Writing first lines that survive the “see more” cut-off

On most platforms, almost nobody reads your whole post. They read the part the feed shows them and decide, in about a second, whether to tap "see more". On LinkedIn that visible part is roughly the first 210 characters, often two or three lines on a phone. On Instagram it's about 125 characters under the image. Facebook and TikTok show a line or two.

Everything after the cut-off is only read by people your opening convinced. That makes the first line the most important sentence in the post, and the one most often wasted.

The openings that waste the space

These are common, and each spends the visible text on nothing:

• The warm-up. "I wanted to take a moment to share something…" Twelve words in, the reader still doesn't know what the post is about.
• The excitement. "Super excited to announce that…" Excitement is the writer's feeling, not the reader's reason to care.
• The throat-clear. "So, I've been thinking a lot lately about…" Thinking about what?
• The context dump. "As many of you know, last year we started working on a project that…" Background before the point.
• The hashtag or link opener. Starting with tags or a URL uses up visible space on things no one reads.

A useful test: delete your first sentence. If the post still makes sense, the first sentence was a warm-up.

Seven hook patterns that work

None of these is a trick. Each tells the reader immediately what they'll get for tapping.

1. The result

Lead with the outcome, then explain how.

We cut our editing time in half by changing one thing in how we record.

2. The contrarian claim

State a position some readers will disagree with. Only use it if you actually believe it and can back it up.

Your microphone is probably not why your podcast sounds bad.

3. The specific number

Concrete numbers are scannable and signal substance.

3 recording mistakes that cost us 200 hours last year.

4. The question your reader is already asking

Not a rhetorical question — one your audience genuinely wonders about.

Is it worth paying for a podcast host when free ones exist?

5. The mini-story

Start in the middle of something happening.

Ten minutes before our biggest interview, the guest's audio cut out completely.

6. The mistake or confession

Admitting something builds trust and curiosity.

I published 40 episodes before realising nobody could hear our guests clearly.

7. The direct promise

Tell the reader exactly what the post will give them.

Here's the exact checklist we use before every recording session.

Fitting the hook into the visible space

Write the hook, then check how much of it the feed will show:

• LinkedIn (about 210 characters): room for one strong sentence and the start of a second. Put a line break after the hook so it stands alone; the second line should make the reader want the rest.
• Instagram (about 125 characters): room for one short sentence. The image does part of the work, so the hook should add to it, not describe it.
• Facebook and TikTok: assume one line on mobile.
• X, Bluesky, Threads: the whole post is visible, so the "hook" is the entire post. The discipline is the same, though: lead with the point.

The free post length checker flags when a post runs past LinkedIn's and Instagram's cut-offs, so you can see exactly what will be visible.

Keep the promise

A hook is a promise, and the rest of the post has to keep it. If the first line says "3 mistakes", the post needs three real mistakes, clearly numbered. If it says "we cut editing time in half", the post needs to say how, specifically.

Hooks that overpromise — "This one trick will change everything" — may earn a tap once, but readers learn to skip them, and the platform learns that people don't stay. Clear, specific hooks that deliver build an audience that keeps expanding your posts.

How to test your hooks

You don't need special tools:

1. Write three versions of the first line for your next important post, using different patterns.
2. Read them on a phone, at the size the feed shows them. Some hooks that look fine on a monitor are lost in a mobile feed.
3. Ask the one-second question. Would someone who doesn't know you tap "see more" based on just this?
4. Track over time. In your platform analytics, compare posts by the pattern their hook used. After a month you'll see which patterns your audience responds to.

The hook is the core of the post

If you can't write a strong first line, the post usually doesn't have a clear point yet. Going back to "what is the one thing I want the reader to know?" — the core described in One idea, eight platforms — almost always produces a better hook than polishing the wording.

When CreatorFlow drafts posts for LinkedIn and Instagram, RizBop writes to these cut-offs: the hook goes first, links and hashtags go last, and the visible opening stands on its own.