Writing articles can sometimes be paralyzing. Just thinking of a subject can sometimes take hours. If you’re like a lot of people, you probably haven’t penned anything longer than an email since college. And the experience wasn’t really enjoyable back then, either.
If you’re new to article writing, there are some techniques you can learn that will simplify your writing process. Like learning anything new, it will take some work in the beginning, but eventually, you’ll get better. Here’s a list of ten writing tips to get you started.
Who to Write to
Writing Tip #1 – Choose Your Target Audience
This step is more complicated than it looks at first glance. Have you really sat down and thought about who you’re writing for? Some of the guidelines that you can use to determine your target audience are their age range, sex, education level, hobbies, location, and profession to name a few. Start by writing a description of your ideal reader and keep it where you can see it while you’re writing.
What to Write
Writing Tip #2 – Establish Your Audience’s Problem, Need or Want
After you identify who you are writing to, you need to choose what you want to accomplish with your article. Are you trying to solve an issue for them? Do they have a want that you can satisfy? Make sure you illuminate the issue you’re writing about so your reader knows immediately if this article is relevant to him.
You also want to empathize with your readers. Relate your experience or that of a friend. Once you solidify your goal, start writing out some overall thoughts, maybe in the form of bullet points, that you want to make sure you include.
Writing Tip #3 – Give Them a Solution
If you’ve ascertained your audience and their situation, next you need to give them an answer. In the step above, you started jotting down some knowledge you wanted to relate in your article. Now you should expand on each of those points. One of the simplest articles to write is one like this – a “how to” or “tips” article. You simply turn your bullet points into paragraph headings. Simple, huh?
Writing Tip #4 – Stay On Target
Your article will be more effective if you stick to one thought. If you want to expand into another topic, make that the theme of a different article. You also want to stick to points that are important to your target audience. Remember them?
If you’re writing about a service, for example, and it has a really neat feature, but your reader won’t care about it, omit it. Overwhelming your reader with information overload is just as bad as insufficient information.
How to Write It
Writing Tip #5 – Hook Them With Your Headline
Your headline is THE most important part of your entire article. It’s what gets your reader drawn to what you have to say. In fact, it is so important, there are oodles of books written on how to write headlines that convert.
This short article is not the place to teach you how to write good headlines, so I’ll point you to some other resources. One of my favorite authors who who is an expert on the subject is Joe Vitale. Find him at www.mrfire.com.
Writing Tip #6 – Be Yourself
I know I have a tendency to get all academic when I write, and you may, too. I’m always reminding myself to loosen up and just write the same way I talk. If you’re having the same difficulty, try relating what you want to say to a friend or family member. Then, take that same, easy going conversation, and write it down. Remember, too, readers can tell if you’re being yourself and will identify with you easier if they can see the real you.
Writing Tip #7 – Don’t Get Sloppy
OK, I know I just said to be yourself, but that doesn’t mean you can let your spelling and grammar fall off. There’s nothing that will annihilate your authority on a subject quicker, in my opinion, than incorrect word usage or misspelled words.
Don’t know if you should use whose or who’s? Look it up! Can’t remember how to spell a word? Your text editor has a spell check – use it! Is it acceptable, all right to use some jargon or colloquialisms? Sure – Just make sure you don’t overdo it. And remember your audience! (I’m getting off my soap box now.)
Writing Tip #8 – Engage Your Reader
When writing your article, you need to bear in mind that your reader has a very short attention span. You need to keep bringing him back to you what you’re saying. One way of achieving that is to ask your reader a question that forces him to think about what he just read. I used this technique at the end of tip #3.
Another way is to touch on something you said earlier. If you noticed, I keep bringing up your target audience. Not just to reiterate to you that it’s important to keep thinking about your readers during the article writing process, but also to re-engage you,
Writing Tip #9 – Write to One Person
If you’ve noticed in this article, I’ve been talking to you the whole time. In actuality it is written for everyone who needs writing help, but it looks like I’m writing for only you. I could have mailed this article as a personal letter to you.
Why is this important? Because you’re trying to foge a personal relationship with your reader. By talking directly to him or her, you’re building rapport. And you’re displaying to him that he is your only concern at the moment. It’s kinda like you’re letting him in on a secret.
Write It Better
Writing Tip #10 – Practice
Remember the last time you attempted anything new? A new school subject, photography, a new sport, or that accounting program? How long did it take you to become proficient? Was it a day? Probably not. Probably not even a month.
More than likely it took you more than a couple months before you felt certain that you were up to speed. It’s the same thing with article writing. It’s going to take lots of practice. When I began writing, I had the same difficulties you’re having now. Over time, though, it got much easier, and it will for you. too.
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