You may make different kinds of mistakes in the body of your blog post, but your readers will still keep going — as long as you have given them a powerful impulse in your article introduction.
This doesn’t mean you should be careless when writing articles and make all those hypothetical mistakes. It means you should be especially attentive to your introduction text. Knowing how to start an article can really change the game.
Is It Really That Important?
Perhaps you’re thinking: Come on, Ana! A text intro is just a bunch of phrases we string together to get started! If the reader is interested in a topic, they will go further anyway… Right?
How Do You Create That Engaging Blog Introduction?
Now let’s get to the main point — how to start a blog post introduction and make it so catchy that readers will be eager to devour your words.
1. Properly Prepare
Don’t rush to write your first sentence.
Before I start writing article introductions, I take my time to think about my readers, their lives, and their relevant issues. I ask myself:
- Why are they interested in this topic?
- What lies underneath? What deeper needs, issues, or desires make this relevant to them?
- What are their drivers? What do they want to achieve?
- How can I help them?
This alone will already give you some valuable insights, both for the article in general and for its empathetic blog post introduction.
Example:
In this article you are reading now, the audience I was thinking about were people who understand the importance of reading depth and who want their content to be engaging and effective.
They are not only professional and responsible writers but also marketing managers who want to improve their blog metrics. They are not satisfied with a text being posted and forgotten — they want to make sure it's going to be put to work.
These motivations weren’t addressed directly in the article intro but rather formulated in a way that resonates with the people it’s meant to reach.
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2. Choose One Issue
If you know your potential readers well, you may come up with more than one issue or motivation that will be relevant to the topic. To avoid a cluttered piece of writing, you will need to choose only one to start with.
Others may be listed in the introduction text and disclosed in the article’s body, but only one will be the backbone for your hook.
Think about which point will catch their attention from the first sentence so much that they will want to know more.
Example:
If I want to discuss a blog intro, I may touch on different points: capturing attention, setting the tone of an article, establishing credibility, and even SEO aspects.
But here, I have chosen just one: how to make them read your content to the very end. I deepened this main point by including that the content may not be perfectly written.
If this is your approach to written content, you are missing several delicately crucial points:
1. Competition.
Among more than 600 million blog posts active as of 2022, there are tons of articles on almost every topic. Most of them offer relatively relevant info, at least in the top ten of Google’s search results. This means that, as long as your readers have a choice, they will dive head first into content that hooks them before they ever consider dragging themselves through a piece that promises to be boring right from the first words of its article introduction.
2. Attention.
Our reading habits have changed dramatically over the last 15 years. We don’t often open one article and read it to the end like a newspaper or a book chapter. Instead, when we search, we open many tabs, scan the content of each page briefly, and then choose one or two to continue with. At the same time, we are constantly distracted by never-ending messages, notifications, and other stuff. If you want to hold your readers’ attention, your blog post introduction should be strong — otherwise, visitors will close your tab in less than 15 seconds.
3. Motivation.
Let’s say your reader really needs information you can provide but doesn’t have many places to find it. Do you want them to feel bored and forced to read your content? Or would you like them to feel engaged, motivated, and inspired by your expertise from the first sentence?
To follow the second path, make your intro text attractive. Let’s find out how.
3. Start with a Bang
Now that you have your reader’s main issue or motivation at your fingertips, it’s time to formulate it in an engaging way.
It’s a good idea to never start with numbers unless they provide a point of great shock or intrigue.
“Research says that an engaging text introduction may increase the time your reader spends on a page by an average of XX.X%” — such evidence works well as a proof or deepening of your initial idea but not as an opener itself.
Your blog post introduction should begin with something that will either intrigue, surprise, or attract your reader so much that they won’t be able to resist the temptation to find out what else you have to say. It can resonate with their thoughts or be provocative, but be careful with the second one.
Some common yet effective types of hooks include:
- An empathetic formulation of your reader’s relevant issue
- A surprising fact or unexpected idea
- A real-life story or example
- Humor, anecdotes, or fun facts
- A thought-provoking question or bold statement
- A metaphor or apt quote
Example:
In this article, I started our conversation with the idea that content may not always be smooth and perfect (but, of course, should be relevant to a reader's expectations). However, a perfect introduction text can give such a powerful impulse that the reader will keep on reading to the end.
It's a bit provocative, because every responsible writer or manager wants their articles to be perfect. But also, every professional knows that imperfections occur. It's a sharp-edged truth that makes the idea of a good, catchy blog intro even more tempting.
4. Make It Personal
“Many companies face the issue…” — if it’s not a novel, no one wants to read about strangers.
Your reader has their own issues and struggles to overcome, and you are here to help them. Show them your empathy and understanding.
Technically, this is achieved through second-person statements (“you”), rather than third-person ones (“they”).
Example:
Throughout this article (especially in the intro text), "you" is the main pronoun. Instances of first-person ("I") pronouns are used only to describe the process and demonstrate examples.
5. Wind the Spring
A hook is the one critical part of the content intro that lets you draw your reader’s initial attention. The second part is creating that powerful impulse to launch them into reading your article with great interest.
There are several approaches to crafting this important aspect:
- Preview the article’s main points. Give the reader a brief overview of what they can expect to learn or gain from reading the article. It’s important to choose the points that are really interesting to your reader, rather than just repeating the article’s table of contents.
- Identify the core problem or pain point. Reinforce the problem or pain point that was introduced in the hook and explain how you are going to address it — and which benefit is waiting for the reader.
- Make a promise. Tease the solution that will be presented in the article, and explain how it can help the reader overcome their most relevant problem or pain point.
- Create a flow. You can make your introductory paragraph into the beginning of a story, which naturally flows into the next chapter, such as in the One Thousand and One Nights fairytale.
The last one is my favorite.
Example:
This article uses the "flow" approach with an implied call to action.
There was an initial idea presented:
- "You may make different kinds of mistakes in your article, but the reader will keep going — as long as you have given them a powerful impulse."
After, I deepened the importance of the matter:
- "This doesn't mean you should be careless about your writing. This means you should be especially attentive to your introduction text."
Finally, I wound the spring:
- "It's what can really change the game for your blog."
Initially, a reader might have been interested in some practical aspects of the matter, like how to improve the reading metrics a bit. Now, when they realize there might be a more powerful benefit, they want to know more.
Is There a Secret Formula?
The essence of an intrigue is in the uniqueness, so it would be wrong to say that there can be a bulletproof and universal formula. But I can give you something that will help you write your article introductions faster.
It’s a template I give my copywriting students to train their writing introduction skills. It’s simple, effective, and can be used in many articles:
- Address the core issue — Use the one that made a reader google this topic.
- Deepen the matter — Show the importance of a solution and come closer to the main idea.
- Call to action — Explain how the article is going to help your reader solve the issue or reach their goal, and call on them to read on.
Just three short paragraphs can put these game-changers into play.
Example:
Let's imagine I used this approach in this article. Then, the intro text might look like:
"Struggling to create an engaging article introduction that will not only set the scene but also catch your reader's attention and raise their interest?
Copious research suggests that a good blog introduction may significantly increase your reading metrics and make your company blog more effective. So, it's really important to learn how to write good article intros.
Read this article to learn how to write introductions well and learn a simple formula to start with."
Not bad, don’t you think?
Do you want to learn more formulas for how to start an article?
We’re already writing a juicy post with five catchy blog introduction templates and detailed instructions about how to use them.
Follow us on LinkedIn to make sure you won’t miss it!
Kick Your Writing up Another Notch
Now that you have pro advice to experiment with and are almost ready to start writing, here are three tips that will really help you with your article introductions:
- Keep it short. Don’t make your article intros longer than three to four brief paragraphs. If there’s more (or your three paragraphs are large), cut the least relevant parts.
- Get straight to the point. Don’t derail your reader’s train of thought before it even leaves the station. Let them know you understand why they searched for their main concern, pain point, or core idea. Hook it, like you would hook a fish (if you haven’t ever done it — check out videos on YouTube).
- Don’t digress. Don’t give any definitions, complex concepts, explanations, or other information that should go into the article’s body. Address the issue, spark interest, and that’s it for the intro text.
What Will Be the Result?
“Okay, Ana, now I’m gonna spend much more time creating my blog post introductions. But is it worth the cost?”
First of all, it’s not always going to be such a long process. As with any new skill, every time you practice, it moves faster.
Secondly, yes. Knowing how to write a good blog introduction is a skill definitely worth learning if writing articles is part of your profession. It will not only make your content look better but will also improve your content marketing metrics, such as:
- Time on page. After a catchy introductory paragraph, people will stay longer on your page and read more of your content.
- Amount of conversions. As a result, they will know more about your expertise and work attitude and will convert better.
- Bounce rate. A high bounce rate can be a sign that your content is not engaging enough if they are leaving right from the first page they opened. Good article intros can help hook your potential readers and encourage them to stay on your site.
To achieve that, make sure your article introductions are always strong and catchy. They must address the most important issue, question, or desire that has pushed a reader to search for this topic.
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FAQ
A blog introduction is the very first part of your text where your reader decides whether to continue reading. It should catch the reader’s attention, spark their interest, and set the stage for the main topic with a strong reason to continue reading.
A perfect introduction is one that captivates the reader’s attention, sparks their interest, and provides a clear idea of what the article is about. Good introductions should be creative, informative, and intriguing, giving a powerful impulse to read the article to the end.
Here’s a simple formula for writing good introductions to your articles that will capture users’ attention and motivate them to continue reading:
- Address the core issue — the one that made a reader google this topic.
- Deepen the matter — show the importance of a solution.
- Call to action — explain how the article is going to help your reader solve the issue or reach their goal, and call on them to read on.
