Why Some Hooks Work In 2026

I’m not a big fan of ‘platform hacks’ for coaches to grow their business

There’s huge survivorship bias, where the coaches that find success with these methods drown out the tens of thousands who try and get nowhere.

Not to mention that the ‘coaches’ who sell courses, programmes and services based on these things only ever post social proof that talks about engagement and following - not clients.

I’m much more interested in coaches having the latter, if I’m honest.

However.

Although I don’t spend a lot of time ‘optimising hooks’

(And now double hooks, triple hooks and Mike Tyson right hooks to the body - or whatever they’re now telling you that you must do)

I do think a fair bit about the psychology behind why some hooks work.

I think it’s really interesting to unpick why.

Take ‘What works in 2026’.

Tell someone you’ve got all the evidence-based recommendations?

Whoopdie-fucking-do.

Evidence-based sounds like something between boring and old, to akin to getting in bed with Big Pharma (depending on the person).

But what’s working in 2026? Or what no longer works?

Everyone leans in.

Because the hook implies the picture they have is out of date.

Something changed, and they don’t know what it is yet.

That gives you a lot to work with - You get to say what you’re against, and why it doesn’t work any more.

This ONLY works if something actually has changed in your work.

E.g. teachers - workload might have changed, so the recommendations on how to spend free time, might sound old-fashioned considering what a teacher’s life looks like - so you’d open with ‘Why it’s different now’ to show you understand that.

Remote work is another one - the commute was their movement, they didn’t work next to the fridge - it’s changed.

GLP-1s - Eat less was the whole game for weight loss - but for many people, that is no longer the thing to do.

In each one, you’re not saying the old advice isn’t wrong - just that it was constructed for a world the client doesn’t live in any more.

If you use this wrong - I think it will work against you. ‘Here’s why low protein doesn’t work in 2026 for weight loss’ will sound stupid as no one thought that before.

But if something has changed?

Don’t just think about this for your hooks - think about your whole positioning of everything you do.

What’s different about my client’s week compared to three years ago.

Is an easy way to frame your content AND offer - to stand out from everyone else