Rules For Article Writing – 9 Ways To Get It Perfect

February 27, 2019

Anyone can write something down, publish it and call it an article. But is this enough? What does it say about your business? Your content represents your business. It speaks loudly about your values and how you treat your viewers.

Content is one of the most important things you can do for your business. So let’s go over the rules for article writing that will bring your business the success it deserves.

If you’d like to know where I learned all these things when starting my online business, please CLICK HERE.

Contents

9 Awesome Rules For Article Writing

There are rules to write articles online, that only makes sense, right? What I mean is that there is a formula for the perfect article, and though this formula may be tweaked from time to time, the general idea is still there.

The focus of your article is to:

Rank on Google. If you don’t rank, your readers won’t find you.
Keep your readers attention.
Provide valuable information that is beneficial to your reader.
Encourage your reader to respond to your “Call to Action”. This could be anything from signing up to your email list, to making a sale.

This is my technique, or rather my formula, that I use to write my articles and posts.

#1. Start With Keyword Research

This is how you are ranked well in the search engines. Finding low competition keywords is how your viewers will find you quickly and easily.

If you don’t have access to a research tool yet, take a look at what I use. It’s powerful and effective.

Do not stuff your article with keywords. At one time, Google liked this, but since all the algorithm changes, they now see this as spamming. Instead, place them strategically.

In the title (H1 heading).
In your first paragraph.
In one of your H2 to H6 headers tags (subheadings).
In the alt tags of your images, but only where it makes sense.
In the meta description.

Other than these specific locations above, don’t think about your keywords when you write. Your writing needs to sound natural and conversational. And in the process, you will be adding your own LSI keywords that are just as important to Google.

#2. Draw Your Reader In

Write your introduction by answering the question “why should they read this?” Your readers want to know why they should invest their time reading your article.

Will they learn something valuable? Will they be able to apply your advice right away? Show them the big picture first, then provide the details further down.

Remember to keep your introduction short and to the point. If they have to take time to read through a lengthy paragraph, they will most likely move on.

Treat your visitor like a wild animal. Just like a lion hunts for its food. When they sniff a scent, they quickly decide if it’s going to lead them to a good meal that’s easy to catch.

Your content needs to be easy to find (proper keywords), and provide a good meal (the valuable information they are looking for). If your article doesn’t draw your reader in quickly, they move on.

#3. Write For Scanners

Think of how you search for information online. Do you quickly scan each article to see if it provides the answers you’re looking for? Or do you read each article to the end? I bet you scan. I do, lol.

Typically, you only have seconds before your visitor moves on. This is why you need to format your content differently.

Use catchy headlines that grab attention.
Use bullet points, like I’m doing here…
Add several sub-headings to break up your contents ideas.
Add relevant links to other articles. Most viewers skim over the article reading the headlines and click on the first link that catches their eye.

According to Jakob Nielsen of Nielsen Norman Group, 69% of viewers always scan any new page they come across. That means only 31% read the entire article. Boy, that statistic hurts when you spend so much time crafting your article.

#4. Have A Happy Reader

Did you know that your readers are more likely to share content that makes them happy?

Find a way to give your information a positive angle. I know this may be hard if you’re writing a technical piece, but there are ways to be creative.

Tell Stories: This can capture their interest by bringing your article to life. Humanize it by talking about an event relating to your content.
KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid): Provide your reader with valuable answers to their questions. Don’t fill your article with “words”, for the sake of writing content. Your readers don’t have time for “fluff”. Get to the point and make it easy to understand.
The Thesaurus Is Your Friend: Keep your writing exciting by using unique, strong verbs.
Be Punchy: Use bold, italics, and underline to make your point.
Use Short Paragraphs: No one wants to read a huge wall of text. Use two to three sentences to deliver your point. Its easier to read and your visitor will chase the information down the page.
Balance Words with White Space: This is like taking a breath between spoken sentences. Leave space between your paragraphs to give your article breathing room.

#5. Seeing Is Believing

What would you prefer? An article with just blocks of text, or something more visually appealing? Remember when we were kids and were always drawn to picture books? Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m still drawn to them, lol.

And your readers love it when you enhance your information with images, video clips, graphs, quotations, and reference to helpful products or services.

Just remember to make them relevant.

No one wants to see a video clip of a new movie when you’re writing about diet recipes, LOL.

#6. Use Carewords

Have you ever heard the term “carewords”? These are the type of words we type into the search bar when looking for answers. For example, when booking a hotel online, what do most people search for? Cheap, right?

This always annoys my husband, haha. He’s in sales and says I should use the term “Inexpensive”, lol. But when I’m searching for a product, online, I say or type in “Cheap”. It’s the careword most people use.

The picture, below, shows you the average monthly searches I found for different hotel descriptions, in my Jaaxy research tool.

Notice how many more times the word “cheap” is searched per month?

So instead of trying to embellish our content, simply use the carewords people are searching for, and you will be found quickly and easily.

#7. Show and Tell

You want to use a format that makes sense to your reader. Without it, you’ll bore your reader and they will leave.

Start by stating “why” they are there. What problem do they need help with?
State “how” you will help them. What is the solution to their problem?
State the “what” that will help them. What are the benefits of your solution?

This is a good rule of thumb for all content ideas. Show the problem, tell the solution, then help them understand the benefits.

Then finish up with a strong call to action.

I’ve written another article that explains discovering your why. The article is referring to when you’re searching for your niche, but this applies to writing articles as well.

#8. Give a Parting Gift

Have you ever been to a party, and received a parting gift? Are you more likely to return if asked again? It’s the same with your viewers.

Give your visitors a parting gift and you are more likely to gain repeat traffic. This could be a link to a free webinar, a PDF or a worksheet. Anything, really, as long as it’s relevant and useful.

Did you notice the one in this article? It’s near the top…

#9. Marinate Your Article

If you don’t know anyone who can proof-read your new article, the best thing you can do is let it marinate overnight. Then with fresh eyes, re-read it the next day and make any minor adjustments.

Check your spelling and punctuation. There are many free tools to help you with this, Grammarly being my favourite.

Here’s an awesome video of proofreading tips…

One thing I need to point out… The last step in the video asks if it could be more intelligently worded. This means to be clear about the point you’re making.

It doesn’t mean you should sound like a college professor!

The rule of thumb is to write at about a grade 7 to 8 level. According to Express Writers…

“…the average American people still read and assimilate information at a basic 8^th (or even 7^th) grade level. So if you want to improve your conversion rates, you have to present your products, brand of services in a very concise, reader-oriented manner, without relying on unnecessary explanations or adornments that couldn’t be understood by the 8^th or 7^th graders.”

Follow Up to Article Writing

Once a month or so, you should go back to your older posts and update any internal links. Linking your posts to one another not only keeps your visitor on your site longer but helps to boost your rankings as well.

So if you’ve recently written a new blog post relevant to your older posts, then link them together.

There’s no such thing as “write it, and forget it”. A successful content writer will tell you to always go back and revamp your older posts. Check to see if they are ranking for the keywords you chose. You may want to lengthen the post or make a long post into two articles.

Updating your content and reviewing your SEO strategy can give them a fresh boost in search engine ranking.

I have two other posts on content you might like to read:

Knowing how to write an article can become simpler if you follow basic rules. And of course lots of practice. After a while, it all becomes second nature.

Starting a new business and learning to write content can be overwhelming at first, but with the proper hand-holding you can overcome this fairly quickly. All you need is proper training, guidance and support. This is what separates successful businesses from those that aren’t.

Would you like to know where you can get excellent training? And the best live support anywhere online today? This platform is all-inclusive. It has everything you need under one roof, to start or bring your business to success.

Please click on the image below, and you can read all about it. And when you join, I’ll be there to help you every step of the way. See you soon!

Are you a blogger or content writer for your own business? What do you write about? Please leave me a comment or any questions you may have below. I would love to hear from you.

Do you know anyone who wants to start blogging? Please share this post with them.

Your friend,

Suzanne

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