TIPS FOR WRITING GREAT ARTICLES/ BLOG POSTS

I’m of the opinion that anyone can write. However not everyone can write an article that touches the heart. We as humans are blessed with numerous ideas that can be regarded as quality content but what we do with these information and ideas is totally up to us.

In this jet age, there are so many tools and resources available at our disposal which can help the average writer become exceptional. Imagine a stay at home mum who has other skills apart from writing, who then bridges and develops that gap and becomes an author of several bestseller books. Hard as it is to conceive it is actually very possible.

Paul Coelho said and I quote: “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting”. Let us go on this journey together and let me show you those tips that can make you a consistent and exceptional writer with features on prominent websites.  You can even go ahead to write that bestseller or own that outstanding blog or website that makes Huffington post gasp!

A myriad of opportunities thanks to the internet 

I will share some tips and insight as to how to go about writing articles that stand out and have readers wanting more:

1. Be creative and share real life stories and scenarios to connect with your readers

To begin an article, you can write a short introductory paragraph which will include your major keywords so that if it is fed into RSS feeds, it can easily be picked up by article directories of other websites. Create some pizzazz! Let your readers in on a real life situation, maybe something that occurred to you or someone you know. Share a story to draw them in and if they understand it, they can relate. This positions you as the writer in the minds of your readers and with that they can follow the article and get the message you are trying to pass across. 

2. Be resourceful

In developing great content, you will have to reduce your subject to a single core word and then brainstorm around it. For example, if you're trying to write about "Music as an art", expand your thinking to "Music". Now write down everything that comes to mind when you think about Music, and when you run out of ideas start asking yourself open questions around the subject and write down those answers that come to mind. Create examples in your mind and write them down to in turn write around those words as they come. Doing this will help you get back into the mindset of the characters or stories you want to write about. Develop content in areas that are helpful to your readers; encouraging them and providing them with useful information in different areas of life that they may find useful. Readers can then on become writers themselves in a scenario commonly referred to as “paying it forward”.

Push yourself, develop great content

3. Scour various publications and articles for ideas and polish up your writing

People are unique and will always have differing opinions and as such issues always arise in various fields.  As the writer who will subsequently become an expert in several subject matters, do not be afraid to offer your own opinion and provide some insight into these dicey situations. There are tons of websites that provide resources in form of articles, surveys, whitepapers etc that you can use in your articles. The articles are free and available for you to use as often as you want to. In writing you constantly have to trust your instincts. Make your material unique, proof-read and correct any noted errors. However do not do any major editing until your article has been read over and over again. Be mindful of your deadlines for turning in your articles and always try to keep to time. When you're pushed for time, writing several articles at one sitting can create enough change of focus to make you push aside others you have written.

Go the extra mile to develop great content

5. Apply all you have learnt from conferences, workshops and/or seminars

Reinventing the wheel of information is an arduous task. Therefore from the nuggets of information that you have picked up from the conferences, you can develop content in form of articles or blog posts that can be passed on to your readers. If you have however used any material found via these means, the authors and writers must be fully referenced to avoid any claims of plagiarism. You can also offer your opinion of the event(s) or articles and your readers will appreciate your frank opinion. Opinions or tips are easier to give than writing articles in my opinion. These opinions or tips can then evolve into articles, in both cases an article or blog post is created. Without consciously knowing, you are well on your way to become a fully-fledged writer! Write down questions you want your article or write-up to address. By doing this you will stay in the mindset of your readers until you feel you have asked every question that addresses the topic chosen and those questions or areas that also concern them. Let your questions ‘sit’ for a while that way, they can always be reviewed and altered to include more of your thoughts if possible.

Apply all you know and have learnt

6. Interview associates and people of interest whose expertise would interest your readers

Take advantage of the various social media portals like Twitter, Facebook, Snap chat, Emails etc. Such interviews are really easy to conduct: You as the interviewer will send your interviewee some questions via e-mail or other the other listed social media portals, edit their answers if need be, publish their responses or if going the email way, have them approve the final version. Make your interviews conversational and remain focused with the question-and-answer format. Be sure to send them a thank you and include a short description of their business/craft with links to their websites or social media contacts (if they want it included).

7. Make your readers a part of your articles or blog posts: let them ask you questions and answer them in your write-ups.

Your readers are your no. 1 fans and have various ways to add some colour to your articles or blog posts. Create an opportunity for them to send you questions and then with their permission publish their name(s), business, website address, and other contact details they want to share with other readers. You can also create other opportunities where readers are invited to send in profiles and short descriptions of themselves -- their names, businesses, locations, and other information they are willing to share. You can decide to feature a profile per article/blog post. By doing this you are creating a community of loyal readers and followers and in turn greater things can occur as a result of this.

8. End your articles or blog posts in style!

This is the most important aspect of writing! Well written articles are unlikely to need major editing. Ensure that the message is clear and that the information contained in your article flows easily. Articles or write-ups that are exceptional are written in a reasonably logical sequence to help the readers understand and ensure that they are led through the article from start to finish. You can include another short paragraph to summarize the major points of the article and provide some ideas for the reader to explore the subject further.

This is a practical approach to writing and the more articles you write,  the more exceptional you become as a writer.

Yes! You are a writer