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Daniel Kenitz Profile picture
@danielkenitz
Mar 9, 2023 • 11 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
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Writing a snappy blog intro can be excruciating work.

But it doesn't have to be.

Use this cheat sheet of 7 creative intro templates

(+ live examples from professional content writers:) 🧵
1. Curiosity Gap - Context - What's Next?

Great for: Anything in first person

Author: @kat_boogaard

Open with an intriguing, out-of-context image. Do nothing else. Just pull the pin and toss in the grenade.

THEN do context.

Here, Kat starts with the image of $300k:
2. Relatable detail - State of play - Poke the pain

Great for: Everyday tips and advice

Author: @wordswithalyssa

This one sucks you in with a light, relatable detail, then pulls the wool from under you.

"Hey, [relatable detail]? Well, here's why that's bad."

Sneaky, sneaky.
3. Zing! - Context - State of play

Great for: Voice-driven insights

Author: @ashleyrcummings

Love Ashley's sense of humor, and the literal Leo "Zing!" here is an instant attention grab.

But worth noting: it doesn't dwell.

One sentence later, we're on to the meat.
4. 2nd Person POV - Pain poke - Transition to solution

Great for: Advice, problem-solving

Author: @rochi_zalani

I love the artfulness of Rochi's pain poke.

The "Monday-Friday" thruline is great.

Included a portion of the main body so you can see how it flows:
5. State of play / "But" - Development - Benefits

Great for: "Thesis" posts, persuasion

Author: @sam_milbrath

That first paragraph is so efficient, I included two elements: the basic state of play, along with a counter-point / "but" sentence.

Result:

Instant cut-to-chase.
6. Problem - New Paradigm - Solution

Great for: How-to posts & thought leadership

Authors: @ericasmyname & @tomwhtley

Insights into both problem/solution don't only get your hands around the topic, but also demonstrate how much you know BOTH paradigms.

Establish authority.
7. The Goods - Development - Benefit

Great for: Counterintuitive advice

Author: Your boy @danielkenitz (hey, it's my thread)

No context, no intrigue, no curiosity gap: just state a unique angle and elaborate.

Upside-down pyramid works best when the idea itself is upside-down.
Obviously, this list has a bias towards intros that fit into a tight Twitter window.

AND a bias towards intros that might fit a three-pronged template.

But I find that with enough practice, if I grasp the principles, I learn when to break the rules as well.

So will you.
Want more stuff like this in your Twitter feed?

* Follow me @danielkenitz
* Retweet the first tweet below:
If you liked this tweet, I have nothing to sell you.

Follow @DanielKenitz if you want more like it in your feed every day.

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More from @danielkenitz

Daniel Kenitz Profile picture
May 30, 2023
A lot of freelance writers are introverts who dread negotiating.

Even after 10+ years of freelancing,

Asking for $$$ still gives me the heebies.

Here are 3 principles I used to raise my prices from $75/hr to $150/hr on Upwork with zero awkwardness:
Principle 1: Your Personal Floor

For several weeks, I used @toggltrack to review two things:

-How much I was charging each client
-How much time I spent on the client that week

Using simple division gave me an hourly rate per client.
Why bother?

Suddenly I knew what my time was worth.

Why charge $75/hr on Upwork if I was charging a business $150/hr to write their blogs?

You don't give yourself a raise by accepting LESS valuable work.

Putting a "floor" on my work gave me the confidence to ask for more.
Read 11 tweets
Daniel Kenitz Profile picture
May 29, 2023
Five sons dead.

In the 1860s, the War Department alerted Abraham Lincoln that a Mrs. Bixby had lost FIVE SONS in the civil war.

So he wrote her a sympathy note.

Here's what Lincoln, our best presidential letter-writer, said: Image
Dear Madam,--

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
Read 7 tweets
Daniel Kenitz Profile picture
Mar 18, 2023
CarDealershipGuy is an anonymous Twitter account with a highly specific niche...

...and 300k followers.

How'd he climb to mainstream success with a niche like that?

Here are 8 types of tweets that make him a success:
1. "Mission statement" Tweet

Your mission statement is your unique way of looking at the world.

It's why people come to you instead of Google.

A strong opinion separates you from generic, AI-style content.

My homework: summing mine up in one tweet.

Here's CarDealership's:
2. Niche expertise

Goes without saying, kinda.

If you don't write what you know, you're doomed to generic content.

But CarDealershipGuy clearly has experience in trend-following.

People follow him like he's a news source in and of himself:
Read 12 tweets
Daniel Kenitz Profile picture
Mar 17, 2023
"Star Wars" (1977) is a masterclass on "hero's journey" storytelling.

But it's not the *plot* that sells the story.

The appeal of Star Wars hinges on THIS shot.

Here's why. (And what might be missing from your story) Image
First, a brief background on the "hero's journey."

The basic format is this:

* Ordinary world, ordinary person
* Called to great destiny
* Refuses call
* Meets mentor / Assisted by supernatural element
* Put through "ordeal"
* Final confrontation
You can see this in great stories everywhere:

* Harry Potter, an ordinary kid called to a great destiny
* Neo, an ordinary office worker given a great secret
* Luke Skywalker, an ordinary moisture farmer dreaming of adventure
Read 18 tweets
Daniel Kenitz Profile picture
Jan 17, 2023
99% of people scroll past your tweets.

But not @ItsKieranDrew 's tweets.

He's used startling hooks to gain 1000,000 followers.

Here's how his writing stops you in your tracks:
@ItsKieranDrew ✏️The "First-Act Disturbance" Approach✏️

Kieran has read a lot about storytelling, and it shows.

How do you start a good story?

With a DISTURBANCE.

Here's his most viral Tweet: "You're destroying your body."

He puts us on our heels off the bat, which earns our interest.
@ItsKieranDrew This isn't exclusive to Twitter hooks.

It's been around since Gilgamesh.

Classic storytelling starts with a disturbance off the bat:

📚Frodo inherits the ring
📚Marley's ghost visits Scrooge
📚Odysseus' ship veers off course

All great stories are comeback stories.
Read 19 tweets
Daniel Kenitz Profile picture
Nov 15, 2022
Early on, if Upwork clients didn't hire me, I didn't make money.

So I got good at sending proposals.

Here are the freelance proposal rules I use to land repeat clients:
🧵
First: why can I tell you about this?

I made my living off of Upwork for many years.

Though I don't use it as much anymore,

it's still the place I go when I need to find people who are hiring.

After about a dozen proposals, I know I'll have legit leads.
✏️1. Address their situation off the bat.

First challenge?

Someone posting on Upwork is FLOODED with proposals like yours.

So skip right to it. Address:

✅The problem that made them hire someone
✅How you would solve that problem

Put your social proof / cred at the BOTTOM.
Read 9 tweets

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