A few days ago I went climbing for the first time with my boyfriend. bouldering better said: the walls are not very high and there are mats at the bottom in case you fall. But before you can whiz up the little colorful holds, there’s the entry point.
For some routes, it’s clearly marked. For others, no.
So I let my gaze slide up, take a good look at the route, and ask myself: what’s the best way to get started?? Where do I place my hands and feet to make the climb as easy and fluid as possible?? How do I get up there without slipping and landing flat on my back??
Now you might say: Never mind, just start and see what happens.
Once I climbed a few routes, one thing became crystal clear: How I get on affects me over the entire route. If the entry is bad, I need much more power, I am unsafe and the probability of falling increases. After that I am frustrated.
So it is with blogging.
If you want your readers to read your articles, you need a really good introduction – an ingenious introduction.
You compete with great articles, books, movies and podcasts for your readers’ time and attention.
Give them a good reason to read YOUR articles – otherwise they’ll read those of someone who does.
Avoid irrelevance and boredom like the plague
"Spring is coming, temperatures are rising", "Wintertime is cold season" – yawn! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read this and even written it myself. It’s the first thing that comes to mind when writing a blog article about colds or spring fatigue.
The problem: This is not only the first thing that comes to my mind, but 1000 others as well. Therefore you can always kick the first thought for an introduction into the garbage can. But that’s okay, keep at it.
Do you know what the secret of copywriting is? It’s not clever words, nor eloquent sentences, nor any formula.
Good copywriters know, How to draw a reader into the text and keep them there. How to do it?
We write a headline that attracts attention. Then we write A first sentence that arouses curiosity – I’ll show you how to do it right now. Then we write the next sentence. And the next. And then one more. Each sentence has to suck the reader further into the story. To the end.
Everything starts with the introduction.
Remember: If the introduction is bad, your reader will not find his way into the text. At best, he shimmies through, unsure if this isn’t just a total waste of time, and at worst, frustrated. Good introductions for your blog articles are part of your mission to "blog better" from now on.
You only have a few seconds – use them!
You know how it is: you meet someone for the first time, your eyes meet, a handshake and you feel – nothing. Nothing at all. This person leaves you totally cold. And then there’s the blatant opposite: you look someone in the eye and something in you is awakened. Who is the person? What does it have to say?
Your blog introduction needs to be like a person who has charisma.
He must move something in the reader. Whether it happens or not is decided in the first few seconds. If you manage to trigger something with the lead-in – be it curiosity, shock, a laugh or an approving nod – you’ve got it made.
The 5 best types of introductions for your next blog article
Okay, enough about the theory. You’re probably already wondering what on earth an introduction like this looks like. Don’t worry, You don’t have to be Hemingway. You don’t have to sweat blood and water in front of the blank page and blinking cursor either.
You only need a few Food for thought and examples, that show you how it’s done for once.
1. The storyteller
We humans love stories. They’ve been around since people were born. Stories entertain us – they captivate us. Back then people sat by the fire, today we sit in front of Netflix or read Joy Fielding on the Kindle on the train.
But stories don’t just entertain us. You also have something instructive. Stories we read to children have a moral: Thou shalt not lie (Pinocchio), good prevails (The Lion King), beauty can also be a curse (Snow White), friendship is more important than winning (Cars).
Want a blog for your marketing, you need storytelling. Stories convey information and emotions to the reader in a simple, understandable and pictorial way.
Take for example the start of this blog article. I could have just written that the blog entry is important to keep readers. I chose the climbing story because then you can imagine more figuratively how important the introduction is. Either you climb yourself and know what it is like. If not, you still have pictures in your head to help you understand it.
Turn dry topics into compelling stories.
Start with the topic: What do you want to write about?? What is the core message. For this, of course, you need to know your blog topic and niche well.
When you have them, you search your brain for things you’ve experienced, seen or read. How is your core statement related to it? Which experience or sentence can you use to illustrate your statement??
2. The Compassionate One
If you want to reach your reader, you need to know what moves them.
Blog articles are wonderful for both sole proprietors and large companies to generate trust with potential customers. A relationship that then Turning prospects into customers.
Show your reader that you understand them right in the introduction. That you know what moves him, what he is feeling or going through at the moment. In copywriting, we also use this: what do we call it? the hell of the customer. We need to know what problems the person has and what he wants or where he wants to go. The quote is the bridge between the two.
This also works for your blog articles. Speak one Pain Point On that your reader has. Or, describe exactly what your reader wants the most.
"I’ve thought several times over the last few years that I’m going to go broke, that I’m not going to make it through the next few months and get my business to where my vision was."
This is part of the intro that Julia Lakaemper (Mindset Coach) wrote for her blog article "When you’re broke: here’s what you can do".
She can totally identify with her target group, because she belonged to it herself. Now she can Use feelings from that time wonderfully for it, show her readers that she understands them. And know how to get them out of the situation again. Emotions are important if you want to blog successfully.
3. The shocker
Write about a controversial topic?
Then this entry is easy for you. Why not open your next article with a shocking statement?. For example, is there a controversial topic, to which you have crystal clear opinion Have? Then pronounce it. And explain why in the blog article using sound arguments.
"I’m not a feminist, I’m an egoist. I don’t know if "one" needs feminism in 2015 in Germany, I don’t need it. He rather disgusts me. Feminism sounds to me as antiquated as the word band salad."
This is the introduction by Ronja Larissa von Ronne in an article for WELT titled "Why feminism disgusts me". There are certainly 1000’s of women and men who are shocked by this – in a negative sense. Who have a completely different opinion. Who might even be a little offended when they read it. But there are also people who share exactly this opinion and Respect and admire the courage of opinion.
You are allowed to have a clear opinion and communicate it.
Of course, that doesn’t always fit. Maybe you have an online business and there aren’t really appropriate controversies to address on your blog. Still, you can shock your readers a bit.
"Amateurs behave like Zeus – they sit in the clouds and punish other people with lightning strikes from their anus."
This introduction to the blog article "30 mistakes that will expose you as an amateur" by Walter Epp sits. We can imagine Zeus looking pissed and shooting lightning bolts from his anus at people. Wonderfully shocking. Do some people find this inappropriate and off-putting? Guaranteed. But it grabs the reader right by the collar. And definitely motivates to read on.
Small hint: If you use the shocker, you can expect headwinds. But instead, you show character and find your own Writing voice, that will make you stand out from the crowd of bloggers.
4. The curious one
If none of the 3 previous entries really fit, you can also just open your next blogpost with a question. Ask your reader a question, that gets the grey cells going in his mind.
"Did you know that 9 out of 10 blogs die in the first 2 years??"
"You know how it is: you have a lot to say, but you don’t know where to start??"
There are endless examples. The important thing is powerful question Is, which causes further questions in the head of the reader. At the first one the reader automatically asks himself: How does that happen?? How do I prevent the?
You give the answers in the article itself.
5. The funny one
You are running a serious business. You are serious. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. On the contrary: Funny articles that have depth at the same time, are a jackpot. Let’s laugh, have fun and not always be serious.
If you make your readers laugh on a regular basis and then provide them with genuinely helpful information, they’ll keep coming back. Use humor in the introduction. By doing so, you directly set the tone, get the reader to read on, and earn a lot of sympathy points.
"A craftsman came to me the other day.
A real "master of his craft" – that’s what he said.
I gave him an easy task: he should hang up the curtain rod.
3 hours, 10 holes and a broken curtain rod later, the handyman still wasn’t done.
I took the curtain rod, rammed it into his butt and hung him up as a flag on my roof.
Now he hangs there as a warning to all people who call themselves "masters" but can’t do anything."
This introduction is also from Walter Epp. It introduces a quite serious article: "The 3 phases on the way to true greatness". It’s about how to become a master in your field. The introduction is funny, the content is not: Don’t call yourself an expert if you’re not one.
Funny introductions are particularly suitable for serious topics. This way you make the topic lighter and more approachable – easier to consume and understand.
Tip at the end
Don’t put yourself under pressure: you have to Don’t write introduction for your blog article first. Do you have a rough idea, formulate what you have. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Then go ahead and dedicate yourself to the content first.
I’m telling you this because I know this for a fact: when you sit down in front of a blank page and try to write the perfect blog article introduction, you’re begging for a Writer’s block. Can you think of the perfect way to start – great! If not, relax. Get your creativity going by addressing the article first. After that, it’s easier for you to get started.
There, now you have 5 strategies you’ll use to open your blog articles. Use them all one after the other for different articles. This is how you develop a sense of which entry fits which topic and how you feel most comfortable.
Which introduction do you want to try first? Leave a comment and let us know!
About the author
Madita is a copywriter and writing coach. It will help you overcome writer’s block and write really good copy for your website and blog, so you turn visitors into customers. If you wish, she can also take over the writing of blog articles, web texts or sales pages for you.