Did you know that you have fewer than 20 seconds to grab your reader’s attention? Once you have it, you have to keep it, of course. However, once they’ve made a decision to continue reading, it’s easier to hold their attention.
So whether you are writing a book, blog post, email or book description, the first few sentences matter. They may be the most important words you write. So how do you hook your readers? How do you grab their attention?
Here are five tried-and-true ways.
Ask a Question
One of the easiest ways to capture attention is to get your reader immediately involved. You can do this by asking a question.
When people read a question, they want to answer it for themselves or guess at an answer. By doing this, they become invested in the answer.
Were they right? Did they make the right guess? Did the information you provided back them up or did they learn something new?
A savvy fiction writer started his book description with this: Would you murder your husband to save your child?
Enough said.
Share a Statistic or Fact…One that Evokes Emotion
People enjoy data. It helps them make sense of the world around them. And data can be used to make a very strong point.
In fact, did you know that one in five articles and blog posts written online starts with a statistic? Not really—just providing you with an example of how a statistic can be used.
You can use statistics to evoke emotion, too. Tapping into guilt, fear, curiosity and hope can pull your reader right into your article or blog post.
Did you know that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate among all psychiatric disorders with one death occurring every 52 minutes?
That’s example of combining a question with a statistic. Yes, it’s true.
On a lighter note…
How did you like the fun fact in the image used for this post? Did it catch your attention? Did you learn something new about our intimate connection to bananas?
If you are health or fitness coach, that type of interesting yet funny statistic can leave your reader wondering what else you have up your sleeve.
Quotable
Do you love quotes? Many people do. So much so that Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are inundated with thousands of them daily.
Start your content off with a quote to pull the reader in. It gets them thinking right away and tends to arouse curiosity.
“Yesterday you said tomorrow”
Share a Joke or Funny Story
Humorous posts are often shared online with others. If you want to motivate others to share your content, as well as read the full article, consider starting with a funny story. If you find writing humor to be a challenge, consider simply sharing a funny comic strip that relates to your topic.
For example, if you are writing a book or article about recognizing your potential, taking risks and getting out of your comfort zone, you can start with something like this:
Make a Promise
Finally, consider getting right to the point. Tell your reader what you can do for them and what they’ll gain by reading your book, article, email, or blog post.
For example, make them a promise of what they gain will by finishing your book.
By the end of this book, you will… learn a new a skill, let go of a painful emotion, heal an emotional wound, have a customized meal plan, have a blueprint to get out of debt/lose 10lbs/get a promotion, etc.
A wise businesswoman once said, “Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you told them.”
The next time you feel stuck and can’t think of a good opening hook, use this simple template to grab your reader’s attention and have fun with it!
