With a title like that, you are certainly expecting one hell of a great lede.
Did I meet your expectations or leave you feeling dashed? I want nothing more in this world than for you to be satisfied with my lede. Really, I do. Seriously!
From a reader’s perspective, the first sentence opens the flood gates of failure, criticism, success, and perfection on behalf of your writing skills. For a writer? The lede does everything for your blog content. You see, readers who aren’t roped in by your leading sentences will take their time elsewhere. Here are 5 bits worth the literary horse you rode in on that will help make your lede lead readers to read on.
Real Housewives Know Best….Really!
No matter if you are a closet Housewives watcher or a professed lover of all things drama, these ladies sure know how to keep your attention. Take note from RHO…’Everywhere’ and include some hysterics in your lede. Daytime drama-worthy ledes will send table tops flipping as readers flock to your blog for daily doses of dramatics.
Boo! There It Is
Another Halloween has come and gone, boo hoo hoo for candy lovers, but that doesn’t mean you can keep the “BOO!” coming for your blog. Of course, scaring the pants off your readers isn’t always necessary for a surprise attack. Hit ‘em up with a personal anecdote, titillating quote or narrative that is unexpected. For instance, are you writing a holiday gift giving guide? Surprise your readers with a lede into your post that details that time you gave someone a duplicate/expired/broken/tacky or much hated gift. They’ll love the story enough that it’ll keep them reading so they don’t make the same mistake you did–or didn’t, if your story is all a lie, which is okay too.
Worried Readers Won’t Read Your Blog Post?
Do you ask your readers things in the ledes of your blog posts? Why not? What are you afraid of? Worried that you’ll turn them away if you start a blog with a question? Well, don’t be. But there are if, ands, and buts to consider. If you start a post with a questioning lede and you want to keep it real, use your own experience to form a personal connection with the reader. For example, you may ask if he/she has the same problems you do with getting readers to read his/her blogs. This, my reader, is a question that will grip the attention of any reader or writer.
Feel for Your Readers
I understand how difficult it is to make a lede with power for each blog post you write. I empathize with all writers who strive to put their best posts forward, whether for their own blogs or for their clients. As a result, I want to make sure that each lede I write is connecting with my readers’ current emotional state, situation, or feelings. Connecting with readers on what keeps them awake worrying at night is a sure fire way to create a lede that will make them feel like you truly understand what they are going through.
Write the Lede Last
Wait a second, but doesn’t a lede lead into a blog post? Well, you are certainly paying attention. However, if you are having trouble developing an outstanding lede, write your entire blog post first. Then go back and develop a lede that ties the gist of the post together. For this blog post, I went back and wrote the lede to include everything discussed here. Do you see it there? I sure hope you do!
Miranda B prefers to post blog ledes that take readers to another world, but then again, her professional blog is all about fantasy fiction writing.
