Cut this from your hook to boost retention

There's something super sneaky you should probably cut out of your next hook.

This won't take long to explain, and you might not be doing it!

But it's easy to miss, so worth a check...

✂️ Cut this from your hook...

At the end of most educational hooks, you have a value proposition.

That's the part where you explain exactly what your video covers.

Something like:

• "So in this video we're going to rank the top 10 value-for-money Pokémon cards, and exactly where to buy them."

This is a great value proposition.

On the other hand, here's a value proposition that's too long:

• ❌ “In this video I'll show you how you can achieve [X]. To do that, I'm going to tell you a story— a story that will reveal the three main mistakes you're probably making, how to avoid making those mistakes, and the simple strategy I used to [overcome them].”

After reviewing a couple of videos I worked on, plus some of my students' graphs, I saw that value proposition sentences like this negatively impacted retention.

Let's look at the problems:

1. Repetition - the first and last highlighted sentences achieve the same thing. We explain, twice, that "I'm going to show you how to achieve X". Cut one.
2. The "How" - we explain the meta of how the information will be delivered ("I'm going to tell you a story"), rather than simply... telling the story.

This second point is the most important, and the sneaky thing that can hide in your hook.

So, here's that same value prop, re-written with repetition removed, and the "How" reframed:

• ✅ “In this video, I'll reveal the three main mistakes you're probably making, and the simple strategy I used to [overcome them]. To explain the first mistake, I have to tell you about a make-or-break moment in my career, when I almost [caused disaster]…”

Rather than explaining that we're going to tell a story soon, we deliver the value prop and then just tell the story.

I realise... this can get confusing, because we do want to make it crystal clear how our video is going to be structured so the audience feels oriented.

So, here's the simplest way to think about it:

DO outline your video's structure:

• ✅ "...using my 3-step system..."
• ✅ "...with these 5 tips..."
• ✅ "...by ranking the top 10..."

DON'T explain the "how":

• ❌ "...I'm going to tell you a story..." (just start telling the story!)
• ❌ "...I'm going to give you some background, and then we'll get into it..." (just give the background... you don't have to justify yourself!)
• ❌ "...we're gonna break this down over the course of this video..." (just break it down then, no need to warn us first!)

So, on your next hook... watch out for these!

NEW INSTAGRAM REEL

📉 Don’t make this retention mistake!

In my ongoing crusade against Ali Abdaal's bin*, I made a new IG Reel I think you'll like.

It showcases a quick hack to make your content way less boring by changing just one thing in your next script.

Watch Now

*For context, you'll have to watch! 👆

That's all for this week.

Any questions? You can to reply to this email and I'll get back to you.

Speak soon,
George 👋