As you’ve probably heard a lot over the years, content is king, and it’s no different for your website or blog. The articles you put on your website play a huge role as they basically let the visitor know whether or not it’s worth them returning to your site. This article will discuss my top tips for producing quality articles.
#1 – Tantalising Titles
The title is definitely a huge part of the article. If the title is rubbish, people are unlikely to actually carry on reading the article as it draws in readers. My two best tips for creating a cool title are:
- To sum up the article in a line. If they don’t know what they’re letting themselves in for, readers are unlikely to click.
- Use literary devices such as alliteration. These will draw in the readers as it gets their brains working.
#2 – Forget the Fluff!
When writing an article, it is really easy to drift off and start talking about things that aren’t really related to the topic. Try your absolute hardest to avoid this as you’ll find yourself losing readers. Personally, I find breaking up the post with titles and bullet points helps me avoid drifting off topic.
#3 – Grammar/Spelling
These two are extremely important. Your article needs to flow, and with bad grammar and spelling it’s going to take the reader longer to understand what you mean, thus making them lose their flow and maybe lose interest in the article.
#4 – Paragraphs
Paragraphing kind of ties in with the third point, but it is SO important that you use paragraphs in your article. Without them, your article will just be one big block of text that won’t look very appealing to read. Paragraphs basically stop the reader from getting overwhelmed by the amount of words.
#5 – Write For The Purpose
The thing that makes a quality article for me is one that is written for the purpose. I mean, if you’re looking to review a product, it’s very little use writing an article that doesn’t sell anything. Likewise, if you’re looking to inform people, you’re not doing yourself any favours by giving no information.
#6 – Layout
A while back I wrote a post about ‘laying out blog posts effectively’. I think the information I used in this article is relevant to any article, whether it’s a blog post or a sales page. You can see that article by clicking here.
#7 – Length
One of the things that makes an article good is the length. The skill is to get the balance right between using enough words to get your point across and also not making it too long that it’s boring. Personally I write around 600 words in an article, but it varies from site to site, so make sure you realise what works best for you by experimenting and seeing what sort of response you get.
#8 – Topic
OK, this one sounds slightly obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people get it wrong. Basically, you need to make sure the topic is a quality one. There’s absolutely no point in writing about something that no one’s interested in, so make sure you cover a quality topic with quality information!
That’s your lot!
Hopefully this article has given you some good tips and if you implement them on your blog or website, please tell me how you get on. As always, I’d love everyone to leave a comment whether you have something to say, add something to the article, or just tell me what an idiot I am.
Cool Article.. well explained. But lacks in one thing !
i.e “An Image in a Post” – Correct me If I’m wrong !
Enk.’s last blog post..40 Amazing 3D Typographic Designs
Thanks for the comment, Enk. In the link in point number 6, it tells you everything you need to know about images in posts.
Great articles! I think you should read over your paragraph at least 3 times and have someone else read over it.
Yeah, proofreading is always good, but to get other people to do it might be a bit excessive. I mean, if you have someone to do it then that’s great, but personally I do a post every two days so it might be a bit OTT to ask someone to check it every time.
I like the 8 tips that you have specified, particular tip number 3. I am still trying to reduce my grammatical error, that’s why I proof read my post 2 to 3 times to reduce any errors.
Lithiummind’s last blog post..Make Money With Twitter
For me I think tip number 3 is the most important as sometimes I have issues with my grammar. That is why I proof read my article (or comments) a couple of times before i click on the submit button. Great article.
LithiumMind’s last blog post..Make Money With Twitter
Thanks for the compliment
Yeah, I think there are a lot of people that struggle with their grammar and spelling, but that’s perfectly natural. Proof reading is a great way to check you’ve done everything to the best of your ability
Some cool examples along with the post can also helpout:)
And one things is post what comes to your mind. Do not keep researching for articles. A honest post will always be a successful one. Good post Simon
Harish | Blogging Kid’s last blog post..32 Things To Do For Bloggers
Yeah, true, but I think it’s also good to put your own personality into the article (sorry, I missed this one out even though it’s really important).
Everyone else will use the above 8 tips, so you need to make your article stand out by really putting your personality into it.
Your topic will influence what you will write about. Good topic will lead to great content =)
blinkky’s last blog post..Top 5 Free File Hosting
A good topic can help, but it’s also down to the writer to make it a really good post. I mean, even if you are writing about a mindblowing topic, who’s going to read it if your spelling and grammar is awful and you’re not using paragraphs?!
Blinkky, Generally speaking you’re right… but a great writer can also take a horrible topic and make it interesting.
For example, I hated biology in high school, but I had one awesome teacher that made it really interesting (for a year at least)…
Matt Langford’s last blog post..People Never Change, or At Least I Don’t
Ah, very good point, Matt.
[...] expert at. They are the what readers keep coming back to your blog for. An example on Teenius is ‘8 Tips for Writing Quality Articles‘. It is about 600 words, offers a great resource (how to, list, etc.) and is something worth linking [...]
Great article. I like #1 and #2 the most. I agree, it can be easy to drift off and it’s important you stay on topic and give your readers what they want.
Caden Grant’s last blog post..Simple Wordpress Search Engine Optimization Tips
Yeah, agreed about the ‘giving the readers what they want’ point.
Whilst #1 and #2 are important, you should try your hardest to make your articles fit with all the points…
Forgetting the fluff is important, no point padding out an article, keep it concise.
Another is a proofread every content in an article before submitting it. I really find your tips interesting and worth reading.