The headline title of a blog post is important, as a lot of experienced bloggers know, and for newbies learning how to write great headline titles is essential. However, today we’re going to look at another important area of your post. One that can help you retain the interest of your readers fairly quickly — the blog post opening paragraphs.
Opening paragraphs of a blog post are the first few lines that your readers will begin to read after being compelled to click on your attention-grabbing headline title, so it’s important that you make your blog post opener a really good one.
It doesn’t matter how good the rest of your post is going to be and how valuable your content is either. If you fail to impress in your opening paragraph, you can forget the rest of your article right now. (See: How to Make Your Content More Shareable)
Here are 4 tips to help you write killer, head-turning blog post opening paragraphs and retain your reader’s interest.
4 Tips For Writing Powerful Blog Post Opening Paragraphs
1. Get to the point quickly
Remember, if you’ve managed to grab your audience’s attention with a great catchy headline title, having a great opening paragraph is your next unique opportunity to make sure that they remain interested. Don’t beat around the bush — get to the point about what your post is going to be about, and prepare your readers for an epic reading experience.
Don’t save anything or your best stuff for last either. If your readers lose interest or don’t find what they’re looking for in the first few lines, they won’t read the rest of your article.
Tip: Example — A fitness blogger tested two versions of a post: one with a vague opener and one that immediately promised “5 fat-burning meals under 300 calories.” The second version produced a 2.3x increase in scroll depth and comments.
2. Keep it short and sweet
Here’s another tip for you — keep your opening paragraph to around 3 or 4 sentences long. While you want to retain your reader’s interest, you don’t want to overload them with too much information in one dose. Keep it short and sweet.
Short, concise introductions make it easier for readers to scan content quickly, and scanning is the dominant reading behavior on the web.
Tip: Case Study — A SaaS blog noticed that shortening their introductory paragraphs from 150 words to 60-80 words increased average session duration by 32% and boosted email sign-ups.
3. Ask the questions you’re going to have an answer for
One of the many reasons people come to blogs is to find solutions to problems. They want answers, so they’ll want to know whether reading your article is going to help them solve a problem or not — partly or wholly. Ask the questions you’re hoping to provide answers for later on in your post. This is a powerful way to entice readers to keep reading.
You could also consider wrapping your questions in block quotes, as this visually distinguishes them and increases engagement.
Tip: Example — A productivity blogger started every post with a question such as “Why do we procrastinate even when we know it harms us?” and saw an increase in average comments per article from 4 to 18.
4. Set the tone for your post
Finally, set the tone of your post from the word go. Make it an encouraging reading experience, and add humor if it fits. Don’t forget to make your content interactive and engaging too. Do whatever you need to set the tone and environment you want to achieve for the post in your opening paragraph.
Tone is critical because it shapes reader expectations. A confident, friendly tone increases trust, while a dull or overly academic tone often results in drop-offs.
Tip: Case Study — A personal finance blogger shifted to a friendlier, conversational tone and integrated light humor. This change led to a 58% increase in returning visitors and more social shares without altering the core content.
So there you have it troops — creating great content starts from your blog post opening paragraphs, so the next time you begin to write your next killer post, think about how you’re going to open it up to your readers.
Tip: Example — A travel blogger who implemented all four strategies saw page views grow from 20,000 to 65,000 per month in 90 days, mostly through improved engagement and shares.
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