By Jayne Schultheis — Companies have a maximum of 10 seconds to grab a customer’s attention in a blog introduction.

‍

Have we caught your attention yet?

‍

Blogs are the cornerstone of long-form content marketing. With the proliferation of AI, how you craft your content matters. People on search engines aren't looking for generic text regurgitated over and over. They want high-quality information that provides value — something that grabs their attention and holds it until they've found the information they seek. And they'll give you only a few seconds to deliver, according to user experience data and market research by the Nielsen Norman Group.

‍

Ideally, the quick, authoritative way you answer the question will keep them on your blog page even after they've learned what they came for. Now you have a chance to surprise and delight them with information they weren't expecting.

‍

In this article, we'll look at how to create compelling and effective blog introductions that help convert your web traffic from visitors to valuable leads, and even customers.

The basics of blog introductions

A solid content strategy is one that takes into account every aspect of blog creation — from start to finish. Establishing standards and best practices will make your content process run smoother, especially if you plan to incorporate guest blogging or outsource to freelancers.

‍

Let's say you're a dog food company and some of the goals and standards for your blog are:

‍

• Boost your SEO (search engine optimization)
• Build up backlinks
• Incorporate monetization through affiliate marketing
• Re-purpose material through other forms of content distribution, such as social media and email marketing
• Broaden your content promotion

‍

‍

You conduct topic and keyword research and decide your next blog post's focus keyword will be "safe dog foods." Here are some best practices and blogging tips to make your opening paragraph stand out among your competition.

Provide a hook

In school, this is how we first learn to write engaging content for an audience. It's a fishing analogy, and the "hook" is wording that will grab your audience and prevent them from wandering away. A "hook" might be a thought-provoking question, a shocking statistic, or an intriguing statement. It's something that makes your reader want to find out more.

‍

"Did you know that certain fruits and vegetables can boost your dog's health, while others can make your dog sick?"

Define the problem and offer the solution

If your company has the solution, you might want to just get right to the point. A good blog post introduction can state the problem clearly and promise the solution. If the solution is simple and easily stated, provide it immediately.

‍

"Many pet owners don't know that dangers lurk in some everyday foods. Feeding your dog the wrong treats could lead to serious health issues. In this guide, we'll tell you about safe dog foods to share with your furry friend and teach you about foods to avoid."

Establish authority

Authority is one of the key factors that wins the trust of both search engines and website visitors.

‍

"With years of experience in pet nutrition and a passion for keeping dogs safe, our team has compiled this comprehensive list of safe dog foods."

Include keywords

One of the SEO best practices for content optimization is to use your focus keyword or phrase within the first few sentences of the blog introduction. This makes the focus of the article clear to readers and helps search engine crawlers identify your content as knowledgeable and authoritative. Besides the focus keyword, any additional keywords you can use naturally in your blog intro adds SEO value.

Create curiosity

This is like a combination of a "hook" and a "call to action." It entices the reader to discover something more if they keep engaging with the blog.

‍

"Read on to find out which common pantry items can double as healthy dog treats and which ones to avoid at all costs."

Set expectations

People searching online tend to skim text to find exactly what they're looking for. Let them know right up front that time spent with your blog will pay dividends.

‍

"We'll discuss the best fruits, vegetables, and other foods that are safe for dogs, as well as some surprising foods to steer clear of."

Use engaging language

At the heart of both storytelling and marketing is a common denominator: a compelling use of language. Using large, complicated words won't establish trust — unless you're doing some niche blogging for other experts in your field. For the most part, your language should strike a balance between clarity, readability, consistent brand voice, and creativity.

‍

"Let's dive into the world of dog nutrition and discover how to keep your pup's tail wagging with delicious and safe treats."

Include visual appeal

Your blog design should include visual content, like photos, infographics or video content, and it helps to get something at the top of the page to pair with your introduction. You want something that's visually compelling, but not too complicated. And it should complement the meta title and not repeat the same message.

‍

You can include more detailed infographics or photos that require detailed captions as you get further into the content's main body. Some applications, like WordPress, even provide a conveniently formatted section for a "cover photo."

With Rellify, blog introductions are easy

Rellify upgrades and streamlines every part of content creation, from keyword research to blog introductions to analytics. With a custom Relliverse™, a company-specific AI subject-matter expert to identify your strategic topics, you're set on the path to better SEO from the very start. In the Rellify platform, you can keep track of how well your blog fulfills crucial SEO elements with an "R-score." Every single part of the Rellify platform is designed to make evergreen content creation simpler and more effective — and that means a higher ROI and more conversions for your blogging efforts.

‍

Ready to find out more? Contact a Rellify expert today to find out how Rellify can change the way you blog.

‍

‍

‍