Last year we made 1,180 videos for 14 retainer clients. Across all of them, about half of viewers were still watching at three seconds. That's our 54% average hold, and it's the number we watch most closely, because nothing else matters if people leave before the video starts.
So we went back through every video and sorted the openings into types. Fourteen kept showing up at the top. None of them are tricks. Most are just ways of starting in the middle.
Start with the answer
1. The result first. Show the end before the beginning. The dry shirt under the rain shell, then the 40 minutes of rain. People stay to see how you got there.
2. The number on screen. "We nearly ran out of cash in March 2023." A specific number reads as true in a way a claim doesn't.
3. The answer to a real question. Take a question from your reviews or sales calls and put it on screen word for word. "Does it sting?" works better than "Our gentle cleanser."
Start in the middle
4. Mid-sentence. Cut the first two seconds of every take. Founders warm up with "So, what I wanted to talk about is…". The video starts after that.
5. Mid-action. The pour already happening. The tent half up. Never the setup.
6. The sound first. A grinder, a pan, a zipper. On TikTok, where most people watch with sound, a strong first sound holds as well as a strong first image.
7. The wrong way. "This is how most people pack a bag." Then show the mistake. People can't resist watching someone do it wrong.
Start with a person
8. A face, close, looking at the lens. Still the most reliable opening for founder-led video.
9. The confession. "The worst feedback I ever got." "The dish we almost cut." Admitting something buys more attention than promising something.
10. Someone who isn't the brand. A customer, a nurse after a night shift, a line cook. The viewer relaxes when it's not a pitch.
Start with a change
11. Before and after, without the after. Show the before and say "week three" on screen. Hold the after for the end.
12. The swap. "What I stopped buying." Taking something away is more interesting than adding something.
13. The odd detail. A coffee brewed at 6am by someone going to bed. A stove lit at 9,000 feet. One unexpected detail is enough.
14. The plain question. "Why do we make our own pasta?" Asked by the person who'd know, with no music under it.
What we don't use
Countdown openings ("3 reasons…"), "Wait for it", fake notification sounds, and text that tells people to keep watching. They work once, then train your audience to scroll.
How we use the list
Every video gets three hooks written before the shoot. We film all three when we can, post the strongest, and check the 3-second hold after a week. If a hook type stops working for a client, it comes off their list for a month. Then we try it again.
Want this for your brand?
A 20-minute call. We’ll look at your feed and suggest two formats.
