Writing the Right Stuff: A Guide to Success

The first step to a successful article is writing about something you know very well. This means you do not have to do research and will be able to write an accurate article, which is what people want. It also means if a person questions you on it, you know the answer. For me this is usually pet related, as with this article on Puppy Mills.

What are Puppy Mills

Write about something unique. Find something totally different than what is being put out there already. More and more people are keeping unusual pets, and there are not a lot of resources available on them. There are oodles of sites about cats or dogs, but not too many on pet stick insects. This is something Mark Gordon Brown picked up on and used to his advantage when he wrote about stick insects.

Walking Stick Insect Pets

Another article which was not only unique, but his most successful was one on a beautiful creature most people had not heard of, Nudibrachs.

Nudibrachs 

Use spectacular photographs. (As an informative article I am not using photos here) Something that is eye-catching will spread. People love seeing images more so than reading. By dazzling them with brilliant pictures (either your own, or those from a copyright free source) your article will do better than with no pictures. While these articles may not be something people look for, when they do come across them, people will send them to friends. R J Evans is a master of finding and using good pictures in his links like this one.

 Up Close and Impersonal with Insects

Write about something people need to know. When you write about things that people are trying to find, you will get views based on searches. Make sure you tag your article well. Health issues are a growing concern, with our current aging population this will continue to drive up interest in anything related to health and aging. Ruby Hawk capitalized on this with her article on Alzheimers.

Alzheimers and the Brain

Write something totally off the wall and unexpected. Such things frequently get spread by people looking for the bizarre. Clay Hurtubise has a brilliant new slant on ideas and composes them in ways that leave some people not sure if something is serious or not. You can see this by the comments on his link about Kittens as a fast food.

Kittens:  The new Fast Food

People love list, top ten lists and so forth tend to do well. This type of link is easy to read, and can be skimmed by somebody who is surfing the Internet for entertainment. My most successful link to date was one I wrote on songs that I thought were worth listening to. It ired a lot of people because of course musical tastes are different, but it got spread around and that is what was important and contributed to the success. Everyone has an opinion, and lists allow them to test and add theirs.

Songs worth Listening to

Add human interest, make a link that appeals to somebody on a human level, explain why the link is relevant, and important, to them if it is not clear. My second highest rated article was on an issue that has been dear to me for many years, since I first saw it on a nature program on television. The issue is that of the Aral Sea and how man has diverted water from it to use in agriculture which resulted in pretty much the whole of the sea. This link succeeded for many of the reasons listed above.

The Disappearing Aral Sea

What will NOT go far?

• Poorly written, poorly thought out articles, although you may get some views, these articles will not get spread around.

• Articles with spelling errors, and poor grammar. Any thing that is hard to read will not get circulated.

• Boring personal accounts. It is fine to write a personal account, but unless it is an extraordinary tale, it will only appeal to people who know you personally.

• Depressing Stuff. Nobody wants to read “woe is me” about you feeling sorry for yourself. It is okay to write negative, sad, articles, try to inject them with some ray of hope (as in my Aral Sea link).

Good luck on your next Internet Article, don’t forget to leave a comment to say you were here!  Feel free to check out any of the links added as examples, they will open in a new window.