Hook Story Offer: 3-Step Copywriting Formula For Your Business

Are you tired of your sales copy falling flat? You’re not alone. Many businesses struggle to capture attention in a crowded market.

But there’s a simple solution: the Hook Story Offer formula.

This straightforward approach is grounded in a simple method:

• grab attention,
• connect through a story,
• and make an offer that’s hard to refuse.

Many businesses like yours have already benefited from this strategy, seeing significant boosts in customer engagement. It works because it aligns with how people naturally engage with content—they’re drawn to compelling beginnings, relatable narratives, and clear, actionable offers.

By the end of this guide, you’ll have a clear blueprint to craft messages that not only catch the eye but also convert leads efficiently.

Let’s explore how you can put the Hook Story Offer formula to work and transform your marketing efforts into compelling, action-driving communication.

What is the “Hook Story Offer” Framework?

This is a special copywriting strategy that takes advantage of a person’s needs and emotions through persuasive storytelling.

It mainly consists of 3 core elements – the hook, the story, and the offer.

1. The Hook

The hook is a captivating headline or statement that makes the audience want to read further into your copy.

It’s basically an element of curiosity that aligns with what the reader values or is in need of.

A sales hook in the headline will serve 3 purposes:

• Grab the attention of the right audience.
• Pique the interest of the reader.
• Give the reader a vibe that you understand what he needs or is facing.

A hook can be of many types. The following are the most successful types of sales hooks for this framework:

i. The Curiosity Trigger

Create a headline that says what outcome can be expected from a possible solution. But do not give away what the solution is.

Here’s an example:

“How This Single Strategy Turned Mike From A Small $200k Local Firm To A 5-Figure International Giant!”

You can see that this is a story hook where you are trying to entice people to read the story.

ii. Connection & Empathy

You may focus on telling people you know the pain they are facing and understand their situation.

And then tell them you have the answer.

For example, “It’s frustrating when people abandon carts, right? You are not alone! What if I tell you that you could stop that In less than a week?“

However, when you use this headline, you must ensure your story is emotionally aligned accordingly.

iii. The Desirable Promise

Rather than selling a product or service, you may attempt to sell an outcome.

Basically, you are to make a bold promise to achieve a certain outcome right on the headline – a promise that your target audience will get excited about.

For example:

“Get 10x More Leads With This Single Marketing Hack You Never Knew Before!“

Here, you are promising ten times lead growth, which any marketer would love to achieve. And you are adding a bit of curiosity to make them want to read on.

iv. The “Dream Come True” Hook

This is one of the common approaches when writing story hooks where you make your prospect imagine a final situation that they want to be in.

For example

“What If You Could 5x Your Course Sales In Just 3 months? That’s exactly what I will help you with if you let me!”

Here, you are passively deciding for him that that’s where he wants to be and that he can have the solution if he wants to – a great way to persuade people to read on.

2. The Story

Once you have hooked your audience, the next part is to convince them that you know what they need and that you have found a solution they will absolutely love.

To do so, you have to use a persuasive story.

Basically, you will write a copy where you will explain why you started looking for the solution and how you came about it. And then follow through with how someone else, maybe one of your students, took your help and benefited by using the same solution.

This all sounds easy when you read it, but when writing the story hook copy, many of us lose track.

Here’s the easy way to get this right:

i. Start with the juicy part.

Begin by glorifying the solution with the end result you managed to achieve.

For example:
Back in 2014, I never knew I would become a pioneer in lead generation until 1 year later when I came up with this unique solution that took my leads from 1000 to about 12000 in a matter of 3 months!

ii. Share the main reason for how and why the solution was found.

Here, you give the idea of why this was important, with a story of how you needed this solution. Plus, share a couple of solutions you tried and didn’t work. And finally, share the grand moment when the solution was found.

For example:
I lost my job in 2015 and just had about 500 leads. My courses were great, but they were just not selling. I was on the brink of losing all hope when I met Jeff Walker. He shared his brilliant product launch formula, which initially did well for me, and I managed to grow my leads to 1000.

But then, one night, a brilliant idea came to mind. I wasted no time and wrote it down. Then, when I implemented it into my strategy, in an instant, my leads list was overflowing with potential buyers!

iii. Share proof of success:

Give some real data that proves that your solution is a sure-success investment.

For example:
My leads grew to 12000 in no time. Now, whenever I launch a new course, I easily sell over 4k copies just by shooting 1 single email.

iv. Talk about another person who found success with it.

People would also like to know if others have found this useful. Hence, provide data on someone else who used your solution and got positive results.

For example:
Later, Mr. Walter met me and shared how he was struggling with leads for his fitness training programs. I offered help, and in about 3 months, he enrolled over $150 students in his program.

v. Connect With Prospects With A Strong Persuasion

Show how confident you are about this and that the reader also has a chance to get it.

For example:
This tactic is really something that overtakes all other methods I have ever used, and today, I am willing to share it with you.

vi. Introduce Your Solution

Now that you have hooked your customers and have used a story to grab their attention, it’s time to present the solution. Mention the solution and list down the main USPs of this solution.

vii. Elaborate On The Best Use Cases of Your Solution

Next, it’s time to demonstrate what scenarios your solution will be helpful with. If I consider the example of the course, you could mention the main problems your clients will get relief from.

Once the story is in place, it’s time for the offer.

3. The Offer

Normally, when we say offer, most people think we are referring to a discount. But in the case of the “Hook Story Offer” framework, the offer is usually a lot more value. It has to be something that makes the person feel like he is not only getting a solution but getting a lot more than what he is paying.

You see, the challenge here is, why would people take your offer and not from someone else? They need a reason to believe that your offer is the best one for them.

Let’s say, you created a course that you know will make people more money. But there are countless course that has the same promise. What makes your offer special?

Here’s the thing. If they come down to the offer section, it means, they are already interested in your solution thanks to the story hook you prepared. But you need to put extra push so that they take it now and not go for exploring something else. And I am not talking about the CTA. Your offer itself should be something so good that people cannot resist accepting it right away.

So, what could be a good offer?

Let’s continue the example I used in the story. The copy is directed toward people who are having a tough time getting more qualified leads.

First, you know your course can at least get 10 times more leads. And suppose you decided to charge about $500 for it instead of $800 as a discount.

It is quite a generous offer in terms of discount. But still, people will be skeptical about it. $500 is a lot of money for those who are startups or struggling for success.

Think about it. If a person is not getting enough leads, it means, he is not making much profit. An investment of five hundred dollars could be a huge bargain for him.

At this point, you need to give him more reasons to believe in your offered solution.

Seemingly, 5 main triggers can be used:

i. Create Urgency

Give a deadline for this low price so that people have to make a decision before time runs out. This will help to make people look into the offer more seriously and convert those who want to achieve the outcomes or benefits you promised. You can add a countdown timer to add an extra sense of urgency.

You may also limit it to the number of people who can claim this discount. For example, you could mention that this price will only be available for the first 200 people who purchase it. This will trigger a FOMO mindset and help to close more deals.

ii. Promote “No-risks”

You may offer a money-back guarantee either for a certain period or if your solution doesn’t work.

For example, “15-day money back guarantee” or “Get 2000 leads in the first 2 weeks or we will give your money back!“

This will help reduce the skepticism.

iii. Give more value than what you are offering

Sure, you are offering a great solution. And people did get interested in it via your sales hook copy. This means they are willing to think about purchasing it if they feel it is affordable and the right fit for their requirements.

But you could make the decision much easier with some added benefits. For example, you could throw in some additional resources for this offer at no additional cost.

For example, along with the course, you could offer to provide a PDF resource with 50 prompts for ChatGPT to generate email conversion-optimized email content. Plus, you could include a book you wrote on lead generation.

When you make these offers, make sure to mention how much they normally cost, and that you are going to give them away for free along with the main solution.

This will make the prospects feel special and understand that they are getting more value for money.

Here are a few examples of additional benefits you could offer (depending on your solution):

• Free personalized session, let’s say a 30-minute Zoom call, to help them get started.

• Valuable related resources such as ebooks, blueprints, checklists, books, etc.

• Membership to the premium community

• Access to a private event that’s beneficial for the target niche.

And many more.

This has to be placed right after your story hook and before the main CTA.

iv. Add Persuasive CTAs That Resonates With Your Hook Story

CTAs such as “Buy Now” or “Get It Now” are quite generic. It’s best to make it more persuasive and aligned with your sales hook.

For example, you could use, “Yes, I want to get 10x leads,” or “I have been looking for this!“

Such CTAs will often match with what the prospect is actually thinking and will help to remove their dilemma with the decision-making.

And that’s it. By now, you should have everything in place as per the Hook Story Offer framework.

When And Where To Use The Hook Story Offer?

As mentioned above, this is a copywriting framework. This means it’s not limited to being used on landing pages only. You may use it on emails, social posts, videos, blogs, funnel journeys, etc..

Following are the best marketing activities where you may use the hook story offer concept.

i. Video Sales Letter (VSL)

Engage your audience from the first second of your video and keep them hooked until the end with the Hook Story Offer formula. A VSL is a long-form sales pitch presented through a video on your website.

The formula works perfectly for VSLs:

• Hook: Start with a captivating opening statement that grabs attention immediately. It could be a surprising fact, a bold promise, or a powerful question that resonates with your audience’s pain points.
• Story: Share a relatable story that mirrors your viewers’ challenges and desires. This builds an emotional connection and keeps them engaged.
• Offer: Present your irresistible offer, clearly explaining how your product or service solves their problem. Highlight the urgency and value, making it clear why they should take action now.

Using this formula in your VSL ensures that you capture attention, maintain interest, and drive action, leading to increased engagement and higher conversion rates.

ii. Sales Landing Page

When you create a sales funnel, it means you will have a dedicated landing page for your main offer. That’s where you will be able to use this formula.

The whole landing page copy should be mostly aligned as per the structure of the framework.

• Headline of the page
• Story Section (this could go up-tup
• Offer Section

iii. Special Offer Pages

Sometimes, you want to use special sales pages to promote upsells or new products. For example, you could set up a post-purchase offer after checkout.

These pages are unusually small if the purpose is to upsell only. The story will rather be the part where “you found the best solution,” skipping the hunt for finding this solution.

However, if this is a sales page for a new launch, you may make it similar to a sales landing page with the whole hook, story, and offer approach.

But the main difference would be this page will almost always have a one-time offer that people won’t be able to get again anytime soon.

iv. Social Captions

When making social posts, you could add a summarized version of the story and the offer as the caption while using the headline hook in the image and the post title.

This usually works quite well if your hook is well-written and the post image is catchy.

v. Email Marketing

This may be uncommon, but you can actually use this framework in email marketing, especially during launches.

In this case, you can divide the whole thing into 3 emails:

• Email 1: The hook and a promise to share the solution in an upcoming email.
• Email 2: Story of how the solution was found and an introduction to the solution.
• Email 3: Special offer to get the solution along with added benefits.

Here, instead of having one single page, you will have 3 emails that are connected to each other. However, this one would be the toughest one to pull off because your email copy has to be super good. The quality needs to be much higher than the acceptable copy on a landing page since you have less scope for visualizations or explanations there. So, if you are not an experienced copywriter, it’s best to seek help from a professional email expert.

vi. Business or Self-development Books

A book can act as the hook and story and a push towards the offer. Basically, you could write a story about how you achieved a certain desirable goal after making several failed attempts. Throughout the story, follow the order.

Start with the hook and the output you achieved. You could write a whole chapter on how it changed your life and how you are living your dreams now. You could even write an additional chapter to state how different people used your solution and various scenarios and achieved success. (These are data you have to collect from your real users.)

Then, in the following chapters, share the whole story of what you tried, what worked, what didn’t work, and how you slowly progressed towards a possible solution by learning and implementing.

Eventually, you reach the point where you end up with the solution. Get into details on how to implement it. But don’t go overboard. You can share the steps to follow and give tips but do not start training on a completely different subject.

For example, if your solution is a unique SEO strategy, then stick to it. Do not start teaching how to write content in detail. That part, you can keep minimal.

At the end of the book, leave a small hook to check out your offer to help them out. It could be an offer to book a call with you or a link to a custom sales page.

Most people who will follow the book may have some expertise, but they would still need help to get it right. So, even if you explained most of it in the book, people will still be willing to consider taking your service.

Is the Hook Story Offer Framework Right for Your Business?

No framework is the perfect fit for every niche. The success of the Hook Story Offer formula depends on your overall marketing plan and execution. Here’s how to decide if it’s right for you:

• Evaluate Your Offer: Even a great offer can fail if your copywriting isn’t up to par. Conversely, excellent copy won’t help if your product or service doesn’t meet your audience’s needs.
• Assess Your Business Type: The Hook Story Offer is ideal for businesses with regular new launches or special promotions. If you’re constantly introducing new products or running special deals, this framework can work wonders.
  • Course Creators: Perfect for launching new courses or promoting existing ones. Each campaign can leverage this formula to engage and convert your audience.
  • E-commerce with Limited Categories: Works well if you focus on specific products rather than a wide range. Tailor your campaigns to highlight new or featured items.
  • Service Providers with Repeat Promotions: Great for businesses offering seasonal or special services. Keep your audience engaged with compelling stories and irresistible offers.
• Consider Your Audience: This framework may not be suitable for all businesses. E-commerce stores with many categories,local service providers, or businesses with short-term customer interactions might find it less effective. Sensitive industries like legal firms or financial advisors may also struggle to apply this approach.
• Analyze Your Story’s Impact: Before diving in, think about your story’s strength and relevance. Will it resonate with your audience? Will it move them emotionally to take action? Understanding your target audience is crucial.

By taking these factors into account, you’ll be better equipped to decide if the Hook Story Offer formula aligns with your marketing goals and audience needs.

How To Create A Sales Landing Page Using Hook Story Offer In WordPress

To create a sales funnel, you may use WPFunnels, one of the easiest funnel builders in WordPress.

Here, we will implement the ‘hook story offer’ copy on a sales landing page in a 2-step funnel.

Let’s say we will create a sales copy for a Digital Course called “Mastering Remote Work.”

1. First, go to the WPFunnels dashboard and create a funnel using the Online course template.

This will generate a 3-step funnel that has a landing page, checkout page, and thank you page.

2. Here, we will remove the landing page and only use the checkout step & thank you step.

3. Configure the checkout step and add the product “Mastering Remote Work” course as the offered product.

4. Now, edit the checkout step in Elementor and re-design the page structure using the Hook Story Offer copy.

5. Below, you may keep the checkout form, or you may use a custom snippet to keep a button that can be clicked to view the checkout step.

Once this is done, your funnel is ready. You can then promote it, and your offer will work well in this funnel.

You can then further improve this funnel by adding more offers at the post-purchase.

Conclusion

The hook story offer, if well-written and backed by a good offer and targeted audience, can deliver high conversion rates right from the start.

In fact, people who will convert via this approach will likely become long-term customers for your business.

And as you saw, it’s super easy to implement this approach in WordPress using a reliable funnel builder, WPFunnels.

So go ahead and create your next launch using the hook story offer framework.