Write the first line that stops the scroll

People decide in about a second whether to keep watching or keep scrolling. The hook is the line that wins that second, spoken at the start of the Reel or written as the first line of the caption.

Patterns that work

• A mistake: “Stop doing this if you want more reach.”
• A specific result: “How I went from 0 to 300 orders a month.”
• A list: “3 things I wish I knew before starting a home bakery.”
• A surprising fact or number.
• A question your audience already asks themselves.

Then check the caption

Instagram cuts the caption after the first lines with “more”. Put the hook there, keep paragraphs short, and end with one clear call to action.

Two free tools help: the hook generator suggests hooks for your topic, and the caption checker shows the length, what people see before “…more”, and how many hashtags and mentions you used. Both run in your browser, no account needed.