Things to Consider When Writing to Be Read

Some people write articles that are clearly extracts of several of their other articles and are a regurgitation and repetition of what they have said many times before. That may be all well and good in a numbers game, but if you are wanting to establish an interested readership and a good reputation then writing with integrity requires a little more effort and commitment. Also by writing good quality articles you will gain much more satisfaction and fulfillment from your efforts.

There are a few valid points that can help in writing to be read:
- Write about an area that is important to, that you know something about and feel enthusiasm for.

- Pretend to be your own reader. What would prompt you to select an article by you. What would interest you enough to take the time to settle down to read it. And then what would you want to be told, or expect to find as you continued to read.

- Be organised. Many writers are involved in writing several articles at once. One method is to write bullet points and paragraph headings as prompts and reminders of which salient points to cover throughout the various articles.

- Do not lecture. Even writing with passion can benefit from using phrases like 'you will find' rather than 'you must'. Many people are turned off by being told what to do, especially by a stranger.

- Give something away. Advice, processes, ideas, information, knowledge are a reason for someone to read your articles. We receive enough spam in our lives, how many of us are going to choose to read blatant advertisements. And by giving good advice people look our for your interesting and informative articles. You establish yourself as an expert in your field.

- Enable your reader to relate to what you are saying. Examples are a useful way of creating a picture and can be good at bringing other issues and considerations into your article. Using specific examples can enable your reader to understand the way that your article fits into their situation or life.

- Humour helps an article read easier and so avoid taking itself too seriously. Self deprecation can enable a point to be made without sounding pompous. People love to read of other peoples trials and tough lessons. True examples make a good story that people can relate to.

- Make it visually appealing. Paragraphs, bullet points, pictures are all good ways to make a page look accessible and not too heavy or text-book like. Busy people rarely want to read heavy instruction manuals and pages of words. If it does not look inviting, interesting and easy to read then many people will turn away in favour of something else.

- Try reading your article out loud. Often it is a good way to check that it flows well and reads easily. Some writers may sit and write an article at one sitting. A good technique is to then leave it, come back to it at another time and check that it reads okay. It is not unusual for something to require re-phrasing or even need to be re-written slightly so that it becomes a little clearer and more fluent.