The 12 Pillars of Online Article Writing

In this post, I’m going to teach you how to write a good online article. These tips for writing a great online article will make a huge difference between the blog article that never catches the eyes of internet readers and the one that appears on the first couple of search engine pages like Google, Yahoo, Bing or Baidu. You can call them The 12 Pillars of Online Article Writing because that’s exactly what they are.

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Well, it isn’t my intention to scare you but the truth about blog writing (aka online writing) is simply this. You just need to follow certain blog writing tips in order to succeed in your online writing business.

Never mind if your online article writing exercise is just a hobby. The same effective blog writing tips apply.

What is a great online article, anyway?

Here are some ways to know whether your online article is good enough.

• It starts getting a lot of views in a matter of weeks or a couple of months
• The online article drives massive organic traffic to your site.
• It is getting shared by readers left, right and centre.
• Your impressions of the article are simply astounding.
• It is turning visitors into customers. In other words, the conversion rate is awesome on that particular page.
• It is making you a decent blog income with affiliate marketing and advertisements from your partnership with ad networks like PropellerAds and Media.Net.
• Readers are commenting on it and giving you kudos for a good job done.

And the list goes on and on …

You see, the above do not come easily. But the fact remains that it is entirely possible to write a good online article that gives you the results you want.

So, let’s go straight ahead to look at the tips you need to write a good online article on any day.

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1. Craft a headline that rocks

Writing a good online article starts with its title. The reason for this is this:

The search engines need the right heading to offer to people who are searching for the topic you’re writing about.

Secondly, when your potential visitor looks at your title and compares it to other search results, they must be convinced that yours is the best. This is how organic traffic gets to your website.

And if your job is to write blog articles for sale as a freelancer (just like I do on this site), then you stand a better chance of getting and retaining the best clients by writing awesome headlines for your online articles.

Now you know why the title of every online article matters. I have a few tips here to help you write a good title for your blog posts.

• Make it as brief as possible. Avoid using too many words and saying too much. Leave the details for the body of your content.
• Include your keywords
• Sound interesting
• Address the specific needs of your target reader. Every good online article is written for a target audience. More of this is down below.

2. Have a captivating introduction

Just make sure you don’t put your readers to sleep right at the opening stage of the online article. Because a boring introduction will end up affecting your bounce rate adversely.

Learn how to start with writing an online article here.

3. Write from a position of authority

Write in a way that shows you have sufficient knowledge about what you’re talking about. You do not need to boast to achieve this. All you need to do is focus on writing about topics about which you have good knowledge and experience.

This is the reason why on this blog I write from my experiences blogging for years. I’m happy to freely share the wealth of knowledge I’m lucky to accumulate as a result.

Surely, you’ve got something about which you know so much. It could be an extensive experience in a skill, a craft, an academic subject or a rare, special talent. Whatever it is, that’s exactly what you must focus on to write a good online article.

4. Sound original

Let the truth be told. It is almost impossible nowadays to write about something no other person has ever written about before. But you know, at the same time, it’s difficult for two writers who are not openly copying from each other to say it in exactly the same way.

So my advice is this: find your own voice and style. Then let it come out as loudly as you can. Your readers will love you for your authentic, unique style of writing online articles.

5. Say it as briefly and as clearly as possible

There is no need to write too many words about a single idea. To write a good online article, it is best to keep it brief and straight to the point.

Personally, as an introvert, I don’t talk much but hey, I can really write and write … and just keep on writing.

But here is the reality I’m forced to face each time I try to write a good online article. Internet people don’t have time for a long talk. Neither do they have enough patience for very long paragraphs. They are always on the move.

You can only keep your online readers interested in what you’re telling them if you can say it in short, direct sentences and paragraphs.

And one more thing. Make sure you do not repeat yourself unnecessarily.

6. Put a smile on the faces of your readers.

This may be difficult for some of us to achieve. That being said, you have no choice but to learn how to create humour in your writing.

Sometimes, all it takes is at least one of the following

• a quick, appropriate joke.
• an anecdote to make your audience laugh even to your hearing!
• a well-considered exaggeration can also do the trick.

The point I’m trying to make is this: Do not scare away your readers with a dry, lifeless blog post. If you keep on putting them to sleep, they may stop visiting your site.

And, we both know that isn’t what you need to make money with your online content.

7. Reduce grammatical errors.

That is if you cannot avoid them altogether. There are several ways to do this.

• Edit your work several times before hitting the publish button.
• Use a grammar app to auto-correct your mistakes. But don’t rely on them too much. From experience, I can tell you that some of these apps have their own issues as they work like the robots they’re meant to be!
• Keep on learning grammar rules to help you improve your writing.
• Let others edit or proofread your work if it is possible for them to do so.

8. Write for a specific audience

As an online writer, you’re an infopreneur by default. Your articles are the products you are bringing to the online marketplace.

Like every other seller, you cannot serve the whole market. Even if you wish to do so, you will soon realize that not everyone is interested in your wares.

This is why you must select a particular segment of the online market and tailor your online article writing to attract and engage them only.

You can apply the below guidelines, among others, to help you succeed at satisfying your readers’ needs.

• Identify the age group you wish to serve.
• Know the specific need you want to address in each post.
• Find out if they will find the information useful.
• Write in a style they will easily relate to and understand.
• Avoid talking down to them. Many of them may know more than you care to know so, at the very least, treat them as your equals.
• Give them as much helpful information as possible.

9. Structure your online article appropriately

As an online article writing professional (or hobbyist), you don’t just write anyhow. You need to write a good online article all the time. One way to write a great online article is this. Write in a carefully organized manner.

Some elements of the format of a good online article you would want to consider are the following.

• a concise and captivating title.
• an appropriate introduction signalling the ideas you’re about to raise and discuss.
• short and precise paragraphs with each containing a single idea.
• helpful subheadings to separate points and paragraphs.
• a concluding statement.

10. Use bullet points

Bullet points help keep your ideas neat and tidy. They are an effective way of engaging the attention of your readers for the full length of the article.

So give your ideas a simplified structure by listing those that are listable.

And, trust me, your audience will appreciate your effort to always give them fantastic online content they can consume without much sweat.

11. Optimize for SEO

Like I said at the beginning, one way of knowing whether your blog post is really good is to find out how well it is performing on popular search engines.

By the way, Google Analytics is one reliable platform many bloggers and online businesses use to ascertain their performance in the online space. You might want to learn more about Google Analytics here.

Try the below basic on-site SEO tips to optimize your online articles for better ranking on the search engine result pages (SERPs).

• Craft a headline that search engines and visitors alike can’t miss
• Use enough keywords in your writing
• Include images in your blog posts
• Assign each blog post to the right category and tags
• Make your writing easy to read and understand
• Don’t forget to create links to both external and internal resources within the post

12. Add a clear call to action

Finally, remember to add a call-to-action (CTA) to every online article you’re about to publish.

What it simply means is this. Ask the reader to take a particular action before exiting the page or site. After all, most online writers are in a business called content marketing.

Every call-to-action on your site is a proven method of increasing conversion rate and sales. So do it if you want more conversions for a higher blog income.

Find below a few examples of how to use the CTA inside an online article.

• A popup that leads to a landing page where a product or service is offered for sale
• The simple button that allows downloading a free resource (in PDF format, for example).
• A sign-up form which serves as a means to build your email list.
• Short remark asking your reader to share the blog post on social media
• When you ask for comments on a specific idea or the entire article
• That text link in which you direct them to an appropriate product

Final thoughts …

To write a good online article, you need to keep this in mind all the time. Not all the rules for old-school offline article writing are useful for internet writing.

Writing on the internet is a different ball game in many respects. I’ve learned this the hard way and I’m still learning to do things better. Fortunately for me, it isn’t in my DNA to ever stop learning while I live.

I believe you too will benefit a great deal from the above tips on how to write a good online article. I wish you happy online writing!

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