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How to start your blog post so that your reader stays with you.

Miranda-2

“It drives my wife mad.”

Your ears have pricked up, haven’t they? What exactly drives her mad? And why is the narrator being so open about it?

Honesty and a hint of drama.

You’re probably reading this because:

  • you sense there is some sort of dilemma. You’re human and you want to get to the bottom of it;
  • all good stories, from the oldest folktales onwards, have a testing situation at their heart. That’s what draws you in;
  • the remark is made in a straightforward, candid way. You get the feeling you’re being allowed behind the scenes. Again, you’re human. It’s good to know that someone trusts you enough to show you the inner workings of their life.

Spilling the beans over lunch.

That combination of candour and challenge is why I’m looking forward to interviewing Richard Skerritt, founder and MD of a financial success story in the south east – Skerritts Wealth Management.

As you’ll see, if you click here, he’s disarmingly direct about how nerve-racking he found the first six years of his entrepreneurial life. He felt he’d started on the wrong foot, with no clients, in the aftermath of a disastrous financial crash.

So the plot thickens. How did he manage to keep going, reaching 25 successful years and accumulating more than 25,000 clients?

Tantalise your reader with a half-told tale.

If you’d like to hear the whole of Richard’s story, then make your way to Brighton on Wednesday 10th February and book your place on the ‘Business in the City Lunch’.

If you can’t make it, I’ll set aside some column inches next time, to reveal what it is that drives his wife mad. It’s not that bad – and it’s partly the reason why Richard has managed to drive his business forward, despite the roller-coaster pattern of the financial markets.

If you’re stuck on how to start an article…

…put an intriguing sentence right at the top. Resist the temptation to start at the chronological beginning, such as the date.

Test it yourself, with these two sentences. Which is more intriguing?

“This Wednesday, 10th February, Richard Skerritt talks about the highs and lows of setting up and growing his business”.

Or:

“It drives my wife mad”.

Let me know. And come back soon. Find out whether this lunch-time tale has a happy ending.

Related posts:

  • When you stop speaking, how much will your audience remember?
  • A judgement call that makes or breaks your business?
  • 15below – a master-class in audience appreciation.
  • Help yourself. I find it invaluable. You will too.

Filed Under: Storytelling tips Tagged With: communicating so your audience listens, get your audience to listen, how to begin an article, how to start a blog post, stories about entrepreneurs

Miranda Birch

About Miranda at Miranda Birch Media: your marketing will make a deeper impression once I interview the people who will help your organisation to grow: leaders, clients, volunteers and staff. From these conversations I unearth the themes (clients call them ‘nuggets’) that will land most powerfully with your target audiences. As your content mentor, I’ll also help you turn these nuggets into client case studies, About and Home pages, thought-leadership articles and other content that will prove you’re as good as you say you are.

One last thing… There’s another ‘Miranda Birch’ out there, who writes books about ‘dominance and submission’. This is not me and has nothing to do with my company Miranda Birch Media. I’d love you to dominate your niche, but not in the way she means! Email me now and we can have a chat about where you want to get to and how I can help.

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