Latest posts by Karol K (see all)
- Should You Edit Guest Posts Others Send to You - May 21, 2013
- How to Prepare Yerba Mate Like a Pro - November 19, 2011
- How to Be a “Yes Man” the Smart Way - October 10, 2011
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Unfortunately, having a great idea for a blog post is not enough to draw readers into it and hope for a massive response.
The first thing you need to realize is that the headline is the most important part of a blog post. Arguably even more important than the post itself because if someone is not intrigued by the headline, how do you expect them to read the whole thing?
So with headlines taking the pole position, the second slot goes to the first two paragraphs of a post. Here’s why.
The sole purpose of the headline is to get people to read the first paragraphs. And these first paragraphs have a similar task – to get people to read the rest of the post. That’s why the pair of the headline and the first paragraphs is so important for the success of your new blog post.
There’s a number of different paths you can go when writing the introductory paragraphs of your post. Here’s my top six:
1. Starting with a quotation
This one is a no-brainer. Quotations by famous people are immediate attention grabbers. That’s because they convey some unique knowledge or point of view in a short sentence. Something that’s highly thought-provoking and easy to grasp in a short period of time, which makes your audience want to keep reading to see what follows.
2. Telling a story
We, humans, love stories. We have been told them ever since we were little. And now we watch movies and read fiction just to wrap our minds around some interesting stories. Stories are great because the readers can usually identify themselves with the main character in the story, and the simple question of what will happen to this character is more than enough to keep them reading.
You can use a personal story from your own experience, or made one up just for the sake of it. Or use someone else’s story. Maybe borrow one from a celebrity.
The basic rules of creating a story are: (1) introduce the character – the person whose story is being told, (2) present the problem, (3) describe what the character did to overcome the problem OR what he should have done to overcome it.
3. Giving an agreeable statement
This is a way of bonding with the reader. What you’re basically saying is that you (the writer) and they (the reader) have something in common, and probably belong to the same tribe. As you know, creating even the slightest bond with your reader at the beginning of a post is never a bad idea.
In a sentence, it’s a statement that the reader can agree with and think something like “yea, I know this too.” Here’s an example of such a statement: “Every blogger knows that content is king.” It’s short, just several words, but completes the task well enough.
4.
Giving an incomplete solution
This is yet another clever lingual construction. Here’s an example: “But creating quality content alone is not enough to hope for a massive audience.” This is thought provoking. And that’s because the reader might have thought that they know the secret solution to whatever problem they’re reading about, but now you’re saying that there’s something missing”¦ “how come?”
Whenever an author undermines a commonly known solution for something, saying that it’s not enough to hope for a result, that usually creates a sufficient reason to keep reading. Everyone wants to know “what am I doing wrong?”
5. Saying something outrageous
This is the ultimate attention grabber. The idea is simple. You have to say something that the reader is not expecting. This is the trick I used in my IttyBiz guest post. The headline stated “What Being Drunk Can Teach You About Marketing and Life“ and if that wasn’t enough I started the piece with “Admitting that I’m a bit drunk at the time of writing is probably not the most professional way of starting an article, ain’t it?“ Pretty outrageous, right (I wasn’t lying, by the way)? This article is still driving new visitors to my blog (and a handful of “good job” emails too).
One thing to remember here – outrageous get’s noticed every time (-Bill Glazer).
6. Giving a direct promise
Now last but not least – giving a direct promise. Telling the reader why they should read your post. Explaining what’s in it for them.
Remember, no one cares about you or your blog. What people only care about is themselves, so tell them exactly what’s in it for them.
An example: “In this post I’m going to tell you how you can build a ridiculously popular blog in less than 3 months.” Sounds a little pitchy – I admit – but makes me want to keep reading anyway.
Notice that the sentence in the example above doesn’t give the solution right there. It just leads the reader into the post. At this point the reader knows what the post is about and whether or not they’re interested in that topic.
These six tactics apply to any kind of blog. It doesn’t matter if you’re running a personal blog or a business blog or anything in between, you still have to find a way to write some irresistible first paragraphs. The truth is that there’s no point in writing a post if you have no idea how to start it. No one will read through to the end of such a post.
This concludes the list, and now it’s your turn. Tell me what your favorite frameworks for writing the first paragraphs of a blog post are. Don’t hesitate and shoot me a comment.
In the first paragraph I’ll always enter the goal of the article and some words on how it can be achieved to make the reader curious and wanting to learn more.
Twitter: carlosinho
Can you give an example?
Karol K recently posted..Do You Make These Mistakes While Writing Blog Posts?
True. We have to put ourselves in our readers shoes. What is it that they want to hear? What is it that will grab their attention to our article? Things like that. I know personally, I don’t read an article if the title doesn’t grab my attention.
Twitter: carlosinho
That’s the case. The headline is always the most important thing. Whether we like it or not.
Karol K recently posted..Do You Make These Mistakes While Writing Blog Posts?
I’m fairly new to this blogging world and am ready to implement some of what you have said. I know myself if I read something that doesn’t get my attention straight away I generally stop.
So being new to this I have been putting myself into the openings of my blog posts.. Having views but no feedback so unsure if it is attention grabbing enough. Will try my next one slightly different and see if I get any reactions.
Thanks for your tips.
Twitter: carlosinho
Unfortunately, new and small blogs may find it hard to actually test this because even a significant increase in comments/response might not be a mathematically valid proof that you’ve done something right.
Fortunately, we can always look at some bigger blogs and see what’s working for them. For example, if a blog receives, let’s say, 200 retweets and 50 comments on average, but all of the sudden one post has 500 retweets and 150 comments then that means that there’s probably something there that’s worth giving a closer look.
Karol K recently posted..Do You Make These Mistakes While Writing Blog Posts?
I agree with what your saying about grabbing attention but don’t you think so many headlines are just regurgitate sales headlines and people are filtering them out. So many stupid “10 secrets the pro’s don’t want you to know!” style.
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Twitter: carlosinho
That’s a valid point but the truth is that a headline has a very simple task – to get noticed. Boring headlines don’t get noticed, as opposed to even those that are highly pitchy. You can disagree, but my personal opinion when it comes to headlines is that I’m okay with people loving or hating my headlines as long as they notice them.
Karol K recently posted..Do You Make These Mistakes While Writing Blog Posts?
Twitter: janesheeba
Story telling can really keep people engaged. It adds a personality and a working version / proof for the matter of the blog post.
Jane recently posted..Google Plus Tutorial: How To Make Your Stay Pleasant And Useful
Twitter: carlosinho
I agree. Stories are great. People just want to hear about other people, it’s our nature.
Karol K recently posted..Do You Make These Mistakes While Writing Blog Posts?
Twitter: websitepromocod
Agree to all of the things you mention, sometimes it’s good to think about your reader more than your blog / yourself.
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Twitter: carlosinho
Well, I did say that no one cares about us or our blogs, but the truth is that in the end we can post whatever we want since they’re our blogs. However, writing in a “reader-targeted style” creates a great reference of our ideas for the future. Whenever we want to refresh our memory it’s much easier to do that if the content is written in a reader-friendly, easy digestible form.
Karol K recently posted..Do You Make These Mistakes While Writing Blog Posts?
These techniques and rules are tremendous I also follow for my content writing.And hopefully i got good position on content writing.Because of my writing techniques.
Zarah Alvie recently posted..IBS Herbs
Twitter: robert328
Sometimes I find that getting the article started is the hardest part, and the words can flow from there, depending on the topic. I like to start with a story as it usually builds interest. Another option I’ve been bouncing around is creating a format for each post with subheads and stick to that.
robertk328 recently posted..Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques
Twitter: carlosinho
I agree, starting the article is usually the most difficult part. Probably because when developing an idea for a post we tend to focus on its main part – the message we want to deliver, not on what to say first.
Karol K recently posted..Why Introductory Paragraphs are an Important Part of Blogging and How to Create Them
I would like to add one thing. And that is to develope a consistent writing style.
Your readers have to get to know you, and they have to feel safe of what to get when they read your blog. Therefore it is important to have a consistent manner of writing. Being funny one day, serious the next and then change to something else the third day makes people unsure of you and the chance of loosing reader will increase. Find your writing style and keep to it.
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Isn’t being your authentic self one the goals of creating a blog? I believe if the reader feels that you are genuine, then they will be more comfortable with you. I don’t think you should write what you don’t feel.
Twitter: carlosinho
Having a well defined style is an important thing, I agree. But it’s not something you can decide upon, so to speak. I think that the style of your writing is something that develops “by itself” over time. And this style is a lot more complicated thing than things like “being sad” or “being angry”. I think you can post both sad and happy posts (and anything in between) and still maintain your own personal style.
Karol K recently posted..Why Introductory Paragraphs are an Important Part of Blogging and How to Create Them
I find that saying something that’s controversial(or not in the popular opinion) tend to grab more attention
icechen1 recently posted..How to send Google+ invites
Twitter: carlosinho
Like: “Man’s Head Explodes in Barber’s Chair”
Controversial headlines or posts are always interesting to read, but you have to be careful not to be controversial just for the sake of it because the readers might call you out on this.
Karol K recently posted..Why Introductory Paragraphs are an Important Part of Blogging and How to Create Them
Hey Karol !
I really admire and appreciate your all the 6 tips and a firm and well fabricated research on how to write an eye grabbing content.You have nailed it man,your all the points are so meaningful and so much important to remember while writing any post.The combination of headline and a first paragraph should have to be as much interesting as it can hold your readers on that post.And i must say that I’m highly impressed with your point number 4th and 5th.Thank you for sharing such a great and informative content with us.
GOOD LUCK and GOD BLESS!!
manish2010 recently posted..Outdoor Kitchen Equipment for camping
Twitter: carlosinho
Thanks! Saying outrageous things is something I like to do a lot. Unfortunately, it’s not suitable for every post.
Karol K recently posted..Why Introductory Paragraphs are an Important Part of Blogging and How to Create Them
Great article! As a blogger and a reader I completely agree that the magic has to be captured in the headlines and the first paragraph. I strongly relate myself to point number 4 where giving an incomplete solution is a good idea. There are so many times I read a blog till the end because I am tempted to know the solution to a question asked in the beginning, just like how we want to see the end of a suspense thriller! Thank you for sharing.
Twitter: carlosinho
Yes, exactly, your movie analogy is spot-on!
Karol K recently posted..Why Introductory Paragraphs are an Important Part of Blogging and How to Create Them
I think point #2 about telling a story is key. Because the emotions and actions of people like us can strike a cord, it’s natural for us to get drawn into a story that we can relate to. Start with a story that’s got common ground and that will get the reader hooked from the start.
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Twitter: carlosinho
Yes, and contrary to what many people think, coming up with a story is not such a difficult thing.
Karol K recently posted..Why Introductory Paragraphs are an Important Part of Blogging and How to Create Them
I never thought of starting my posting any of these ways
Giving an agreeable statement or incomplete solution is a good way too as it gives the overall idea but it’s not too abstract.
Twitter: carlosinho
Yes, incomplete solution is great and works like a teaser, or a demo version of a newest xbox game … it’s cool, but it makes you want to get the full version so badly.
Karol K recently posted..Why Introductory Paragraphs are an Important Part of Blogging and How to Create Them
I’m so glad I read this post. I write for several blogs and I notice my opening paragraphs start to look very similar. I love the idea of opening with a quote – where is a good place to find quotes to use? Also, how important do you think it is to include keywords in an opening paragraph?
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Twitter: carlosinho
Keywords are indeed important. If you want to rank for them, of course. Many people believe that Google looks at the first 50 words of the page’s content to search for your keywords.
When it comes to quotes you can check out one of my posts (for example): http://newinternetorder.com/12-quotations-on-success/
Karol K recently posted..How to Create up to 5 Extra Hours Each Day
@ Karol K – Excellent quotes – thank you very much!
What about keywords in your headline? I have also read that you should include keywords in your headline for the google spiders? I have a SEO plug-in on my blog and it rates me lower if I don’t include a keyword in the title. Has anyone else ever heard of this?
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Twitter: carlosinho
Sure, that is a great technique for getting indexed for a given keyword. Anytime you want to rank for a keyword you simply have to tell Google what keyword it is. There’s no easier way than to place it in the headline and the opening paragraphs.
Karol K recently posted..How to Create up to 5 Extra Hours Each Day
Twitter: imagineworlds
Yes, but don’t forget that for SEO purposes you also need to get your keywords in there!
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Twitter: carlosinho
To be honest, including a keyword into the opening paragraphs of a post is not difficult at all. That is, of course, if the keyword you’re aiming for is related to the contents of the post (which it should be).
Karol K recently posted..How to Create up to 5 Extra Hours Each Day
i specially like and recommend number 5 and 6. in my blogging experience, post with these kind of intro garnered high traffic.
i think most people still want to learn and they want to learn in most entertaining or exciting ways.
thanks for discussing this matter.
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Twitter: carlosinho
Yes, there are more and more blogs every day, so I think that providing good information alone isn’t going to be enough to hope for success. You have to be entertaining at the same time… the internet is a pretty boring place actually.
Karol K recently posted..Get Your Business Blogger Package for Free
Twitter: BlogStashDotCom
All points are well made. However, the biggest point should be that whatever you say or promise in your title, you better deliver or else you may lose your audience for good after a few such titles and not delivering it in the body of your post.
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Great Post…I completely agree that the magic has to be captured in the headlines and the first paragraph.I love the idea of opening with a quote – where is a good place to find quotes to use?
thanks for discussing.
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Hey Karol! These are some really good tips, my friend. Personally, I love quoting and telling a story. It makes your introductory paragraph meaningful and non-fictitious.
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Nice Article, though starting with some quotation doesn’t helps always. I think writing a few catchy lines is the key.
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