How To Write Effective Articles

Ten Key Tips

Introduction

Article writing has become more popular especially as the demand for online article content continues to grow. Online magazines, website and blog owners are all competing for visitors and this means fresh content is needed on a daily basis which in turn is leading to a soaring demand for people who can write effective articles. It is important to note that you do not need to be a professional writer to create new and interesting content, anyone can do it, providing that they have a reasonable grasp of written English, basic grammar and spelling and are able to apply a structure to the article that they create. With this is mind we have created some practical guidance about how to write effective articles, that will keep visitors returning to your site.

1. Is My Article Title Relevant?

This aspect sounds simple, but it is essential to ensure that the title of your article actually encapsulates the content rather than going off topic. It can be frustrating for the reader to start to read an article only to find that it fails to deliver what it promised, or even more annoyingly provides information on a completely unrelated subject. This is sometimes a common trick used by unscrupulous website owners looking to entice visitors to their site with false promises, so ensure that your article title is closely associated with its content.

2. What Is The Purpose Of My Article?

Thinking about the purpose of your article before writing it is essential. Is it purely for information purposes or does it encourage the reader to ask further questions and stimulate their thinking? Is it a sales pitch and if so does it ask a question and then proceed to answer it full? Is your article an instructional or how to guide? Understanding its purpose will help you to write effective articles.

3. Who Are My Audience?

Another key to writing an effective article is to think about the audience you are targeting. The answer to this question will directly influence the style in which you write your article and whether it is designed for beginners or those with more experience or knowledge. If you write an article entitled A Beginners Guide To Plumbing but then proceed to discuss highly technical concepts, it is unlikely that your reader will understand what you are attempting to communicate. In addition the reader may be left with a negative impression of your writing style and avoid further articles written by you in the future.

4. Test Drive Your Articles

It is always good to ask others to critique your work, so give your article to people who will provide honest feedback. The best way to do this might be to publish an extract or full version in a writing community or writers forum and then encourage others to make constructive comments. If you are writing a beginners guide, give this to a friend or colleague who has no knowledge of the subject matter and ask them for feedback. Helium.com has an excellent writers forum section where you can get your work critiqued. I regularly ask people for feedback on the articles that I post on this site because my readers are normally the best people to offer some constructive feedback. In my opinion this is the most fundamental aspect of writing an effective article, as reader interaction will help you to refine your work and keep you focused on the needs of your audience.

5. Is Your Article Succinct And Easy To Read?

It is important not to confuse succinct with short. I have read hundreds of 2,000 word articles that are succinct, despite the high word count because they do not contain excessive information. Essentially you need to ensure that you communicate your points clearly and simply without long and drawn out explanations. This will help to keep the reader interested and motivated to read your article in full.

In addition try to avoid large blocks of text by keeping your paragraphs short, as research suggests that readers find articles with large blocks of text intimidating.

6. Use Examples, Pictures Or Images

If you are attempting to communicate complex concepts or are adopting a step by step instructional style, consider using examples, pictures or images within your article to help communicate key points. It was Fred R. Barnard who said A Picture is worth a thousand words.

7. Keep Your Title Specific

When internet users conduct searches for information online via search engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN they generally do so in a specific way in order to narrow down the list of search results that they receive. For example it is rare for someone to do a search on How To Earn Money because there would be millions of search results to trawl through. However they may search for a specific method that they are interested in earning money from for example How To Earn Money With Paid Surveys or How To Earn Money Writing Articles . With this in mind try to write articles with specific article titles, that way you are likely to attract more visitors and more readers will read your articles as they will be directly relevant to their search request.

8. Article Length

Try to write articles that add value and are of specific use to online visitors and readers, rather than simply covering a topic in a general sense. To do any topic justice and write an effective article a good length to aim for is around 1,000 words. This is approximately a page and a half of typed text. Adopting this approach is likely to give you time to present, explore and then conclude your article in sufficient detail. However remember to ensure that you write succinctly to avoid creating a boring article.

9. Sources, Resources and Links

An effective article should include any sources that it has been inspired from or any resources or links that would be of direct benefit to the reader. Make sure that you list relevant third party information which the reader can view in order to expand their understanding, or provide links to useful sites.

10. Avoid Plagiarism

Plagiarism is essentially attempting to pass off the work of someone else as your own. It is a method often used by spam sites who copy vast quantities of articles for use on their own sites, without asking permission or crediting the original author. There are now powerful tools like www.copyscape.com which allows website owners to regularly check whether their content has been copied and to take action against offending individuals. However, if you like an article there is nothing wrong with re writing it for your own purposes providing that it is substantially different.

Check out some of our other user friendy tutorials and guides to help you earn money online with integrity;