subject: Writing Articles For An Online Audience: A Short Beginner's Guide [print this page] If you're interested in writing or you want to learn how to share information to millions of people, writing articles for the web may be what you're looking for. Have you ever searched the Internet trying to find information about something? When you find web pages that lead you to what you're looking for, it's most likely an article. What you may not know is that there are people that get paid to write these articles and most likely they're doing it from the comfort of their own homes - and on their own schedule. To get started, you should know a little about the basics.
As a beginner, it's important to start with the basics about the articles themselves. You shouldn't include opinions. Refrain from using the words I, me, we and us in your content. Always write in an informational tone, but write the content as though you're conversing with one person. Research your topic as thoroughly as possible. Another basic requirement is that you have excellent grammar; your articles need to make sense. For an online audience, there are more specific things to learn about.
Articles, regardless of the length and type, all contain the same structure: the title, an introduction, the body and a conclusion. The title of an article plays an important role on the Internet, as does the body of the article. The title needs to be captivating to grab a reader's attention but just enough to draw the reader into the article.
Another important part of article writing for the web is keywords. Website owners use various methods to optimize their site and its contents for search engines. Keywords are used in articles for this reason so that when someone uses the particular keywords, the article appears in the results. An important rule to remember regarding keyword usage is that although they are vital, they must occur naturally within the text. Keywords should occur between one and two percent, and should also be in the article title and the first sentence of the first paragraph.
Word count requirements are another part of writing articles that are used online. Blog articles and reviews are shorter than submission and informational ones. Write to meet your minimum word count. It's always better to go over what is requested than to fall short. Avoid stuffing the article full of useless words just to make the word count.
Choose topics that you are familiar with, but don't limit yourself too much. When writing articles, be broad with topics. This will provide you, ultimately, with more project opportunities. Stay within a comfort zone; if you can't research the topic and write an article that's informative and easy to understand, don't accept the topic.
Don't allow yourself to be easily distracted. You must stay focused because it's important to pay attention to the information you're giving other people. Set aside a time, whether day or night, where you are able to write without dealing with distractions - in the quiet.
Always stick to your topic. Sometimes you will have projects that only provide you with keywords, and you will have to create a specific title and topic. It's not uncommon to lose yourself in a train of thought and ramble off the subject. You should limit your writing to only what the topic is about. If, for example, your topic was about tips to organize your home office, include helpful tips about this and don't start rambling about one specific tip for the whole article. Ultimately, writing articles will become natural once you gain experience.
Writing Articles For An Online Audience: A Short Beginner's Guide
