Want more article presence online?
If you want to be noticed on the web, then articles are definitely the way to do it. However, one thing to remember that businesses often gloss over, is that like any venture, you’ll only reap as much as you sow. In other words, paying less for poor-quality, spun, dime-a-dozen articles may seem like a great way to save cash at first – but the truth is that eventually, you’ll find that you’re wasting more money than you’re earning.
A truly valuable article is one that is interesting, engaging, and full of information that actually has an impact on your readers’ lives. These are the articles that human beings love to read – and search engines reward the websites that appeal to humans – it’s a win/win situation.
So what is there to consider when writing a good article?
Appealing to your Audience
As soon as you decide to engage in online marketing through content, you’re immediately catering to an audience with a shorter attention span. That’s not to say that content marketing doesn’t work – only that you have to tailor your writing to people with less interest, less patience, and more demands.
It is your responsibility to know as much as possible about your audience – how do they speak to each other? How do they interact? What sort of words do they use? What kind of age-range are they in? What are they looking for?
Asking yourself all of the above questions is an important part of making sure that every reader you snare is actively engaged in reading your content. You shouldn’t treat every individual reader the same way because of what you think the majority want, but you can get a good idea about what your tone and language should entail.
Considering Keywords
Keywords make up the supporting struts of the SEO enterprise, and as such they should be chosen with due care. Each keyword that you use should be based on relevance, common knowledge and search volume within your particular audience.
Once you’ve decided on a keyword, you need to think of a way to transform that single thing into an article. The internet is brimming with articles that have been woven on the basis of a single word, usually those which explain “the basics of”, or “all about” what someone wants to draw attention to. This is one of the reasons why I usually ask my clients questions when receiving a content request for them – so that I can try to make my content a little more unique than the masses.
Introducing your Article
Every word that you choose to include in an article is important in its own way. However, the title that introduces your content, and the first paragraph delivering the body of the content helps to draw your reader in and keep them on the page. It’s the initial words where you’ll generally either hook a reader, or send them scampering over to the “back” button on their browser – so it needs to be engaging!
Breaking up Your Content
Nobody wants to click onto a webpage just to see a huge wall of intimidating black font staring back at them. Bullet points, numbers and subheadings help to break up articles so that impatient readers can get the information they’re searching for as quickly as possible. Your subheadings should draw the reader in, but also give them a clear and concise view of what the following text will be about.
The End…
Every good article should finish naturally, with a good ending after all of the questions addressed in the content have been answered. Sometimes, it can feel difficult to write a short paragraph that simply wraps everything up, but devoting some time to a relevant conclusion can help a piece to feel more complete. If you struggle, simply refer to what you’ve already mentioned in the article in a different way, and summarize on how the information that you have provided can help your reader.
Everything I have covered here only amounts to a small fraction of what contributes to a truly great article. However, with that in mind, I hope what you have read so far has given you some insight into what you should expect from quality content. If you want to learn more about content production, marketing, blogging and SEO, check out some of the other blogs I’ve written. If you want to get started with hiring your very own content writer, contact me via my handy form, or email.