The hardest thing you'll ever have to do is to ?start?. When you want to travel, the hardest part is to just ?go ahead and go?. But once you start, everything follows. The same goes with writing. I don't know about you, but when I write, the first sentence in the article gets erased five times before one becomes permanent. But once you get through the first sentence, writing the whole article will be a breeze.
There are actually a lot of ways by which you could begin your article. You could start it with a quotation, a question, an anecdote, or you could go straight to the point. There is no exact formula for starting. You can start your article with any sentence, as long as it suits your purpose.
What's the Purpose of the Article?
So think about why you're writing that article. What is your purpose? Is it to entertain, to inspire, to persuade, or simply to inform? If you want to entertain, then a funny anecdote might do well. If you want to inspire, then a famous quote may do. If you want to persuade, then maybe you could start with a question. If you want to inform, then you could go straight to the point.
Let me give you a concrete example. Let's say that your aim is to persuade people to buy your product. I mentioned that if you want to persuade, starting the article with a question might do the trick. Let's say that your product is a water bed. Maybe you could start your article with a question like, ?Have you ever had a night when you couldn't sleep because of your lumpy mattress?? or ?When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?? This is a good strategy because you're automatically creating a bond with your reader. If your reader answers ?yes? to your question, he will be able to relate, and if he is able to relate, then he will be interested.
The First Line
But asking a question isn't the only way to start an article. If you can make it work, then an anecdote might be perfect for your article. Maybe you could tell a story about a friend of yours who didn't want to buy the bed at first but was persuaded to do so after a bit of prodding. And then give them a punch line. It has to be funny, or at the very least, unexpected. Maybe you could end your anecdote by saying that your friend went to your office, fuming. He kept on glaring at you so you asked him what was wrong. And then he answered, ?I got into trouble at work because of your bed?. And so you ask him why and he answers that he woke up late because the bed was so comfortable. You'll have showcased how comfortable your bed is and entertained your readers at the same time.
Again, there's no exact formula for starting to write an article, just let your imagination run wild.
Before you start writing your blog, check out blogs that are on the internet and see how other writers are doing it. Find blogs on your topic and see what others authors are doing. Where do you find other blogs? Fortunately, there are blog directories and search engines galore on the Internet to help you with this problem.
They can help you find exactly the blog you are looking for. I have sampled ten of them for you below:
1. Simple to use, thousands of blogs are listed here and can be accessed by topic or simply searched by keyword. This site also has numerous discussions about a variety of topics. And, as you might expect, you can also submit your blog here to be listed.
2. Billing itself as a blog search engine directory, this site divides blogs up into some thirty categories. It also offers blog hosting services.
3. Bloghub says it is an online directory and community where members from around the world gather here and exchange ideas. An unusual feature of this site is that it is categorized by hundreds of countries.
4. This site simply advertises that it has over 65,000 blogs to search through. It is very straightforward with no frills.
5. An interesting feature of this site is that it partners with Google. Therefore, your searches will result not only in blogs but in other websites that may be of interest to you.
6. This site not only categorizes blogs, but it also attempts to rank them by such things as strength, momentum, rising stars and sinking fast.
7. This is a very straightforward listing of thousands of logs in a variety of countries around the world. Billing itself as a blog search engine directory, this site divides blogs up into some thirty categories. It also offers blog hosting services.
8. This site offers search capability by blog tags and also boasts quite a number of partner companies.
9. With a number of different ways to search for blogs, this site also has a podcast directory as well as a cache of blog tools.
10. This site boasts that it is the fastest growing blog directory on the Internet. With so many ways to choose and find a blog, what should you consider in a blog as you look at these sites? This site simply advertises that it has over 65,000 blogs to search through. It is very straightforward with no frills.
The way the sites themselves are organized gives us a clue:
A. Subject This is the most logical place to start. What is the subject you are interested in? Is it a general category, or would you be more interested in a discussion involving a more detailed subset of the category?
B. Country/locale Some people want to be talking with people from their own location, first and foremost. You may also start here, and look for a subject within the particular country you have chosen. Often, if you are looking at the United States, you may even be able to get down to the state level.
C. Popularity You may feel adventurous and simply want to look at blogs that everyone else is looking at! In that case, look for blogs that are ranked highly and are drawing crowds.
D. Audience Many of the blog directories list personal blogs, some categorized by age, lifestyle, etc.
Both Eric Hartwell & Mandeepp Singhh are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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