How To Write an Introduction – Our 5 Top Tips
Knowing how to write an introduction that will grab the attention of the reader is crucial. If it doesn’t immediately answer the question, there’s too much waffle, or it doesn’t tick all the relevant SEO boxes, it won’t have the required impact. Full stop.
As content writing wizards, we understand that crafting a compelling introduction is a fine art. Regardless of the content type, length, or where it sits on site, it needs to hit the mark. And in around 300 words… Get it right and your website will go from strength to strength. Get it wrong and your prospective customers will look elsewhere.
Want to turn traffic into conversions? At Embryo, we know how to write an introduction that not only performs but sets your business above the rest. To learn more about how clever content creation can benefit you, get in touch with our team of experts today. You can call us on 0161 327 2635 or contact us at info@embryo.com.
5 Top Tips on How To Write an Introduction That Delivers, Every Time
Nowadays, the average attention span has dropped to a mere 8 seconds. With that being said, the pressure is on to write a show-stopping introduction that aligns with your brand and speaks to your audience. Intrigued? Good, we’ve got your attention…
Read on to find out how you can encourage your readers to scroll beyond the headline and actively engage with your content in a way that significantly improves your performance.
1. Create a Killer Opening Sentence
Start with something snappy. In the digital world of quick scrolling, endless headlines, and 30-second videos, your customers don’t want or need to work hard to find what they want. If your content falls short at the first hurdle, they will simply move on.
To encourage your audience to invest in your content, and, by extension, your brand, your opening sentence needs to hook them in. Whether it’s a shocking fact, a punchy statement, or something on the emotional side, it should be both relevant to the topic and appealing to the reader.
Oh, and you MUST include your target keyword. Not only does it give the reader an understanding of the article’s purpose, but it acts as a signal of relevancy to the search engine. This will help to increase the visibility of your website and improve your rankings in the search results. A very important step.
2. Know Your Audience
If you aren’t speaking directly to your target customer, then what you have to say won’t be of any interest. It’s important to understand exactly who they are, what they want, and why they need your business. This can help to inform the tone of voice and direction of the introduction. For instance, adopting a more casual tone will allow you to resonate with a customer base that is primarily young adults. Alternatively, if you are targeting professionals, you may want to take a more formal approach.
As experts in the digital marketing space, we recognise that this research aspect is crucial to developing a successful strategy. From the kick-off call to the delivery, our team is focused on creating content that inspires and addresses your customers’ pain points, and the results speak for themselves.
3. Connect With a Question
Rhetorical questions have the ability to pull the reader out of their absent-minded screen scroll and get them thinking. They are also a great trick if you want to create human-centred content that is relatable and situates your business within your customers’ everyday lives.
At Embryo, we are firm believers in the power of the word ‘you’. It helps to solidify that connection between the customer and the business. Pop this in your introduction and you are showing your customer that you care and are empathetic to their individual needs.
Here are some top blog writing tips for creating effective questions:
- Keep it relevant to the topic
- Use evocative language that reaches your customer on an emotional level
- Create a sense of urgency by suggesting a problem that only you can solve
- Use your question strategically, don’t just whack it in anywhere
4. Guide Your Readers Through your Content With a Table
Give your readers a road map.
In today’s fast-paced environment, you can’t expect customers to scan through pages and pages of content. Trust us, they’ll have opened a new tab in seconds… A content table offers them a quick and easy way to navigate through your content, enabling them to find the information they need without wasting any time. This is a super simple way to optimise your introduction and improve the overall user experience.
Can we let you in on a secret? It can also boost your SEO efforts! Providing a clear outline makes it easier for search engines to understand and index your content. From this table, jump links can be added to the SERP, helping to improve your click-through rate.
5. Encourage Readers to Convert With a Crafty CTA
You are creating content that convinces readers, otherwise known as prospective customers, to convert. So why not spell it out for them?
A well-placed CTA, or Call-to-Action, will increase engagement by prompting the reader to interact with the content in some way. Depending on the nature and goals of your business, this could be a command in the form of ‘get in touch today’, ‘sign up to our newsletter’, or even ‘check out our latest collection’ – the options are endless. This will add value to your content and enable you to gain and leverage key learnings around what works well with your customer base. Using these insights, you can review and optimise your content strategy.
Keen to Find Out More? Take Your Website to New Heights with Our Content Marketing Expertise
So, there we have it: our top tips and tricks on what to put in an introduction. Once you have the basics down, you can create an effective opening that hooks your readers and encourages conversion. While this isn’t an exhaustive list, this easy-to-follow formula will set your content up for success and keep your customers coming back for more.
Contact us today to discover how you can transform your website with a tailored content strategy that fulfils the unique requirements of your business and appeals to your target audience.