The Internet is fast becoming a preferred way to get information. This may help explain the proliferation of how-to articles across the web – they help satisfy a person’s curiosity and, more importantly, they often supply quick solutions for everyday problems. However, some of them are better than others. Follow these tips to create a great how-to article
Pick a solution-based topic that will benefit your readers
How-to articles appeal to readers, in part, because they offer useful information quickly and teach a skill. Some of the best articles isolate a part of life that burdens many people and explains easy ways to alleviate it. They are usually packed with tips that someone can apply to his or her life immediately. They offer implementable solutions, in other words.
In order to create a great how-to article, you need a great idea. Pick a topic that is accessible and solution-based. Readers flock to those kinds of articles.
Research well
Once you have lured people in with your great topic, you need to provide good advice. Many will simply leave an article that, while based on an interesting idea, seems to be full of shoddy, under-researched information. Use the Internet and books; if the article calls for it, secure an expert opinion. Solid research will help you develop a solid article.
Give your ideas time to form
Not all writers have the luxury of time, but if you do, use it to your advantage. Allow ideas for your topic to bounce around your mind for a day or so after you have wrapped up most of your research. That extra time to reflect can allow new, creative ideas to form out of the information you recently absorbed.
Create a title that matches search queries
If you have invested time and energy into a great how-to article, you want people to find it. Increase the odds that interested readers will find it by incorporating relevant keywords into your title. In other words, make sure your title contain words that potential readers are likely to enter into search engines when researching the subject. Your article stands a better chance of ranking well and those searching are more likely to click your link.
Write clear instructions
Make it easy for readers to take something valuable from your how-to article. Divide instructions into clearly defined steps with subheadings. Ask yourself whether someone could take your tips and, without confusion or hesitation, use them as a solution to a problem. If not, you may need to rethink your tips.
Revise your article
When you have finished your article, step away from it for at least a few hours. Then, with fresh eyes, make sure that the ideas in your article flow together well. Double check that the tips you share are accurate, easy to understand, and logically structured. Eliminate grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, as they can be distracting. In short, make sure your article is polished and professional.
Add images
Not every how-to article needs images, but many would benefit from at least one or two. That especially holds true for articles on the longer side. Images can break up extended segments of text and, if selected well, reinforce the ideas in your writing.
In an Internet swarming with how-to article, you need to separate yours from the pack to get noticed. One way to catch readers’ eyes is to make your article great. Accomplish that by giving ideas time to form, writing clearly, sharing useful solutions, and incorporating relevant words into your title so interested readers can find it.
David Kendall contributed this guest post on behalf of WebHostingHub.com- see here for more information on their hosting reviews. David is a freelance technology writer who enjoys writing for various online publications.
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