Everyone knows you need to plan, research and actually write your article.

Some would say you even need talent, or a degree, or even years of industrial experience.

 

That might be the case, but if you just want to write better, here’s a few points that may help you guide you to the right path.

• Write with an overall coherent content in mind
• Explore your content from a variety of angles
• Explain your content in a way you can understand yourself

It’s good to write an article that explores, exhausts and explains what you’re writing about.

This way, anyone reading will be able to feel like it’s worth their time to read through, so it’s a good standard for blog posts.

 

You can probably plan all this out before you even begin writing. In fact, it will probably make the actual process easier.

We’ll explore more things about what we can do before writing a blog post, and how to learn how to write a good article before starting to write.

 

Here’s the contents:

1- Being reader-friendly throughout the process

When writing, it’s good to be mindful of the reader’s perspective.

In business the terms “Taking the user’s point of view” and “Thinking form the user’s point of view” are sometimes used.

 

You probably have lots of things to write and explain in an article.

To you (the writer), as someone who has the knowledge to write said article, you don’t have to write coherently for it to make sense to you. But to an average reader, who might be new to your inspiration and ideas, reading through something with no attention to the reader’s perspective can just be an incoherent mess.

 

How much should you explain key points?

Which points should you just simply paraphrase?

Is there a clear conclusion?

Is it written uniquely?

Are the sentences written with the engagement of a dining chair DIY manual?

What kind of examples can you show the reader?

 

Using those points you can start to lay out your article in a digestible format that gives readers a friendlier experience when looking through your blog.

 

2- Questions to ask (and answer) before you write

 

Deciding on a topic to write about is usually the easy part. But you shouldn’t jump ahead into the writing process immediately.

Your writing might come out unclear, and not make sense to the reader.

You can improve the quality of your articles by thinking of several things prior.

Here are some “question and answer” style points written by some experienced chief editors who claim using these points helps clear up and organise your mind to help you write smoother.

 

To whom?

About what?

How to?

Why is it important?

Why should they want it?

 

It’s good practice to routinely ask these before each time you start writing.

Or at least that’s what our editor-in-chief said.

I’ve never met them but I like to imagine them asking me instead, like some wide guru on a mountaintop with a cane and long beard.

The point is, feel free to change this list for yourself.

 

2.1- Who is the article for?

Who’s the recipient for this article’s topic?

Or rather, who would you like it to be?

It’s good practice to set a specific target audience.

 

By having a target audience in mind, it’ll be easier to visualise and communicate through your article, and draw in specific readers.

 

For example, the target audience for this article could be:

‘People who are starting a news section for their company’, or

‘People who want to improve writing skills’

Understanding the needs and struggles of readers is a great way to know who to target for your articles.

 

Although I used the term “reader” here, this could generally be anyone from a customer, shareholder, or even your own company staff.

 

It’s tempting to write to a general audience – like at a fair, or a presentation.

But in the vast ocean of the internet, people can choose what they want to read.

Writing a vague, generic article can not only be more challenging, but also an ineffective way to spread ideas.

 

2.2- What is the article about?

What do you want to convey in this article?

What ideas do you want to share?

 

Once you’ve decided on a topic, the next step is the contents.

This part should flow naturally for most people, but it’s still good practice to narrow down, focus and plan ahead to prevent yourself from getting side tracked or getting writer’s block.

 

For example, if you were to write about

‘How to prepare a blog’,

You can explore potential contents by thinking about

‘How to organise your thoughts, thinking patterns, and talking points before you start writing’.

 

2.3- Why do you want to write it?

Why do you want to share this topic?

Why did you choose this topic?

 

When you’re on the track of knowing the topic, and what you’re going to write about, it’s important to know why you want to share it in the first place.

 

Perhaps you came across several people who have had a niche issue with a common solution?

Maybe you have a unique perspective for a common issue?

Think introspectively, and refer to your motivations.

 

Here’s some examples:

‘Make it easier to create content for everyone’,

‘Not just telling people to arrange their thought, but showing how’,

To run an active blog page (bulletin or any regular writing smoothly) a writer must know how to organise your thoughts.

 

2.4- How do you convey your point across?

How will you communicate your ideas and points?

How do you speak to your readers?

 

Rather than a step, this section is more about the overall structure of the article.

It’s important to think about the tone and pacing of the article based on who you wish to read it.

 

The methods can be about:

• Including explanations of key terms
• Showcasing examples
• Explaining step-by-step approach
• Containing illustrative and visual explanations
• Introducing several perspectives (both negative and positive)

 

With these ideas and structures, combined with some competitive research, we are almost ready to write the article.

 

2.5- What do you want the readers to do with this info?

What do you want readers to do after they are done reading?

What can they do better?

What kind of change should they feel?

 

Think about how your article could change the actions of a reader.

If it’s an instructional article, is it easy to understand and put into practice?

An ideal outcome would be for them to get better results, or have a clear(er) understanding of a topic.

 

Aside from this, it’s also good to write in a way that demonstrates to readers your perspective on what you are writing about.

Make sure that information isn’t too repetitive or irrelevant, to let readers feel comfortable.

 

It helps to visualise the reader’s thought process from start to finish. As a writer, it’s important to see yourself as someone that is communicating to their readers and not a blank piece of paper.

Feeling a connection to your readers should make writing feel more natural and rewarding.

 

3- Research similar articles

More often than not, there is a competitor that has already written a similar article.

It may not necessarily be about the exact same topic, with the same structure. 

However they may share the same keywords with the article you are going to write.

We can use these keywords to do some research in how your competitors are writing their articles, and observe their standards.

 

Content that appears within the first 10 items (that are not adverts) often contain:

• High user satisfaction
• High search engine ratings

Once you’ve looked through these articles you may notice a pattern – similarities and differences – with your content.

 

These articles should be a reference for how to structure your content in a way that can favour both readers and search engines.

 

However, do your research with caution.

Remember, these are references. You should not copy the same layout and contents exactly.

I guess that goes without saying, but we’ll mention it just in case.

 

4- Decide on structure

In this step, you should create the structure for your blog post.

It’s completely fine to change the structure or come up with it as you go, but it’s also great practice to start with a general idea.

 

Giving yourself a structure makes writing easier, you’re less likely to get writer’s block. It can also help you avoid redundant points and being overly repetitive.

Try to think of your readers’ experience when you design your blog post’s structure.

 

As you progress through drafting your article, you’ll likely deviate (at least a little) from your original plan.

Make sure to go back to the initial questions and answer section, and the structure, and you should be on track.

 

When you’ve decided on the overall structure, it’s time to start writing!

 

5- Utilize mind maps and notepads

Having read through all the previous contents, perhaps you have lots of content you want to go through spanning several notes.

Notes are important to refer to during the writing process. In general, note down anything you can using an app, book, or whatever feels comfortable for you to access and refer to later on. 

 

You can write about:

• Questions and answers
• Competition research
• Article composition

To help you remember and organise your article later.

 

Another tool you could use is a mind map app.

It may take a bit to get used to at first, but it can help you organise your topics further by giving you better visual representation of your thought process, and summarise them based on their relation to each point rather than a simple text document.

Of course a mind map is possible to draw out instead of using an app. Use whichever you feel has better retention for you.

 

However, we don’t recommend voice memos for a long term, referential method for documenting notes. While it can be convenient, referring back to many voice memos is slow and inefficient.

 

As for a mind map app, there are lots you can choose from available free online, such as https://www.mindmeister.com/ that I’ve personally used in the past.

 

6- Conclusion

By now, you’ve gone through the outline of some of the important steps when it comes to preparing before starting to write a blog post. You’ve learned how these things can help you prepare to write an article:

 

• Organise your purpose and methods by writing down questions and answers
• Research for references and figuring out article structure
• Utilise mind maps and notes

 

All of these are skills that can translate beyond writing articles. Some of these are just ways to help you think in a more standard way, and can even help you with speeches, presentations, or writing scripts.

 

For those that are less experienced in writing, it’s easy to only write on-topic as far as your attention may take you. As soon as focus drifts, the article begins to veer out of the main focus. It’s pretty common to get stuck on a writer’s block during these areas too.

 

Make sure to know exactly what you want to write, what you want readers to understand, and be careful on how it is written.

Although preparation may seem like a lot of work, it will allow your work to progress smoothly and be time-efficient. It’ll also make it less mentally taxing.

 

We hope this article helps