If you’re anything like me, you probably don’t love writing blog post introductions. I’ve struggled with them for as long as I’ve been writing for the SocialNicole blog, and they can still feel like pulling teeth. To help you, we have some concrete ways to write a successful blog post introduction. Coming up with a strong hook, building a connection with your readers, presenting a thesis, and mapping out your post will all help to form a killer blog post introduction. Using writing tools such as anecdotes and metaphors can also help to take your introduction to the next level. Writing an introduction to a blog post does not have have to be a chore. Read on for our tips to learn how to make your next blog post introduction shine!
How to Write An Irresistible Blog Post Introduction
1. Hook Your Reader With Your Blog Post Introduction
The very first thing you’ll need to do when crafting your blog post’s introduction is hook your reader, and hook them fast! People are busy and have short attention spans, if your blog post introduction doesn’t grab their attention and convince them to stay, they will move on to something else without hesitation. From the get-go, you need to give your readers something to think about. Draw them in by asking a question or come up with another creative way to draw them in right from the first sentence. Your reader already has some idea of what your post is about from the title – so use the beginning of your introduction to take them from being interested in the subject to being hooked so they will keep reading.
2. Invite Your Reader to the Party With Your Blog Post Introduction
An effective way to get your audience reading (and keep them reading) is to invite them in from the very beginning. This can be a part of your hook. Address your reader from the first sentence. Pose a question addressed to “you” or “your business.” Make it personal to them, and make it personal by adding details about yourself! Let them know that you’re not a robot, but a flesh-and-blood human speaking to other humans. Find a way to create some sort of bond.
One way to form a bond or connection with your readers is to introduce an emotion. Try to determine the feelings your reader may have associated with your blog post topic. Are they intimidated, and you’re trying to put them at ease? Are you writing about something exciting, and you want to help boost that excitement by giving them more information? Does the subject leave people confused, and your blog post is going to give them all the answers? Try to give your reader an idea of what is in store for them by inviting them into the post by making some sort of promise about what they’re going to get out of it.
3. Ask a Question and State Your Stance in Your Blog Post Introduction
A great hook often includes a stated question, but you want your introduction on the whole to ask a bigger question. What this means is that you need to create a “why?” for your blog post. Offer a clear purpose for the blog post in your introduction. This is the reason you’re writing the post, and the reason the audience is reading. Initiate some sort of change by challenging assumptions that your audience may have or proposing a different way of looking at the topic, and then give a promise that your post is going to solve the problem and answer the “why?”
In doing so, you present your thesis and give your stance on the subject, and throughout the rest of the post, each of your points should back up this stance. This stance or position you pose in your introduction doesn’t need to be a hill to die on, but rather a slant that you’re taking to write this post. Introduce the problem but don’t solve it yet. If you answer every question in the introduction, your readers will have no need to read the rest of the blog post!
4. Use Metaphors and Anecdotes in Your Blog Post Introduction
Using writing tools such as metaphors and anecdotes can be helpful to both the writer and the reader in understanding the subject being addressed, especially if it is a complex topic. More than that, metaphors and anecdotes create a personal feel in your blog post introduction. They can help to set the tone, establish the voice of your post, and make your reader feel like this is a conversation with a friend. Use a personal story from your own experience to illustrate the topic of the blog, or talk about your business’s struggle or success with this subject (this can also lend itself to establishing your credibility and expertise).
Use a metaphor to draw a parallel between the topic of the blog post and a concrete, real-life image that your audience will be able to relate to. For instance, comparing your business’s blog to brick-and-mortar store with a big OPEN sign on its door drives home the point that a business blog is inviting and important for business success. Metaphors can be fun and add color and personality to your business blog’s posts.
5. Map Out the Blog Post in Your Blog Post Introduction
Use your introduction to draw a map for your audience, let them know where your post is going to take them. When you presented your stance or thesis, you told them what you were going to talk about in the blog post and your position on the matter. Now give them a little glimpse of each step you’re going to take along the way, the route you’re taking to answer the question that you’ve posed. Tell your readers what tips they’ll learn or what tool will be added to their toolbelt by reading this blog post. Hint at the steps you’ll take on this route without giving everything away. Again, make sure you leave them wondering enough that they’ll read the body of the post for the answers.
In order to draw a map, you first need to know where you’re going as the writer, what path you’ll take, and where you will end up! This is why you should write the introduction to your blog post last. This way you will already have asked and answered the questions for yourself, and you will be able to best introduce, map out, and present a thesis for your blog post accurately.
Writing blog post introductions can be challenging, but they don’t have to be a chore! If I can learn to write them successfully, believe me, so can you! Employ the important elements: hook your readers, invite them in personally, pose a question and give your stance, map out where this blog post will take them, and use writing tools such as metaphors and anecdotes to help out with clarity and tone. Remember, you may want to write your blog post introduction last for best results!
Introductions need blog posts to follow! Read our post about writing a great blog post here!
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