Mastering the Art of Article Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
Understanding the purpose of article writing
There is so much happening and so much to know in today’s day and age. With information available at our fingertips, information on almost everything is easily and readily available and accessible. And like the other side of the same coin, creating and adding to this information repository can also be easily done. The demand and supply of information are smooth and free-flowing because of article writing. Everyone prefers to stay updated with current happenings, their interest areas, trends and so much more, and the best and the most convenient way to do this is searching it out.
A detailed article mentioning everything that you want to know about this topic you’ve searched, some relevant facts, some unknown trivia, significant solutions, there you are all informed! And that’s the power of article writing, everything packed in one piece in a palpable format. Articles are often long-format writing pieces that give in-depth information about a specific topic meant for a larger audience group. Merely knowing something is not always enough, thorough detailing is often required for better understanding. For instance, if you want to buy insurance, just knowing about it won’t help, you need to be aware of the details thoroughly, and only then can you make a wiser, better and correct decision for yourself.
Article writing centres on a specific topic and unravels it to the core. We often see lengthy pieces in newspapers, magazines and even on various online platforms. The purpose is to inform the reader about every detail, creating an impact and thereby influencing the audience in a positive manner and at the same time ensuring active user engagement. Article writing is an important skill as it plays an important role in spreading awareness and influencing people. Article writing to a great extent also entails expressing your opinions on a topic which the audience might relate to and find inspiration from, it can be a stepping stone for many, so it needs to connect and interest the audience well.
There are various types of article writing that one can implement as per the needs and requirements. There are informative articles that give thorough information on a specific topic, feature articles like those seen in magazines that provide in-depth information and analysis of a specific thing, there are lengthy pieces dedicated to a product or a service to market it.
There are blog posts which are more informal and conversational in nature, opinion and editorial pieces as seen in newspapers, there are also academic articles which revolve around specific academic topics at hand. The purpose of article writing is to provide detailed information to create an impact in general, which requires skill, experience and some guidance. We at Write Ink specialise in article-writing services, and we are here to provide some useful article-writing tips so that you can begin your journey! Continue reading ahead to see what article writing has in store!
Identifying your target audience
It is imperative to identify your target audience as it is one of the success-determining factors. Articles are lengthy and are rife with detailed information which may not interest everyone. Thus, identifying your readers who want the content you are providing, and the group you want to reach out to, that will impact and add value is necessary. Article writing is directed to a specific topic, thus directing it to that specific audience group is necessary or else it will be futile. Identifying and understanding your target audience helps build a context around which you can thereby structure and frame the content of your article.
Article writing is a medium of communication, where you through your words inform about something, as you both share a common area of interest, thus knowing the audience will help fine-tune your content in that fashion and help make the content more relevant and relatable. For instance, if you are targeting a young group and your topic is on the impact of social media, you need to address the queries about that age group which will be very different from the impact social media has on an older age group, thus the content of your article will also change as per the audience who is consuming that content.
Relatability is a determining factor when you provide information, the audience needs to feel some connection to grasp what you have offered, and vice versa, you need to feel a connection with your audience to cater to their needs. Constantly keeping a check on the market trends and requirements, evaluating and analysing responses, feedback and readership also gives valuable insight. Age, gender, location, income group, educational level, geography, etc are some factors that help determine the target audience. Conducting regular polls, interviews and surveys helps understand the demand which consequently helps in catering to those demands and supplying apt information.
Always remember that as much as it is important to adhere to the needs of the audience, you as a writer should also be able to tick off your criteria so that there is a perfect balance of the giving and receiving of the information. Major article-writing websites focus on identifying and understanding their target audience for assured success in their endeavour.
Conducting thorough research
Article writing as repeated enough times is a lengthy and detailed written piece of work, which is rife with a lot of information. This information can not be just opinions, they need to have concrete facts, and that can be retrieved only when detailed and thorough research is done on the topic you are writing on. The reader chooses to read your writing only because they feel you have the information they are looking for.
Thus, reliability and credibility become important factors that need to be taken into consideration. Information is available everywhere, it is the duty of the writer to look as much as they can, read, analyse and evaluate it and then present their take on it covering every aspect of the topic. A well-researched topic gives a deeper and all-encompassing understanding which automatically translates in the writing. Keeping track and cross-checking your sources of information is also an important step while conducting your research for the article.
Setting up the purpose, goals and objectives for your research is the first step of research, as it lays the foundation, and gives a sense of direction. Research is an overwhelming process, and it is very easy to lose track of the tons of information that will be available to you. Article writing entails making claims, and with your research, you are collecting the evidence that backs your claim, thereby giving a strong grounding to your arguments and making them more acceptable to the reader.
Alongside researching the content of the article, it is necessary to research the context, audience, market trends and requirements to make the article more relevant. This step ensures your article stands out from the rest. Research forms a crucial part, as what you read, remember and focus on here, will be exactly what your end product will be for your readers, it is these impressions that catch upon during your research, you will build upon in your writing. Digging up information on websites, magazines, and newspapers, conducting surveys, polls, interviews and constant evaluation of the analytics are all practices that come under research.
Crafting a captivating headline
Your article is the film that you have in store for your audience, but what about the trailer that helps the audience decide whether they want to go to the movie or not? Well, that’s what the headline is to an article, the first impression of what you will offer in the lengthy piece of information. The first impression is often the last in this case. Your headline should tell the audience directly that from all the articles available, why they should delve into yours.
The headline right at first glance should strike a chord, be thought-provoking, provide some answer to the audience’s query and have an emotional appeal. All these factors will ensure that the reader’s mind is triggered positively with various thoughts, and is immediately forced to delve further and quench the need to get the information. A call to action, a sense of urgency and the fear of missing out, these factors will help in ensuring that the reader just doesn’t scroll through or turn a blind eye, but rather feels the irresistible need to read further.
Your headline needs to echo exactly what the audience needs to hear, which will help in garnering attention. Using keywords and implementing SEO, helps in higher visibility and traffic. Using simple, lucid and clear, however, an impacting language is necessary. It is imperative to keep your headline relevant to the content that is in store, to keep the audience hooked throughout the article. Writing a good headline involves a smart play of words, keeping the above-mentioned factors in mind and also detailed research and understanding, as it will enable you to play smart with the words to create the required impact.
Structure your article effectively
It is surely daunting and overwhelming to compile and represent the plethora of information you went through in a concise and streamlined manner. Thus, structuring it effectively makes it easier and more organised for the reader to grasp. Structuring is yet another important factor that needs to be taken care of while writing your articles. It is advisable to always set your goals first and set the context first and foremost. Consequently, creating a skeletal framework mentioning every pointer and then filling in is one of the best practices as it helps keep track, keeps it organised and reduces the chances of missing out on any detail that you want to include in your article.
Coming to the basic structure, an article should start with a compelling title, followed by the content. The content further should have a riveting introduction that grabs attention, followed by the main body of content that is detailed and provides all the information promised and a good and well-summarised conclusion, providing a good closure to the entire information presented. Throughout this structure, it is necessary to ensure that the ideas flow freely and one after the other, without any friction as that creates an obstacle in reading, and might cause inconvenience to the reader.
The main body of your article should be well divided into headings and subheadings as that makes the article more graspable and at the same ensures a good flow. A logical flow of arguments and information is to be achieved, so that every phase of the article smoothly transitions and helps drive home the point and purpose of the article.
Using persuasive language and storytelling techniques
It is a well-established fact that stories are human’s best friends. We draw a lot from them. Thus, ensuring the information that your audience is being delivered in story format always helps, as it creates interest and sparks curiosity. Articles have a lot of information in store, it requires explaining these facts and ensuring the audience understands it at every step of the read. Storytelling technique comes in handy as it keeps the reader’s interest intact and helps in a better grasp of the information. It also ensures that the audience keeps asking for more of such kind of information, which helps in audience retention.
The information you provide to the audience is probably available somewhere else as well. But what makes the audience read yours is probably the way you have narrated this information. Confining to the basics of storytelling, and making it the audience’s story is the best way to impart information through your article. Making the reader the main character, presenting a conflict that the reader identifies and resonates with and providing a solution in the form of the information that acts as a solution to the reader in their actual lives is the best way!
There are various article writing techniques that one can employ, but storytelling surely plays a big role as it helps in maintaining a persuasive essence that is important in article writing. Through your article you are imparting and trying to convince the audience of something, and until you don’t persuade them you won’t be able to achieve the goal. Thus having a tone that connects and makes them believe the content is imperative.
Editing and proofreading your article
Writing an article is just one of the major parts of the article writing process, editing and proofreading is the next step. As we saw above, writing an article involves so many tiny steps and concerns to keep in check, in this process errors are bound to happen. However, a proper editing and proofreading step helps to remove as many errors as possible. It is always recommended to read your article out loud, once you have finished. It helps in spotting errors that might miss the eye. While reading if you face friction, ensure you try to better it out, so that the reader doesn’t face the same.
The next step would entail a thorough checking of all the spelling, grammar and formatting as these small details make a lot of difference. Once the basics are done, check if you have covered all the goals that you set before you set out to write this article. If something is left out, try adding it at this stage. Ensure that the message and information you aim to deliver are done correctly and flow well. You will see a minimum of two readings are covered till this point. But before the final save, ensure you read it one last time, or if possible get it checked by another person, as it helps in better accuracy.
Promoting and distributing your article
Here’s the final step! Now that you are ready with your article, it will need a medium to finally set it out for the world to grasp. Article writing is a two-way process, what you write and what is read by the readers. It is the second step that we finally focus on, how the readers get to read it. You may start your website and publish your articles there, and similarly promote it and put them on all your social media handles – Facebook, Instagram, X, etc.
You may contact a third-party company where you pay the company that publishes and promotes your article. Collaborating, email marketing, and asking your contacts to share your article are some ways to promote and distribute your article. Using the right keywords and SEO in the article writing process is necessary to ensure website traffic and higher ranking in search engines. That’s how your hard work reaches for the world to read!
Conclusion
We finally come to an end to this step-by-step guide for article writing. Hopefully, we could make this daunting task of article writing a little easier for you through this blog. We at Write Ink specialise in article writing services, ensuring apt articles instantly strike a chord with the readers. Visit our website and social media handles to learn more about article writing and much more!
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