Seven reel hook mistakes, and the fix for each

A reel is decided in its first two seconds. The viewer's thumb is already moving, and your opening line either gives it a reason to stop or it does not. Here are seven common mistakes and how to repair each.

1. Greeting the viewer

'Hi everyone, welcome back' spends your two seconds on nothing. Fix: start mid-action or mid-sentence. Say hello in the caption.

2. Announcing the topic

'Today I want to talk about fabric care' tells people what is coming without making them want it. Fix: open with the most interesting fact inside the topic: 'Ironing on high is why your prints keep fading.'

3. Using general words

'Tips for better skin' could be anyone's reel. Fix: swap every general word for a specific one: a number, a place, an object, a time of day. 'Why your sunscreen pills under foundation in Mumbai humidity' has a person in it.

4. Asking a question the viewer can answer with no

'Do you want to grow your business?' invites a shrug. Fix: ask something they cannot answer without watching, or make a statement instead.

5. Borrowing a line any competitor could post

If your opening would work unchanged on a rival's account, it teaches the viewer nothing about you. Fix: build the hook from something only you have: a real customer question, a number from your own work, a mistake you made.

6. Relying on sound

Many people meet your reel muted. If the hook lives only in your voice, they never hear it. Fix: put six words or fewer on screen in the first frame, placed in the middle band where the app's buttons will not cover them. Let the text and the voice say two different things that complete each other.

7. Overpromising

'This will change your life' sets a bar the next twenty-eight seconds cannot clear, and the viewer feels cheated. Fix: promise only what the reel delivers. A small true promise, kept, earns the next view.

A quick test before you film

Score every hook on four points:

• Clear: understood in two seconds, sound off.
• Specific: names something real.
• True: you can defend it.
• Mine: no competitor could post it unchanged.

Film only the ones that pass, and film each hook twice in two different ways; it is the part you will most want to redo. Reelmint's first chapter is ten prompts built around exactly this test, including one that scores your hooks and rejects the weak ones.