Hook, Align, Tell, Send: Craig Clemens' Secret to Mastering Persuasion and Crafting Captivating Campaigns with Joe Polish

In this episode of The Joe Polish Show, legendary copywriter and Golden Hippo co-founder Craig Clemens shares the storytelling formula behind $1 billion in sales. Discover how a single ad reshaped public perception of diet soda, why great marketing never needs to be constantly reinvented, and how to craft messages that truly move people. Packed with marketing wisdom, humor, and powerful takeaways—you won’t want to miss this one.

Here’s a glance at what you’ll discover in this episode: 

• The 100-Year-Old Wisdom That Can Save Your Relationships: Discover the timeless advice from a war hero that Craig Clemens used to transform his marriage and business partnerships…
• Crack the Code of Irresistible Copywriting: Craig’s "HATS Formula" for crafting billion-dollar campaigns—why it works for everything from Instagram posts to sales letters and how to implement it in minutes.
• How a Simple Bathroom Struggle Became a Masterclass in Human Psychology: The hilarious story that reveals Craig’s secret formula for aligning with your audience and solving their deepest frustrations.
• The Probiotic Revolution That Shook the Food Industry: How Craig's viral video forced one of the biggest brands in the world to reformulate its products and why his marketing strategies can reshape your industry too.
• From the Operating Room to Bestselling Brand: How Craig turned Dr. Gundry’s story from heart surgeon to wellness innovator into a health empire—and the three key elements he looks for in every winning brand.
• How to Turn Customer Pain Points Into Marketing Gold: The exact step-by-step process Craig used to transform an overlooked health app into a must-have product for families and doctors alike.
• Why Most Marketing Fails Before It Even Starts: Craig's lessons from selling over a billion dollars annually—how the wrong hook can ruin a campaign and the one tweak that can make it soar.
• The Ad That Refused to Die: What Craig’s 10-year-running ad taught him about timeless copywriting strategies—and how to refresh your campaigns without losing their winning edge.
• The $5,000 Handle That Was Worth Millions: Why Craig invested in his name as a social media handle—and how branding yourself can create opportunities you never imagined.

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Show Notes:

The $1 Billion Storytelling Formula with Craig Clemens

The Power of Strategic Storytelling:

• How Craig’s “HATS” framework has driven over $1 billion in sales annually.
• Understanding how storytelling transforms marketing messages into movements.
• Why story-based copy resonates more than feature-focused sales tactics.

The HATS Formula:

A Universal Framework for Crafting Messages That Convert

• H – Hook: Grab attention with a yes question or counterintuitive truth.
• A – Align: Share how you've been in their shoes (relatable credibility).
• T – Tell: Reveal the key discovery, solution, or insight.
• S – Send: Give a clear, compelling call to action.

"Before writing existed, storytelling was the only way knowledge got passed on."

From Viral Health Ads to Real-World Change:

• Behind the scenes of Craig’s aspartame exposé video—banned by Google, seen by 80M+, and possibly responsible for Pepsi dropping aspartame.
• Follow-up campaigns ran for over 10 years, generating hundreds of millions in supplement sales.
• How Craig uses storytelling to create behavior change—like getting people to stop drinking diet soda.

Timeless Copywriting Insights:

• Why the best-performing ads often don’t look like ads.
• Craig’s secret: lead with education or entertainment, not the offer.
• Every great campaign includes a “what’s in it for me?” hook.

Creating Compelling Offers vs. Convincing Arguments:

• The best marketing doesn’t try to persuade—it offers something irresistible.
• A weak hook = expensive ads.
• A great offer = scalable impact.

“People don’t care about your product. They care about what it does for them.”

Using AI to Elevate Your Brand:

• Craig used ChatGPT to evolve his storytelling framework from “ARCS” to “HATS.”
• How to leverage AI to find core insights, rename your signature concepts, and discover memorable brand angles.

Signature Results and Customer Psychology:

• Craig shares how deep customer understanding fuels every winning campaign.
• Examples: From gut health to roofing contractors, how to tap into pain points and present surprising solutions.

“If you're not using customer interviews, you're just guessing.”

Longevity & Message Testing:

• Why testing hooks is the secret to 10-year campaigns.
• The same ad can run for years—if you refresh the hook and platform.
• Most marketers quit on their best-performing ads way too early.

Seven Steps to Leveraging HATS in Your Marketing:

1. Identify your customer’s core pain or desire.
2. Ask a yes-based or curiosity-driven question.
3. Share your own relatable story or experience.
4. Reveal the key solution, insight, or idea.
5. Make the benefit tangible and visual.
6. Send them to take a specific action (buy, download, comment, etc.).
7. Test multiple hooks across different platforms (email, TikTok, X, etc.).

Relevant Wisdom & Influences:

• Gary Halbert’s 3 Keys: Product, Pitch, Platform.
• Dean Jackson’s “Squeeze Page” evolution.
• Robert Cialdini’s principles of persuasion in real-world ad psychology.

The lasting impact of customer interviews on crafting copy that converts.

🔗 Resources Mentioned in This Episode

1. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
2. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
3. Spin Selling by Neil Rackham
4. Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
5. Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
6. The Art of Clear Thinking by Hasard Lee
7. The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
8. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
9. “Hell Yeah or No” by Derek Sivers
10. Golden Hippo – Craig’s company powering major health brands
11. Dr. Steven Gundry / Gundry MD
12. Joe Dispenza – Meditation & Neuroscience Expert