Ever thought about a comedian and how their entire performance can die with that opening joke? Or a movie that fails to hook its audience in the first scene, so they tune off and never get to the great plot twists and tear-jerker closing scene?

It’s the same with writing a blog post introduction or blog post headline. You need a strong blog post hook.

If you can’t hook your audience to want to read more of your blog, then your blog post just failed. Forget that awesome call to action at the end.

The way to look at a hook is to ask “so what’’. Why should they care?

Take a boring business anniversary story.

It’s fine that your business has just celebrated five years, but why should your ideal client care about that? In most cases, they won’t – unless you’re giving something away or sharing your inspiring story of how you got where you are now.

I thought I’d share some ideas for opening your next business blog post to grab your reader using a blog post hook.

Start with a story

We are all won over by stories. Tell a story in your blog that your ideal client can relate to and you’ll lure them in to read more. You don’t need to write War & Peace and your story doesn’t need to be a Steven Spielberg gripping drama. You just need to tell a relatable story well. Stories help paint mental pictures in the minds of your readers and help them more easily understand complex content or ideas.

Make a bold claim

It’s hard not to want to keep reading to find out exactly why the person has such an outrageous opinion on a topic you’re passionate about. So you keep reading… What do you believe in? What’s your opinion on a topic that would make a great opener for a blog post?

Be controversial

There’s something that attracts us to people who like to put themselves out there and rock the boat a little – whether we like them or not. If you’re OK with being a little controversial and you’re confident enough to know you can back up what you’re claiming, then take a stand. Marketing isn’t just about attracting the right people to us, but also about repelling those who aren’t a good fit.

Open with a quote

It’s funny, but as a journalist I was always told that opening a story with a quote was a lazy way to write. When you blog, there are no rules – so quote away! There’s no judgement here.

Start with the problem

When your ideal client reads how you’ve just identified their problem, then they just HAVE to keep reading to find out how they can solve it. This is a very classic copywriting formula that many use for blog openers that’s called the PAS. It stands for Problem, Agitate and Solution. This could be a story or it could be a two-line opening. 

Here’s an example:

PROBLEM: Growing your email list can be a bit like playing snakes and ladders. One minute you get a few subscribers and feel you’re climbing the ladder, but then soon find yourself sliding down the snake as half of them unsubscribe.

AGITATE: But if you’re not growing your list, then your business also isn’t growing. And this is why 43% of all new businesses fail – because they’re not bringing in new leads on a consistent basis.

SOLUTION: If you open your wallet right now, how many loyalty cards do you see in there? And how many of them exist because someone offered you a great discount, freebie or value to get your details in order to give you that card? None of them required me to pay for these cards and all of them were about more than simply “loyalty”, but also the opportunity to grab my email address to ensure they could continue marketing to me. And when I handed over my details, I was perfectly OK with this.

Share a statistic

We’re drawn to numbers for some silly reason – someone compared it to our eyes being drawn to contrasting colours. We get all caught up in statistics and trends. I’m not sure what it is about them we love, but they work!

Ask a question

Did you see what I did with this post? Questions are a great way to make people keep reading so they can find out the answers – kind of like the start with a problem hook really.

The crux of this post really is to be creative with your introduction. You need to hook them from the first line and MAKE them want to keep reading.

Tell me, what’s the hook for your next blog post?

Want to go beyond your blog post hook?

Are you serious about improving your content marketing? Download a copy of the Content Marketing Audit Template to ensure you’re putting the best possible content out to grow your business.

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