When given a particular subject to write on and there’s a deadline for the same, one must remember to start effectively. This is possible when one catches the attention of the reader in the first few lines because the reader gets a fair idea of how good or bad the article is by reading the first few sentences, and so these should be crafted intelligently.
Now, since we are on the topic of ‘Writing a Good Article’, we need to understand the basics first. The fundamentals of good article writing include employing catchy headlines and planning the optimum use of keywords, as well as the correct placement of the latter. More importantly, the writer needs to fully understand what the readers are looking for when they decide to go through his article. It is, therefore, necessary to fully comprehend the reader’s requirements and expectations from the article that he plans to pen down.
Let’s elaborate a little on the above to better understand what good writing is about –
Maintaining a List of Ideas
We have mentioned brainstorming ideas for one’s article. This should be done regularly because one should be aware of the fact that writer’s block can hit at any time. To avoid that, one should jot down any random idea that occurs to him, which could be any time of the day and not just when he is on his computer. This ensures that he has a good head start when he plans to start writing on any topic.
Understanding the Audience
If one is writing on a particular topic, he needs to keep in mind what his audience is like. If he writes a good article but does not target the people whom he is writing for, then the entire exercise will be of no use. So, tailoring the content to the interests of his audience is a must.
A Snappy Title
The writer must ensure that he catches the interest of the audience from the word go. He needs to come up with a catchy title for obvious reasons. The title is the first impression that the reader forms about the article. But that doesn’t mean creating a title that is interesting but fails to reflect what the article is about, so due diligence should be paid to ensure that the title gives the right information about the article.
Researching Efficiently and Effectively
The research on the topic demands time, but at the same time, it should not take away from the time that one will devote to writing the article. The facts and the statistics that one plans to highlight in his article should be specific and to the point.
A Strong Hook
This is of the utmost importance. One should start strongly, and this involves the creation of a strong hook that grabs the reader’s attention as soon as he starts reading the article. The latter would, therefore, be encouraged to keep reading to the end of the article.
Writing in a Concise and To-The-Point Manner
The sentences and paragraphs should be written succinctly. Nobody likes long and complicated sentences. This would lead to increased focus of the reader, as also he would be thoroughly engaged when perusing through the article. The writer should bear in mind that the attention span of the reader is short, and to ensure that the latter goes through the entire article and also that he doesn’t forget what he has read, the article should be done directly and comprehensively. An upper limit to the word count always helps. The write-ups can be completed faster, and major points can be highlighted, and unnecessary details can be avoided.
Use of Bullet Points
This enables the writer to be better organized as far as his thoughts while writing the article are concerned. Also, it helps him finish the article faster. Further, this enables the best SEO for the article, and this leads to the algorithms of search engines giving precedence to the article since search engines can find the article faster. Subheadings will further enhance the SEO factor. All this will lead to more and more people visiting your website and decrease the bounce rates.
Editing
This activity is a very vital part of writing a good article. But this does not mean that you indulge in it while you are in the process of writing the article. The latter situation will only slow down the writer. Treating editing as a separate activity from writing is essential. Editing should come into play only after the rough draft of the entire article is complete. One might want to change the hook or the first line to grab the reader’s attention when he lands on the homepage, but it should be kept for the last.
Including Visuals
Visual aids can go a long way when it comes to illustrating what the article is trying to say; it is one of the best ways to capture the attention of the reader.
Strategic Use of Keywords
Last but not least, the use of pertinent keywords deserves special mention when writing a blog or an article for the internet is concerned. This is done to improve the ranking of your article on the various search engines. The use of keywords is the most important part of SEO, and while it improves the rankings, it also helps the readers find the article easily.
Conclusion
Keeping the above in mind, one might concur that writing an article is one hell of a task since there are just too many parameters one has to abide by. On the flip side, it has been observed that sticking to the parameters might seem extremely difficult at first. Still, when a writer or a blogger inculcates these factors into his writing, they become a habit very soon. They realize that they have been able to write better content while spending lesser amount of time completing the article than what they used to. To each his own, but we would highly recommend practicing the above-mentioned points when writing, and we are confident that they would help your writing immensely.