Somewhere in your DMs or your comments right now, there is a hook just sitting there waiting for you to use it. And instead you’re staring at your phone trying to come up with something clever from scratch.
I get it. When you sit down to write a hook or a caption, your brain jumps straight to “I need to sound smart” or “I need to say something no one’s said before.” That’s exhausting. It’s also completely unnecessary.
Why Using Your Audience’s Words Actually Works
There are two reasons this works so well.
First, when someone reads their own words said back to them, something clicks. It doesn’t feel like marketing. It feels like you read their mind. You didn’t invent the pain point, they told it to you, in their own language, with their own specific details. That specificity is what makes people stop scrolling and think “oh my gosh, that’s me.”
Second, if one person told you what they’re struggling with, chances are a lot of other people are struggling with the exact same thing and just haven’t said it out loud yet. When they see it reflected in your content, they feel less alone in it.
A Real DM Turned Into a Scroll Stopping Hook
One of my Plug and Post members sent me a DM she got from a follower and asked me straight up, “How do I actually turn this into a hook or a caption? Which words do I use?” So I want to walk you through exactly what I told her.
The DM She Got
“Your page is very informative. I’m 53. My hubby is 61. I’m just realizing all of this information because I literally never knew about it. We owe $170,000 on our mortgage currently, and I just found out that a mortgage recast can’t be done on our loan. I freak out looking at my finances. I have approximately 13,000 in credit card debt. We both lease our cars. We both make great money, yet I feel like we’re barely keeping our head above water. If something happens with repairs on the house or anything, we’ll be in another hole and have to put it on a credit card. I’m so over living this way, but I don’t know where to even start to get a grip on it.”
The Hook It Became
“If you make good money but still freak out looking at your finances, have thousands in credit card debt, and feel like you’re barely keeping your head above water, welcome to this account.”
Look at what happened there. Nothing in that hook was invented. It’s her follower’s own words, just rearranged into a “you’re not alone, and I can help” format. That’s the whole move. You take the exact phrases and details someone hands you, and you build your hook around their language instead of yours.
A Few More Examples Across Different Niches
This works no matter what you do. Here are a few quick examples so you can see the pattern.
Wedding Planner
Client said: “I called three planners already and none of them even asked about our budget before pitching me a $40,000 package.”
Hook: “If you’ve called three planners and not one of them asked your budget before pitching you a package, we need to talk.”
Virtual Assistant
Client said: “I keep hiring people who need me to train them on literally everything, and I don’t have time to manage someone else’s job.”
Hook: “If you’re tired of hiring people you still have to train and manage, this is your sign.”
Fitness Coach
Client said: “I’ve done every 30 day program out there and I always end up back at square one by month two.”
Hook: “If you’ve done every 30 day program and you’re always back to square one by month two, it’s not you, it’s the program.”
You Don’t Need a Dramatic DM for This to Work
You might be thinking, “but I don’t get DMs like that.” You don’t need a long, detailed message for this to work. A short comment counts. A review counts. Something a client said on a call counts. The emotion and the specificity are what matter, not the length.
Recap
- Your audience is already handing you your content, you just have to notice it
- Their exact words are going to hit way harder than something you make up
- Pull out specific details and phrases, don’t paraphrase them into something generic
- Rebuild it into a hook using their language, then use it again in your caption
- Short comments and reviews count too, it doesn’t need to be a long dramatic message
Your Action Challenge
Scroll through your last 10 DMs, your last 20 comments, or your last 10 emails. Find one to three sentences with real emotion or a specific detail in them. Use that as your hook for a post this week, and try it as both a caption and a reel.
Want This Done For You Every Week?
If you’re someone who gets these good messages and has no idea how to turn them into a hook or a caption, that’s exactly what Plug and Post is for. You plug in the specific details and I help you turn it into a hook, a caption, and a full post you can film and post the same day.
Resources:
The Plug & Post Instagram Content Membership: Instagram content ideas, picked by me (an IG strategist) every week based on what’s working RIGHT NOW… so all you have to do is film and press post! – Join here!
100 IG stories that sell – $17
Say Hi on instagram! @nicoleialeggio
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