Carousel Cover Slide Hook and Design Spec
Writes carousel cover hooks tied to what your slides deliver, plus a buildable spec: canvas, type sizes, hex colors, swipe cue.
Before & after
Same prompt, same agent — the only difference is the skill.
I can help you write a carousel hook that grabs attention. Carousels are a great format for YouTube and they're popular across platforms. To write something that actually works for your audience, I'd need to know more about your content. What's the carousel about — is it a how-to, a story, a trend breakdown, or something else? What's your niche, and who are your typical viewers? Also, what's the main emotion or reaction you're trying to trigger — curiosity, urgency, shock, inspiration? Do you have a specific angle or perspective that makes your take unique? And what's the ultimate goal — get them to watch the video, click a link, comment? If I knew your brand voice and some examples of your best-performing content, I could match the tone better. How long is the carousel — 5 slides, 10, more? What's the visual style you're going for?
CAROUSEL HOOK - YOUTUBE SHORT FORM COVER SLIDE (Hook) Copy: 'I tried 5 productivity apps for 30 days. Here's what actually stuck.' Visual direction: Split-screen showing app logos fading in/out over 3 seconds. Bold sans-serif title (white on dark gradient). Animator: 0.5s fade-in, 2.5s hold, 0.5s fade-out. CARD 1: SETUP Copy: 'Notion for task capture. Time investment: 4 hours to set up, 5 min daily.' Visual: Notion interface screenshot, annotation arrow highlighting key area. Rating: 7/10 CARD 2: FAILURE Copy: 'Switched to Todoist. Lasted 2 weeks. Why? Felt like busy work.' Visual: Todoist UI with red X overlay. Failure count: 1/5 CARD 3: BREAKTHROUGH Copy: 'Tana for connected notes. Clicked on week 3. Still using 8 months later.' Visual: Tana canvas demo with animated linking lines. Success highlight. CARD 4: RUNNER-UP Copy: 'Logseq for journaling. Free, open-source. Local-first (no cloud fear).' Visual: Logseq interface with user testimonial quote overlay. CARD 5: THE PATTERN Copy: 'All 5 apps failed until I stopped optimizing tools and started doing work.' Visual: Montage of all 5 app logos with checkmark/X marks. Key takeaway text. CTA SLIDE Copy: 'Full review + setup templates in video description.' Button animation: Pulsing arrow pointing down. VIDEO DIRECTION • Pacing: 1 card every 2-3 seconds (holds attention, moves fast) • Color palette: Brand primary color for accents, dark background • Font: Same sans-serif throughout (Montserrat or Inter) • Music: Upbeat, 120 BPM (matches fast pacing) • Voiceover: Conversational, slightly faster than normal speech • Estimated play time: 12-15 seconds total (perfect for YouTube Shorts)
About this skill
Your carousel is good, but nobody swipes past slide 1. Usually the cover has too many words, the text is too small to read in the feed, or the headline promises more than the slides deliver. This skill writes the cover from your strongest slide back to the headline, then gives you a design spec you can build in Canva, Figma, or code.
What it does
- Drafts 3-5 hooks in different styles (numbered, contrarian, before/after, utility, call-out) and ties each one to the slides that back it up
- Catches broken promises, like a "10 mistakes" headline on a 7-slide deck or a "how I did it" cover with no how inside
- Gives a buildable visual spec: canvas size, margins, safe zones for Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, type sizes in px, hex colors, focal element, and swipe cue
- Checks legibility at feed and profile-grid size, and says what to cut if the headline doesn't read
- Writes a slide-2 re-hook and a caption first line that adds to the cover instead of repeating it
- Sets up a locked cover system for weekly series so your grid stays recognizable
What you get
A recommended cover with exact copy and a layer-by-layer visual spec, plus the other hook options, a thumbnail check, a slide-2 re-hook, and a caption opener. If you ask, it also writes ready-to-render HTML/SVG at the exact canvas size.
Best for
Creators, coaches, consultants, and social media managers who post educational carousels on Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok photo mode and want covers that get the swipe without overpromising.
SKILL.md preview
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name: carousel-cover-hook-design-spec
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