Here is some helpful guidance for writing an article, whether it’s in print or on the Web.
The first thing that is important is to avoid the use of the passive voice. While passive voice is okay occasionally when you’re writing an article it shouldn’t be prevalent. Active voice lends excitement and sounds much more powerful. It is the difference between it got done to them and they did it. See the difference?
Make sure you maintain control of any article you write. This is one place where you can be fairly dogmatic. Telling someone not to use the passive voice is a much stronger instruction that to say “you might want to avoid the passive voice.” Not only that, you will come across much more firmly as the expert who knows what to do. Don′t be ‘wishy washy’ when you’re writing an instructional article.
Internet users are skim readers - they do not read word for word. So keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Use short snappy headlines and sub-headlines and make good use of bullet points.
Nor should your article writing be vague. You will want to include plenty of details and keep in mind the only newsroom adage of including who, what, when, where, how and why. In fact, if you’re writing in print these topics should be summarized in the first paragraph of the article that you’re writing.
Get your facts right when you’re writing an article. One wrong fact and you’ve lost your ability to influence those readers. Especially if you’re writing an article as a marketing tool for your firm by presenting yourself as an expert in your field and industry, you’ll not want to be known as someone who gets her or his facts wrong. Not only can it be embarrassing. It can lose you money. Your business won′t get those new customers from your article writing, nor will the site or publication ask you to do any subsequent article writing.
Just about any article you are writing should have at least one example. It’s personalizing, it’s clear and it takes your article from the realm of boring to easily understood. Readers can more easily identify with what you’re trying to convince them of if you provide examples they can empathize with.
Perhaps the most important jvmembers.com” target=”_blank article writing maxim to remember is that you should never present an article writing to your editor or to the public without your proofing it a good 24 hours after writing it, and without someone else whose eye and command of the language you trust proofing it as well.
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