The importance of blog post intros is a common area of discussion among us digital marketing folk but it’s a subject worth revisiting from time to time. You may think you’ve found your blogging groove and that you know every blog intro strategy there is but continuing to hone blogging skills is more important than ever for bloggers these days. We must embrace being a lifelong learner in this area because blogging best practices will continue to change rapidly.
Being a daily blogger myself, I consider my blog intro creation skills to be somewhat advanced but a recent article from Copyblogger caught my attention as I scanned through my inbox, “How to Nail the Opening of Your Blog.” Suddenly it’s not just about finding, creating or brainstorming the best intro, it’s about nailing it. This immediately sounded like something I wanted to do on behalf of my clients so I dug right in and here is what I found to be useful from the article as well as another one from Copyblogger, “5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With a Bang.”
Oscar hosts understand the importance of a great opening!
Consistently reading blogs (other than your own or your coworker’s) is essential when it comes to a successful blog opening, Observe how other blogs get your attention. What types of blogs do you find yourself going back to and why? Copyblogger has a list of some of their blogs with great openings here.
Despite some writers’ aversion, opening a blog with a question is an undeniable way of getting a reader’s attention. They’re instantly curious and interested to read more about the topic that started by addressing them directly and causing them to think.
You can rarely go wrong by opening with a shocking statistic. While it’s not always best (or polite) to try to scare someone into reading your blog, I do believe an effective statistic can quickly generate a reader’s interest, complement the content of your blog and support the message you are trying to get across.
My favorite opening tactic (that I don’t use often enough) is invoking the mind’s eye. Copyblogger writer Brian Clark said, “Producing a mental image in a reader’s mind is one of the most powerful things you can ever do as a writer, so expressly engaging the imagination is a powerful opening technique.” Clark suggests doing this by using words like “imagine,” “picture this,” “do you remember when,” etc.
If you’re looking to work with a digital marketing agency that nails its clients’ blog openings, reach out to us at Agency Entourage in Dallas (214.414.3035) and let us know what kind of blog intros get your attention – tell us in the comments section below!
