Chapter 5 – Advice For Writing
We've gone over how to get prepared to write: having a plan, finding great topics, using tools to enhance your productivity, and tips for researching. So, now we're ready to start writing! This chapter is about learning how to increase your writing skills so that your articles are not only written quickly, but they are of topnotch quality.
If you search the web, you will find many articles written by marketers that have keywords, and may even be somewhat comprehensive, but they read like a machine put them together, and not a human being. While this may be great for search engine results, in the final analysis, it is people who will be reading your articles who will decide whether to come back to your site or not based on your content. And as all good Internet marketers know, it's far easier to sell to existing and loyal customers than it is to generate a new customer. In the same way, if you know how to retain your existing readership with quality content, you won't constantly have to mine the Internet for new people to visit your site. And, you will begin to build a personal relationship with these people that is the beginning stages of building your contact list so that you can start to market your products to them too.
Even though we know what makes a good topic now, and how to brainstorm to make multiple interesting titles, we still have to know how to put all our information together so that the articles grab the readers and literally pulls them into your content, and by default your website. There really is no mystery to it. And, in the next few pages, that mystery will be revealed in a simple and easy to follow path that helps you whip out articles that are not only search engine friendly, but people friendly too.
How To Pull Your Readers In By The Seat Of Their Pants
The key to a great article is the first sentence. That's often known as “the hook.” You want that first sentence to be a big giant hook that comes out into the audience and grabs them by the seat of their pants to get them engaged with the topic. Sometimes the hook is a few sentences long, but rarely over three sentences. If your reader is not hooked within the first three sentences, typically you've lost their interest. They may skim the rest of your article reading titles, and bullets, but they won't be as involved as when the hook grabs them and sends their imagination whirling through your fantasy world.
Thus, the beginning of an article is the second most important piece of an online article, next to the title. You want something that is refreshing, alive, and interesting enough to hold your reader's attention. It should be able to swoop in and just weave them into the story in a very personal and engaging fashion. For that, we will offer six different ways that are highly engaging to most readers and that you can use to develop fascinating and provocative articles, from the first few sentences.
Ask A Question
Questions lead the reader into an interaction. Asking a question begs for an answer and lubricates the reader's mind to get involved and at least imagine what a possible answer might be. For instance, say you were writing about the financial meltdown, wouldn't a good question be something that the reader can relate to? So, you might say:”Do you know how Wall Street's melt down affects your pocketbook?” Obviously, you've targeted the audience that might most want to read your article and you've also helped them to realize that they may need to be more informed with relationship to their personal finances. The more the question engages a response from your audience, the more likely they will read the next sentence and more.
Stunning Statistics
This strategy isn't just great for medical or health articles. It can also be good for human interest and scientific articles. Any stunning statistic that grabs the reader and makes them think is a great way to start an article. For instance, say you are writing articles for the elderly population, people getting to retire. You might start the article with a relevant stunning statistic like: “One in four people in the United States have failed to save enough to retire by the age of 65.” If you happen to be reading this and you are wondering if you have enough money to retire, that statistic will grab a hold of your collar and practically obligate you to read the article.
Memorable Quotes
This is where your research really pays off. If you followed the instructions to put your research in one folder, you probably highlighted some memorable quotes that now you can use to hook your reader into your articles. It's okay to do this as long as you give credit to the original author. You will also want to keep track of where you found it, if the source is offline and you just added it to your research file manually.
At any rate, just like all great books have hooks that become memorable quotes, memorable quotes also make unforgettable hooks. So, as long as you give credit to an author and source, you will be able to use their imagination and creativity to spice up the beginnings of your articles. For instance, maybe you are writing some stories about the stock market and want to bring people into it more. You could open your article with:
Plato said: “The greatest wealth is to live content with little.” But, that doesn't mean any us like the idea of seeing our stocks take a nosedive.
So, find ways to weave in quotes to the hook and you'll have an excellent jumping off point to gather attention and give your articles a little timeless wisdom. If you're looking for places to find memorable quotes, check out the resource section at the end of this ebook.
Start A Little Conversation
If you want to really get a reader involved, you can start a small conversation relevant to the article. Say, the article is about the advances in breast cancer treatments. You might start a small dialogue with a patient finding out the lump is cancerous, and the emotional impact of that revelation. That will definitely pull a reader into the story and help to set the stage for the rest of your article.
Stage A Drama
This strategy is to stage a drama that engages the reader into a startling situation. It should be relevant to the topic of your article, but it can be anything you decide to imagine and invent, or a true-to-life story. So, say you are trying to write about GPS systems. You can start with a little story of someone driving into a strange town in the middle of the night, being low on gas, and trying to find a hospital where their daughter is giving birth. It doesn't have to be really terrible, just something that startles the reader who might see themselves within a similar situation and can get their emotions involved too.
Tell A Good Story
This is similar to staging a drama except that is less startling and more descriptive. People love a good story, but you have to set the scene first. So, you will start my creating a great environment from where to tell your story, and that story will end up being the topic of your article.
As an example, say you are writing about home builders. You might start by setting the scene as a potential homebuyer as follows:
The first one we went to see smelled like dog urine and cigarettes. The second one looked like a mini-gingerbread house from the curb, and we were finally excited to step through the threshold for the first time, only to be greeted by walls painted a bright flamingo pink. We almost despaired of finding our new home, until the realtor took us to the new Glendale community at Riverside Park, built by Pulte homes.
How To Leave Them Satisfied In The End
Just important as the beginning of articles are the endings. Is your reader satisfied that you delivered what you promised when you started the article. Was it sufficiently engaging and interesting to make them feel as if it was worthwhile? In this section we'll give you five different ways to wrap up your articles so that your reader leaves feeling satisfied.
Wrap Up The Loose Ends
If you told a story or began a drama, don't forget to finish the story to the reader's satisfaction. Don't leave them hanging wondering what happened to the main character in the little story or drama. If you do that, they will not trust you the next time one of your articles come up. In a way, you'll have proven you are more of a tease than a full-fledged author. So, always remember to wrap up those loose ends.
Draw Conclusions When You Experiment
Say you decided to ask a question and use that as a basis to describe an experiment that you employed to solve that question. Don't just describe the results, but actually draw conclusions in a very straightforward fashion. The reader may or may not agree with your conclusions, but the other option is to leave them hanging and ready to draw their own conclusions. If you are trying to sell an idea and you don't draw the conclusions for them, you may end up finding they draw a totally different conclusion or don't have the initiative to do it themselves.
In fact, when an Internet marketer refuses to draw the conclusion that the buyer should buy their product, the sales prospect will normally not draw that conclusion themselves. All Internet marketers know that, even after an especially powerful sales ad, you must ask for the sale. If you don't draw the conclusion that they should buy this product, they won't either.
Plan The Next Step For Your Reader
Maybe the article was an introduction to a vastly complex subject. Where should the reader go next to find out more? Maybe the structure of the article was informative or a review. Do you know what the reader is expecting next? Maybe they want more “how-to” or a place where they can go and purchase the reviewed product. Always anticipate what the reader might want at the end of your article and offer it to them. It will make them eternally grateful to you.
Spotting Trends
Just like the New Year's psychic predictions are popular, people really desire to be told by experts what's on the horizon for them. This is particularly true of informative articles that are giving a broad general sweep of an industry trend, people in the spotlight, or current events. So, if you know of new trends that are coming down the pike for the future that relate to your story, it can make a perfect way to end a story and give the reader a satisfying dessert with their meal.
Closing The Deal
If the article has one main point that you want to emphasize above all others, you can do a review of all potential comparisons and options, and then focus the ending on that main point. It's a way to close the deal in a way that guides the reader into what their final conclusion should be regarding the topic they just read.