Open with your best joke.

It’s a fundamental piece of advice I give my students as a comedy coach.
Virtually all stand-up comics adhere to this philosophy. I implore you to watch one perform their act and see how often it’s true. The funniest joke of their set will likely be their first one. But why is this the case and how does this concept relate directly to blogging?

First impressions set the bar for your relationship with an audience.

Unless you’re a big-time star on television or the silver screen, it’s quite likely that none of your audience has ever heard of you. They’ve just come for a night out, not because of your namesake. Although the crowd is expecting to be entertained, no standards have been set yet.
The audience is naturally going to be skeptical at the beginning, judging your ability to make them laugh. It’s within these first few moments that determines how much trust they will place in your hands on getting the job done.

As a blogger, you’re no different than a comedian in this regard.

You are getting first-time visitors every day at your blog. By way of search engines or social media, this audience has come expecting to find helpful information. Yet with no prior history, the standard of quality is still undetermined in their mind. It’s within this first glance of your blog (or even within the first 10 seconds of it) whether or not the people decide to place trust in your ability to deliver what they need.

What is the message you should convey in the first impression?

So, the stand-up comedian hits the stage, takes the microphone and delivers his or her first and best joke. The crowd has a good laugh, sits back in their chairs and gets ready for more. The comedian has proven their ability to do the job. The tension and doubt in the audience’s mind is relieved for the remainder of the performance. That first joke essentially gave the message of “don’t worry guys, I’ve got this under control.”

As a blogger, your message is inherently the same as the comedian’s.

You want to let first time visitors know you’re credible. They’ve come to you for help and immediately see it delivered. From that very first moment, you’re staking the claim to be trusted. You’re setting the standards for potential readers – letting it be known they shouldn’t worry, you’ve got everything under control.

You only get once chance at a first impression. Make it count!

Yes, I know this is quite a cliche, but it’s completely true. From your design to specific blog posts (remember, the exact landing for first-time visits can include all pages on your blog) – all elements that people view within the beginning moments upon arriving count immensely. Everything in sight. Everything they read. How it’s organized. How it’s formatted. How it looks. Everything single aspect of your blog.

What if you’re just starting out?

What if you don’t have the ability yet to convey this message at such a scale?

This all comes right back around to the stand-up comedian analogy. Open with your best joke.

• Find the strongest aspects of your blog and showcase them above all other elements.
• Design it in a way that visitors are more susceptible to view your best blog posts first.
• Showcase flashy graphics “above the fold” and get progressively minimalistic as pages scroll.
• Minimize the number of clicks it takes to view your best content.

What other ways can you convey the best first impression to new visitors?

How are you closing the deal with visitors by opening strong on your blog?