How to make your website introduction stand out

Have you ever started watching a TV series someone swore you’d love, only to find you just couldn’t get into it? Even with your friend’s promise that “it gets amazing later on,” your attention wanders, and eventually you turn it off for good.

Now picture someone visiting your website and feeling the same way. This time, there’s no friend encouraging them to keep going. They’ll look for the way out, and they might not come back.

The opening lines of your content can draw visitors in and turn them into customers, or send them off to your competition. So what gives an introduction its power?

Spark

The secret to catching a reader’s attention is a little spark. That might be a touch of humor, a friendly, conversational tone or a surprising opinion that goes against the grain. A spark helps you stand out from all the plain, forgettable content out there, and it makes people want to keep reading. Think about what feels natural for your business, whether that’s wit, warmth or wisdom.

Clarity

Visitors should know right away that they’re in the right place. Take a company that repairs gates and fences. Its introduction should make that clear from the first line. With a lighter tone, it might joke about the never-ending battle with a wobbly fence or the spooky music of a creaky gate. That draws in the right people and hints at the solution at the same time. (A clear message is also the first of our 5 key features for a great first impression.)

Questions

A good question pulls readers in and gets them thinking. Asking, “Tired of waking up to the ghostly squeal of your gate?” speaks directly to the reader and makes them want to keep reading for the answer. Just don’t overdo it. One well-placed question works great, but a string of them can start to sound like a sales pitch.

Purpose

Your introduction should also tell readers what’s coming next. When our gate repair company mentions the screech of a rusty gate, it isn’t just pointing out a problem. It’s setting the stage to show how it fixes that problem. In other words, it tells the reader, “Stick around, and we’ll show you how to end this noisy nightmare.”

Promise

Finally, a strong introduction makes a promise about how the reader’s life will get better. If our gate company promises hinges that stay quiet for years, it’s offering more than a repair. It’s offering peace of mind. That promise shows you understand the reader’s problem and have the right solution, and it’s what turns a casual visitor into a customer.

Put it all together

Here’s how our gate repair company might combine all five ideas:

Tired of your gate announcing every arrival with a horror-movie screech? We repair and replace gates and fences across the valley, and we’ll show you exactly what’s causing the noise. Our heavy-duty hinges stay quiet for years, so the only thing you’ll hear is the latch clicking shut.

To write your own, follow these steps:

1. Name your customer’s problem. Start with what they’re dealing with, in words they would use.
2. Say what you do in one sentence. Make it clear they’re in the right place.
3. Add a spark. A bit of humor, warmth or personality makes it memorable.
4. Make a promise and point to the next step. Tell them how things will get better and what to do next.

Need help with your introduction?

Writing about your own business isn’t always easy. We can help you find the right words, or connect you with a professional writer. (Here’s what to tell your copywriter.) Request a quote, and let’s make your website’s first lines unforgettable.