How better to wind up the week of Say it For You blog posts devoted to crafting opening lines than by serving up some OPW (Other People’s Wisdom) on the subject?

“Don’t even waste your time. No matter how good your blog posts are, if the intro doesn’t grab attention, it’s no use,” Tara Horner pronounces. After all, she notes, the opening line is the first thing readers see other than your title, and what’s the point, she asks, of tweeting a post if no one gets past reading the first sentence or two?

Like Horner, both Darren Rowse of Problogger and Hector Cuevas (blog.2createawebsite.com) suggest starting with a question as one way to engage readers.

• Did you know….?
• How do you….?
• What’s one of the most common problems that…..?
• Do you want to learn how to…?
• Have you ever…?
• Do you ever wonder if…?

A twist on the question strategy whick Rowse mentions, a tactic I’ve made use of on behalf of professional practitioners who are Say It For You clients, is answering readers’ questions.

Jeanine asked Atlanta chiropractor about what high back pain meant versus pain in the lower part of the back…

What Cuevas calls the “shock and awe approach” to business blog content writing involves starting posts by ”disagreeing with what is commonly accepted as the norm”. This, he suggests, “builds an instant sense of curiosity and brings up questions that your readers need answered.” The caution, he adds, is that your content needs to clearly explain your point of view.

As a corporate blogging trainer, the caution I’d add is that, while In many SEO marketing blogs the blog content writers focus on appealing to consumers’ fears, if the goal is to appeal to the “right kind” of customer (who buys for the right reasons and remains loyal), blogging for business should be targeted towards readers’ logic, with an eye to fulfilling those readers’ legitimate needs.

Opening with a quote is a technique recommended by all three bloggers. Quotes, as I explain to Indianapolis bloggers, can be used to reinforce your points, show you’re in touch with trends in your field, and (precisely what I’m doing in this very post), add value for readers by aggregating different sources of information in one spot.

In writing for business, suggests Tara Hornor, the goal is to have your opening statement “leap off the page” and “turn heads”.

The challenge, as every busy business owner, professional practitioner knows, is that sustained “feeding of the blog beast” can be daunting. Hopefully, a shot of Other People’s Wisdom every so often can help rejuvenate that blog content writing drive!
 

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen,” reads the opening line of George Orwell’s novel 1984. That line earned a spot on ClassicLit.com’s list of "Top Ten Opening Lines".

Would that same Orwell line make the grade as an opener in business blog content writing? Let’s take a closer look:

“A novel is made up of many thousands of sentences, but none is so deeply important as the opening line,” says litreactor. “It should be mysterious and compelling, either poetic or shockingly abrupt.”

• A blog post might consist of a few dozen, rather than thousands of, sentences.  Still, as a corporate blogging trainer, I’d have to agree: No line is as important as that opener.
   
• Abrupt? Opening with a startling statistic is certainly one tactic blog writers can use to demonstrate to online readers that business owners and practitioners are familiar with the reader’s problem and know how to deal with it.
   
• Compelling? Yes, that opening blog post line needs to be that.  But, mysterious? Not such a good idea, I’d caution freelance blog content writers.  In fact, one critical function served by the first line of any SEO marketing blog post is reassuring readers they’ve arrived at precisely the right place to find the products, services, and information they were looking for in the first place.
   
• Poetic or shocking? The first line of a business blog could take either approach, depending on the target audience.  A spa, for example, might want to evoke a sense of relaxation and peace, whereas a home security systems company might want to take the opposite approach, “shocking” readers into appreciating the dangers of a home break-in.

The opening Orwell line about the clock striking thirteen does set the right tone for a science fiction book. One lesson newbie freelance bloggers must learn is to stay style-true to the “brand” of each client’s business or practice. Still, even though blogger “the Twisted Spinster” loves the line for its rhythm and slight weirdness,  as a blogger, I’d have to give it a “Meh” (so-so) because it doesn’t confirm the “match” with the reader’s search.

“I do have a fondness for short opening lines,” observes the Twisted Spinster. So do I, but opening lines, like blog post length, can and should vary depending on what is being communicated — and to whom.  In terms of how short an opening line should be, the rule I cite when offering business blogging assistance: is  “Make blog posts as long as they need to be to get the point across (choosing just one point to emphasize in each post to begin with), but not a single sentence longer”.
 

Opening lines in novels and in blogging for business may not be long or deep, but they can certainly be deeply important!

 

O