There’s no single secret to writing compelling articles but, by implementing the advice and techniques outlined here, you can craft an engaging and informative article that will no doubt leave your readers impressed.
Start Strong
A truly compelling article needs to hook its readers from the start, which means a good title and a strong opening paragraph. Strong doesn’t have to mean surprising or unexpected, though strong openings can be, but it does mean they need to give your reader a reason to read on.
There are many ways to accomplish this, but there are a few tried and tested methods that will work for almost any article. The first is to briefly outline what you will be discussing in the article. The second is to bring up a problem or difficulty that is likely to be relatable to your reader, then reassure them that you’re going to give them the information that they need to handle it more effectively.
It’s also important to project confidence in your introduction, as no reader will want to spend their time reading your article if they don’t feel like they can rely on it. Some writers wait until the rest of their article is completed before writing their introduction, so if this feels like a weak area for you, then it’s worth experimenting with that technique to determine whether it works for you.
Remember Your Audience
It’s essential to understand your intended audience and what you want them to get out of your article. If your audience is the general public, you may need to spend more time covering the basics of what you’re discussing so that they can easily follow your later points. You’ll also want to avoid excessive jargon in this case, as this can negatively impact engagement with certain topics. It could be argued that few things can deter a reader as much as having to reach for the dictionary or Google to understand what you’re saying.
On the other hand, if you’re writing for professionals, experts, or even just those with a strong casual interest in your given topic, the opposite becomes true. Excessive explanations of basic concepts and paragraphs defining terms they’re already familiar with will feel like a waste of their time and could make it seem like your article won’t delve beyond the surface level of the subject.
Proofread and Edit
Proofreading and editing are an essential part of the writing process, regardless of what you’re writing. Typos, misspellings, and grammar mistakes not only make a work look unprofessional but can also make it harder for readers to place their trust in what you’re saying, something that’s essential to keeping them engaged and reading until the end.
Whilst it may not seem as important, editing for flow can also make a huge difference to how your article reads, improving the reader’s experience and preventing them from losing interest part way through.
Read More
Unlike the other tips in our list, this one requires you to step away from your own writing, but it is something that can really pay dividends. Reading a wide range of articles from other writers will help to improve your own. Even passively reading can help to improve your recall later, meaning you’ll spend less of your writing time lost for words, but actively considering what you’re reading can enhance your craft even more.
Think about what you think the writers of the articles you read have done well and whether there’s anything you would want to change or improve. If you stumble on an article that you feel is incredibly well crafted, consider what it is about it that makes you feel like that and whether it’s something you can start to incorporate into your own writing.
Practice and Consistency
Reading this article and thinking about the advice is just the first step in becoming a better writer, and all the advice in the world can’t turn you into an excellent writer by itself. There’s only one way to become a great writer capable of writing truly excellent articles and that is through practice. Writing more and writing consistently, ideally every day, is the most effective way to improve your writing and the only way to guarantee you make progress over the long term. So now you’ve finished reading, the only thing left to do is to reach for your pen or keyboard and start writing.
