Break in with “How-to” Articles and Books

‘How-to’ is the key to one of today’s biggest markets for articles. This market exists because people want help. There is an ever-growing demand for instruction and advice on how to make, how to do, how to achieve, how to live …

            You can earn money and recognition by writing the articles this hungry market wants. You can capitalise on your own know-how and write it up into highly saleable material, from short tips to feature-length articles.

            Take a look at any magazines and newspaper you have. Most of these will have one or two how-to pieces. These often appear under titles like, for example, ‘Make Your Home a Stress-Free Zone’ and ‘Thrift Shop Chic – dressing well for less’, titles which imply ‘how-to- without using the label.

            Bookshops are packed with books on self-help, self-improvement, DIY, cookery, gardening, travel, business and leisure, all aiming to help people improve their lives or achieve something they might not otherwise manage to do.

            The ‘how-to’ market has always been open to writers who can offer two essential qualities: knowledge of their subject and the ability to communicate that knowledge in plain clear language.

            It’s a particularly open market nowadays, with more people living longer in good health and retiring earlier, with time to do the things they’ve always wanted to do. People have also become more aware of their own physical and mental well-being and are seeking guidance on how to look after themselves.

            We all have skills, knowledge or personal experience that might be helpful to others. To assess what you might offer, make lists under these headings:

1. What do you know?

2. What have you done?

3. What have you learned?

            Consider each item you list for its potential benefit to others, then decide which of the two main how-to areas your idea would best fit:

1. Instructional – how to make/how to do.

2. Self-help – how to be/how to achieve.

            Start small with hints, tips, fillers and short features. When you have had some success with these, move on to articles, and eventually books.

            How-to pieces are a great way to break into magazines, and the market is enormous. Why not give it your best shot.