HOPE Framework × your real story. Two-layer hook: a universal opener stops the scroll in 1 second, a re-hook deepens the curiosity, then the story earns a high-intent click to the design-meeting application. Record ~21 clips.
📱 9:16 Vertical🎙️ Talking Head (Mitch)⏱️ ~21 clips to record🧩 Opener → Re-hook → Body → CTA
The structure:Opener (~1s, stops the scroll + opens a curiosity loop) → hard cut → Re-hook (~3s, one of 10 angles) → Body (the story) → CTA (the application click). The opener does the scroll-stopping so the re-hook is free to build curiosity and trust.
Your only job on camera: be the guy from your About page. You got into this because you were sick of watching decks fall apart — so say it like you mean it. Name the fear, tell the truth, admit you're not the cheapest. Talk to one homeowner, look them in the eye. Your sincerity is the product. Real beats polished every time.
🎯 Conversion goal: These ads don't sell a deck — they earn enough trust that a homeowner taps the link and finishes the application for a free custom design meeting + estimate with you. Every CTA pre-frames that next step and makes it feel safe. Slow down on the bodies and the CTAs — that's what earns the click.
🎥 How to Shoot This
read once before you start · takes 2 min to set up
The look: talking-head, you-to-camera, 9:16 vertical, shot on a phone. Real beats polished — this should feel like you texted a quick video to a friend, not a TV commercial.
📱 Setup (2 minutes)
Phone vertical (9:16), rear camera, highest resolution — 4K if you've got it.
On a stand or in your camera person's hands — tripod/phone stand set at eye level, or have your helper hold it steady. No handheld wobble either way.
Frame head-and-shoulders — eyes about a third down from the top, a little room above your head.
Eye contact = the lens. Look straight into the lens (or at your camera person right beside it) — never at yourself on the screen. That's you looking the homeowner in the eye.
💡 Light & sound & background
Face the light. Stand facing a window or the sun (soft light, not harsh noon). Never backlit — no bright window or sky behind you.
Quiet spot. Kill background noise, wind, traffic, echoey rooms. Keep the phone within a few feet of your face for clean audio.
Film on a finished Freestone deck — this is the plan, and the product sells behind you. Pick one that shows off the work and keep the background uncluttered. (Job site or the truck only if a finished deck isn't available.)
🎙️ Delivery — this is the whole game
Talk to ONE person — a single prospect, not "everyone." Be natural. Look at and speak to the camera like you're talking to one homeowner sitting right across from you. We're not talking to a crowd — we're talking to someone. They should feel like you're speaking directly to them, because you are. Warm and honest, like advice to a neighbor.
Don't read the words — FEEL them. This is the one that matters most. Speak naturally. Use your hands if that's how you talk. Move, react, pause like you would in a real conversation. If a take sounds memorized or read, do it again. When you feel it, the homeowner watching feels it too — that's what earns their trust.
Openers word-for-word — your story in your own words. Say the 6 openers and 10 re-hooks as written (we're testing the exact wording). For the 3 bodies, know the beats and tell them like you'd tell a friend — your words there are better than any script.
The first line lands hard. Re-record the opener until that first second is punchy and natural — it's ~80% of whether the ad works.
Slow down on the bodies. That's your story and it's what earns the call — don't rush it.
Pauses are fine. Energy just slightly up from normal — never flat, never hyped.
🔑 Get in the headspace first: Before you record, picture one real homeowner — someone whose deck you saved, or one of the falling-apart decks that made you start doing this. Feel that: the frustration, and the pride in doing it right. Then say the lines from that feeling, not off the page. That's the whole difference between an ad people scroll past and one they believe.
⭐ Pro moves
2–3 clean takes of every line — we pick the best one.
Leave a beat of silence before and after each clip (count "one-Mississippi") for clean edit points.
Same wardrobe & same spot the entire shoot — so any opener/re-hook/body cuts together seamlessly. Change shirts or move locations and the pieces won't edit together.
Shoot order: all 6 openers → all 10 re-hooks → 3 bodies → 2 CTAs.
Avoid: backlighting · noisy or echoey rooms · reading it robotically · an over-produced/corporate vibe · filming horizontal · changing clothes or location mid-shoot.
✅ Before You Hit Record — Confirm With Spencer
quick gut-check so we don't reshoot
Location: shooting on a finished deck (the plan) — pick one that looks great on camera and is quiet.
Wardrobe: clean, on-brand, and the same for the whole shoot.
Claims — are these still 100% true to say on camera? "The only Lifetime Deck Warranty in Utah" and "BBB accredited." If either isn't current, skip that line.
Phone: vertical 9:16, highest resolution, quiet location locked in.
Any line that doesn't sound like you? Reword it to your voice — the meaning matters more than the exact wording. Text Spencer or message him in Basecamp if you want a tweak before the shoot.
🎯 Layer 1 — Universal Openers
~1 second each · record all 6
First-second scroll-stop. Punchy and a little urgent — the "stop / don't / before you" interrupt is the whole job. Record each ONCE; we edit it in front of every re-hook. We'll A/B these as their own lever, and broad vs. Utah geo.
O1
Broad
"If you're thinking about building or replacing a deck this year… stop. Don't call a single contractor until you've seen this."
O2
Broad
"Planning a new deck? Whatever you do, don't get a quote until you hear this first."
O3
Broad
"If a new deck's on your list this year, give me 30 seconds — I'll save you thousands and a giant headache."
O4
Geo · Utah
"Utah homeowners — if there's a new deck in your future, do NOT call anyone until you hear this."
O5
Geo · Utah
"Building or replacing a deck in Utah this year? Watch this before you sign a single thing."
O6
Geo · Utah
"Utah — before you spend a dime on a new deck, you need to hear this."
🪝 Layer 2 — Re-Hooks
~2–3 seconds each · record all 10
The second beat, right after the opener. These deepen the curiosity and start the trust argument — record back-to-back, same shirt, same spot. ★ = flagship, lead your testing with these.
1
Origin obsession ★
"I got into building decks for one reason: I was so tired of seeing everyone else's fall apart."
2
Tile-to-decks credibility
"I spent years doing high-end tile work. Then I saw how most decks around here are actually built — and I couldn't unsee it."
3
The fear (falling apart)
"Almost every deck I get called out to look at is falling apart in a few years. And it's never the part you can see."
4
Obsessed with the details
"I'm obsessed enough with this that I hand-pick every board — and honestly, every screw — that goes on your deck."
5
In-house differentiator ★
"We don't hire subcontractors. Not one. And for your deck, that changes everything."
6
Personal / who we are
"I'm Mitch. I own Freestone — and I'm the guy who'll actually show up to design your deck."
7
Contrarian on price
"Looking for the cheapest deck in Utah? I'm honestly not your guy. Let me tell you why."
8
Relief / earn trust back
"If a contractor's burned you before, take a breath. I'd like to earn your trust back for the whole trade."
9
Real vs. cheap
"Here's how to tell a deck that'll last from one that'll fall apart — before you ever sign anything."
10
Myth-bust
"Everybody says every builder cuts corners now. I built my entire company to be the exception."
🥩 Bodies — "The Meat"
15–30 seconds each · record all 3
Slow way down. This is your story — tell it like you'd tell a neighbor over the fence. Any hook above edits cleanly onto any of these three.
A
Why I'm Obsessed (Origin)
"I didn't start out building decks. I did high-end tile for years. But everywhere I worked, I kept seeing the same thing — decks falling apart after just a few years. Rotting, wobbling, pulling away from the house. And it always came down to the stuff you can't see: the footings, the flashing, the fasteners. So when a customer finally asked me to build one, I got a little obsessed. I learned everything I could — the best composite, the best lumber, down to the exact screws. That's the whole company now. I'm not the cheapest deck builder in Utah — but I might be the most obsessed with doing it right the first time. And I back it with the only Lifetime Deck Warranty in the state."
B
Who Actually Builds Your Deck (In-House)
"Here's a question most people don't think to ask: who's actually going to build your deck? Because a lot of companies sell you the job, then hand it off to whatever subcontractor's cheapest that week. We don't — not ever. It's my own crew, start to finish. I hand-pick the lumber myself. I'm on your project. So when you hire Freestone, you're not getting a salesman and a rotating cast of subs — you're getting me and my guys, treating your backyard like it's our own. That's the whole reason we're BBB accredited, and it's why Utah families keep sending us their neighbors."
C
Your Dream Deck, Done Once
"My goal was never just to build a solid deck. It was to give people a genuinely great experience getting there — and a deck they'll love for years, at a price that's actually fair. So we start with a real design conversation. Maybe it's a cozy little spot off the kitchen. Maybe it's a full outdoor oasis for the whole family. We design it around how you actually want to live out there — then we build it once, build it right, in materials that won't rot or fade. A deck that's a cut above what the average builder hands you. That's the whole point. That's why I do this."
📣 Calls To Action
5–10 seconds each · record both · these drive the application click
1
Soft / application pre-frame
"So here's my offer. Tap below and answer a few quick questions about your space. If it's a good fit, I'll come out myself — a free design meeting and an honest estimate, zero pressure. Worst case, you walk away with a real plan and the truth, and it didn't cost you a thing."
2
Direct / book with Mitch
"If you want it done right the first time, tap below, tell me a little about your backyard, and let's design it together. A free custom design meeting and estimate — with me, not a salesperson. That's the Freestone way."
🧩 How It Comes Together
6 Openers×10 Re-hooks×3 Bodies×2 CTAs=360 cuts
The testing ladder — you never build all 360. Isolate one variable at a time:
1 · Openers first. Control ad = H01 + Body A + CTA 1. Swap only the 6 openers on top. Biggest first-second lever — find the 1–2 that stop the scroll.
2 · Re-hooks next. Fix the winning opener, rotate all 10 re-hooks, lock the top 2–3.
3 · Bodies. Test the 3 bodies for most completed applications — not just clicks.
4 · CTAs. A/B the 2 CTAs on application-completion rate.
5 · Geo vs. broad runs across the whole thing (O1–O3 vs O4–O6) once you have volume.
Re-hook
Reinforcing body (optional)
H01 Origin · H02 Tile · H04 Details · H07 Price
A — Why I'm Obsessed
H05 In-house · H06 Personal · H08 Relief
B — Who Builds Your Deck
H03 Fear · H09 Real-vs-cheap
C — Your Dream Deck
H10 Myth-bust
any (universal)
Every pairing works — the table shows the strongest matches, not the only ones. Any opener → any re-hook → any body → any CTA.
~21 clips to record: 6 openers + 10 re-hooks + 3 bodies + 2 CTAs. One shoot.
Shoot order: 6 openers, then 10 re-hooks, then 3 bodies, then 2 CTAs — all same wardrobe/spot.
Delivery: talk to one person, not a camera. Pauses are fine. You being real is the whole point.
Primary: I didn't set out to build decks. I did high-end tile for years — until I got so tired of watching everyone else's decks fall apart after a few seasons. Rotting, wobbling, pulling off the house. Always the stuff you can't see. So I got obsessed with doing it right: hand-picked lumber, the best composite, down to the screws. My own crew — never subcontractors. If you want a deck built by the guy who actually cares about it, answer a few quick questions and I'll come design it with you myself. Free, no pressure. — Mitch, Founder
Headline: Built by the Guy Who Got Obsessed With Doing It Right
Primary: Most deck companies sell you the job, then hand it to whatever subcontractor's cheapest that week. We don't — ever. It's my own crew, start to finish, and I hand-pick the lumber myself. That's how you get a deck that's still solid in 15 years instead of falling apart in 3. Not the cheapest in Utah, but backed by the only Lifetime Deck Warranty in the state. Tell me about your backyard and let's design it — free, with me, not a salesman. — Mitch, Founder, Freestone Custom Decks
Headline: No Subcontractors. Just My Crew and Your Dream Deck.