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If the phrase “ultimate guide” in the headline about article writing for beginners arouses your curiosity, you’ve learned a lesson about headlines that work.

Why?

The phrase “ultimate guide” in the headline is used as clickbait. Something to make you click on the article link and wonder if this is the only guide, the one solution to your problem about writing articles that get read.

How awesome will that be?

There are no scientifically proven facts, discoveries, or any set of rules that guarantee your content will go viral no matter what.

But this is what I can tell you.

After analyzing thousands of viral content by BuzzSumo, certain elements, styles, structures, and patterns are commonly found in them.

Going by this fact, to achieve the same viral effect, we have to follow strictly the path that leads to viral content.

So, what are the steps in writing an article that gets read and shared?

Answer; “Write what people want to read.”

How to Write an Article That Gets Read? Write What People Wants to Read…

So simple!

That’s just the truth about article writing. Remember, you’re not writing to yourself – you’re writing to meet the needs and wants of your readers.

If your content is not addressing the current needs of your readers, you’re not the solution to their problem; it will be hard to drive repeat website visitors.

You don’t want to put all those efforts, resources, and time into writing on unrelated niche topics.

So, how do you know or discover what people are interested in reading now?

It Starts With Keyword Research

Keyword research is the starting point for many successful online marketing campaigns. So start by doing keyword research.

You can also go to places like Amazon, eBay, question-and-answer sites, online communities, forums, and social media sites to find relevant industry topics.

Keyword research is my favorite for content research and validation.

It gives me everything I need for content topic validation in one place. Keyword research also provides more resourceful information to understand better your chosen topic’s value – search volume and CPC.

Forums, social media sites, and online communities are platforms for content writers to gather information about current events and industry topics. You’re not just getting real-time information but also gathering marketing intelligence for content marketing.

If the news blows up on social media sites – you already know where to kick-start your marketing campaign.

What are The Steps to Writing an Article?

Now that you’ve chosen your topic wisely.

It is time to put all the meat and potatoes together to serve your audience a delicious meal—an irresistible dish.

Putting words together gets a lot easier if you’re well-grounded on the topic. But if you’re not, it gets more challenging.

But first, you need to research the topic to see what your competitors have published. What angle have they covered that you can expand on? What approach can you take that will make your content better?

The easiest way is to visit forums, social media places, questions, and answer s tes. Ask questions related to your idea and see what replies people give back.

This will increase your knowledge about the t pic. Also, it gives more points to talk about in your post.

The feedback you get from readers might even bring up ideas that will lead to a series of articles on the same subject.

Never ignore this process.

How to Write an Article

We’re progressing steadily and preparing to write our epic blog post.

But wait for a second – the headline is a critical aspect of any online copy you need to pay attention to.

At the beginning of this post, I talked about how the words “love to read” were used to get your attention.

Think about it this way; if those words hadn’t triggered your attention or meant anything to you – the body content you’re reading now does not exist as far as you are concerned.

Your content headline is the first element readers will see and decide to read or not to read your post.

And remember – there is only one first-time impression.

So please do all you can to impress your readers the first time they see your content.

How do you write article titles that never get ignored?

Don’t worry; you’re not left alone to figure it out. This is how you do it.

How to Write an Article Headline

First, what makes you feel emotionally charged with things quickly?

Is it love, fear, desire, pain, interest, or what?

Whatever it is – you have feelings mainly because you’re emotionally attached to them.

The same strategy can be used to write your article’s titles and move your reader’s emotions toward your post. You do this by playing on those things that moved humans to take specific actions.

Like love, fear, desire, wants, happiness, hatred, power, authority, etc. All these depend on what type of information you’re putting together and your motive for writing.

Besides, there are five main elements you can infuse into your article’s titles and cause your readers to be emotional or increase their interest in reading your post.

While writing your article’s headline – make sure you do one of the following:

  • Benefits.
  • Curiosity.
  • Interest.
  • Awareness.
  • Attention.

At a glance, your article’s title either makes the reader curious to learn more about the information or grabs his attention. He tells the benefits he stands to gain from reading your post. Pronounce an announcement or tell them what interest is in it for him.

Take this article title for an example:

image from google search

Suppose you’re in the middle of getting divorced and need counseling on how to go about it. You probably will click on this article link for advice.

Why?

The word “54 experts” used in the article headline is meant to trigger your belief that what you’re about to read is backed by expert advice.

You’re getting 54 professional pieces of advice from qualified sources.

This type of power word draws the reader’s attention to the rest of the article.

Check out Jon Morrow SmartBlogger’s blog for a list of more powerful words you can use immediately in your next blog post.

But remember that you don’t have to put these five elements mentioned above into writing one article t tle. A perfect blog topic will stay on course, focus, and talk about just one idea per post.

So also, it goes for your article headlines.

Types of articles Writing that went viral

We’re progressing at a breakneck pace.

Various articles have gone viral on the internet, both in the past and present. If you’re planning to make one of your following blog post projects go viral, consider choosing one of these article templates.

Argument Articles

This type of post is used to create a buzz in the blogosphere. You used this when you have a different opinion or thought on some industry consensuses.

Something most people believe without a proper evaluation, something like dogmatic in acceptance. We have many of those theories on the net.

Let me give you a pointer here.

When you’re stepping into blogging –  you would have heard this phrase a hundred times over “Create it they will come “?

You can pick up something like this and write an article about why you go against such beliefs. This helps you get noticed quickly and bring in new visitors.

Recently, I wrote an article about why I go against bloggers sharing their blog income reports publicly. Publishing blog income report post is something top bloggers like to do regularly.

But I freely share why I think its effects on newbie bloggers are more damaging than the good it brings.

You must be sure you have a good reason, facts, or points to support your arguments. So you don’t make a mess of yourself publicly.

Theory Articles

This is a no-brainer, I guess?

You could see them all over the internet – they pop up millions of times daily on the net.

But to stand out and make your post go viral.

You’ll need to do more than present the same theory as everyone else or something most authors have beat to death.

Though you can do this – but come from different angles and sizes.

Give new ways of doing something or to achieve a task, goals, and objectives better. Tell how you achieve doing old stuff in a new way or version.

Those interested in learning from your new revolutionary discovery will find you out.

List Articles.

Do I need to include this on the list? Yes, for many reasons, I should:

  1. List articles are the easiest for people to read.
  2. They quickly get picked up by readers.
  3. They are scanable and easy to navigate through.
  4. Readers go straight to the points they’re interested in.

Do you see why they’re so powerful?

Here is an example of what a list of articles looks like.

list articles examples

How-to Articles

All-time winner.

You have seen list posts many times over in the last 24 hours.

How-to articles are so powerful that people almost begin their search query with a how-to.

how to articles examples

Suppose you’re an author of a blog contributing to web ages. You must have published many how-to articles, especially if you’re in the DIY industry.

Look within yourself or your industry and see what idea you can come up with that people are interested in knowing.

But for this type of article to work well. Your idea must be something you have a genuine experience in it, feel, smell, or touch.

In your how-to articles – people are looking for how to do something better. So obvious, you must give clear guidelines, details, and instructions on how to go about it.

There is no room to leave readers ha ging. You’re the expert with proven experience; teach them what you know how to do better.

Explanation Articles

There are many changes in the world, and different concepts are emerging daily.

This makes it hard to keep up with the fast changes around us. And it became harder to quickly understand some simple ways of achieving things on your own.

Therefore, as an expert in your field, you can write unique blueprints that explain in detail how these things work in a new way or break it down for an average person to digest.

In this type of article, it is necessary to remember you’re writing for an ordinary man in the s reet. Instead of using industry jargon, use everyday English.

It makes it easy to read, understand, and benefit from.

Use Images to Tell Better Stories

Having an image in your content is not an option; it is necessary in today’s consumer world.

One study shows that a blog post with at least one or more images receives 94% more views than a post without any images.

Although, there is no specific number of images you should include in your article. But a good rule is to break your article into parts with relevant images.

This study from Buzzsumo shows that an image at every 75 to 100-word count works best for maximum shares and engagements.

word count vs image ratio

The longer the article, the more images you should use. Although, this might not work out well for every article you publish.

In all, this is telling you to use more images as you put more words out. And you don’t need to be a good graphics designer to create stunning images for your blog post.

There are many valuable tools on the internet today that lets you design professional images for free that you can use in your blog post free of image rights.

One great tool I regularly use for image design is Canva. Sign up for a free account and start using the tool immediately.

Who Are Your Audience?

This is an important question that must be answered and sure before you pen down a single word in your next blog post.

This question may seem obvious, but from experience, it isn’t easy to understand and figure out.

Until you do your homework correctly and analyze your target market, you won’t publish content that impacts your target audience.

I must tell you that determining your audience is challenging, especially if you’re trying to balance building a community of engaged audiences and a list of responsive buyers.

For instance, most blog posts here at CyberNaira that generate many comments are not financially intent posts. At the same time, about 75% of posts that attract the best search traffic don’t attract more comments.

Blog posts that have brought in income for this blog are keyword-focused, SEO optimized, and targeted at a “specific” audience looking for a solution to a particular problem.

You have to be specific about who your audience is in every content you publish on your blog. You need to know precisely why you’re putting such information on your blog.

Every article you publish must have a purpose.

Don’t Be Afraid

This is a continuation of a point I made above about writers not being afraid of telling it.

You don’t have to go with the crowd if your view differs.

If your view on a subject doesn’t align with conventional belief, don’t be afraid to share your thought with the public, for goodness’ sake.

Be brave; get your message across concise statements free from fluff but packed with valuable facts, data, and lessons to drive home your opinion on the subject.

Chances are, many industry-related topics gathered widespread consensus, but if you can go deep into these topics, you may find reasons not to agree with everyone.

If this happens, don’t let your discovery die inside o you. Share your knowledge with the world – you never know how this might help someone.

I have published some controversial posts on this blog that have made readers leave a thoughtful, honest opinion. And, not just some generic comments that are “Me too,” leave a comment on your post.

These posts have also brought in new readers, sparked debates, and put the blog on more people’s radars.

Paint a Picture with your words.

Have you seen those long sales pages designed to sell you stuff (most significantly, make-money products)?

They told stories of the author being dead and broke at one time. Lost his day job, couldn’t afford to provide for his family and the rest, blah blah blah?

I guess you must have read such a sales page.

They’re trying to paint the perfect picture in your heart—the image of a financially down man with responsibilities on his shoulder.

If you’re down that road already, you’ll know better and could quickly buy into the marketer’s program.

You’re more likely to buy the product because the words on the page directly speak t you. Your current situation and almost what you’re going through at the moment.

Let’s say you’re about to write a post on how to go over writer’s block and keep generating content ideas at will. Your first few sentences may go like this:

You turn on your computer with the readiness to get your next blog post written, you’re very excited and willing to hit the publish button once again, but what happens next?

Staring at a blank text editor…the words are not coming, you opened a new tab, visit your favorite web pages hoping to find some inspiration to get those captivating words coming…but that didn’t help either.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone in this, I’m with you and will help you out.

The above words could help paint a clear picture in someone’s mind because, at one point in every writer’s life, we undergo writer’s block—often staring at the computer screen, scratching our heads for those magic words to pump in.

It is a real-life situation that happens to anyone who earns his living by publishing words.

Find everyday events, scenarios, or situations that relate to your target audience and use that to tell a better story within your content. Your readers are more likely to become loyal fans and active followers of your brand.

Write Data Driven Post

Suppose I told you that in 2012 18.9 million women were blogging (that figure is expected to have increased). You probably will get excited if you’re a female wanting to get started with your blog, knowing that you’re not alone.

You could get support from people like you and know and understand what you’re getting into.

If I also share with you that only 2% of bloggers earned 150k and above from blo ging. 8% made enough money to cater to their family needs.

81% of bloggers never earned a cent or are just below $100 a month. And only 9% made enough money to get their lifestyle rolling. Live the dot com dream life they had ever wished for.

You will probably think something in your head if you want to earn a living from blogging.

This is because those figures are alarming and speak something to you from all indications.

Data backed with facts and references hook readers to read a post in its e tity. It leaves readers calculating the maths in their heads while they keep remembering who shared it.

Neil Patel is one author I know that is so good at sharing data in most of his public ions. He is so good at this that no post on his blog is complete without one useful stat to back up his claim or drive home points.

Plus, sharing valuable, informative data in your post proves you’ve done enough quality research before writing your post. It also elevates you to an expert status that may likely add to your credibility and authority in your industry.

Conclusion…

Like many other things, a good percentage of your published articles won’t go viral. Only a tiny handful of your content will bring the most traffic and fame and build that brand awareness.

You must keep trying new things until you hit the bull’s eye.

Following the above guidelines will help put your feet on the right track to successful publishing.

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11 Comments

  1. Thanks for putting up this wonderful post on how to write an article. This is one of the most difficult part of blogging if one really want to be unique. Coming up with interesting content that readers would love to ready is not an easy task.

    This post will really help people who struggling from creating lovable contents for people.

    1. Thanks, Uthman,

      Content is what people come to see/read on your blog. As a writer, you have to publish useful content on your blog regularly.

      Thanks.

  2. Hello Adeshokan,

    Thanks for sharing article its really help of lot. However, I need to know to get Google News Approval for krooknews dot com

  3. Thanks for sharing such an interesting post.Keep writing and sharing your views.

  4. Thanks for Update the Very nice blog and very Good information and your blog Content are Really Nice.. i like your Blogs..
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  6. Hi,
    Your blog is looking good it is very interesting thing about article writing .i liked your blog ,I am thinking to start article your blog is very use full to start my article .thank you for sharing the information.

  7. Hello Shamsudeen,
    I really liked the article. You explained the topic with practical examples and the way you started this article is really amazing. Means “Clickbait”. You explained the meaning of using it in the headlines and titles.
    This is really a beneficial article to learn how to start writing an article.
    Great.

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