How to Craft Compelling Content: Tips To Write Better Articles
Do it better with ease knowing these tips at heart!
So you’re now a writer? So what are the next steps without tricks?
1. Write Better Articles: The Key to Online Success
Ok,let’s go! I got this one! 1,2,3,4,…..gooooooo….oooollo
As a newbie, fresher, or experienced writer, you’re constantly wondering: "How can I make my content stand out among the vast amount of content flooding the internet every second?" But is this possible? One thing you should know about today’s digital landscape is that content is always king; good one at that. Writing better, informative, and helpful content makes you stand out, brings you a loyal audience, and establishes your brand. Once you know that writing better articles helps you stand out, build your audience, and drive traffic to your site, you’ve gained the foundation of growing your brand. People don’t care about your site’s design or ease of use; they want answers to their questions. Period!
Summary: In today’s digital landscape, content is king. Writing better articles can help you establish your brand, build your audience, and drive traffic to your website. But with so much content out there, how can you make yours stand out is a question you should keep on asking yourself?
2. Know Your Audience
Before you start writing, remember that every content published online is peculiar to individuals or a particular audience. As a writer, you need to know who you're writing for, why you're writing, and whether your content answers or solves people's problems. People's needs differ, so what one person finds amusing might be silly to another. Tailoring your content to meet your audience's specific needs is crucial, even if you have a large audience. Sometimes, ask yourself what problems you need to solve and write about them. You might be surprised that you're not the only one facing those issues, and your audience will thank you for it.
Summary: Before you start writing anything, it’s crucial to understand who your audience is. What are their pain points? What problems do they need solving? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your content to meet their needs.
3. Research and Plan
Have you ever wondered how the Burj Khalifa was built? I don’t live in the USA, but I once read that Chicago, Illinois is one of the states that was well-planned before it was built. I’m not sure how true that is, but my point is that you shouldn’t go into any project without planning or doing research. The same applies to writing. Remember, writing is crucial, and people take what they read online seriously. So, before writing, sit down and plan your article from start to finish. Take time to gather credible resources and structure your article for your audience to follow. Remember, people prefer facts over theories! Ensure your information is clear, concise, and free of ambiguity. If necessary, keep it simple and short, as most readers only skim.
Summary: Good writing starts with good research. Take the time to gather credible sources and plan your article structure, creating a clear and concise narrative.
4. Craft a Catchy Headline
As a writer, you should learn to use catchy headlines and titles that are both informative and attention-grabbing. It’s not just about using clickbait headlines and titles that will turn off your readers once they realize the content doesn’t match the title. Learn to use catchy headlines with valuable content. Remember, we live in the era of search engines, and people search for information with immediate answers. Your aim should be to get discovered by a wider audience through organic search and traffic. Always optimize your article's headlines or content for SEO (if you’re confused about where to find the best SEO courses, check out free sites like neilpatel.com, backlinko.com, searchenginejournal.com, etc.).
Summary: Your headline is what grabs the reader's attention. Make it count by crafting a headline that's informative, attention-grabbing, and optimized for SEO.
5. Write Engaging Introduction(s)
To keep readers engaged, use a compelling introduction that will make them want to read more. Don't give away everything at once; instead, subtly draw them in and make them see reasons to continue reading. You can start with thought-provoking questions or impressive statistics to grab their attention. There's no one way to do this, but you can tailor your approach to suit your audience.
Summary: Your intro should draw the reader in and make them want to read more. Use anecdotes, statistics, or thought-provoking questions to pique their interest.
6. Focus on Clarity and Conciseness
Make your writing clear and simple. Avoid using complex language or grammar to convey information. Instead, write like you're teaching a six-year-old. Your writing should be error-free and easy to understand. Remember, you never know who will come across your content.
Summary: Good writing is clear and concise. Avoid using jargon or overly complex language that can confuse your readers.
7. Use Subheadings and Bullet Points
Well for me I am not good at breaking my contents into subheadings and bullets but over time since I have learnt people only skim unless is important for them to read. I am trying as much to do this because over time it increases your reading time. It also makes people or readers able to follow up incase they are loss and able to come back since it is much easier for them to take some points. So learn this strategy!
Summary: Subheadings and bullet points help break up your content and make it easier to read. Use them to highlight key points and create a clear structure.
8. Optimize for SEO
If you really want to be successful online like any successful writer then you need to join the SEO game. As a newbie you should invest huge amount of time to understand this, and how to play it. After then you will understand what it means to rank successfully on keywords related to your niche or writeups.
Don't forget to link your sites to sites that you see fit. To me like linking my sites to reputable websites that are good at what they do to build and boost not only ranking but build trust from readers.
Summary: SEO is crucial for online success. Use keywords strategically, optimize your images, and internal link to boost your search engine rankings.
9. Edit and Proofread
I know this feeling and infatuation of getting your content live on the web for people to read but before you do that make sure you proof read and edit your work thoroughly to some extent. Incase your lazy like me you can always use AI assistants and tools out there in the web.
You don’t want to publish your writings only to discover later how bad it is.
Summary: Editing and proofreading are crucial steps in the writing process. Take the time to review your work, make revisions, and catch any errors before publishing.
10. Repurpose and Promote
Now, all is done. Hurray! But that’s not all you need to promote your written content to other channels available on the web, and there are so many of them that it is hard to stick to only one. Guess what? You’re now becoming a brand!
So once you've written a great article, you should learn to repurpose it into other formats like social media posts(Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Thread,etc), email newsletters(like Substack, beehive,etc), or even a video(Dailymotion, YouTube,TT). This is to enable you to reach a wider audience.
