How To Write Enticing Intros To Keep Your Readers Engaged In Your Content
Most blog introductions suck. In fact, the best way to send your readers to sleep is to kick your content off with some boring, half-arsed intro with awkwardly placed focus keywords.
No!
You need to jump straight into the action and convince your readers of the fact that yours is an article worth reading…
“But how can I write a banging introduction that will tickle my readers with anticipation?!” I hear you cry…
Read on and we’ll share the juice so that you can up your engagement and get the most out of each person who sets eyes on your beautiful writing…
1. Include a good hook
You don’t want to repeat your title in the first sentence. They’ve literally just read it! Instead, freshen it up with a hook that will engage their curiosity.
Remember, you need to set the stage, anticipate the problem, and then lure your readers on an adventure with you…
Pretend you are writing the opening scene for a novel!
2. Keep your first sentence relatively short
If the first thing that your reader has to engage with is an unnecessarily long sentence packed with overly verbose language for the sake of being all fancy and fun, then you’re going to lose them faster than I lose a mosquito when I stand up from my comfortable seating position with the intention of clapping the bloody pest between my hands.
See how exhausting that was?
Keeping your content short and concise and easy to understand is a great SEO tactic!
3. Summarise the article
Your intro should be fun, but you also want to summarise the article in as few words as possible.
You’ve got to cut the fat and get straight down to brass tacks. What is the problem they have? How will your article help them?
Then crack on with it.
4. Why is the article important?
Another great shout is to include a little detail on why the article is important. They know the problem, they see your solution, but what are the practical benefits?
In this case, the first thing I address is “sending your readers to sleep”. My guess is you don’t want that! Then I go on to talk about “upping engagement and making the most out of each reader”.
That’s worth a look, surely?
5. Inject your brand personality
And of course, you’ve got to put a little bit of yourself into the intro! What is your brand voice? Are you writing as an individual or as a representative of your business?
The reality is: most content reads terribly boring. This is because the average writer is focused solely on pleasing the search engine gods and pumping out as much content as they can in order to rank well.
Wrong.
You’ve got to jazz it up and give your writers an exciting voice to engage with. If you truly want to stand out and resonate with your audience, you’ve got to at least seem like you are enjoying yourself!
Get passionate about the subject matter:
“You have this problem and it’s so frustrating! We have this solution and it brings us so much joy to share it with you!!!”
Conclusion: You could always hire the pros
Another truth is that not all of us are gifted at writing. I for one suck at everything except for writing. Need to solve a math problem? I’m not your guy. Got a shelf that needs hanging? Find literally anyone but me. Want a lovely poem for your dear old mum on her birthday on the other hand? Sign me up.
In short, if you are struggling but you want to get the most out of the content that you produce for your brand and business, outsource it to the professionals. A reputable SEO company can help you put together an awesome content creation plan so that you can focus on doing what you do best!
