Updated
Guide · Ad copyMost hook lists don't show where a hook came from. Every hook here sits next to the real comment that inspired it, word for word, with a link so you can read it in context.
An ad hook is the first line of an ad, the one that makes the right person stop scrolling. The strongest hooks repeat what customers already say about their problem, in their own words. Each hook below is our wording, built on one real comment from a Hacker News or Reddit thread and linked to it, so you can read it in context. Every quote is checked word for word against the thread each time the page is built.
The hooks below are grouped by the job they do.
| Angle | What it does | Works when |
|---|---|---|
| Pain | Names the problem in the customer's words | People already feel the problem and have words for it |
| Objection | Answers the doubt before the reader raises it | The product asks for trust: an install, a payment, their data |
| Desire | Shows the outcome people asked for | Commenters describe what they wish existed |
| Contrarian | Says the opposite of the usual advice, with a reason | A category is full of the same message |
| Comparison | Places you next to something readers already know | People keep saying "it's like…" |
The hook is ours. The quote under it is the comment it came from, word for word, with a link to that comment. Swap in your product's specifics before you use one.
The problem, in the words people used to complain about it.
Your users click Allow without knowing what it does. Show them.
For: security and permission tools"How do I know whether to say "Allow" or "Disallow" when it gives me no idea what either option actually means in concrete?"skissane · Hacker News: Show HN: Auto Dismiss Mac OS "Allow <app> to find devices on local networks?"
Don't let someone else's outage delay your release.
For: code hosting, CI and backup tools"Also literally just this morning we’ve had to delay a release due to Github being down."sandcat_ · Hacker News: Ask HN: Alternatives to GitHub
You built it with AI in an hour. Now try sharing it.
For: app hosting and sharing tools"It's so easy to create small tools with AI now, but hard to install them as local apps or share them."andix · Hacker News: Show HN: Capsule – Single-file web apps that save their data into SQLite
Emailed your users for feedback and heard nothing back?
For: feedback and survey tools"I tried emailing users and nobody responds"BUYMEBONESTOORM · r/Startup_Ideas: How to launch, market, and get actual first users for a new app without a massive budget?
Your dev builds use every gigabyte of RAM you have.
For: developer machines and cloud dev environments"My development workloads can consume virtually all available RAM, so having more memory remains extremely useful."Ithinkyouareabot · r/OpenAI: In Defense is Sam. He's completely right about DRAM
The doubt that stops the click, answered up front.
Not sure it's safe to install? Here's how to check without reading code.
For: small apps and browser extensions"I have no clue how I would know whether it is without reviewing the source code"HughParry · Hacker News: Show HN: Auto Dismiss Mac OS "Allow <app> to find devices on local networks?"
Safe today, and here's how we keep it safe after every update.
For: apps that update themselves"Even if they're not malicious, there's no guarantee that they won't become malicious in the future."ASalazarMX · Hacker News: Show HN: Auto Dismiss Mac OS "Allow <app> to find devices on local networks?"
Nothing for them to install. They just open the link.
For: file and document sharing tools"Curious: this requires users to have a host app installed on their machine that can read .capsule file right?"lewisjoe · Hacker News: Show HN: Capsule – Single-file web apps that save their data into SQLite
Self-hosting is free until you're the one keeping it running.
For: managed hosting"To all of those proposing self-hosted GitLab: we did it for 6+ years in my company, and it's not always a smooth sailing."plqbfbv · Hacker News: Ask HN: Alternatives to GitHub
Your agent knows where to click. Do you know what it's about to do?
For: AI agents that act for a user"An arrow on the screen solves “where do I click”; it doesn’t solve “should this happen”"tilemarch · Hacker News: Show HN: Let your AI agents paint big arrows, boxes and text on your screen
What people said they wished existed.
Help your parents with their computer, without the two-hour phone call.
For: remote help and screen guidance tools"That would be a godsent for those of us with aging parents."lbreakjai · Hacker News: Show HN: Let your AI agents paint big arrows, boxes and text on your screen
Learn 3D modelling software by being shown, not by pausing videos.
For: software training and onboarding"this sounds extremely useful for learning complicated GUI applications like 3d modeling or media editing apps."alanbernstein · Hacker News: Show HN: Let your AI agents paint big arrows, boxes and text on your screen
One app that clears every annoying system prompt, not just one.
For: Mac and desktop utilities"I'd LOVE for you to expand it, to also auto-dismiss"crazygringo · Hacker News: Show HN: Auto Dismiss Mac OS "Allow <app> to find devices on local networks?"
Ten people using it beats a thousand email signups.
For: early-stage launch and feedback tools"getting a few people to actually use the product and share honest feedback is way more valuable than collecting hundreds of email signups"Swimming_dasa · r/Startup_Ideas: How to launch, market, and get actual first users for a new app without a massive budget?
The opposite of the usual advice, with the reason in the comment.
The market isn't too crowded. You just haven't launched yet.
For: founder coaching and launch programmes"A dozen prototypes and zero launches, saturation was never the thing in your way."Some-Cantaloupe7497 · r/SaaS: Is creating an AI saas too late/oversatured?
Anyone can build it now. Few can make people care.
For: marketing and growth services"The real advantage is now shifting from the ability to build something to the ability to make people care about what you've built."Academic-Tadpole-964 · r/SaaS: Is creating an AI saas too late/oversatured?
Crowded doesn't mean solved.
For: challengers in a busy category"I think we sometimes confuse market saturation with market maturity."uberkitnet · r/SaaS: Is creating an AI saas too late/oversatured?
Don't switch after the next outage. Have the plan ready before it.
For: migration and backup services"don’t switch reactively, but use the outages as a trigger to evaluate alternatives and make sure a GitHub outage doesn’t stop critical work."dxbhack · Hacker News: Ask HN: Alternatives to GitHub
Next to something readers already know.
Remember Microsoft Access? This is the version for the web.
For: no-code database and app builders"This sounds like the modern take on MS Access."m-p-3 · Hacker News: Show HN: Capsule – Single-file web apps that save their data into SQLite
People share free tools. They don't share products.
For: SaaS teams planning a free tool"people share free tools way more then they share products"Miserable-Money642 · r/Startup_Ideas: How to launch, market, and get actual first users for a new app without a massive budget?
Complaints, "alternatives to…" threads or launches in your category.
Open the thread and click Pull in Threadpull. The replies are where the specific complaints sit.
Send to AI with the 10 ad hooks prompt. It writes hooks under 15 words and quotes the comment behind each.
Search the export for each quote before you use the hook. Drop any hook the AI can't trace.
Paste it above the comments in ChatGPT or Claude, or use Threadpull's ready-made 10 ad hooks prompt.
These are every comment from a thread where people discuss a problem my product solves. 1. Write 10 ad hooks, each under 15 words, built from the real phrasing in these comments. 2. Mix angles: pain, objection, desire, contrarian and comparison. 3. Under each hook, quote the comment line it came from, word for word, with the username. 4. Leave out any hook you can't trace to a comment.
Yes. The hook wording is ours and you're free to adapt it. Rewrite it with your product's specifics so it says something only you can say.
Don't present a commenter's words as a testimonial for your product. They were talking about something else, and using them that way can mislead readers and break ad platform rules. Use the problem they describe, in your own words.
The ready-made prompts come with a free account. Without one, choose Comments only in Send to AI and paste the prompt above.
So you can read it in context and check that a hook isn't stretching what was said.