Blogging. Do you have what it takes?

Blogging. Do you have what it takes?

The concept of captivating the reader right off the bat is one that applies to all types of writing. Of course, the first thing that must grab the reader is your headline. After the reader has decided to continue reading, your opening (or teaser) paragraph must not disappoint them. You will lay the groundwork for the entire article with your introductory paragraph.

You need to make your opening paragraph compelling and interesting, of course, but it is only effective once the reader has gotten past your headline. Now, let’s speak about the most effective ways to introduce a blog posting.

You should aim to make it as personal as possible. Try to write something with which the reader will be able to connect. It is of utmost importance for the reader to feel that the information that you are providing will satisfy at least one of their needs.

The way in which you approach the writing of your blog article will determine whether your readers will remain interested in what you have to say or will move on to someone else’s blog posting. If you have figured out how to draw them to your blog article through your headline, you have a responsibility to keep them interested in the rest of the article.

Writing the creative lead

If you can figure out how to effectively present the creative lead (or hook), you will effectively grab the readers’ interest each time. Remember that your hook must be interesting and brief. If you read blog postings of other persuasive bloggers, you will see that those bloggers consistently present enticing opening paragraphs.

In your creative lead, you should be able to captivate the interest your reader in one sentence. As a writer, of course, you will find that it is not always easy to create the perfect hook.

Sometimes the sentence will come easily and naturally and sometimes it will take some time to come up with the perfect hook. In either case, devoting whatever time it takes to writing the perfect lead is worth it. You need to make sure that it is the best that it can possibly be. That will set the stage for the success of the entire article.

The most effective hook is simple and brief and will immediately grab the attention of anyone who reads it. The following are some tips to help you to come up with superb leads:

Open with a quotation: If you are able to open your article with a quotation of someone who is respected and well known, more and more people will start to take an interest in your article.
Ask a question: Asking a question works very well in headlines so it can also work very well in an introductory paragraph. You should try to come up with a question that cannot be answered by the reader without reading your entire article or ask a question that is closely connected to your blog article headline.
Start your introductory paragraph with a statistic or interesting fact: This is a very powerful tool. The more interesting the information that you use, the more interested people will become. Readers love to be fascinated and amazed by shocking statistics or unusual facts.
Speak in metaphors: When it comes to literary devices, metaphors are very powerful and they cause the readers to really think. If you are able to choose a strong enough metaphor that relates to your headline, you will definitely succeed at getting people to start reading and thinking.
Be funny: A great way to connect with your readers is through humor. If you are able to succeed at amusing someone or making them laugh, they will probably want to continue reading your article so that they are amused again and again. Being amused feels really good.
Formatting

In addition to the actual words themselves, you should always keep the formatting of your introductory paragraphs in mind. Using a drop cap is an attention grabber for the reader. It is a very simple technique and works very well with blog articles. You should apply this formatting to every blog article. This will then become a part of your branding.

Changing the font attributes can definitely have a positive effect on the look and feel of your opening paragraph. Readers like to read interesting articles that also appeal to their sense of aesthetics.

Graphic images

Using graphic images in the introductory paragraph will absolutely contribute to the success of your article. The more you are able to connect a graphic image to the significance of your article, the more the reader will be able to relate to it. It is a good idea to try to use graphic images that use the hook techniques mentioned above (humor, metaphors, shock value, etc).

Again, please remember that your opening paragraph is one of the most important paragraphs in your entire article. The closer you tie that paragraph to your headline, the more successful you will be in holding the interest of your readers to the end. Carolyn Cohen