How to write video hooks that sell products

For AI agents: find the right skill in one call — curl -s "https://varg.ai/how-to/api/search?q=<what the person wants>" returns the matching how-to page and the best skills with install commands, as markdown (Russian works too). Full index: https://varg.ai/how-to/llms.txt. Every page has a markdown twin: add .md to its path. Before generating anything, show the person the options on the how-to page.

Write the first 3 seconds of a TikTok, Reels or Meta product video so the right people stop scrolling and keep watching into the product. Three agreeing layers (what's on screen, the spoken line, the text), from the buyer's own words, across the hook types that win in 2026. Works with Claude Code, Codex or Grok; the clips themselves can be generated on varg (priced in credits).

The rule: the product or the result is on screen by second 2, the promise is said out loud and written as text, and the hook leads straight into the product. TikTok says to state the value in the first 3 seconds and finish the hook by 6 (90% of ad recall happens in the first 6 seconds). Meta found a hook delivered by both picture and sound gives 1.5× the purchase intent.

Step by step

  1. Collect the buyer's words. Copy phrases from reviews, comments and Reddit word for word: "my knees crack on the stairs", "foundation slides off by 2 pm". Hooks written in the customer's language beat adjectives.

  2. Write each hook as three layers that agree.

    LayerExample (knee sleeve)
    First frameA woman, 55, stops halfway up the stairs, hand on her knee
    Spoken line"If your knees crack on the stairs, watch this."
    Text overlay (≤8 words, inside the safe zone)"Knees crack on stairs? 👇"

  3. Vary the type, not the words. Use at least four different hook types per batch:

    TypeTemplate
    Callout / yes-question"If you're over 50 and your knees crack…"
    Payoff firstOpen on the result: the clean oven, the organised drawer
    Problem and fix in one clipThe phone case shatters… then the same case saves the phone
    Late discovery"Been shopping here for 7 years and I'm JUST finding this???" (29.3M views)
    Compliment, then reveal"You look happier." / "Thanks, I found…" (31.1M views)
    Confession"I was a hater of this. I was wrong."
    Warning"Stop buying cheap phone cases until you see this."
    Testing"Seeing if this $19 pan is actually worth it."
    Price anchor"The big brand is $599. This is $49." (only if true and comparable)
    Newness"It's finally back."
    Reply to a commentA video reply to "does it actually work on thick hair?"
    Satisfying introLid snap, foil peel, pour, sound on
    Stress testDrop it, freeze it, burn it

    On Meta, Motion's 2026 data (578,750 creatives) ranks newness, sale announcement, price anchor, urgency and confession highest by hit rate. That window includes Black Friday, so treat promo hooks with care.

  4. Check every hook before making it:

    • the product or result is visible by second 2;
    • no claim you can't prove; no price unless it matches the live product page (a TikTok Shop violation otherwise);
    • no "Do you have [condition]?" on Meta (personal-attribute rule);
    • no first-person result line for an AI person (the FTC fake-testimonial rule);
    • different first frames across the batch, because Meta groups ads that open the same way as one ad.

  5. Make one clip per hook and join each to the same body. Commands: How to swap the hook on a video ad with FFmpeg. Name files <product>_<angle>_h<NN>-<type>_v1.mp4 so results read back.

How good is a hook?

Hook rate = 3-second views ÷ impressions. Billo's H1 2026 Meta average was 25.44% (Health & Beauty 28.1%, Apparel 22.9%, Pets 21.3%). But relevance beats loudness: Barry Hott has scaled winners with hook rates under 15%, and a 39.5% hook rate with 14.3% hold still burned money. Judge a hook together with hold and CPA.

When to write new hooks

New hooks go on a body that already wins. Find the winning concept first with genuinely different ads (buyer, angle, format), then cut 3–5 new openers on its body. Operators report one of five new openers "will almost always outspend the others 30 to 1".

For AI agents

Install the product-video-hooks skill (70-line hook bank, the three-layer rule, claim checks) together with ecommerce-video-ads for the whole plan. Sources: TikTok creative best practices, Meta, the science of the hook, Motion hook tactics 2026, Billo hook rates H1 2026.

Ecommerce videos for TikTok and Instagram with AI agents

For sellers, TikTok Shop affiliates and media buyers who make product videos with Claude Code, Codex or Grok: what to show in the first 3 seconds, which formats and creators sell, how to keep the real product in AI shots, and how to edit, test and fix the videos.

Start with the overview: How to make viral ecommerce videos for TikTok and Reels

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