Writing an Article

How you create your article is a matter of personal preference. Since articles are short (typically 300 to 600 words), some people prefer to just write them off the cuff. Others, however, prefer to use an outline.

No matter what method you choose, generally the shape of your article will look like this, with each of these items as separate paragraphs:

Introduction: Generally speaking, many introductions provide a summary - a sneak peek at what the article is about. That's a good thing. But you also need to use your introduction to draw your reader into the rest of your article. That is, you don't want to just dryly summarize the article in the intro. Instead, you want to use the intro to whet the reader's appetite for what's to come.

One way to do this is to arouse curiosity and/or share the benefits of the article. For example, you might say something like this: “You're about to discover three simple ways to slash 100 calories from your diet. Read on for the surprising details…”

So, in its most basic form the introduction summarizes the rest of the article. However, a good introduction does more than that. You see, your introduction opens up a good opportunity for you to really connect with the readers.

There are a few different ways you can do this, including:

  Telling a story. This is one of the most powerful ways to connect with readers, simply because storytelling (when done right) tends to elicit emotion. So instead of just opening up an article saying something like, "You're about to learn three easy ways to slash 100 calories from your diet," you can tell a quick story about how someone lost weight simply by making small changes.
  Asking a relevant question. Another way to connect with the readers is by asking them a question. You want them to identify and answer your question affirmatively, thus making them feel like the article was written for them.

For example: “Do you ever cringe when your dog jumps on your guests?” Or: “Are you tired of dieting?”

Once you get your reader nodding his head in agreement, he or she will keep reading.

Point 1: After the introduction, your next paragraph should offer your first point, first step, or first tip.

Point 2: Start a new paragraph to reveal your next point, tip or step. Hint: Don't just lay out these steps in a dry textbook like manner. You can make your article more engaging and memorable by offering examples. (See the next lesson for more tips on how to engage your audience.)

Point 3: Start a new paragraph to reveal your next point, tip or step. There is no limit here. If you have a five-step process or you're offering seven tips, then you should start a new paragraph for each of these steps and tips.

Do note, however: If you're talking about a fairly complex or lengthy process (or you have a lot of tips and points), you may want to break your article up into multiple parts (e.g., Part 1, Part 2, etc). This also works as a nice marketing tactic, because you can direct readers to your blog or your newsletter list to read the second part of the article.

Conclusion: Finally, you wrap up your article by summarizing what the reader just learned. You can also include a call to action, where you encourage he reader to apply what he or she just learned.

That's how you write a basic article. Stay tuned, because next time you'll find out how to make even a basic article engaging!

How to write an article is reprinted with permission of writing-online.com

how_to_write_an_article.txt · Last modified: 2013/03/18 11:33 by esta54
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