Although writing an article seems to be something that most people have a difficult time with, there are very few working parts to an article that need your attention. As a matter of fact, any good article can be broken down into four different sections. As long as you give attention to each of the sections, you should end up with a workable article that will be enjoyable to read and pull the response that you are looking for.
Starting Things off with a Headline
As with almost anything, you need to make sure that you are grabbing the attention of your readers, right from the start. This is done with the headline of the article, often referred to as the title. You should make sure that it is short, catchy and that leads into the article nicely. You may want to test different headlines to see what kind of response you get.
Let Me Introduce You to the Article
the introduction of the article is typically found in the first paragraph. It is rarely ever necessary for you to go beyond the first paragraph with the introduction as you are just trying to warm up your reader to what you're about to say. Connect with the reader on a personal level, perhaps by using a parable or a story that involves your experience with the subject. This will spark their interest enough to continue reading the rest of the article.
Having a Strong Body
The body of your article is really where the meat and potatoes are going to reside. This is where you really wow your readers with the information that you are giving to them. Make sure that the information you are giving them is accurate and concise, not allowing main points to bleed over into additional paragraphs. Try not to stray too far from the theme of the article or else you may lose your readers in the details. Always make sure that you pull any side points back to the main theme, as well as writing in short, easy to read sentences.
The reason why it is so important to stick with the main theme throughout the entire body of the article is a matter of focus. Whenever you're writing an article, you are trying to lead the person all the way from the beginning of the article, through the body and into the conclusion. If you start going off on tangents that are not directly related to the theme of the article, you will no doubt lose the readers attention. At that point, you run the risk of having them simply click away from it.
And in Conclusion...
The final paragraph of the article should be the conclusion. It is in the conclusion where you tie all of the ends together and to remind your readers again of what the main theme of the article is. It also helps to review the article and reinforce what you've written previously. The conclusion is typically the place where you would include a strong call to action.
If all four parts of the article are working in unison, you will have an article that gets the reader's attention so they take the next logical step - become your customer.
- Nina Menezes
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