Article Writing Made Easy With Templates

What is the most important goal of writing?  To convey a message!  And, to make sure that the message we want to share is heard in the manner we intend, it is necessary that we present the information in an easy to read, easy to understand method. For those of us who have turned our avocation of writing into a career, it is also important that we have a method, or a process, that allows us to write more quickly, more freely and more confidently, and still leave our readers "wanting more."  The same "templates" that allow us to write effectively and efficiently also serve as guidelines to help us promote our ability to write. The purpose of this report is to help you achieve any one - or all - of these objectives.

How many times have you been asked to write an article, but have life get in the way, and find yourself at the last minute trying to pull off a miracle - and still provide good content in a very short period of time?  With a kind of "plug 'n play" template for writing, you can do just that!  While it may be more professional to go to the length of brainstorming your topic, researching your target market and creating a summary, sometimes your writing can be equally effective and powerful if you simply respond to a series of questions or fill in the blanks. Although this process would never get you the best of grades in an academic setting, the process still serves to getting those creative juices going - and adding clarity about the delivery of your message at the same time.

The primary purpose of using templates is simplifying the writing process for internet marketing, reporting and freelancing. It is also important to note that using templates is not to address any one particular subject, but to use as a guideline to put both creativity and order into the writing process.

There are a number of article writing "templates," each of which is used to help the writer take their reader through a specific learning process. However, each of those templates has a similar structure and includes:

1. Topic
2. Explanatory Sentence
3. Content Outline
4. Introduction
5. Core Subject Matter
6. Enrichment Information
7. Conclusion

Those seven items include "what" you will include in each article you write; the following information is an exploration of "how" you should implement each one.

The topic, or headline, of your article is critical if you are using it for Internet marketing purposes. It must be short, catchy, relevant and to the point; and structured in such a way that the first four to five words are exactly what a person researching your topic would use as key search words. For example, I recently had a client who wanted to post a blog article about how the importance of play could positively impact how quickly a person or business could counter the negative impacts of the recession. She titled her article, "The Importance of Play..."  Her intended audience, those who want not to participate in recessionary thinking, would never have found her article. Why?  They would be typing in words like, recession, countering a recession, or perhaps changing recessionary thinking. The search engines would not pick up on "The Importance of Play..." even if the word recession was somewhere in the last part of the title. Another example would be that "Preventing Childhood Drowning" would be picked up by search engines far more quickly than would "What Parents Can do to Prevent Childhood Drowning."

The topic header is followed by a short, explanatory sentence. In the example of preventing childhood drowning, the sentence could read as follows:  "An outline of simple techniques parents can us to prevent childhood drowning."

A table of contents is necessary only when your article exceeds 20,000 words, or if your writing style frequently uses distinctive sub-topics. The content directory also helps "sell" your larger article because the reader can quickly scan the contents to determine if the information is relevant enough to warrant the expenditure of resources for the purchase, or the time of reading a larger article or report.

The introduction is your one chance to gain the attention of your readers. It should include some - or all - of the following:

1. A brief statement or outline of what the reader can expect to be covered. Brief is the caveat; your intention is not to write the full article here!
2. The motivating factor behind discussing the topic, e.g. benefits and background. Readers want to know why you are the right person to address the subject, and if your only credential is your personal interest - share the truth of that passion.
3. A brief credibility statement that will include your experience, overall exposure in the media, etc., and any professional credentials.
4. Sharing what you achieved from your experience. This serves to personalize your writing, drawing you closer to your reader and helping them understand the depth of your knowledge.

This is your opportunity to address the areas that define the gap between what your readers know and what they hope to come to understand - and to reveal the benefits gained from investing the time to read your article. If you make it clear, for example, that in reading your article they can expect to increase their revenue, or perhaps save large amounts of money, they will gain clear expectations of the benefits and will be more convinced to read your article in its entirety.

If your material is presented in such a manner that you start at Point A and "lead" your reader through a process that takes them from the general to more advanced thinking, you will be less inclined to lose them halfway through the reading. They have to be able to at least understand the beginning and will have to see how you can create a link between their current "norm" and the desired state of knowledge they appear to be seeking.

Your readers are expecting to be guided and educated. You can easily meet those requirements, depending upon the topic, by stating a range of requirements, options, comparisons, best practices, and a chronological approach - when appropriate and applicable.

Many articles are written primarily to answer questions you perceive an audience will have. As you are drafting your article, consider yourself as a panel expert and you are responding to questions being funneled you through an audience. Structure your article in such a manner that you are indirectly responding to those "supposed" questions. This is where your job is to assume what others don't know - or would want to know and give them the answers!  For example:  your article may be about the different types of paint an interior designer may suggest, but your readers may not be aware of why water-based paint is more popular than oil-based. Your job as the writer is to have been intuitive about this possible question and provided the answer in your article, letting them know - for example - that the primary reason is that oil-based paint is flammable.

I have frequently been told that our writing and speaking is to educate, inform and entertain. The confidence with which we learn to write allows us to create articles that do just that. The manner in which you document supporting points or other options - as may directly apply to your topic, will determine how well the reader remains happily engaged in reading your article.

There is an educational process that challenges us to use a three stage process of communicating information:  (1) tell them what you are going to tell them; (2) tell them; and (3) then tell them what you told them. The conclusion serves to fulfill the third stage. It is the point where you have stated all your facts and will briefly summarize or recount the information you shared. You may also choose to make recommendations that will guide your reader to resource other materials or products you may have available.

I trust you have been enlightened and inspired by the seven simple components of writing articles. This article addresses the basic components of any article, and offers a sure-fire process to give structure to your writing. Check in on future postings where I will be providing more templates which can guide you to a number of other outlines you can use to address topics from a specific perspective. You will find it interesting to take one topic through several of these templates and see how differently you approach the subject.

Until the muses attend again...

Anna Weber

4-Dimensional Success