Do You Try to Blog for Strangers? |

July 16, 2026 blogging tips 🕑 5 minutes read

Boquete Panama

I read one piece of advice from a Reddit thread for bloggers.

The user echoed a common piece of guidance.

He said that hooking readers right away seems critical. Strangers bounce like a frog hopping from a hot tin roof.

He did not actually say that. But you get the idea.

But is the blogging guidance true?

Yes….and no.

Blogging Strangers Versus Loyal Readers

Hooking readers is important to snag strangers stumbling in from:

Google
X
Facebook
LinkedIn
Quora
Reddit
Blue Sky
Pinterest
Instagram
YouTube

Hooking loyal readers who bookmark your blog and revisit frequently is completely unnecessary.

Trusting followers love your content.

Trusting followers do not require “hooking”.

Bloggers treat this gig like trying to hook fish because most lose the personal touch.

I build relationships with readers who revisit my blog consistently.

I publish blog posts. Readers benefit from content. Followers beam it out to the world.

Loyal community members send referrals to me so I do not need to blog my fingers to the bone.

Why try to bend over backwards like a pretzel obsessed with winning a game of Twister for people who’ve no clue in hell:

who you are?
what your blog is about?
how you can help them?

Build bonds with loyal readers who know what to expect.

Trusting tribe members read your posts.

Trusting community members tell like-minded people with similar problems about your blog.

Welcome to laying a granite-like foundation for a full-time blogging career.

Why Bloggers Do Not Think this Way

Fear.

Fear arises in the mind.

Bloggers push the fear down. Pushing the fear deeper into the unconscious mind manifests a painful but common blogging form of self-sabotage: make simple success highly complex.

Jump through hoops. Bend over backwards. Stop bonding with people who love your content. Ignore loyal readers. Look past the folks who need not a hook to reel them in. Look at strangers out there. Develop complex strategies to catch and keep strangers. Do that. Busy yourself.

Self-sabotage rules the blogging world. The blogging masses struggle, fail then quit.

Bloggers spend their entire careers doing stuff that makes little to no sense because most other bloggers do the same things.

Self-sabotage looks beyond the simple, long-term, peaceful solution to the complex, short-term, chaotic solution involving:

heavy fear
strong force
super duper hard work
a deep sense of sacrifice
frustration
confusion
resentment

I remind you to do the simple thing for an extraordinary time frame.

Stop doing the complex thing short-term before burning out.

Write Your Introduction Hook

Lead off blog posts with an intro hook.

But lose the psychological attachment to:

drawing strangers to your blog
convincing strangers to trust you with a show-stopping hook for every blog post

Do not rely on strangers to go full-time; you will not like the results.

Loyal readers drive:

referral traffic
referral income

Strangers who never deeply resonate with content come and go like the tide.

Lukewarm readers rarely if ever drive referral traffic and referral income.

Go pro by helping people who want you to go pro.

Go pro by helping people who:

buy your stuff
hire you
drive referral traffic and referral business

People who love your blog post do not need to be dazzled by the first paragraph in order to stick around.

Fans are fans.

Critics are critics.

Tepid readers are tepid readers.

What is your blogging job?

Hit the target with every blog post.

Help loyal blogging fans.

Set them as your bullseye.

Be genuine. Be authentic. Help people who explicitly want your help.

Go pro by simplifying your blog.

Writing a hook can be helpful but is not necessary.

I imagine my loyal Blogging From Paradise readers right now.

None has ever told me:

“Ryan; I noticed recently that your first four paragraphs suck. Sorry bro. I will stop following your blog permanently now. Give me a holla if you ever decide to write crisp, clear hooks, will ya?”

Think that one through before obsessing over hooking strangers who could care less about you unless you tap dance on razor blades while juggling hyper-active monkeys guzzling down a double espresso.

Do you see how *I* do it at Blogging From Paradise Dot Com?

The lead in is not the hook.

I blog from my heart.

I never try to hook people offline. I never start discussions attempting to reel people in anytime I’m out and about. I do my best to be genuine offline so I do my best to be genuine online.

I write naturally. 600 words in, if it feels right, I create the visual of doing something highly difficult just to get someone I know not to stick around instead of bonding with caring readers who devour every word like a a pack of grey wolves at a Kobe Beef Convention with unlimited free samples.

Whoops.

There I go again.

Either you attempt to convince transient strangers or bond with loyal fans who amplify your professional blogging success.

Which strategy sounds more fun?

Blogging Party Analogy

Does it feel awkward to force a connection with strangers at a party?

Don’t you feel tense as you lob the opening line?

Doesn’t it feel fun to attend a relaxed party with friends?

You know everyone there. They know you. You can just be yourself.

THAT is how your blog should be.

Build a loyal tribe. Solve their core problems. Listen to their feedback. Spot their needs. Publish detailed content to address their pains.

You never need to bend over backwards for loyal people who deeply appreciate your help.

What Is the Spirit of this Blog Post?

I’m not anti lead in hook.

I’m not against publishing highly thorough, detailed blog posts.

Yet there is a general vibe in the blogging niche: “Nobody gives a crap about you until you publish dazzling, eye-wrangling, masterfully crafted blog posts from the irresistible lead-in hook, to the beefy body to the closer with the power of King Kong slamming a 50 foot tall door shut in a fit of rage.”

These expectations are totally untrue, guys.

Do that stuff if it feels fun not because you need to be perfect to get one view or to earn one blogging penny.