🪄This LinkedIn star writes hooks I can't scroll past

Hey Reader,

I'm slightly obsessed with my friend Jen Allen Knuth's content.

Jen posts almost daily on LinkedIn, and every single time I see her name in my feed, I stop scrolling. Not just because she's an awesome human (HI JEN IF YOU'RE READING), but because her hooks are absolutely magnetic.

So I decided to analyze a bunch of her recent hooks to figure out what makes them work so damn well.

Also, this feels like a good way to show you the hook principles from our course in action with real examples from someone who's absolutely crushing it.

Pattern #1: Contrarian & Polarizing Hook

"we should get rid of SDRs. they're not good at outbound and AI can replace them.

we should get rid of AEs. they're expensive, inconsistent, and AI can replace them.

we should get rid of sales managers. they don't know how to coach effectively, and AI can replace them."

This is sarcasm disguised as a hot take. Jen's not actually advocating for getting rid of entire sales roles. She's mocking the people who are.

This style of "challenging the challengers" is a favorite of mine as well. Once a bad idea becomes mainstream, it's fair game to satirize it.

(muahahah...)

Pattern #2: Pattern Interrupt Hook

"my favorite feature in Riverside is its ability to accurately transcribe me yelling at Mugsy to stop barking"

This is conversational specificity at its finest. She could have said "Riverside has great transcription. Here's how I use it."

Instead, she gives us this hilariously specific use case that immediately makes us picture her recording podcasts while her dog creates chaos.

10/10 relatable.

Pattern #3: Story & Transformation Hook

"I love an opportunity to talk about my fck ups. Particularly when it comes to starting my own business."

This works because it's honest vulnerability with purpose.

Note how she's setting up a "before/after" transformation story while validating that failure is normal and valuable. The "I love an opportunity" frames failure as educational content, which is again, 10/10 relatable.

Pattern #4: Social Proof & Bandwagon Hook

"Here's a discovery question that helped me sell my first 7-figure Enterprise deal as an AE. Prospect was looking for negotiation training. The company I was working for..."

She opens with immediate credibility ("7-figure Enterprise deal"), then uses the "middle of the action" opening technique.

Instead of starting with a backstory, she drops us right into the sales situation, creating instant engagement and promising a specific, valuable outcome.

The "7-figure" detail works as social proof because it's specific and impressive, but believable, which is exactly what makes metrics effective in hooks.

(The polar opposite of "5 ways to 20x your revenue in 2 minutes" BS)

Pattern #5: Contrarian & Polarizing Hook

"i'd rather take an em-dash to the face than read one more AI-generated post that includes: 'This isn't just a ___, it's a ___'. 'It's not about ____, it's about ____'"

This is frustration articulation at its best. She's naming something that annoys her (and probably her audience) about AI-generated content, but doing it with humor and personality.

Chef's kiss.

Pattern #6: Problem Validation Hook

"Remember when LinkedIn didn't track impressions? None of us spent a single second thinking about how many people saw our post. We thought about how many thoughtful comments we got..."

This taps into shared experience nostalgia. Anyone who's been on LinkedIn for a while remembers those days and probably misses them.

She's articulating frustration with current LinkedIn culture by describing "how it feels" to be trapped in vanity metrics while validating that others miss the "good old days" too.

What makes Jen's hooks consistently work

Here's what I notice:

1. She writes like she talks. No corporate speak. No buzzwords. Just conversational, human language.

2. She combines personal + professional seamlessly. Her dog, her travel, her mistakes — it's all fair game for business lessons.

3. She's not afraid to have opinions. Contrarian takes, frustrations, critiques. She takes positions instead of playing it safe.

4. She uses specificity as a weapon. "7-figure Enterprise deal" not "big deal." "Em-dash to the face" not "really annoying."

5. She sets up payoff without giving it away. Her hooks make you want to know what happens next.

The tools that help you write like this

This is exactly what we teach in Hooked on Writing Hooks: 2025. How to find your voice, develop your patterns, and write hooks that feel authentically you while still stopping the scroll.

Our AI tools can help you experiment with different hook styles — contrarian takes, personal stories, data-backed challenges — and they're designed to amplify your unique perspective, not replace it.

Think of them as sparring partners who help you find your version of what Jen does so naturally.

There's also a Hook to Post Autowriter that helps you write an entire post in half the time it'll take you alone (as long as you do all the hard thinking beforehand, and edit it to make it yours afterwards).

GRAB THE COMPLETE SYSTEM NOW →

Don't let another month go by wondering why your hooks aren't working.

Doors close on Tuesday, and 120 people have already grabbed it. If you're one of those people, thank you 🙏 and I hope you're loving it.

(If you bought the original course in 2023, reply here for your 50% off code.)

Cheers,

Erica

PS. HI HI HI HI HI JEN