17 Article Writing Tips

by Matt Bacak

Article writing tips are a necessity in the digital marketing world. Marcus Sheridan, an author at The Sales Lion Blog stressed this at Inbound 2013 by saying “Great content is the best sales tool in the world.” Do not forget that we live in the information age. This means that we consume lots of content. Marketing has gone online and articles have become a powerful tool that you cannot avoid.

Writing articles is not a welcome activity to most of us, especially if you are not a journalist and find yourself not so good at putting content together. However, the pointers below are a good guide in helping you easily write good articles:

1. You need to know that we all start somewhere. No one was born writing, even though some of us find it easy. You should not therefore worry even if you cannot put together an impressive paragraph.

2. Find an inspiration and a way to encourage yourself as you write your articles. You need this before writing becomes a habit.

3. If you are wondering about ideas on writing articles, stick to you line of interest and make your thoughts revolve around your area of interest.

4. People are out to get solutions. Just put down what can be done to solve a challenge and you will attract readers.

Writing is a multi-step process:

5. First, find out what problem your readers would like to solve or the purpose of your writing

6. Think about six or more different ways the problem can be solved.

7. Research and think some more solutions your readers would need.

8. Sleep on it and don’t just write straight away.

9. With enthusiasm, put down your thoughts on paper and write without stopping.

10. Once you are done, put aside the article and take a break. Editing comes later; do not combine it with initial writing. Once you edit, you are done and can say your article is ready.

Other key guidelines to consider include:

11. Make sure your article titles are catchy. More than 60% of your readers will read your content because of the titles.

12. Write concise paragraphs. An average paragraph should have about four lines.

13. When writing wear a writer’s hat. When you are editing, put on a reader’s hat. This will help you proofread your work better.

14. Make it a habit to revisit your articles months later and read them. You will see how you have grown and notice some mistakes. Learn from them; you will be glad you did.

15. Keep your content simple, as short as you can and with lots of information.

16. When writing for online marketing purposes, do not keyword-stuff your articles. Use lots of synonyms instead. Search engines will show your articles love.

17. Readers like lists. Do so as frequent as you find the opportunity.

 

Download from Calameo – Click Here
Download from Scribd – Click Here
Download from Docstoc – Click Here