---
title: Headline hooks and choosing a copy framework
slug: headline-hooks-and-copy-frameworks
summary: How to hook a landing/sales page (lead with the problem, first person in quotes, hook fast but don't keep it short), how the hook picks the framework (PAS, DOS, AIDA, PCPO), formulas like "even if", and Ben Bennett's 14 ad hook types.
domain: marketing
tags: [copywriting, headlines, hooks, frameworks, landing-page]
related: [landing-page-hook-test-optin-vs-revenue, copywriting-formulas-short-and-long, video-script-four-forces, voice-of-customer-copy-mining, funnel-stage-copy-triggers, creative-headlines-for-approval, ads-get-clicks-no-conversions, proof-and-believable-claims, hook-anatomy, verbal-hook-templates]
sources: [yt:32uLdgfvuQ4, yt:e0KSL5YmGpM, yt:0lhaBStALzk, yt:JlF0_63X0fw]
updated: 2026-10-24
---

# Headline hooks and choosing a copy framework

## TL;DR
- **Lead with the problem**, not the product benefit: SweatBlock's problem headline beat a benefit headline and lifted revenue 108% — even with the CTA pushed several scrolls down[^1].
- Try headlines **in the first person and in quotation marks** ("I never read The Economist" — management trainee, 42): it reads as dialogue, a five-word story[^2][^3].
- **Hook fast ≠ short.** VW's "Lemon" hooked in half a second, then ran ~165 words that people read. Fast hook, then as much copy as the sale needs[^4].
- **The hook picks the framework:** problem hook → PAS; desire hook → DOS; attention hook → AIDA; proving a claim → PCPO[^5][^6].
- Polish with formulas, e.g. *"[Benefit], even if [objection]"*[^7].
- **Judge hooks on revenue, not opt-ins.** In Alex Cattoni's cold-traffic test the pain hook won opt-ins and sold nothing, while a curiosity + identity hook won sales ([[landing-page-hook-test-optin-vs-revenue]])[^15].

## Details
**Problem-first.** Joanna Wiebe ([[people/joanna-wiebe]]): when the problem is stated at the top in the customer's words, visitors "nod along" and scroll to read more, so CTA placement matters less[^1]. Join the conversation already in their head (Snickers' "You're not you when you're hungry") rather than inventing a new idea[^8].

**First person + quotes.** Make yourself the ally of the ideal buyer against their enemy, then rewrite the headline as a quote in their voice — same message, different copy[^3].

**Frameworks** (Joanna)[^5][^6]:
| Hook type | Framework | Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Problem | PAS | Problem → Agitation → Solution |
| Desired outcome | DOS | Desire → Obstacle → Solution |
| Pure attention ("Don't buy this jacket") | AIDA | Attention → Interest → Desire → Action |
| A claim to prove | PCPO | Problem → Cure → Proof → Outcome/Offer |

Patagonia's "Don't Buy This Jacket" (AIDA) sold 40–60% more jackets that Black Friday, per Joanna[^5]. Don't pick a framework out of thin air — find the hook in VOC first ([[voice-of-customer-copy-mining]]).

**Formulas.** "Quadruple your Meta ad performance, even if you spend less than $25 a day." Find what they want + their objection, join with "even if". Copyhackers' 2015 formula post is the reference she suggests training AI on[^7].

**Be "sweaty".** Committee copy is bland; Dollar Shave Club, Poo-Pourri and Liquid Death launched trying too hard and it worked. Unless you dominate the category, don't let copy get watered down[^9].

**Ad hook types** (Ben Bennett, [[people/ben-bennett]] — 14 top hooks in Smart Marketer accounts): problem–solution (the big one), did-you-know (statistic), educate, insecurity/anxiety (speak to, don't create), status, feel (emotion), customer testimonial, "making this mistake", comparison, values ("it just ain't right"), origin story, blame shift ("it's not your fault"), shock (sparingly), relevance (zeitgeist)[^10][^11][^12][^13]. Ben's "hook" means the overall message the viewer is left with, not just the first 5 seconds — and it should carry onto the landing page[^14].

**Specific beats broad; match the hook to awareness** (Alex Cattoni, [[people/alex-cattoni]]). A broad benefit hook ("better clients, more freedom, predictable income") blended into the feed and produced zero sales on cold traffic. A mechanism hook ("how to position, package and price retainers") had worked on her warm list but failed cold, because cold prospects don't yet know why the mechanism matters[^15][^16]. Her three scroll-stopping hook types for video (curiosity, pain, contrarian) are in [[video-script-four-forces]][^17].

## Disagreements / caveats
- Problem/pain hooks: Joanna's SweatBlock problem headline won on revenue, while Alex's pain hook won opt-ins but not purchases. A pain broader than what the offer solves attracts non-buyers ([[landing-page-hook-test-optin-vs-revenue]]).
- Joanna's examples are mostly famous ads and her own client wins; the 108% and 40–60% numbers are single cases reported without test details.
- Clever wordplay headlines (see [[creative-headlines-for-approval]]) trade some clarity for approval — Joanna pairs them with a plain payoff line.

## See also
- [[funnel-stage-copy-triggers]]
- [[proof-and-believable-claims]] — PCPO in practice

[^1]: yt:32uLdgfvuQ4 @ 01:13 — Joanna Wiebe
[^2]: yt:32uLdgfvuQ4 @ 02:04 — Joanna Wiebe
[^3]: yt:32uLdgfvuQ4 @ 03:07 — Joanna Wiebe
[^4]: yt:32uLdgfvuQ4 @ 15:46 — Joanna Wiebe
[^5]: yt:32uLdgfvuQ4 @ 17:16 — Joanna Wiebe
[^6]: yt:32uLdgfvuQ4 @ 23:01 — Joanna Wiebe
[^7]: yt:32uLdgfvuQ4 @ 20:21 — Joanna Wiebe
[^8]: yt:32uLdgfvuQ4 @ 04:49 — Joanna Wiebe
[^9]: yt:32uLdgfvuQ4 @ 21:51 — Joanna Wiebe
[^10]: yt:e0KSL5YmGpM @ 05:52 — Ben Bennett
[^11]: yt:e0KSL5YmGpM @ 06:51 — Ben Bennett
[^12]: yt:e0KSL5YmGpM @ 08:24 — Ben Bennett
[^13]: yt:e0KSL5YmGpM @ 09:42 — Ben Bennett
[^14]: yt:e0KSL5YmGpM @ 21:33 — Ben Bennett
[^15]: yt:0lhaBStALzk @ 03:34 — Alex Cattoni
[^16]: yt:0lhaBStALzk @ 04:52 — Alex Cattoni
[^17]: yt:JlF0_63X0fw @ 09:55 — Alex Cattoni