If you are using articles to help drive traffic to your
website you will need to come up with ideas for articles that people will want
to read and publish. The quality of articles found on article directories can
vary significantly so it is important that yours are among the best available
for your article marketing campaign to be successful.
There is no end to the subjects you can write about and you
can use any style you wish. However, it has to be something that people will
want to read. "How to" articles are very popular with both website
owners and readers and can be a great way to get your article marketing
campaign underway. Basically, the purpose of a 'how-to' article is to explain
to a reader how to do something.
Of course, you will have to have a good knowledge of how to
do the task yourself before you can think about instructing anyone else how to
do it, so stick to what you know. There are many possibilities. If you have
experience in networking you could write a 'how-to' article on how to set up a
router at home, or if you love cars you could write an article on 'how to
service your car'. There are endless possibilities for 'how-to' articles, in
fact, you are reading one right now.
So, let's get started. When you are writing a "how-to" article remember that you are the teacher so write in an authoritative
tone. You are sharing your expertise with someone who may have little knowledge
of the subject at hand. So, keep your writing style simple and your
instructions clear.
At the beginning of your article tell your reader what their
goal is and summarize how it is going to be achieved. This will prepare them
for the task ahead. You should also inform them of what, if anything, they will
need to have to hand to complete the task. Going back to the setting up a
router example, you would need to tell them that they will need their computer,
router, instruction booklet and perhaps and ethernet cable to complete the
task.
Also, you must start at the beginning and work through the
task step by step. Sometimes it may be beneficial to use bullet points to help
give the impression that it is a step by step process. Alternatively, you can
link the steps with words like 'next', 'and then' or 'now'. If you are new to
writing the bullet points option might be best for you as it keeps things
simple, and helps you avoid complex grammatical structures.
As you write, re-read your text every few paragraphs, and
try to read it from the reader's point of view, assuming they know nothing
about the task at hand. As an expert on the subject, it can be too easy to make
things over-complex because the task is second nature to you. Try to imagine
you are doing it for the first time and instruct the reader accordingly. Going
back to our previous example, will the reader actually know what an ethernet
cable is, or what a router is for that matter?
If a particular stage in the task is complex you may want to
repeat the instruction, or ask the reader to check their progress so they are
sure they have followed your instructions successfully.
With longer articles, it is important to do this regularly so
the reader does not lose track. Summarize what they have done so far, tell them
what should have already been achieved and ask them to check that everything is
as it should be. If a reader finds that the project does not look like what you
have described, they can then retrace the last few steps and see where they
went wrong.
If you work through your article in this manner you should
be left with a clear, concise 'how to' article that takes the reader through
each step of the project to completion. Read it again, at least twice, to make
sure that it is well written and that instructions are clear. Wrap up with a
concluding paragraph congratulating the reader for a job well done.
And finally, the icing on the cake, the headline. This does
not necessarily have to be done at the end. It can be done before you write the
article but you may find that headline ideas will come to you as you write your
content. Be sure to spend some time perfecting your headline as this can be the
difference between the success and failure of your article.
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