Associated Content – Tips for Writing Articles that People Will Read
Posted by Jara Johnson on Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The most important thing as a writer, whether freelancer or novelist, is that you keep the reader in mind. The main purpose of writing is to get people to read it. The problem is many people who were talented writers in school or other areas of life feel that their talent can easily be transferable to the internet. Sure the basic principles will help you out, but as a writer you will have to re-invent yourself if you want to have success online.
The first thing you should do before you even begin writing your article is deciding what demographics you are targeting. The vaguer your targets are, the harder it will be to write article that is successful. The one-size-fit-all technique isn’t going to work online. Instead of pleasing a lot of people, you end up boring most.
Picking demographics is important because you are going to have to tailor your writing style to engage that group of people. If you decide to write an article about the merits of owning a MacBook, then you can expect many college-aged and people with disposable income to be interested. That means you’re writing will have to be tailored so that college-age people will find it interesting. That age group isn’t really interested in comparing price and specs. They are interested in the experience and the cool factor.
Can you get away without focusing on demographics? Yes. There are many topics such as food that apply to a very diverse group of people. But if your new at this whole writing for money thing, then the more boundaries and guidelines you give yourself starting off, the more successful you will be starting off. But, I say this all the time: I will give you a lot of article writing tips. Other people will give you a lot of advice. But truth be told, you need to find what works for you and stick with it.
The next important thing is that you understand people’s online behavior. People don’t interact with the web the same way they do with a newspaper or a book. When people click on an article they aren’t expecting to find the next American bestselling novel. They want to get in, find what they are looking for, and get out.
In a sense, when it comes to the internet, most people show symptoms of ADD. If you had trouble getting people to pay attention to you in person, then it’s going to be twice as hard online. When writing your article everything has to be on point from your title to your closing. You only have a few precious seconds to grab the attention of your readers and get them interested in what you are talking about. Keep your paragraphs short and get to the point.
You have to find what writing style works for you and stick to it. If you are more of a social writer and love engaging and interacting with your audience, then pick a demographics and topics that fit that writing style. If you just like to get the facts out, then the same rules apply. The point is you need to find a place where you are comfortable and your readers are satisfied.
I hope you can understand how important it is to cater your articles for your readers. There are a lot of “SEO gurus” out there that will tell you this and that, but when it comes down to it pleasing humans should be more important that pleasing search engines. With Associated Content, you make money when people visit your article, but that doesn’t mean you should start looking at people as statistics. Write for people first, then let everything fall into place.
The first thing you should do before you even begin writing your article is deciding what demographics you are targeting. The vaguer your targets are, the harder it will be to write article that is successful. The one-size-fit-all technique isn’t going to work online. Instead of pleasing a lot of people, you end up boring most.
Picking demographics is important because you are going to have to tailor your writing style to engage that group of people. If you decide to write an article about the merits of owning a MacBook, then you can expect many college-aged and people with disposable income to be interested. That means you’re writing will have to be tailored so that college-age people will find it interesting. That age group isn’t really interested in comparing price and specs. They are interested in the experience and the cool factor.
Can you get away without focusing on demographics? Yes. There are many topics such as food that apply to a very diverse group of people. But if your new at this whole writing for money thing, then the more boundaries and guidelines you give yourself starting off, the more successful you will be starting off. But, I say this all the time: I will give you a lot of article writing tips. Other people will give you a lot of advice. But truth be told, you need to find what works for you and stick with it.
The next important thing is that you understand people’s online behavior. People don’t interact with the web the same way they do with a newspaper or a book. When people click on an article they aren’t expecting to find the next American bestselling novel. They want to get in, find what they are looking for, and get out.
In a sense, when it comes to the internet, most people show symptoms of ADD. If you had trouble getting people to pay attention to you in person, then it’s going to be twice as hard online. When writing your article everything has to be on point from your title to your closing. You only have a few precious seconds to grab the attention of your readers and get them interested in what you are talking about. Keep your paragraphs short and get to the point.
You have to find what writing style works for you and stick to it. If you are more of a social writer and love engaging and interacting with your audience, then pick a demographics and topics that fit that writing style. If you just like to get the facts out, then the same rules apply. The point is you need to find a place where you are comfortable and your readers are satisfied.
I hope you can understand how important it is to cater your articles for your readers. There are a lot of “SEO gurus” out there that will tell you this and that, but when it comes down to it pleasing humans should be more important that pleasing search engines. With Associated Content, you make money when people visit your article, but that doesn’t mean you should start looking at people as statistics. Write for people first, then let everything fall into place.
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