Any good article constitutes of two elements, good writing, and technique. For bloggers and writers, the internet is a place of extreme competition. Writing and posting an article being extremely easy during the age of information, the ideal enamel of a good article no longer holds any essence of individuality. Good content always makes a good impression before the right readers. Although subject lines need to be engaging in an article, getting the writing and editing technique right I the most important part. In fact, techniques play a major role in determining the overall quality or impact of the article. A strong and powerful article has the ability to penetrate and stir minds and move towards a valuable pursuit.
Summing everything up, the following six rules if applied to an article will make it stand out in quality and effectiveness.
1. Minimizing Barrier to Entry
A good article should seamlessly draw the attention of the audience. The opening paragraph is important and one that it lengthy will only act as a barrier to entry. No reader wants to engage in expectations in this dynamic world. The worth or potential of the article should be identified within the first few sentences and if not, most readers will simply leave it reading unfinished. Openings should always be crisp and catchy. Putting the essentials of what the readers might expect in the article should be accumulated within the first few sentences before going into further details in the following paragraphs. Showing readers that there is a value attached to the article will help you garner a strong audience base and acknowledgment of your article.
2. Short and Visually Appealing
Volumes of paragraphs thronged into one article never look attractive let alone most people taking the time to read it. Even a committed reader sometimes skips article if it weighs in on the bulky side. However, short paragraphs are exciting and engaging since they are easy to read and grasp. Make the paragraphs interesting but brief and give your readers the space to take it all in without the pressure of too many words all at once. In the process of making your article short, do not make it too formal. Keep the balance of technique and personalization while giving your readers a comfortable time to grasp in your content.
3. Short but Captivating
A continuation of the previous tip, an article although a writer’s open canvas cannot get carried away in too much information and unnecessary contexts. Making the whole read brief, crisp yet engaging is a challenge but if accomplished can take you a long way. This also comes with experience and of course patience and learning new tips every day will enhance the quality and standards of an article significantly.
4. Writing of Substance
Writing is an art and when it becomes too shallow, it begins to catch the eye of the readers in a bad way. Say, for example, one specific topic will have hundreds of similar articles for reference. But you as a writer will always look for innovation and go out of the box to articulate your thoughts in a different way. Surface-level reads are easily discarded and the ones that are insightful substantial, and impactful are the ones that make a stir. A content or topic can be anything but just writing about it without the touch of style, uniqueness, and punch is useless. Give your readers perspective, hope, and inspiration, something that leaves a lasting impression so that interest is stirred in them.
5. Telling a Story
A good story always sells is something that has a reality to it. A compelling story always instigates our senses and we are drawn to them instantly. So to tell a story through your article, you need to make it emotional, relevant, relatable, and dramatic. Capturing the attention of the reader can be done in many ways but always keep in mind to structure it like a story. Stories also make for very good introductions to articles. If a writer wants to illustrate a point, a story comes in handy. Stories in an article cannot be too long and will only work if utilized as personal references just to make the readers resonate with the topic.
6. Presentation
Always give the readers the answers to potential questions in your article by showing your point in the action and why the article is worth a read. Your structure needs to be confident, illustrative, compelling, explanatory, and empathetic. The order of writing is important as there are many psychological underplays in it that enables readers to completely invest in an article or any writing for that matter.
Conclusion
Guidelines and tips for writing a good article will come and go but one piece of advice that stays on forever is retaining practice. That how a writer will reach close to perfection and will be able to guide himself to draft the article of her dreams. Understand your audience and keep your learning canvas open, a good article is just a step from going viral.
