Kill your AI intro: 3 lessons from editing 100+ articles

They sneak past the watch of strong writers.

Bypass eagle-eyed editors.

Then sit smug on top of blogs, scripts, and landing pages--staring into your soul as they blow raspberries in your face.

Weak, weasely content introductions are popping up everywhere.

Like you, I see the content epidemic before our eyes ??

And it makes me kinda mad ??...

So mad that I was going to obey the "LinkedIn thinkboi" devil on my shoulder:

I was going to vent by bashing weasel intros like a sugar-fuelled kid playing Whac-A-Mole.

But bashing doesn't solve the problem.

It doesn't help fellow content folks.

Instead, I'm going to share 3 battle-tested editing techniques I use to spice up intros.

All based on 100s of articles I've edited between Hack The Box's (HTB) blog & my content marketing clients.

Ready to join me in banishing the "never-evolving" weasel intros plaguing content?

Keep reading (or bookmark these techniques for later)??.

The "Invisibe Intro"

What if you skip the intro?

Seriously.

Don't be scared to dive right into the "meat" or let your H2 (subhead) lead the way.

I learned this from working for Semrush as a Senior Content Writer.

Technique: Invisible intro
Writing/editorial effort: Easy peasy
Skill required: Beginner
Effectiveness: 7/10        

I saw how crazy-talented editors like Alex Lindley Chris Shirlow Christine Skopec would skip intros for certain pieces.

My article on the Semrush blog is an example:

Invisible intros pack two powerful benefits:

• A high reading time-value ratio. The audience starts learning and gets their questions answered instantly.
• Optimized for People Also Ask (PAA) questions on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Speaking of SEO, that brings me to a caveat when using the Invisible Intro.

It's great for SEO-focused or strictly educational material. But might not suit content that's:

• "Thought leadership" focused.
• Aiming to show your brand's personality.

In both of these cases, "visible" intros are valuable for seting the stage or connecting with your reader.

Example: I ask the author to share his journey to becoming an ethical hacker—instead of "describing" what hacking is.

Turns out his story involved sneaking into a military operations center. What a hook!

The most important thing for intros is to quickly deliver on the promise your headline makes to the reader. The second thing? Show them that they're learning from someone with experience or expertise. Convey the author's experience. Victor Ijidola , Co-Founder, Leaps.

Note??:Adding a story-led intro separates the piece from the hordes of "copycat content" targeting the same keyword ("what is pentesting?").

Has it cost us some traffic for a competitive keyword?

Maybe.

And I'm good with that...

I risked lower rankings for content more likely to resonate with the target audience. TLDR: Use this technique intentionally.        

The "Instructive Intro"

Spell out the typical actions your reader expects to take when doing something.

Then flip those steps on the head.

Explain why they aren't ideal.

Why the reader is missing something.

- Technique: Instructive intro

Combine two key principles: 1) Instructions that relate to the audience + 2) pattern interruption. 

- Effectiveness: 9/10

- Writing/editorial effort: Medium

- Skill required: Intermediate        

Take our article on gamification in cybersecurity for example.

Before Instructive Intro:

"Tabletop exercises (TTXs) are proactive cybersecurity simulations designed to test an organization's incident response capabilities. During these exercises, various teams, including cybersecurity professionals, information security teams, and risk management experts, come together to respond to simulated security incidents collaboratively."

After applying the Intructive Intro:

Start with an injection. Say what you’re going to do. And look at the processes around that. The problem with this approach to tabletop exercises (TTXs)?

You’re not rigorously testing any critical processes and skill sets! Not to mention that traditional TTXs can be quite the snoozefest.

The original intro paragraph "got the job done."

But it was on the vanilla side; it just described the subject.

It lacked any tangible "human oomph!"

In comparison, the instructive edit:

• Is a more engaging and energetic read.
• Leads up to a hard-hitting hook with a fresh take on the subject.
• Builds credibility right off the bat—by "flexing" knowledge familiar to the target audience (cybersecurity pros).

Fight Club Author Chuck Palahniuk inspired this technique in my content marketing.

In his memoir on writing (Consider This) he hails three types of speech to freshen your writing up:

• Instructive:? “Walk. Don’t run to your destination.”
• Descriptive:? “The sun rose high into the blue sky…”??
• Expressive:? “Ouch!”?

Chuck's advice is centered around fiction writing.

It's about occasionally breaking away from one-dimensional descriptions to mix up your content. (I mean it worked on you just now, didn't it ??).

I use Chuck's “instructive speech” to establish common ground with the audience.

Then pair it with a pattern interrupt—like an unexpected insight, data, or subject matter expertise.

It's a solid 1-2 editorial "combo" to sharpen your intro game.

If you find the whole "common ground" thing strange, Senior Editor Robert van Tongeren 's take might help:

Meet the reader where they are. Hook them with something they're already thinking/that's already on their minds.

The "Ugly Truth Intro"

Hit the audience with a candid, overlooked truth about your subject matter.

Then soothe the blow with a fresh take.

- Technique: Ugly Truth 
- Effectiveness: 9.5/10
- Writing/editorial effort: Hard
- Skill required: Advanced (you'll need nuanced expertise on a topic or great research skills ??)
        

"Fresh" is the keyword here.

As Erica Schneider , Editing Coach at ButterDocs shares:

The worst thing you can do is state the obvious. It's boring. Uncompelling. And doesn't speak to intent.

So how do you use "Ugly Truths" to avoid yawn-inducingly obvious statements?

Try to lead with:

• A common misconception."Distribute ideas, not content"
• A counterintuitive fact. "The talent shortage in cybersecurity doesn't actually apply to beginners."
• A downside to a widely accepted practice or trend. "Ecom startups should not be investing into influencer marketing..."

Tommy Walker , my former editor at QuickBooks & Shopify, shares that a good "Ugly Truth" combats a grave sin of intros:

Neutrality.

What makes neutrality bad is it doesn't show the reader how to feel about what they're reading, and it doesn't give the author any momentum for what they're writing. Open with an energetic charge.

Before the "Ugly Truth":

The very best pentesting tools can be found in Pwnbox and Parrot OS. Pwnbox runs on Hack The Box’s infrastructure. You can also install Linux-based Parrot OS directly onto your PC.

After the "Ugly Truth technique:"

Reading this list of tools isn’t going to turn you into an Nmap master anytime soon. More importantly, becoming an Nmap, Burp Suite, Linux, or [insert pentesting tool] master alone won’t make you a better pentester.?This is because...

This approach challenges common expectations right from the get-go.

It's an honest, "non-clickbaity" way to pull readers further into a piece.

??Don't make it too ugly! The goal is to engage. Not to alienate or offend. So present your "truth" in a balanced way that respects your audience.

Calling creators: it's our job to raise the bar

This post isn't just about intros.

It applies to all aspects of content.

As content marketers, editors, and creatives we set the bar for what good-quality content is.

If our standards drop below a certain point—to where mediocre, "weasel" content is acceptable—everyone else follows the lead.

Standards will stoop so low that AI & human creative efforts will look equal.

If that happens...guess who's responsible for businesses swapping human creators with AI?

You and me.

The battle against "weasely AI content" has only just begun.

Which side are you on?

#AI #content #writing

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