- A hook has one job: make the right homeowner stop and keep watching.
- Specific beats clever. Name the room, the problem, or the neighborhood.
- Test hooks on the same body so you know which line made the difference.
- Judge hooks on booked estimates, not clicks or views.
What a hook has to do
A homeowner scrolling at night gives your ad a second or two. In that window the hook has to tell them this is about their house, their problem, or a job they’ve been thinking about.
The hooks below are examples we wrote for this guide. Swap the brackets for your trade, city, and real details. If a line isn’t true for your business, don’t use it.
Problem hooks
Name something the homeowner already notices. They nod, then keep watching.
- “Your water heater shouldn’t be making that noise.”
- “If your back patio floods every time it rains, watch this.”
- “That brown stain on the ceiling isn’t going away on its own.”
- “Downstairs is cold, upstairs is hot. Here’s why.”
Proof hooks
Lead with the finished work. Real jobs only, with the homeowner’s permission.
- “Same backyard, eight weeks apart.”
- “We finished this bathroom in [neighborhood] on Friday.”
- “This is what 30-year-old siding looks like up close.”
- “Watch our crew turn a cracked driveway into this.”
Price and process hooks
Answer the question they’d ask first, or the fear that stops them from calling.
- “What a new roof costs in [City], without the runaround.”
- “Why two fence quotes can be thousands apart.”
- “Is a pool worth it if you only swim four months a year?”
- “What happens on day one of a kitchen remodel.”
- “The three questions to ask any contractor before you sign.”
Local and timing hooks
Name the place or the season. People stop for their own street and their own weather.
- “[City] homeowners: your AC has one more summer to get through.”
- “Built in the ’70s? Your electrical panel might be due.”
- “Planning a backyard for next summer? Spring is when to start.”
- “If you live near [landmark], we’re probably working on your street.”
- “The one thing [City] summers do to exterior paint.”
How to test hooks without guessing
Keep the rest of the ad the same and change only the first line or first shot. Otherwise you won’t know whether the hook or something else made the difference.
A hook that gets lots of views but no booked estimates is pulling in the wrong crowd. A quieter hook that books visits is the winner.
- Test three or four hooks per round, not ten
- Give each one enough spend and time to book estimates
- Track which hook each booked estimate came from
- Retire losers, then write new challengers against the winner
