10 Red-hot Tips for Journalists in Today’s Busy World

Right now, the more astute observers among you will have noticed that lists are all the rage these days. They’re everywhere, from chick lifestyle mags through the glossy paps-and-gossip weeklies people read to find out what’s hot in celeb-land, to respectable music and film review magazines, and even the supplements in the quality broadsheet press. Yes, people love them, and what’s more, they’re quick and easy to write, so you can fill your column inches in no time and get your wedge for less effort. Here are ten tips on how to write the kind of article everyone’s into right now.

1. Keep your subject simple and of interest to a bread range of people. “10 must-read books for on the beach” and “10 essential downloads for your holiday iPod” and that sort of thing is always going to have more success than “10 top tips for getting tea stains out of your cups.”
2. Keep it short and punchy. People are busy and don’t have much time to read. 10 is a good number. 20 is ok for a longer article, but really, any more than that is just pointless.
3. Don’t waste time researching your article. It’s all about imparting your wise opinions and convincing the reader that your ideas or your recommendations for books, CDs, films, are truly essential. Opinion is everything.
4. Save time by nabbing bits from previous articles. You won’t get done for plagiarism because the chances are there’ll be reviews of whatever it is you’re recommending that you can nab and rewrite lines from. Or, if for example, you’re doing a “10 ways to drop a dress size before Christmas” type article, take selected highlights from other articles on slimming. If you get really stuck, reuse a few tips from similar articles from last year. “How to look god in your bikini in just 3 weeks” features can also be a mine of gems.
5. Keep each point short. The previous point is really too long, and a good example of what not to do.
6. Don’t be afraid to repeat things if you’re running short of time or inspiration. Just rephrase point three for point ten. No-one will notice, and only 40% of readers ever make it past point 7.
7. Throw in a few statistics if you can. They don’t even have to be accurate, because no-one will check. People love figures. In fact, in a recent survey of 3,478 women aged between 18 and 27, 78% – that’s more than three quarters – said they loved statistic.
8. Don’t be afraid to state the obvious! Really, “monitor your portions” and “do some exercise” are obvious ways to lose weight, but if you are writing an article on weight loss, the readers need to be reminded
9. Proof reading is a waste of time. Most readers – and editors, for that matter – and not very literate and only care about themselves and the money.
10. Three out of every four readers likes a few handy facts and figures thrown in that they can repeat to their friends to make them look knowledgeable, so include a few numbers and percentages to fill space

And there you have it!