Aug 12, 2014 / General Advice & Pro Tips

Five Ways to End Your Post

You’ve crafted a stellar opening sentence — but how do you end your post? Here are some ideas to consider.

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/followtheseinstructions/5693524143">Image</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/followtheseinstructions/">followtheinstructions</a> (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>)

Many of you devote a lot of time and attention to your opening sentences — and rightfully so. Considering how important it is to hook your readers from the get-go, you want to get that part right.

In writing just as in music, though, our lingering impression of the piece we’ve just consumed depends just as much — if not more so — on the finale. Yet so often, by the time we reach the end of our post, we’re too tired, too unfocused, or too eager to hit the Publish button to care too much about how we bid farewell to our audience.

If that sounds like you, it might be time to rethink how you approach your post endings. Here are five ideas to make the tail end of your post just as engaging as its first note.

Throw a teaser

Why not use the very end of one post to pique your reader’s interest in your next one? Keep your visitors in the loop by letting them know, towards the end of your post, what upcoming attractions they can expect on your blog. This works especially well if you write multi-part stories or recurring features, though it can be useful for any type of post.

Ask a question

Note: You can use typography to set the question apart from the body of your post — here at The Daily Post, we often end pieces with a question in italics.

Thought-provoking posts often generate a lively discussion without too much prodding. Ending your post with a question, however, can be a particularly efficient way to jump-start the action in your comments section. A yes/no or either/or question will make it easy to engage your readers, while more open-ended ones might inspire longer, more thoughtful responses.

Share a quote

Many bloggers use quotes at the beginning of their posts to set the right mood for what follows, like epigraphs in a book. Sometimes, though, ending with a powerful quote can be just as effective — whether it’s a famous line from a play or a movie, a verse of poetry, or even a snippet of dialog by people mentioned earlier on in the same post. It’s a great method to convey emotion without explicitly stating how you feel.

Create a poll

Note: A poll doesn’t have to come at the expense of thoughtful comments — you could invite everyone to elaborate on their response in the comments.

A tried-and-tested way to get your visitors to reflect on what they’ve just read is to add a poll at the bottom of your post. If you wrote about a decision you’ve made, your poll could ask whether it was the right one. If you debated which course of action to follow, you can solicit direct feedback from your audience. You could even use a poll to determine whether readers enjoyed your post, and if they’d like to see similar ones in the future.

Repeat yourself

Repetition can be a powerful stylistic and narrative tool — why not use it at the very end of your post to give it a stronger sense of closure? You could highlight the journey you’ve covered in your post by showing how the same sentence reads differently in a different context. You’d also be giving your readers a mnemonic device — a memory aid —  that might help distinguishing your piece from all the other blogs they’ll visit that day.

How do you tend to end your posts? Do you have any advice to share about which endings to try out — and which to avoid? We’d love to hear your insights!

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  2. My endings need some work. I’ve tried various things ,questions feel a bit forced, quotes aren’t my thing. But I supposed mixing it up might work best, thanks for the tips.

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  4. After having blogs of one kind or another for so many years I kind of stumbled into the ending of my posts. It’s just “Until next time…”
    I have never been a prolific writer, and have large gaps in my archives so it seemed like a nice way to say “See you when I get back”. I don’t think anyone has ever commented on my ending style, but if I do have an issue bought up in the post I would usually address it before the sign off.

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  9. I’ve never really noticed how I end posts…I usually just end it with the sentence that I feel like is “right”, if you know what I mean? When I get that feeling of satisfaction while reading my post over, that’s how I know it’s done.

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  11. Great info – I often end with a question because I know how empowering a question is to the reader. I love the idea of ending with a quote also, or repeating your main point. Thanks for the tips! Sharon

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  16. Ben,

    The timing and content of your contribution(s) throughout Writing 201 provide me with ponder a’plenty,

    Not too hot,
    not too cold,
    just right.

    This bit of sweet for this last week – a kind farewell indeed.

    Thanks for the inspiration (and for clarifying the “poll.”)
    Tru~

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Trudi! All of us on the Editorial team have been thoroughly impressed with the Writing 201 community. It’s been an exciting ride!

      Liked by 1 person

  21. I’m proud to say people love the endings to my poems.
    in fact they tell me when they start reading them they can’t wait to get to the end.
    I think this shows…..er…..wait a minute……..nevermind.

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  22. I never know how to end posts unless they’re essays with a clear conclusion. When I’m just giving my thoughts on a couple of articles that go together, or issuing some random thoughts, my posts just… end. It always feels awkward!

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  23. I like the idea of using questions or polls – as long as it fits with the rest of the post and doesn’t seem contrived. Might have to give it a go and see what response I get!

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  24. For me, (most of my articles are game walkthrough or review) i just ended it with a sweet reaction or any figures of speech blah blah

    Or
    “This is Aoi Kurokawa Signing off, Hyuuu”

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  26. thanks.this was helpful.Sometimes i make blogs that just have a quote,i think another thing you should mention,is to add media.I think it makes the blog more readable and interesting

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  28. Hi Ben

    Nice round up for closure of blog, pretty insightful and thoughtful.

    I however like my blogs to turn into conversations between me and my readers. I therefore end my blog with prompting and encouraging my readers to post comments / replies. This can be achieved by either asking some questions or by leaving gaps for the questions to be asked 😉

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