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Writing a great introduction paragraph is like becoming a weightlifter – you have to work up to it and learn the proper steps. About 73% of people admit to skimming blog posts, and 52% of bloggers reported that it was getting difficult to get readers engaged with their content; know what that means? If your introduction can’t make an impression, the rest won’t either.
It would help if you wrote something thought-provoking, asks the right questions to the readers, touches the pain point, and hooks the reader to keep reading. And, all this needs to happen in the first few passages.
Let’s dive in and explore the steps to create killer blog introductions that will captivate your readers!
An introduction is the opening paragraph of any form of writing, such as blogs, essays, proposals, etc., that appears right after the title. It introduces the topic, sets expectations for what readers will learn, and excites them about the content. An effective blog intro can distinguish between a reader staying engaged or quickly moving on.
Evidence shows that more than 50% of bloggers say keeping readers engaged is getting more difficult.
A captivating introduction is essential to ensure readers stay with you until the end. Knowing your audience and researching their expectations is important before writing your blog intro.
Questions to consider when writing a blog intro include:
The key to a successful introduction has the right elements in place—
Let’s look at each one in detail and provide an example.
The hook is the opening line of your article. It’s the most important part of your Intro because you have only 3 seconds while your reader decides whether to stay or move on. That’s why making it specific, brief, and interesting is important. A hook can be:
For example: “Have you ever wondered why some blog posts are so captivating and others are so dull?”
When writing a hook, ask yourself questions such as:
This headline from Becky Mansfield promises huge benefits for readers: getting 1 million visitors. If you can get your readers excited, they’ll be more likely to stick around and read the whole article.
The transition is usually a sentence that connects the hook to the body of the post and clarifies the title. This is how you lead people through your blog entry.
Transitions can also be in the form of agitation statements that build upon a problem.
As a best practice, you want your transitions to build upon the hook and provide a little more context that excites the readers.
For example
The Thesis or the end of the Introduction
The last element of an introduction is the thesis. It summarizes the topic, strengthens why the reader should continue with your blog post idea, and, in many cases, states a solution that is about to follow.
For example, “In this article, I will show you the six strategies to help you write a captivating blog post title that will keep your readers engaged and wanting more.”
By combining the hook, transition, and thesis, you can create an introduction that will draw your readers in and keep them engaged.
While this framework is general, you can use different elements in each part to create something unique and more specific to the type of post you are writing.
let’s look at different ways to build introductions with examples
While there is a general formula for writing introduction paragraphs, copywriting for introductions has evolved. Copywriters now create different types and flows of introductions using copywriting formulas such as AIDA, PAS, and many more.
Jump into exploring different tones in writing examples, from accusatory tone to other types of tones in stories , and discover how diversity adds flair to copywriting.
Let’s break down each one of those and see some examples to get a more thorough understanding.
Questions can humanize your brand and attention-interest and prompt people to keep reading for the answer.
Here are three examples of thought-provoking questions to ask in introductions:
Open-ended questions are best to ask the reader about their current situation, while rhetorical questions can be used to make a statement.
Yes/no questions can also be used to ask whether the reader wants your solution.
Introductions that get a little personal can be incredibly powerful in connecting with readers.
By narrating a personal experience or sharing a quick story, readers get a picture of the human behind the article, and they will likely listen to them.
Sharing a relatable experience also helps readers bond with the writer and trust them as they read further.
For example, an introduction could start with a story about a personal experience, such as:
“We’ve all been there. You sit at your computer to start a new day, but your screen stays black.
You start to panic. What’s going to happen to your documents?
While computer issues like this are frightening, they’re so common and more troubling now that we rely on our devices for everything from work to socialization.”
Another example of a personal introduction could be a hypothetical scenario:
“Imagine you’re working on a project and hitting a roadblock.
You’ve tried every idea you can think of, but nothing seems to work. You’re feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. What do you do next?
Keep reading the blog to learn how to unblock with these 7 tips.”
Whether it’s a humorous anecdote, a heartwarming moment, or a touching memory, stories can draw readers in and keep them hooked.
Here are two creative examples of introductions that tell a story:
Example 1:
“Once upon a time, I laughed so hard milk came out of my nose. In front of the entire school. Twice.
I was 12. It’s been two decades, and that memory is seared into my cerebellum so hard it’ll likely never fade. Your marketing copy should have the same effect.
You may not want to write something that’ll generate quite that embarrassment. But find a way to be memorable. These expert tips should help.”
Example 2:
In Why, I’m A Failed Blogger But I’m Hopeful For Getting Success, Tirtha Ojha uses storytelling in the blog intro to capture the mind of his readers, keeping them hopeful for positive news to come.
Introductions with contradicting opinions can be useful when trying to challenge the conventional opinion on a certain topic.
By presenting a different perspective, you can spark a conversation and get your readers engaged.
Here are two examples of introductions that start with a contradicting opinion:
Example 1:
“For years, the conventional wisdom has been that running is the best form of cardio exercise.
But what if there was an easier, more effective way to get your heart rate up while avoiding the strain on your joints?
Could there be an alternative to running that provides better results with less effort?”
Example 2:
“We’re often told that hard work and dedication are the key to success.
But what if there was a way to achieve success without putting in long hours and sacrificing your free time?
Could there be a smarter, more efficient way to reach your goals?”
When writing introductions with contradicting opinions, here are three expert tips to keep in mind:
PAS (Problem-Agitation-Solution) framework can be a great way to connect with your readers because it focuses on identifying a problem, agitating the reader to care about it, and then offering a solution.
Example:
90% of men and 81% of women report that a sense of humor is the most important quality in a partner. Patients also reported that laughter improves their health by 83% during consultations with doctors. Humor works!
Humor builds instant connection; people often want more of it, so they keep reading.
When introducing humor, it’s important to be subtle and not too over-the-top. Here are two examples of great blog post introductions that use humor:
Example 1:
“We’ve all been there. You’ve spent hours researching and writing the perfect blog post, only to be met with crickets from your readers.
It’s like you’ve been talking to a wall.
But don’t despair! With these tips, you can learn to write blog post introductions that will make your readers sit up and take notice.”
Example 2:
Here’s a second example of a blog intro with an infusion of humor, as seen on yourdictionary.com:
Interestingly, headlines and blog intros that include an element of humor or curiosity are more likely to be shared on social media. Readers often want to share something that makes their friends laugh.
So if you can make your readers smirk or pique their curiosity, you’re more likely to get them to read or share your blog post.
Using quotes in introductions helps build instant credibility. It’s not something you are saying out of thin air, but rather the voice of someone you know in the industry. Quotes can help set an authoritative voice for the article.
Example 1:
Example 2:
If you want to introduce your business to potential customers in a blog post, the 4 P’s framework can be helpful.
It focuses on identifying a problem your readers are facing, making a promise to help them, and proving how your business will help.
For example:
AIDA introduction is one of the most popular sales copywriting formulas that can be tweaked to write a compelling introduction.
Attention, Interest, Desire, Action – these are the four steps you’ll take your reader through to get them interested in your message or product.
Feature, Advantage, Benefit (FAB)-style introductions are great for writing product-related blogs. FAB analysis is often used in market research to understand a product’s competitive edge, yet this can be molded slightly to create compelling introductions. Let’s look at an example.
Example:
In a BAB intro, you first describe the existing world (before), then show how the world would be if a solution to the problem you’re discussing existed (after), and finally focus on telling your audience how to get to the “after” state (bridge).
Example:
These are some bad practices for introductions that could scare away your audience:
According to Learn Labs, here is an example of a bad blog post intro.
Check out another introduction from Upgrade that makes the one above look good. Yes, it’s that BAD! There is a hook, but generic.
I can’t figure out where the transitions are or what this introduction will lead to.
This is exactly the kind of introduction that will put off the readers.
Now that we know how to work up a good Introduction as part of your blogging strategy, let’s look into AI writing prompts that we can modify and use to generate some kickass introductions:
Below is an example of an introduction generated with a sense of humor for an SEO-friendly blog post that targets the keyword or search term in the first few sentences of the introduction.
Template: Write a very funny blog introduction for “[Blog-title]”. The keyword “[Primary keyword]” must appear in the first two sentences of the introduction.
Template: Write an introduction for a blog about [Blog-title] using a personal story that connects with people looking at [something].
Template: Write an introduction for a blog about [Blog-title] targeting [Persona]. Provide some statistics at the hook of the introduction.
Template: Write an introduction for a blog about [Title]. Write the introduction in the form of a problem and solution style. The first passage states the problem and the second explains the solution and then finally suggests why to continue reading the blog.
Template: Write an introduction for a blog about [Title]. Write the introduction in the form of the AIDA framework.
| Introduction with humor | Write a very funny blog introduction for “[Blog-title]”. The keyword “[Primary keyword]” must appear in the first two sentences of the introduction. |
| Introduction with a personal story | Write an introduction for a blog about “[Blog-title]” using a personal story that connects with people looking at [something]. |
| Introduction to the right audience | Write an introduction for a blog about “[Blog title]” targeting [Persona]. Provide some statistics at the hook of the introduction. |
| PAS style introduction | Write an introduction for a blog about [Title]. Write the introduction in the form of a problem and solution style. The first passage states the problem and the second explains the solution and then finally suggests why to continue reading the blog. |
| AIDA style introduction | Write an introduction for a blog about [Title]. Write the introduction in the form of the AIDA framework. |
Outranking’s SEO content writing platform can be a great tool to help you write great introductions. Our platform uses natural language processing (NLP) to generate compelling content quickly and easily. You can use prompts to get started or our pre-built AI writing methods to create a unique, reader-oriented introduction that will grab your audience’s attention.
