Blog introduction examples: 7 openings that work, and why

The title gets the click. Neil Patel's guide to introductions names what comes next: "the title doesn't keep them reading through your blog content. That's the job of the introduction." The opening often works before the click too. Google says it "primarily uses the content on the page" to build the snippet under a result, so your first lines may be what a searcher reads on the results page. And as more searches end on the results page itself, in AI Overviews and other zero-click searches, an introduction has to answer the question and still give a reason to keep reading.

What an introduction has to do

The common formulas for introductions describe the same three jobs. Neil Patel breaks an introduction into a hook, a transition and a thesis. Backlinko uses preview, proof, preview, and starts with the simplest instruction: "let your reader know EXACTLY what to expect." Ahrefs suggests Problem-Agitate-Solve. Reduced to what a searcher needs, an introduction:

1. Confirms. The reader landed on the page for the query they typed.
2. Answers or frames. It gives the short answer, or the problem the post solves.
3. Promises. It says what the rest of the post adds that the first lines could not.

Which job leads depends on the search intent. A "what is" searcher wants the definition first; a "how to" searcher wants to know the steps are coming; a "best" searcher wants the shortlist. Nielsen Norman Group's case for putting the main point first is that readers who stop after "a single paragraph, or even single sentence will still know what the story is about."

Seven openings, with real examples

Six examples come from the introductions of posts live on October 12, 2026, quoted briefly with a link; the seventh is ours.

1. The direct answer

Joshua Hardwick's Ahrefs post on how long blog posts should be opens: "Most blog posts should be at least 300 words in length." The searcher asked for a number and gets one in the first line; the rest of the post argues the reasoning.

Use it for queries with a short answer: what is, how long, how much, can you. The risk is that readers take the answer and leave, so the post must offer more: the reasons, the exceptions, the method.

2. The problem

Si Quan Ong's Ahrefs guide to blog post outlines starts with a feeling its readers know: "Every writer knows the pain of staring for hours at a blank page." The next two sentences offer the fix, and the introduction ends with a plain promise: "In this post, you'll learn how to write a blog post outline."

Use it for how-to and troubleshooting queries, where the reader arrives with a problem. Keep the problem to a sentence or two; the reader already knows it hurts.

3. The number

Andy Crestodina's 2026 blogging survey for Orbit Media explains the survey and twelve years of steady answers, says "This year it dropped," and then gives the figure: "14% report 'strong results.' That's six points below the previous twelve-year low." The setup makes the number land.

Use it when you have data of your own or a source you can name. An untraceable number undermines everything after it.

4. The story

The story in James Clear's article on marginal gains, an excerpt from Atomic Habits, begins: "The fate of British Cycling changed one day in 2003." Ten words give a subject, a date and a turning point, and the reader wants to know what changed.

Use it for essays, case studies and opinion pieces. It suits how-to searchers less, since they want the steps now, and the story must be true.

5. The contrarian claim

Carolyn Shelby's June 2026 Search Engine Journal piece states the old consensus, that "publishing more content was considered almost universally beneficial," then reverses it: "In 2026, however, it can actively weaken it." The reader now needs the post to resolve the tension.

Use it when you can back the claim up. Neil Patel's guide recommends controversy as an opening but adds that "you must be able to provide reasonable explanations, answers, and clarifications."

6. The definition

Nielsen Norman Group's article on the inverted pyramid opens: "In journalism, the inverted pyramid refers to a story structure" in which the most important information comes first, then explains where the name comes from. The term, its category and what makes it distinct arrive in one sentence.

Use it for "what is" and "meaning" queries. A definition that stands on its own is also easy for an answer engine to quote, which is why every page in this Learn hub opens with one.

7. The promise (our example)

For a guide targeting "how to start a WordPress blog", we would open: "By the end of this guide you will have a WordPress blog online with its first post published, and you will know which default settings to change and which to leave alone." It names the end state and the one detail that sets the guide apart.

Use it for long guides, where readers decide whether to invest the time. Promise only what the post delivers; Backlinko's version is to tell the reader exactly what to expect, so "when someone lands on your post, they know they're in the right place."

What to cut from an introduction

Most weak introductions are a good one with extra sentences in front. Cut:

• The warm-up. A first sentence that could open any post on the subject.
• The title, restated. Asking the headline as a question, then answering it with the headline.
• The basics. Backlinko asks whether you are "over-explaining a concept they already understand."
• The table of contents in prose. "First we will look at..." is what headings are for.
• Credentials with no point. Proof belongs in an introduction only when it shows you can deliver: a result, a test, years on the job.

Then read what is left against two more of Backlinko's questions: "Can the reader see the immediate value of continuing to read?" and "does the reader know what to expect from the rest of the article?"

How to choose the opening for your query

The query looks like	Lead with	Example above
what is ..., ... meaning	The definition	Nielsen Norman Group
how long, how much, can you ...	The direct answer	Ahrefs, post length
how to ..., ... not working	The problem, then the promise	Ahrefs, outlines
best ..., X vs Y	The direct answer: the verdict or shortlist	Ahrefs, post length
... statistics, ... survey	The number	Orbit Media
essays, case studies, opinion	The story or the contrarian claim	James Clear, Search Engine Journal
long guides	The promise	Ours

Whichever pattern you choose, the introduction also has a search job: the keyword belongs in its first sentences, which is where writing overlaps with SEO copywriting. For the rest of the post, see how to write a blog post and our walkthrough of writing a blog entry on WordPress.

How Structura handles this

When a Structura post targets a keyword, the keyword appears early in the post inside a natural sentence rather than pasted in, and the whole post is written in the voice of the author persona you define. With the E-E-A-T writing option on, sections open with their direct answer and filler is cut. That suits the openings that need no material from you: the direct answer, the definition, the problem and the promise. On paid plans each post is written after reading the pages that rank for its keyword, so the introduction follows the intent those results show.

Two of the seven openings depend on what only you have. A story needs something that happened, and Structura does not make up first-hand experiences; a number needs your own data or a figure worth citing. New campaigns hold every post for review by default, which is the moment to replace a serviceable opening with your story or your number. The WordPress AI writer page shows how review fits into a schedule.

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