HOW TO WRITE GOOD ARTICLES ABOUT ICOs
In our world today, information is what drives industrialization. People believe what they see more than what they hear. That is why your job as a writer will not go extinct in many years to come. You satisfy people’s hunger for information but to ensure that you keep them satisfied you have to keep the craft down to the t.
As a writer of all things crypto you may have your job cut out for you…or not. It all depends on what your target audience wants to see and your ability to give that to them accurately.
This begs the eternal question, “How do I keep my readers satisfied?”
These are three tips I believe are key in writing the perfect crypto article.
HAVE A GOOD COMMAND OF THE LANGUAGE YOU ARE WRITING IN.
This is basic and one key thing you should have on your finger tips when writing an article about an ICO (Initial Coin Offering). I am not saying, be a master in that language. All I am saying is, you should understand and be able to communicate effectively in the language you are writing in.
People reading your articles should understand what you are trying to communicate to them. That means reducing grammatical errors to the barest minimum and conveying your thoughts in a coherent and comprehensible manner.
Note that, it is not all ICO’s that appreciates articles in other languages asides English. Best to check with them before you decide to write an article in French.
READ THE WHITEPAPER
I know what you are thinking. I can’t read thirty to sixty pages of words not even when it matters. Even during exam period I can’t read all my slides.
Relax!
It is good if you can read word for word but if you can’t — maybe you just don’t have the time — then skim through for the most important parts. Parts that tell you what the ICO is about how, how it works, benefits, token sale and their platforms (be it social or business) are important components of your article which are best gleaned from the whitepaper.
Skimming through a whitepaper can give you an idea about what to write your article about.
When I read through the trendit whitepaper, I found myself wondering how different it was from the steemit platform and there, that was what my article was written about!
Read it here.
It is only after you have read the whitepaper that you can look to what the world wide web is saying about the ICO for inspiration.
DON’T BE A PLAGIARIST. NO, DON’T BE THAT GUY!
For the love of God, cite everything that is not yours. One of the most painful things in life is to put your life into some work for someone else to claim it as his/her own.
IMAGES
If you’ve noticed, I have left a link under all the images used in this article. It wasn’t just for the fun of it and mind you these images are from pixabay. The pictures from there are free to use without having to reference them but I still do it anyway. Let’s just say, I am trying to build a habit and so should you.
There are some images that are not free to use, not even when you reference them. You need to obtain permission from the owner first before you can use it. If you know you are not going to put yourself through that hussle, then simply stay away from them.
Using shutterstock for instance isn’t something I will recommend if you are not ready to pay the one time fee. This is so for all stock photos. Shutterstock is only royalty free but not free of charge. Generally avoid pictures with watermarks as they may require payments for use.
And to think that I just found out about this today and I am sure there is more for us to find out about!
Images are important. They help put your articles in context plus some people see a huge chunk of text and simply blackout. You don’t want people blacking out when they are reading your article, do you?
Luckily, most of the images you will use are those of the ICO’S you have chosen to write about. Eventhough they might not mind you using their logos and images without seeking prior permission, do your best to cite those too. I usually do a screenshot of their website or whitepaper if there is an interesting image I think my readers will benefit from and cite those website or whitepaper. Haven’t gotten into trouble yet so I assume it is safe. *winks*
WORDS
If you find some great words that you think will fit perfectly into your article don’t just go ahead to copy and paste.
Can anyone guess what I am about to say next? Are you thinking, “You gotta cite it?” You bet! You have to cite it!
You have to cite it even if you are taking parts of the whitepaper itself. Maybe you think no one will notice your hardwork but doing so builds up your own credibility as a writer.
Words are precious. Don’t just take them. Doing that will make you a thief.
Learn more about citing on medium here.
BONUS TIP
PUT SOME ZEST INTO IT
What do I mean by zest? Imagine that writing your article is the same as making a meal. The same type of meal may be bland to taste (tasteless) and another meal can keep you coming for more. It may be that the delicious meal had the right blend of spices. You need to spice up your articles. Maybe a joke — perfect for the context you are writing about— here or there will do the trick but it is good to just let the person reading feel you as a person (your personality) even as he/she reads your article.
I wish you all the best on your journey and I hope you sail through more smoothly than I have. I suggest that you read far and wide. Come into the crypto world with a humongous thirst for knowledge. You will need it. ☺
