How to Get More Engagement on Your Content With One Simple Change

Do you ever notice when content on similar topics can end up getting wildly different engagement from your audience?

What’s up with that? I’m a data girl and I love diving into what works and what doesnt so I can understand it better. This is the kind of thing that interests me most and when one post does well and another on the same or similar topic doesn’t, it gets me wondering what was actually making the difference?

The more I paid attention, the more I realized it usually wasn’t the topic, the platform, or the time of day it was shared.

It was almost always how the content started.

Why Your Content Doesn’t Always Get Engagement

Think about it. Your audience doesn’t decide whether your content is helpful after they’ve read the whole thing. They decide whether they’re willing to find out if it’s helpful.

That decision happens in the first few seconds.

Think about your own scrolling habits. You’re constantly deciding whether something is worth your attention. Should I read this? Should I click? Should I swipe? Or should I keep scrolling?

Everyone else is doing the same thing.

That’s why the beginning of your content matters so much.

Every Piece of Content Starts With a Hook

Whether you’re writing an Instagram caption, an email, a blog post, a Pinterest pin, or a carousel, every piece of content starts with a hook.

I know “hook” has become one of those marketing words that gets thrown around a lot, but it really doesn’t have to be complicated. A hook is simply the beginning of your content. Its job isn’t to convince someone to buy from you. It’s simply to make someone think, “I’ll keep reading.” or “I’ll keep watching”

There are lots of ways to do that. Some hooks ask a question. Some challenge something people already believe. Some start with a mistake. Others begin with an observation that makes you stop for a second and think, “That’s interesting.”

Different hooks. Same goal.

The Hook I Find Myself Using the Most

After paying attention to my own content for a while, I realized there was one type of hook I kept coming back to.

Curiosity.

Not the fake, clickbait kind. The kind that simply makes someone wonder what comes next.

I didn’t even realize there was a name for it until I started reading more about why certain types of content hold people’s attention better than others.

It’s a Marketing Psychology principle called the “Curiosity Gap.”

What Is the Curiosity Gap?

The “Curiosity Gap” sounds a lot more complicated than it is.

The is simply the space (aka gap) between what someone already knows and what they want to know. When your opening creates that little gap, people naturally want to close it by reading the next sentence.

Think about the last time someone said, “You’re never going to believe what happened…” You probably wanted to hear the rest of the story because you were curious.

That’s all the Curiosity Gap really is.

Curiosity Hooks are Not Clickbait

I think curiosity hooks sometimes get lumped in with clickbait, and I don’t think they’re the same thing.

Clickbait gets attention by making a promise it never intends to keep. A curiosity hook earns attention by introducing an idea before explaining it. You still give people the answer. You just don’t lead with it.

To me, that’s just good communication. You’re respecting the fact that people are busy and giving them a reason to spend another few seconds with something you’ve created.

What Curiosity Hooks Look Like in Real Content

Once I understood this idea, I started seeing it everywhere.

Imagine a carousel starts with this headline:

The reason your content isn’t getting engagement probably isn’t the algorithm.

Most people immediately think,

“Well… if it’s not the algorithm, then what is it?”

So they swipe.

The same thing happens with an email subject line like:

The mistake I almost made planning this month’s content

Or a blog title like:

Why Some Content Keeps People Reading (And Most Doesn’t)

Or a Pinterest title that hints at an answer instead of giving everything away.

Different platforms. Same idea. Each one gives you a small reason to keep going.

As I was putting this blog together, I realized this principle already shows up throughout the Ivory Mix Membership and that’s intentional.

Every month, I create caption templates, carousel ideas, email templates, Pinterest graphics, blog prompts, and more with simple marketing psychology in mind. The goal isn’t to make your content sound clever. It’s to help you capture attention naturally, keep people reading a little longer, and make creating content feel a whole lot easier.

15 Curiosity Hooks You Can Borrow

If you want to experiment with this yourself, don’t overthink it. Start by rewriting your first sentence.

Here are a few ideas you can adapt for almost any business.

• The biggest mistake people make with…
• Most people think…
• Nobody talks about…
• I used to think…
• Here’s what surprised me about…
• The reason your … isn’t working.
• Before you spend another hour on…
• Can I challenge something about…?
• I changed my mind about…
• The lesson I keep coming back to…
• Why I stopped…
• Here’s what happened when I…
• The advice I wish I’d heard sooner.
• If I could only change one thing about…
• One thing I’ve noticed about…

You’ll notice they all sound a little different, but they’re trying to do the same thing. They’re giving someone a reason to read the next sentence.

Try This This Week

The next time you write a post, don’t rewrite the whole thing. Just rewrite the beginning.

Before you hit publish, ask yourself one question:

“Would this make me want to keep reading?”

If the answer is no, spend another few minutes on that first sentence. It might end up making a bigger difference than rewriting the other 500 words.

Want More Ready-to-Use Content Like This?

Every month inside the Ivory Mix Membership, you’ll find captions, carousel templates, Story ideas, email templates, Pinterest graphics, blog ideas, and more. They’re designed to save you time, but they’re also designed around simple ideas like this that help people spend a little more time with your content.

P.S. Want to save the 15 hook tempaltes from this post?

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