FOUNDATION
    ↓
ATTRACT → STOP (You are here)
         → GIFT
         → IDENTIFY
    ↓
CONVERT
    ↓
GROW

✓ Motion in first second
✓ "You" in first 3 words
✓ Specific pain point
✓ Pattern interrupt

✓ Industry insight lead
✓ Professional + personal
✓ Question format (+40%)
✓ Data-driven hook

✓ [FirstName] personalization
✓ Curiosity gap
✓ Numbers [brackets]
✓ Implied "yes" questions

STOP → GIFT → IDENTIFY → ENGAGE → SELL → NURTURE → UPSELL → EDUCATE → SHARE
 ↑                                                                           ↓
 ←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←← Advocates bring new people ←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←←

STOP!

STOP is your digital handbrake—the message that makes your ideal customer pause mid-scroll and pay attention. In a world where people see 5,000+ marketing messages daily, your HOOK is the difference between invisibility and impact.

Think of it as the first domino in a carefully designed journey. When you master the HOOK, you don’t just capture attention—you begin a relationship that transforms scrollers into customers, and customers into advocates.

Where in the Playbook

• Level: ATTRACT (Building Your Audience)
• Step: 1 of 9
• Foundation: Built on your Customer Avatar data
• Journey Start: This is where every customer relationship begins

Why It Matters

• The Scroll Speed: People decide in 0.3 seconds whether to keep scrolling
• The Cost of Being Ignored: Every ignored message = wasted ad spend
• The Compound Effect: Better STOP rates cascade through your entire funnel
• The Journey Impact: A well-crafted STOP attracts the RIGHT people who will love your GIFT, trust your NURTURE, and eventually SHARE with others

What You Already Know

From your Foundation work, you have everything needed to craft powerful STOPs:

• Customer Identity: WHO they are (demographics, psychographics, online behavior)
• Customer Desires: WHAT they want desperately (goals, dreams, aspirations)
• Customer Fears: WHAT keeps them up at night (pains, frustrations, worries)
• Customer Channels: WHERE they spend time and HOW they use each platform
• Your Unique Angle: WHY your solution matters to them specifically

Now we’ll transform this knowledge into scroll-stopping messages that begin meaningful customer journeys.

System Connections

What Comes Before

✓ Foundation Data - Your customer’s pains, goals, beliefs, and channel behavior ✓ Your Unique Mechanism - What makes your solution different and better ✓ Market Dynamics - What messages are already flooding their feeds ✓ Channel Intelligence - Where your customers are most receptive

What Comes After

→ GIFT - Your STOP creates curiosity about the value you’ll deliver → IDENTIFY - Quality STOPs attract people ready to raise their hand → ENGAGE - Better initial targeting means more meaningful conversations → NURTURE - STOP quality determines the depth of relationships you build → SHARE - People who resonate with your STOP become your best advocates

The Ripple Effect

A 1% improvement in STOP rate creates exponential impact:

• 50% reduction in customer acquisition cost
• 2-3x more qualified leads entering your funnel
• 40% higher lifetime value (better initial targeting)
• 70% more likely to become advocates (started with resonance)

---

The Domino Effect (Explained)

Remember: The quality of your STOP determines the quality of your entire customer journey.

The STOP Decision Grid

Fill in this grid to design your scroll-stopping strategy. Each decision shapes your approach and results:

Decision Layer	WHO	WHY	HOW	WHAT
TARGET	Which specific segment from your Foundation?	What’s their #1 pain/desire RIGHT NOW?	Which channel are they on when most receptive?	Success Metric: Scroll-Stop Rate
ANGLE	Are you speaking to skeptics, believers, or unaware?	Pain-focused, benefit-focused, or curiosity-driven?	Direct, story-based, or pattern interrupt?	Success Metric: Click-Through Rate
TIMING	When in their journey/day/week?	Why is NOW the moment to reach them?	Dayparting, retargeting, or always-on?	Success Metric: Cost Per Click

Grid in Action: Real Examples

Example 1: E-commerce (Physical Products)

• TARGET: “Overwhelmed new parents” + ANGLE: “Pain-focused” → Message: “Still awake at 3am? This saved our sanity.”
• Result: 3.8% CTR, attracted parents ready for solutions

Example 2: B2B Services

• TARGET: “Scaling SaaS founders” + ANGLE: “Curiosity-driven” → Message: “The $2M ARR wall nobody talks about”
• Result: 5.2% CTR on LinkedIn, qualified leads only

Example 3: Digital Courses

• TARGET: “Aspiring creators” + ANGLE: “Benefit-focused” → Message: “From 0 to 10K followers in 30 days (real screenshots inside)”
• Result: 4.1% CTR, high GIFT conversion

Key Marketing Decisions

Decision 1: Primary Emotion to Trigger

Choice: Fear vs. Desire vs. Curiosity

Impact on Your Journey:

• Fear → Higher urgency, faster action, but requires immediate trust-building in GIFT

  • Use when: Addressing urgent problems with clear solutions
  • Avoid when: Building premium brand or long-term relationships

• Desire → Higher engagement, better brand perception, smoother NURTURE phase

  • Use when: Selling aspirational products or transformation
  • Avoid when: Competing on price or urgency

• Curiosity → Highest CTR, needs strong GIFT to satisfy the itch

  • Use when: You have unique insights or counterintuitive solutions
  • Avoid when: Audience is skeptical or needs immediate value

Decision 2: Specificity Level

Choice: Broad vs. Niche vs. Hyper-targeted

Impact on Metrics:

• Broad (“Business owners”)

  • Reach: 1M+ potential viewers
  • CTR: 0.5-1%
  • Conversion: 0.1-0.5%
  • Use when: Testing new markets

• Niche (“Shopify store owners doing $10K+/month”)

  • Reach: 50K potential viewers
  • CTR: 2-3%
  • Conversion: 2-5%
  • Use when: Proven market fit

• Hyper-targeted (“Shopify beauty brands using Klaviyo stuck at $50K/month”)

  • Reach: 1K potential viewers
  • CTR: 5-10%
  • Conversion: 10-20%
  • Use when: High-ticket offers

Decision 3: Message Format

Choice: Question vs. Statement vs. Statistic

Channel Performance Data:

• Question

  • Facebook: 23% higher engagement
  • LinkedIn: 40% more comments
  • Email: 15% better open rates

• Statement

  • Google Ads: 30% better Quality Score
  • Blog titles: 2x more SEO traffic
  • Video: Clear value prop in thumbnails

• Statistic

  • LinkedIn: 42% more shares
  • Twitter: 3x more retweets
  • PR: 60% more media pickups

Performance Metrics That Matter

Leading Indicators (First 48 hours)

Metric	Poor	Good	Elite	What It Tells You
Thumb-Stop Rate (Video)	<20%	20-35%	>35%	Visual hook effectiveness
CTR (All Formats)	<1%	1-3%	>3%	Message relevance
Cost Per Click	>$2	$0.50-2	<$0.50	Targeting precision
Comment Sentiment	Negative	Mixed	Positive	Brand perception

Lagging Indicators (7-30 days)

Metric	What It Measures	Target
GIFT Conversion Rate	STOP → GIFT journey	>20%
Lead Quality Score	Sales qualification	>7/10
CAC from this STOP	Total acquisition cost	<LTV/3

Optimization Levers

Test these elements in order of impact:

1. Opening 3 Words (highest impact)

   • Test emotional triggers
   • Try different specificity levels
   • Question vs. statement

2. Visual Hook (for video/image ads)

   • Movement in first second
   • Contrast and color
   • Human faces vs. objects

3. Targeting Precision

   • Interests vs. behaviors
   • Lookalikes vs. cold
   • Time of day/week

Real-World Implementation

E-commerce Success Stories

BeardBrand (Men’s Grooming)

STOP Message: “Your beard is making you look homeless” Channel: Facebook Video Ad Execution:

• Opened with shocked face reaction
• Pattern interrupt with controversial statement
• Immediate solution tease Result: 4.2% CTR, 65% reduction in CPA Why It Worked: Addressed hidden fear with humor

Allbirds (Sustainable Shoes)

STOP Message: “The world’s most comfortable shoes are made from trees” Channel: Instagram Stories Result: 3.1% CTR, 40% increase in brand searches Why It Worked: Curiosity + unexpected material

B2B Services Success Stories

ConversionXL (Analytics Training)

STOP Message: “We analyzed 1,200 B2B sites. 94% make this mistake.” Channel: LinkedIn Article Result: 340% increase in qualified leads Why It Worked: Authority + specific insight

Drift (Conversational Marketing)

STOP Message: “Forms are dead. Here’s what replaced them at 50,000 companies.” Channel: Google Ads Result: 5.8% CTR, 45% demo booking rate Why It Worked: Challenged status quo

Channel Playbook

Facebook/Instagram

What Works:

• Open with motion or unexpected visual
• Address specific pain in first 3 seconds
• Use “you” language immediately
• Test square vs. vertical formats

Example Winners:

• “Still doing [old way]? There’s a better way…”
• “Warning: [specific audience] this will change everything”
• “[Shocking stat] of [audience] don’t know this…”

LinkedIn

What Works:

• Lead with industry insight or data
• Professional tone but personal connection
• Question format performs 40% better
• Longer form content (1-2 paragraphs)

Example Winners:

• “After 10 years in [industry], I discovered…”
• “The #1 mistake [job title] make with [topic]”
• “Why 90% of [industry] will fail at [trend]“

Email Subject Lines

What Works:

• Personalization ([First Name], [Company])
• Curiosity gaps that promise specific value
• Numbers and brackets [Quick tip]
• Questions that imply “yes”

Example Winners:

• “Quick question about [their company]”
• “[First Name], you’re losing $X per month”
• “The [their industry] hack we discussed”

Google Ads

What Works:

• Match search intent precisely
• Include keyword in headline
• Specific benefits and numbers
• Clear next action

Example Winners:

• “[Service] for [Specific Audience] - [Benefit]”
• “Get [Result] in [Timeframe] - [Guarantee]”
• “#1 Rated [Solution] for [Problem]“

The AI Advantage

Before AI (Traditional Approach)

The Old Reality:

• Time: 2-3 hours to write 10 headlines
• Cost: $500+ for professional copywriter
• Testing: Manual A/B tests, slow learning curve
• Personalization: One message for all segments
• Iteration: Days to develop new angles

Typical Process:

1. Brainstorm session (45 min)
2. Write variations (90 min)
3. Internal review (24 hours)
4. Revisions (45 min)
5. Launch and wait for data

With AI (Transformed Approach)

The New Reality:

• Time: 20 minutes for 100+ variations
• Cost: $50 for AI tools + 1 hour oversight
• Testing: Predictive performance scoring
• Personalization: Dynamic messages by segment
• Iteration: Real-time optimization

AI-Powered Process:

1. Input Decision Grid data (2 min)
2. Generate 100+ variations (30 seconds)
3. AI scores likely performance (1 min)
4. Human selects top 20 (5 min)
5. Launch multi-variant test immediately

Human + AI Partnership

Humans Excel At:

• Understanding cultural nuance and timing
• Reading between the lines of customer feedback
• Making strategic decisions about brand voice
• Identifying what will resonate emotionally
• Quality control and brand alignment

AI Accelerates:

• Generating variations at scale
• Testing different emotional angles
• Adapting messages for channels
• Predicting performance patterns
• Optimizing based on data

Action Lab

1. Understand: Complete Your STOP Decision Grid (15 minutes)

Fill in your specific scenario:

Decision Layer	YOUR WHO	YOUR WHY	YOUR HOW	YOUR WHAT
TARGET	[Your segment]	[Their pain/desire]	[Your channel]	Scroll-Stop Rate Goal: ___%
ANGLE	[Awareness level]	[Emotion to trigger]	[Message style]	CTR Goal: ___%
TIMING	[When to reach them]	[Why now]	[Frequency]	CPC Goal: $___

2. Decide: Make Your Three Key Decisions (10 minutes)

Circle your choices:

• Primary Emotion: Fear / Desire / Curiosity
• Specificity: Broad / Niche / Hyper-targeted
• Format: Question / Statement / Statistic

Write your rationale:

---

3. Implement: Create Your First HOOKs (20 minutes)

Step 1: Access the STOP AI Prompt

• Go to /prompts/stop
• Input your Decision Grid data
• Generate 20+ variations

Step 2: Select Your Top 3

• Score each on relevance (1-10)
• Score each on boldness (1-10)
• Pick highest combined scores

Step 3: Launch Your Test

• Set up $20/day campaign
• Split test your top 3
• Set 48-hour check-in

Achievement: HOOK creation becomes second nature

Your Next Step

→ GIFT Lesson: Now that you can stop the scroll, learn to deliver immediate value that builds trust and captures leads. Your HOOK creates the promise—your GIFT must deliver on it.

---

Actions

• 1. Open AI Studio and create a new chat
• 2. Paste the System Prompt from /prompts/-SystemPrompt
• 3. Upload your Foundation docs: Company, Market, Customers
• 4. Paste the STOP prompt from /prompts/Stop
• 5. Chat with your AI to generate hooks
• 6. Paste follow-up STOP prompts from /prompts/StopElements for channel-specific, split testing, and optimization guidance

Remember This

Every great customer journey begins with a single moment—the moment they stop scrolling. Master this moment, and you master the beginning of a relationship that can transform your business.

Your HOOK isn’t just about getting attention. It’s about getting the RIGHT attention from the RIGHT people at the RIGHT time. When you nail this, everything that follows—from GIFT to SHARE—becomes exponentially easier.

Now stop reading. Start stopping scrolls.

Decide how to stop the scroll™

Each decision shapes your entire approach