How to Write a Killer Blog Introduction that Really Hooks the Reader | Ep. #526

In episode #526, Eric and Neil discuss the ways in which you can hook readers with a killer blog introduction. Tune in to hear their tips for creating great blog posts.

Time-Stamped Show Notes: 

  • [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Write a Killer Blog Introduction that Really Hooks the Reader
  • [00:34] Neil likes something hard-hitting and quick, when it comes to blog entries.
  • [00:56] Statistics really draw him in.
  • [01:21] Conversational-style writing is also really appealing to Neil. Hooking people with a personal story is usually successful.
  • [01:38] Neil likes to write in the first person, as it makes it seem more personal.
  • [03:10] Eric likes reading things that are written by marketing copywriters, because they know how to write a good hook.
  • [03:37] Eric likes looking at The Boron Letters and the book Breakthrough Advertising.
  • [04:07] Perry Marshal said that your goal when writing an email is to hook them into the next email.
  • [04:28] It’s important to focus on how to keep readers interested.
  • [04:42] It must be authentic and fit your personality.
  • [05:40] Take the signal that makes sense to you and adjust it to fit your style.
  • [05:46] That’s it for today!
  • [05:48] Go to singlegrain.com/giveaway if you want to get in on a special giveaway opportunity!

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The post How to Write a Killer Blog Introduction that Really Hooks the Reader | Ep. #526 appeared first on Marketing School Podcast.

Full Transcript of The Episode

Speaker 1: Get ready for your daily dose of marketing strategies and tactics from entrepreneurs with the guile and experience to help you find success in any marketing capacity. You're listening to "Marketing School" with your instructors Neil Patel and Eric Siu.

Eric Siu: Welcome to another episode of Marketing School. I'm Eric Siu.

Neil Patel: And I'm Neil Patel.

Eric Siu: And today we're going to talk about how to write a killer blog introduction that really hooks the reader.

Neil Patel: When I read blog posts nowadays, I really like, when I see things that hook me in, I like seeing something that's really hard hitting and quick. It's maybe in the first two or three sentences or so that it's broken down, but it's some very specific statistics. I'm struggling to remember something that really sticks out to me at the moment ... Actually, no, there is one.
When I read something about podcasts statistics, for example. It's over three billion or three billion people or three billion downloads in 2016, or whatever, have happened on our podcast host. It's grown over 40% or something like that. When I see numbers like that, that compels me to continue reading because those numbers, it's some kind of social proof that I'm seeing, and it's something I'm interested in, and it draws me in to continue.
Anything that's also conversational really helps draw people in, so it could be storytelling at the introduction. That works [inaudible 00:01:30]. I've tried out. When you hook people with a personal story, and then you get into the body, they're much more likely to read, similar to using stats.
The other thing I like doing with my introductions is using the words you and I, so when you use the words you and I, it makes it seem more like a conversation versus like a college professor talking to you and just making his whole classroom sleep.
Now, let me give you example on a topic that I have no clue about. So let's do yoga. I'm going to make this up. Let's say the post is called "Hundred and One Advance Yoga Techniques for Beginners." I'm just making this up, and here's what I mean by creating a conversation and creating a story.
'You see all these advance yoga, or you see all these advance yogis doing these crazy yoga poses. Wouldn't you love to do them? Well, they say that you can't do them until you're a few years into being a yoga expert or practicing yoga, but you know what, that can't be true. I've been reading and watching all these yoga videos and I've been learning. I'm like, you know what, I don't want to wait five years, and I bet you don't either. So after three months of crazy experimentation, I found out how beginners, how you and I, can actually use these advance yoga techniques. Here's 101 advance yoga techniques that you can do as a beginner, and I'll even walk you through the specific steps you need to take to implement these advance yoga techniques. So here it goes.' Then you just get started.
Now, my introduction is a bit off because I don't know yoga and I don't do it, but you get the gist of if. I'm talking about personal experiences. I'm doing it in a conversational tone, and then I'm hooking you into something that you probably want as a yoga person, but you don't have yet.

Eric Siu: Right. You want to have, I mean, Neil's talking lead ins like cliff hangers, things like that are certainly important. I think what I like reading is things that are written by ... We're talking about blog posts in this context, but copywriters, marketing copywriters, know how to bring you into the next thing. They're writing two to three sentences, but they're hooking you into the next sentence. It's not even just the introduction. It just keeps hooking you in over and over. It's like a good TV show. There's always a cliff hanger at the end. I like looking at "The Boron Letters", which is from Gary Halbert, which is one of the greatest copywriters of our time, and I also like to book "Break Through Advertising." You read that stuff, think about it, advertising, these are people that are trying to hook you at the end of the day. "Boron Letters," Gary Halbert as a copywriter, he's trying to hook you over and over and over. All those letters that you see, he wrote those letters to his son when he was in prison, but it just taught him all these life lessons, but it just kept hooking you into the next sentence, to the next sentence, to the next sentence.
If you think about it, I think it was Perry Marshall that said this, your goal when you're writing an email, I'm just talking about copy in general at this point, you're trying to hook people. Your goal is to hook people into the next email and to the next email. You want them to look forward to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. How do you continue to do that? What Neil talked about, it's just important to think about how you can continue to keep the reader interested.

Neil Patel: Yeah. And with an introduction, you'll find what flows for you. I've always found that storytelling and conversations work extremely well for me. Using stats, cliffhangers, all that kind of stuff, works, but you've got to find your flow. If it doesn't come off authentic and fit your personality, it's not going to jive with your readers.
This happens with any for of content marketing. When I shoot videos, I had a guy whose recently teaching me how to do introductions better. Some of the stuff he was telling me to do wasn't jiving with me personally, but he was fine with me adapting it to myself. If you can see that it's not authentic or if people can see, they'll notify, they'll let you know, and you'll find out with your stats, your data, and you'll start losing some traction.
For example, I was at lunch the other day with a guy named Cameron. He's like, "Yeah, whatever you're doing with your videos and the way you're starting them, I don't like it as much anymore." He's like, "I don't want to watch your videos." That was good feedback, and I started to asking multiple people, got similar feedback, and I'm like alright, I'm going to use some of the things he taught me, and then I'm going to adjust it back into my own style. If it doesn't flow naturally with you, people can tell, and they're not going to read the rest of your content.

Eric Siu: Yeah. So take feedback that you get from people. Take the signal, 'cause there's a lot of noise out there, obviously, but take the signal that makes sense to you, which is what Neil is doing, and just make adjustments. That's the same thing that's everything else that we talk about in marketing.
That's it for today, but before we go, just check out our give away. Just go to singlegrain.com/giveaway to learn more about it, and we'll see you tomorrow.

Speaker 1: This session of "Marketing School" has come to a close. Be sure to subscribe for more daily marketing strategies and tactics to help you find the success you've always dreamed of, and don't forget to write and review so we can continue to bring you the best daily content possible. We'll see you in class tomorrow right here on "Marketing School."

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