Watch the direct-mail hooks walkthrough`, }} /> English captions: [download the VTT file](https://stefanbrain.com/api/video/adaptive/tutorials/create-ad-hooks-from-classic-direct-mail/captions-en-v1-2026-08-26.vtt). ### Video chapters | Time | Chapter | | - | - | | **00:00** | See why classic direct-mail references improve output | | **02:48** | Rewrite the swipe for a new Product | | **04:28** | Turn hooks into a magazine-cover ad | | **05:19** | Repeat the workflow for another Product | | **07:22** | Turn the hook bank into UGC | | **08:33** | Add a voice-and-tone reference | | **09:45** | Correct over-literal story copying | | **10:53** | Trace ideas back to their source | | **11:08** | Write the finished ad script | | **12:31** | Simplify the mechanism and align the CTA | | **13:00** | Review the takeaways | ## Before you start Prepare: * A saved Product with accurate audience, problem, mechanism, and offer context. * One direct-mail piece with headlines, subheads, fascinations, or curiosity bullets worth studying. * The next deliverable you want: a hook bank, static-ad concept, UGC outline, or finished script. * Optionally, a separate reference ad for voice, pacing, or format. ## Build the hook bank Open a new Chat. Use the **Plus** button to attach the direct-mail PDF or images, then type `@` and select the saved Product you want to write for. Tell StefanBrain what the attachment is and what you want to make. ```text theme={"system"} I attached a classic direct-mail piece as a creative reference. Use @Your Product for the audience, product facts, mechanism, and offer. First, study the source. Do not write a new ad yet. ``` Ask for the exact elements you may want to reuse. This keeps StefanBrain focused on the source instead of jumping to generic marketing patterns. ```text theme={"system"} Pull out the strongest: - headlines and subheads - fascinations and curiosity bullets - problem and mechanism language - transitions that increase urgency or curiosity Explain what each element is doing. Do not write new ads yet. ``` Preserve the direct-response energy and specificity, but make every idea congruent with the target Product. ```text theme={"system"} Now rewrite the strongest elements as if this direct-mail piece had originally been written for @Your Product. Keep the specificity, curiosity, and direct-response energy. Use only this Product's audience, pain points, facts, mechanism, and offer. Give me 20 distinct hooks grouped by angle. ``` Shortlist the hooks that feel specific to the Product. Reject ideas that could fit any brand, import a fact from the source, or repeat the same psychological angle with different words. ```text theme={"system"} Review this hook bank. Remove anything generic, repetitive, or unsupported by @Your Product. Keep the 10 strongest hooks and explain what makes each one specific, congruent, and meaningfully different. ``` Choose the format you actually need next. **For a static-ad concept:** ```text theme={"system"} Turn the strongest hooks into one magazine-cover static-ad concept. Give me the headline stack, supporting lines, visual direction, and CTA in reading order. ``` **For a UGC ad:** ```text theme={"system"} Use the strongest hooks to outline a two-minute conversational UGC ad. Keep the direct-response elements, but make the story natural for @Your Product and this audience. Show me the outline before the script. ``` If you add a reference ad, state exactly what StefanBrain should and should not borrow. This prevents the new script from copying an unrelated story. ```text theme={"system"} Use the direct-mail piece for hooks and sales structure. Use this reference ad only for voice, pacing, and format. Use @Your Product for every fact, audience detail, mechanism, and offer. Create a new story that makes sense for this Product. Outline it first so I can review the structure. ``` Check the story, mechanism, and CTA while changes are still easy. If the outline follows the reference too literally, name the copied dynamic and ask for a new one. ```text theme={"system"} This outline copies the reference story too literally. Keep the voice and pacing, but create a new situation for @Your Product. Preserve [the useful hooks or sections] and change [the story dynamic]. Then show which source headline, subhead, or fascination inspired each section and flag anything that does not fit the Product. ``` Once the outline holds together, request the finished draft and make one final pass on the Product facts, mechanism, offer, and CTA. ## What the two examples demonstrate Stefan replaces a broad pattern-matching prompt with the “written for this Product” instruction, then turns the sharper hook bank into a magazine-cover-style static concept. Stefan combines a direct-mail source with a separate voice reference, reviews the outline, rejects an over-literal story, and refines the final mechanism and CTA. ## Review the result | Question | A strong result… | | - | - | | Is it specific? | Sounds native to this Product and audience, not like a category template. | | Is it transformed? | Uses the source's mechanics without copying its brand facts or story. | | Is it grounded? | Matches the Product's actual mechanism, offer, and supporting facts. | | Is it distinct? | Tests a different angle or story, not a cosmetic rewrite. | | Does the format fit? | Reads naturally as the static concept, UGC outline, or script you requested. | ## Common problems Stop asking StefanBrain to abstract the source. Name the exact source elements to reuse, then ask it to write as if the piece had been created for your Product. Assign each reference one job. Keep voice and pacing if they are useful, but request a new situation that is natural for your Product. Restate the Product's verified facts, remove details imported from the source, and ask StefanBrain to identify the source for every factual claim. Ask for hooks grouped by angle, then require each group to use a different tension, desire, belief, or story—not just different wording. ## Related articles * [Find campaign angles with Angle Finder](/knowledge-base/creative-strategist-research/use-angle-finder) * [Create native ad concepts from a winning ad](/knowledge-base/images/create-native-ad-concepts-from-winning-ad) * [Create and manage images in the Image workspace](/knowledge-base/images/use-the-image-workspace) * [Give Chat the right context](/knowledge-base/chat/give-chat-the-right-context) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.