Blog writers need special skills in order to snag readers as they skim through search engine results and social media posts. The best way to grab and keep a reader’s attention is the art of the hook. This is one of the most important lessons for anyone learning how to write blogs. Fortunately, once you understand the role and purpose of the hook, it’s fairly easy to craft.
Know Your Audience
No matter how clever and sharp your hook may be, if it isn’t tailored for your chosen audience, then it won’t work. A hook that fails to catch readers isn’t really a hook at all. Even though this is the first thing writers learn about how to write blogs, it’s an easy lesson to forget, especially after hours of research. Today’s blogging strategies focus on keywords and trends, but those are only effective if they apply to your audience.
Address the Immediate Concern
The best way to appeal to your audience is to address whatever concerns or questions brought them to your post. The opening lines should be closely tied to the title. You can almost treat the title as the first sentence. Remember, the readers click because of your title, but they stay because of the promise of your first few sentences. Don’t try to be too clever. Get to the point quickly, and get your readers thinking.
A hook might reiterate the most common questions sparked by your title. A blog post with a title promising readers a list of spring gardening tips could use a common gardening problem to grab readers’ empathy and attention. Conversely, your opening could suggest a better future. The same gardening tips article may have an introduction that helps readers envision a bumper crop of early vegetables, or a brilliant, healthy flowerbed. The hook demonstrates to your audience that your post will help them learn what they need to reach their personal goals. This applies to every kind of article, and not just how-to’s or tips and tricks.
Carry the Hook Through
Use the hook as the thesis statement for the rest of your blog post. It should guide both tone and the content. Naturally, you’ll bring in other ideas, especially in list articles, but always come back to what the audience will get out of your post. If you’ve written your introduction well, it should fit neatly into the blog as a whole. You don’t need to repeat yourself, but address the first sentence’s focus at least once in every subheading. At the very least, you should revisit your initial draw in the conclusion. This ties up the post and reinforces your readers’ memories.
The audience’s needs rule the hook and, by extension, the blog itself. Once you determine the need your hook snares, it should fit easily as the follow up to your title. The hook doesn’t finish its work until readers have finished the entire article, so make sure the rest of the content supports it. A hook convinces readers your post is worth their time, but it shouldn’t be time consuming to create.