Ten Tips On Writing An Article

Part 1 of 6 in a Series on Article Writing

Article writing, or journalism, is an art-form quite unlike anything else. And yet, in many ways, the fundamentals are identical to the way in which you’d go about writing a book. It’s these differences and similarities which I’m going to look at today.

ARTICLE WRITING OR BLOGGING

In this post I’m simply going to outline the main features of a successful piece of writing, which we’ll look at in more detail at a later date. What you need to understand is that what follows may be applied not only to writing an article for a magazine or newspaper, but also to blogging, or article writing for the internet.

THE SECRETS OF ARTICLE WRITING

1. What is the gender, age and the socio-economic profile of your readers?
2. What are their interests; their hobbies and pursuits?
3. What is their status: domestically (i.e. married, single, divorced, remarried, cohabiting) / politically / in the workforce?
4. Understand publishing market trends – Any number of issues affect what will sell: changes in fashion; technology; social trends; and fads.
5. Study different publications – Does the magazine you’ve selected have a single focus (i.e. photography, gardening, money-making) or is it multi-faceted? i.e. a compendium of diverse subjects?
6. Is it gender-based: a women’s magazine? Or age related: over 50’s.
7. What type of articles feature in the publication? Are they informative / do they have a particular bias / do they make assumptions about the profile of readers / or are they impartial?
8. Get to know the editor of the magazine.
9. Some of the features of a magazine article are similar to a novel in that there has to be a beginning, a middle and an end.
10. Develop a strategy to build on success

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be developing each of these headings. So be sure to subscribe by clicking on the RSS feeder. Don’t miss this great new series!

NEXT TIME

Part 2 of 6: The Secrets Of Article Writing: Know Your Market, Know Yourself

Although many of the articles on this website may be used freely where expressly stated, this one forms part of a series and may not be reproduced without written permission from the author.

Author of a number of books, one a No 4 Bestseller, Mel Menzies is also an experienced Speaker at live events, as well as on Radio and TV. Book her here for your event.

All proceeds from Mel’s latest novel, A Painful Post Mortem, are for charities benefiting children worldwide. Buy a copy here and help raise cash for children like Rachel, who, at 13 is mother to 6 kids orphaned by AIDS, or this project, drug-proofing teenagers in the UK