How to Start an Article – 100+ Examples of Article Introductions

writing article introductions

While I love writing articles, I just dread putting together the perfect introduction. I don’t believe in a universal formula that you can apply to make it easier for you to write an effective blog post introduction. However, I assume there are certain things good introductions have in common.

So I’m having a closer look at 100+ article introductions to see if there are any similarities we can learn from:

Here’s a video version of the article:

Getting people to imagine

Oh, the power of imagination. Works like a charm every time for article introductions.

article introduction
power of an introduction
great article
creative article
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successful article

Introducing a common problem for a specific reader segment

common introduction for article
writing introductions
introduction paragraph example

Some authors prefer to target niche audiences and make assumptions regarding their interest and problems from the start:

writing an introduction
article elements and article steps

Question in the article introduction

Question in introduction
introductory sentences
marketing with content
creating content
introduction example
introduction for an article

This technique does appear to be overly used because it’s a certain way of helping readers make the connection between the article they’re about to read and their own issues:

asking about writing

Often the question is there just so the article can answer it. So you’re essentially going to read one extra long answer after the article’s introduction:

becoming a content marketer
various articles
creating articles

Questions can also be used in article intros to take readers back to a past memory and create a sense of nostalgia:

nostalgic article

The general statement as the article’s intro

Just that and used much too often as we’re already expecting a similar into for most articles. Frankly, this type of post introduction doesn’t add much value besides setting the context or introducing one main topic.

general statement
examples of introductions
online content examples
introductory phrase
general intro
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statement introduction
author

Closely related to the general statement, there’s also the “here’s why you should keep on reading this article” phrase/paragraph where the importance of the topic is highlighted first:

must read
writing generally

The quote

quote introduction
quote in article introduction

Here’s a mix of a quote and a question with the aim of making people relate to the quote:

introduction for article

Or perhaps you’d like to explain a quote or mantra by naturally inserting it into the first phrase:

blog introduction post

Take advantage of seasons, holidays, news, or recent events

introduction to blog
intro sample
great content
best introduction
what makes a good introduction
news in introduction

You can also take existing articles that are highly debatable, controversial, or just the ones that launch a new idea to discuss around:

content marketing

Straight to the point

Skip the fluff and tell or show readers what they’re looking for:

specific intro

Here are other similar example of article introductions:

what it takes to write a good introduction
blog categories

The next blog post introduction takes advantage of various possible structures and text formatting you can use to create excitement around a launch or simply add some of your own brand’s personality:

writing for marketing

I’ve always been an advocate of using CTAs to their best and consider all conclusions should have one call-to-action at least, but I must admit that adding them to your article’s introduction can also be the right way to go if it leads to your main goal for that specific piece of content:

CTA in introduction

Giving a definition

article introduction
introduction how to write

Never fail with studies

perfect introduction

Statistics work just as fine:

stats
blog post introduction

Every time actually.

writing content

And you can use the article’s intro to tease the results and make people want to read more like here:

introductory article

Another way of leveraging stats is by referencing past numbers and creating the expectation of improvement:

improving introduction for article

Putting the author first

author writing introduction
author intro
blog introduction examples
writer

Here’s another article introduction example from Coach the Life Coach:

blog post writing

In this sample, the author is using her past experience to present a problem the reader might have and suggest that further reading the article will provide a solution:

writing sample

Of course, putting the author first often means bringing your brand or business to the front too:

how to write good articles
content writing

You’ll also occasionally come across the “here’s what we’re doing” type of posts:

evernote article

Or you can take the straight-forward way and boldly place what you’re promoting at the start of the article or directly create your blog post around that idea:

introducing an article

Sharing the experience of a brand or company is also highly valued:

how to write
how to start an article introduction

Putting the reader first

In other words, repeated use of YOU or situations the reader might be familiar with.

writing template

Take a look at this example which puts emphasis on the reader while also getting him/her to imagine an existing or ideal reality:

introduction for content

Here’s a different way to appeal to the reader by making a typical assumption that you know what they’re thinking:

article writing introduction
article template for introduction
blog readers
article sample

Another introductory paragraph on Newsweek where the transition is slowly being made from the author (first person) to the reader (second person):

transition paragraph

The third person

Or the go-to introduction for any interview and podcast.

blog introduction template

Success stories are also favorably viewed loved by all kinds of audiences and it’s only natural to start the article by putting the person you’re going to talk about (or talk to) at the beginning:

author for article

You’ve seen this in use all too often:

introducing interview
good introduction paragraph examples
how to write an article

Of course, this technique (although almost a standard so to say) is a bit outdated since we’re so used to seeing this structure, so here’s a different way of approaching the introduction of the person the article is centered around:

repurposing content

Storytelling starts within the introduction

storytelling
story article

Now this is a story anyone would want to hear:

great article introduction

Making a promise

This is an ever-common way of ensuring you’re getting visitors to keep reading the article and not just move on to another one after reading the first 3 sentences.

how to write introduction paragraph

Everyone is following this trend:

introduction paragraph
writing example

A mix of promise and question to get brains moving:

ideal introduction

Brian Dean takes advantage of this technique to make some pretty strong promises, but in his case, he manages to deliver them fairly accurately. Here are three of those statements as placed in introductions:

blog
blogging
blogger

The last one also offers readers assurance on the credibility of the author as he writes about things he managed to achieve himself.

And such examples are endless:

article writing for content marketing
intro for content marketing

Getting readers to think from the article’s intro

In this article introduction example from Scott H. Young, the author involves the reader by giving facts and asking a question that will get them to think and make their own assumptions before they read on:

how to write introductions
template for intro on article
article sampling for introductions
nice introduction to article
writing intros
write

Making structure work for you

Notice how articles on bigger outlets (particularly those that focus on news) tend to have an introductory phrase, similar to a subtitle, which resumes the article or creates the premise for the topic to be discussed:

content introduction

Here’s another example, this time on Medium:

introduction subheading

And another such “introduction” on The Guardian:

structuring introductions for articles

Slack also does this with their blog posts, proving it’s not just a technique for the news outlets:

how to write an introduction

Repeat the title

writing great articles

Simply rephrasing the headline in the post’s introduction is a more natural way of essentially emphasizing the main idea of the article:

how to write articles

Breaking the article introduction into several short paragraphs

Another trend related to the form of the introduction is separating each sentence in the intro into multiple paragraphs with plenty of white space between them:

introduction form
articles containing introductios
introductory paragraph
article structure

Have any secrets to building a successful article introduction? Feel free to share them!

P.S.: I’m also doing a quick poll to see if people actually read and care about introductions or just skip them. If you have 3 seconds, cast in your vote:

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Published by Alexandra Cote

Alexandra Cote is a SaaS content writer and strategist with a passion for workplace productivity, social media marketing wonders, conversion rate optimization, artificial intelligence, and keyword research (Hooray for SEO!). Reach out to her via LinkedIn or her blog.

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