I recently wrote a post entitled “Can ‘And’ or ‘But’ Start a Sentence?” The post isn’t getting a high listing on Google, which most of my posts do. And I just found out why. Visitors are using a search string that is different from my wording. They are searching this way: Can you start a sentence with and?
I relearned a lesson I know well: Know your readers. Give your readers what they need.
If you’re not getting the response you expect from a message or document, try looking at the situation from your reader’s perspective. In some situations–like mine with Google–data can point you in the right direction. But if you don’t have data, talk to your readers. Find out what they are looking for. Then give it to them.
As you can see, I have included the search string Can you start a sentence with and? twice in this message. Now I hope my readers find me!