so I was running research calls for one of my audiences, and realized after my 5th one, “WOW, I’ve been missing out on SOOOO many content ideas honestly…
When one of the attendees said
"I know my message could reach millions, but I don’t know how yet"
word for word. unedited.
I watched him say it and immediately knew it was one of the best hooks i'd see all year.
(and Ai didnt come up with it.)
I shot a 2.5-min video about this revelation right after it hit me.
the short version: stop trying to invent hooks. start stealing them. word for word. from your clients.
go watch. i'll meet you back here.
last week we talked about how to write like a human:
-the lowercase i's
-the run-ons
-the parenthetical that make you sound like a real person and not a brand.
this week is the next layer.
once you know HOW to sound like yourself…
what do you actually write ABOUT?
answer: not what you think.
you write what your audience already said out loud.
THE RECEIPTS
these are real lines from real research calls, sales calls, and client convos in the last 60 days.
I haven’t edited a single one.
every one of these is a LinkedIn post that could be written.
"i don't need more information. i need execution now."
"there's got to be a way for us to make money without me being on stage."
"i have a core understanding of marketing & storytelling. i just don’t have the capacity to get it done."
"i know that i need to start that account, it's just feels like way past time for that platform."
"i'm trying to find a combination of what do i have to offer that's got value to people that i enjoy."
read those again.
each one feels like something YOU'VE thought before, right?
EXACTLY! that’s the point
once you go niche enough, your audience shares the exact thoughts in their head right now.
INSTEAD OF HOOKS THIS WEEK…
I’m giving you an assignment
PATH 1: MINE WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE
if you've ever talked to a client, you have material. promise.
go check:
your email inbox
your DMs (instagram, linkedin, slack)
your call transcripts (if you record. fireflies, otter, granola.)
your client portal messages
your text threads with current or past clients
voice memos / loom replies
the apologetic "sorry to vent but…" message someone sent you 3 weeks ago
ctrl+F (or scroll) and look for these phrases:
"i just" (i just don't, i just want, i just feel like)
"why isn't" / "why can't" / "why is this"
"i'm trying to" (mid-thought, run-on energy)
"i don't know how"
"i'm so tired of"
any time someone apologized before saying something real
copy ONE sentence. exactly as they wrote it. typos, run-ons, lowercase, all of it.
paste it as the first line of your next LinkedIn post.
teach the lesson it points to underneath. (one paragraph. don’t overthink it.)
hit publish. reply to this email with the link.
done.
PATH 2: DO A RESEARCH CALL (THE PART NOBODY TEACHES YOU)
If you don’t have material yet, or you've never actually asked your audience what they need, here is what to do
a research call is not a sales call. it's not a discovery call. you have NO agenda. you're not pitching, qualifying, or closing.
you're trying to simply understand them.
most people botch this. they send a cold message that screams "i want something from you," and the person ghosts them. or worse, says yes out of guilt and shows up half-checked-out.
the reframe: you are NOT extracting value from them. you are inviting them to help you build something better.
use this
(this is yours to copy. swap out the bracketed parts with your actual stuff. but read the notes inside the brackets first, because the ask is doing way more strategic work than you think.)
"dear [your qualifier + your people],
I need your help.
I've been thinking about [the thing you're building or rethinking] and i'm trying to make it as genuinely useful as possible. would love 20 min of your brain to make sure i'm building something that actually serves people in your world. no pitch, no agenda, just questions. let me know."
when you're on the call, ask emotional questions (this gives you the HONEST truth)
what's the most frustrating part of your week right now?
when you sit down to [the thing they're trying to do], what goes through your head first?
what have you tried that didn’t work? why do you think it didn’t?
if I waved a wand and one thing was different about [their situation], what would it be?
what do you wish someone would just TELL you?
then SHUT UP.
don’t fix it. don’t teach. don’t validate. just keep asking "what does that feel like?" and "can you say more about that?"
the real honesty lives 2-3 layers below the first answer. always.
record the call. (with permission. always.) you wont catch the gems in real time. they live in the transcript.
I use fireflies ai subscription... highly recommend for call transcripts. It automatically logs in when you have a call scheduled on your calendar
then go back, pull every "i just…" / "i feel like…" / "i wish…" sentence into a notes doc. that's your hook bank for the year.
so. pick a path.
PATH 1 if you have material and just need to mine it. (you have more than you think.)
PATH 2 if you're ready to go straight to the source. (the people who say yes will become your most loyal early supporters too. bonus.)
then reply to this email with the link to your post, the screenshot of your ask, or the calendar invite for the call.
I'll read every single one.
— Syd
SSS Lighthouse Creative Founder
p.s. seriously go watch the video if you haven’t. the energy of the moment i realized this is the actual product. text just doesn’t do it.