
- Do not put a link in the first lines. Move it to a comment or the end.
Keep the promise in the body
The hook earns the click. The body earns the follow. If you promise a fix, give it. If you promise a story, tell it. A mismatch makes readers feel tricked, and they will ignore your next post. From Hook to Post covers how to bridge the two.
A quick routine
Write the post body first. Then write ten openers in five minutes, using the patterns above. Pick two, read them aloud, and ask whether you would click. Post with the winner, and note which pattern it came from. This is the same drill taught in Lesson 2.2, and the lesson on writing for social posts and planning a content week fit around it.
A worked example
Say you are an accountant who writes about small business tax. This is an illustration, not a real result.
You draft a post about a client who kept missing deadlines. Your first version opens: "I wanted to share a story about a client I worked with recently." That is two lines of nothing, and nobody clicks.
You write ten openers using the patterns. A few: "A client missed three tax deadlines in a row. It was not laziness." (curiosity). "Most small business owners do not need a better accountant. They need a calendar." (hot take). "One spreadsheet column fixed the problem." (result). You choose the first, because it opens a question and has a real human detail. The body then explains the cause and the fix.
Edit the body to match
After the hook, keep paragraphs to one or two sentences. Use blank lines. Deliver the first useful point within a few lines, so the reader who clicked "see more" feels rewarded straight away. End with a clear point or a question that is easy to answer.
Read it on a phone
Most feeds are read on phones. Paste your draft into a post preview, or check it on your own phone, and look at where the cut falls. If your best idea lands after the cut, move it up. If a key word is split across the cut, reword the line.
Reuse what works
Save posts that earned replies and note the opener pattern. Over a month you will see which of the three patterns your audience responds to. Keep those in your swipe file, and use the others sparingly. Try them next to the style comparison in Hook Styles Compared.
Questions people ask
How long should a LinkedIn post be?
Long enough to keep the promise in the hook. Many strong posts are short. The opener matters more than the length.
Should I use emojis in the hook?
Sparingly. One can help the eye, several look like spam. Test with your own audience.
Can the hook be a question?
Yes, if the question is one your reader genuinely has. Vague or obvious questions get skipped.
Do hot takes hurt my reputation?
Not if you can back them with evidence and stay respectful. Aim for a clear view, not an attack.
Where to go next
Rewrite the opener of your last post three ways and compare. For the full process, with a swipe file you build to fit your voice, see Lesson 2.2.