If You Are New, The One Thing You Must Remember Writers
They said to make it simple to read and easy to scan. Please don’t make the same mistake I did.
One of the first things I learned when I started as a freelance writer was that I needed to simplify my writing. I have been working for 14 years, writing for professional consumption, and sometimes, we tend to write things to confuse people more.
The concept was new to me, to say the least, and I didn't accept it as quickly as I should have.
Eventually, I got it; I listened to my editors and embraced it.
I learned when writing for the general public that I did not need to use big words or long, drawn-out sentences to get my message across.
I could write so that someone could quickly scan the piece and still walk away with value, even if that person was an expert in the field.
And that is what we as writers should all strive for. Value.
Value is creating content that results in readers learning something from what we write in a quick way. This does not mean you have to dumb down your writing, but it does mean you need to get to the point fast.
Now, there are tools to actually test the readability of your writing, like a readability score, and I wrote a great piece on five free tools you can use to increase your score.
But what I am referring to is more than just running your content through a readability scanner. Once you learn to simplify your messaging, readers will actually remember what you have written, and that is what every writer aims for.
Being an expert in a specific field doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to write on that subject, and this is where readability, clarity, and conciseness make all the difference.
Make it simple, and your writing will not only appeal to those you are writing for but can reach a far wider audience. You will soon find unnecessary jargon clutters your writing.
A few tips for those who are starting out is to focus on one central element and break it down into chunks of digestible information. You can do this through a listicle or how-to article so that readers come away with something concrete when they reflect on what they read.
Title the article with precisely what you are writing about so readers know exactly what they will get. And then make sure to deliver.
In the end, always reading your own material will help you spot unnecessary words that can be edited out. Keeping in mind what you want your readers to gain from the piece will always help to streamline your content.
