![\"\"](\"http:\/\/mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/leprechaun-shins.jpg\" "\\"leprechaun")
<\/a>That’s very short.<\/p><\/div>\n
When a visitor lands on your website and dives into your written content, you have precious few seconds to keep them interested. Think that\u2019s fast?\u00a0Microsoft Research analyzed user behavior on over 2 billion pageviews, and found that your page has just 10 seconds to grab the reader\u2019s attention. Write a Great Hook<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a rule that any good author knows: The first sentence of your article is the \u201chook.\u201d It\u2019s the opener that yanks the reader out of his or her world and into yours. And as important as it is in a novel, it\u2019s even more important with web content.<\/p>\n Your first sentence needs to be so compelling that a new visitor will have no choice but to continue reading, and state the clear purpose of your piece in the first paragraph.<\/p>\n Despite his name, he was not a gifted writer.<\/p><\/div>\n One of the modern greats of crafting a great first sentence is David Sedaris. Check out this opener from a short story called \u201cThe Women\u2019s Open\u201d from his 1997 book, Naked<\/em>.<\/p>\n My sister Lisa became a woman on the fourteenth hole of the Pinehurst golf course.<\/em><\/p>\n If that doesn\u2019t widen your pupils we don\u2019t know what will. You read that and you\u2019re saying \u201cWhat!?\u201d But you\u2019re also wanting to read more.<\/p>\n Tell a Story<\/strong><\/p>\n The excellent book Made to Stick<\/em><\/a> by Chip & Dan Health explores what makes an idea sticky, or memorable, and they say the key is to tell a story.<\/p>\n Read this.<\/p><\/div>\n Whether it\u2019s a story of customer success, common problems and solutions, or an amusing anecdote, if your first sentence start with a story, odds are you\u2019ll keep your readers reading.<\/p>\n Ask a Question<\/strong><\/p>\n Starting your article off with a question can be a great way to grab a reader\u2019s attention; just aim for something more self-reflective than Final Jeopardyesque. Something like \u201cWhat is your average customer worth?\u201d or \u201cDo you know how many calories you\u2019ve eaten today?\u201d works nicely.<\/p>\n Tell Me Something About Myself<\/strong><\/p>\n A first sentence like \u201cHere\u2019s the simple trick you can use to close more sales leads\u201d can help lock in your reader for that critical 10-second window. Or get creative with it: \u201cHuman saliva has a boiling point three times that of regular water.\u201d Of course where the article goes from there we have no idea, but we love it as an opener!<\/p>\n Stay Positive<\/strong><\/p>\n Remember to stay upbeat. Your first sentence reflects on your company, your brand, and yourself, so try to stay away from downers. Instead, go hopeful, thought-provoking, interesting, or humorous.<\/p>\n With a little work, you\u2019ll be mastering your first sentences in no time, keeping people on your site longer and boosting your search rankings.<\/p>\n Want us to write your first sentences (and the rest of your articles) for you? Give Media Shower a try today and your first piece of content is free.<\/p>\n Want us to write your first sentences (and the rest of your articles) for you? Give Media Shower a try today and your first piece of content is free<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Leprechaun ill artlibre jnl”. Licensed under FAL via Commons – https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Leprechaun_ill_artlibre_jnl.png#\/media\/File:Leprechaun_ill_artlibre_jnl.png”CaptainHookcartoon” by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia – https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:CaptainHookcartoon.jpg#\/media\/File:CaptainHookcartoon.jpg<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Attention spans on the internet are shorter than leprechaun shins. Not sure how short that is? Here ya go: When a visitor lands on your website and dives into your written content, you have precious few seconds to keep them interested. According to data by Tony Haile of Chartbeat, the average visitor to your website… Read More…<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6856"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6856"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6872,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6856\/revisions\/6872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAccording to data by Tony Haile of Chartbeat, the average visitor to your website will spend just 15 seconds<\/a> on it before moving onto something else.<\/p>\n
\nThese stats confirm what we already knew: It\u2019s crucial to grab your audience\u2019s attention right away. And it all starts with nailing the first sentence. Here are some keys to writing a great first sentence:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>