Article Starter: Why The Ending Matters Most Of All

You've probably never heard of Grant Elliot.

But on the night of March 24, 2015, over 1 billion viewers paid close attention as he hit the winning shot in the semi final of the World Cricket Tournament.

But what of the players that came before him? What about their contributions? Doesn't every player and contribution matter?

It does matter, but what really matters is the “winning shot”.

When writing the “First 50 Words” in your article, the winning shot is the very last thing you say. It's the one thing that your reader is going to remember as they sink their teeth into the rest of the article. So does the ending really matter that much?

Let's take four examples, with almost identical text—then change just the ending.

And you'll see for yourself how the story takes a completely different turn.

Let's say we want to write the article on five completely different angles:

– persistence
– stuck
– underdog
– potential
– missed opportunity

Note how the start is exactly the same, but how the ending changes it all!

========
“First 50 Words” for the term: Persistence

Four years and three months.

When I look at the curry leaf tree outside my window, I can't believe I'm seeing over two hundred leaves. Because for four years and two months, all it had was a couple of sparsely populated stalks.

In fact, we were so sick of the stupid plant that we were ready to throw it away.

But the curry leaf plant was teaching us a lesson.
A lesson of persistence. And untapped potential.

The same applies to your blog that seems to get very little, if any amount of traffic.

========

“First 50 Words” for the term: Stuck

Four years and three months.

When I look at the curry leaf tree outside my window, I can't believe I'm seeing over two hundred leaves. Because for four years and two months, all it had was a couple of sparsely populated stalks.

In fact, we were so sick of the stupid plant that we were ready to throw it away.

But the curry leaf plant wasn't stuck.

We were.

We didn't realise that we were trying to grow it in the wrong soil for the past four years or so. The moment we changed the soil and the position, the plant went nuts.

Your blog too can go nuts, with the right change of soil and position.

So what causes blogs to get stuck?

========

“First 50 Words” for the term: Underdog

Four years and three months.

When I look at the curry leaf tree outside my window, I can't believe I'm seeing over two hundred leaves. Because for four years and two months, all it had was a couple of sparsely populated stalks.

In fact, we were so sick of the stupid plant that we were ready to throw it away.

But the curry leaf plant wasn't stuck.

It was just playing underdog.

While all the other plants grew and shrivelled in the changing season, the curry leaf plant took its time.

Time is a critical component when you're trying to get clients to visit your blog. You'll feel like the underdog forever, and then one day—boof—it all happens.

So what's the journey from underdog to boof?

========

“First 50 Words” for the term: Potential

Four years and three months.

When I look at the curry leaf tree outside my window, I can't believe I'm seeing over two hundred leaves. Because for four years and two months, all it had was a couple of sparsely populated stalks.

In fact, we were so sick of the stupid plant that we were ready to throw it away.

So often, we throw away things at the edge of their potential, don't we?

And sure it's easy to say something fulfilled its potential when all is fine. But how can you tell in advance? How can you tell that, for instance that a seemingly puny blog will attract tens of thousands of readers a day

========

“First 50 Words” for the term: Missed opportunity

Four years and three months.

When I look at the curry leaf tree outside my window, I can't believe I'm seeing over two hundred leaves. Because for four years and two months, all it had was a couple of sparsely populated stalks.

In fact, we were so sick of the stupid plant that we were ready to throw it away.

And yet, if we'd thrown it away, we'd have missed out on an opportunity to have one the most fragrant plants in our garden. Pretty much like we miss out on the opportunity with our blogs. We get too impatient too quickly and lose out on the big opportunities.

So what are the big opportunities anyway? And how do we avoid making the mistake of moving too quickly?