What Is an Article?

An article is a piece of content that’s written and distributed to readers. You can write articles for different mediums such as newspapers, magazines, and websites. Companies write articles as part of their content marketing strategy to provide information that’s valuable to current and potential customers. The content you write may influence a reader’s decisions and motivate them to take action.

How to Format an Article

Write article

Add a Title

Your title defines the article’s topic. The reader glances at the title to give themselves a preview of what they expect to read. Browse search engines for keywords to determine which titles have a high rank on search engine result pages (SERP). Consider using a title correlated with article content near the top of SERP so users are more likely to find and read your content.

Include Your Name

List your name in the article to define who is writing it if your project requires this step. Some companies may require you to keep your name and include your social media channels and contact information to engage with their readers.

Incorporate an Introduction

Your introduction convinces your audience to read the article and explains why the information is important. As many as 55% of visitors only read an article for 15 seconds or less before they moving away from your article. Use strategies to catch your audience’s attention like captivating narratives that outline a problem. Your target audience faces with the promise of demonstrating how to solve it.

Here are additional tips to improve your article

Keep introductions short and concise: Write three to four sentences for your introduction to inform the audience about what they can expect to read. Use writing techniques to generates suspense for the reader and enhance their curiosity about the article’s topic.
Shorten the length of sentences: Write shorter sentences so the reader can easily understand what you’re writing. Write in the present, active tense and remove filler words like “that,” “just,” “even” and “seem” to strengthen the quality of your content. Present tense writing allows you to connect with your audience and focus their attention on content that leads them into your story.br> Write the body paragraph first. Let the rest of your content before writing your intro paragraph to give you options on how to present your story. You may try to add the introduction with placeholder text and complete it once you write the rest of the article.
Deliver on promises: Only introduce topics your article will explain further. This approach builds trust with a reader because they want to read about what attracted them to your article. Proofread your article to ensure you Include the most comprehensive and helpful content possible for the audience.

Insert Your Body Paragraph

Write your topic sentence to begin your body paragraph and introduce the supporting evidence associated with the theme. Include relevant facts and information that support the point you’re trying to make. Cite real-life examples to help the reader understand how they can apply the information you provide them.
For example, if you’re writing a step-by-step guide about how a company can market its products. Write body paragraphs about the different steps. If the first step is identifying your target audience, use the topic sentence to introduce the importance of having a target audience and how it can help a company promote and sell its products. State examples of the different audiences they can target before moving onto the next step.

Write a Conclusion for your Article

The conclusion restates the main point of your article. It gives the reader a clear picture of the lesson they should learn after reading the article’s content and how the main points connect with the purpose of the article. Conclusions should include a call-to-action, which gives the reader an action to perform once they finish reading your article. Explain the value of your call-to-action to give the reader an incentive to act on it once you present it to them.

Here are a few examples for call-to-actions to list in your conclusion Provide feedback
Subscribe to a company’s newsletter or blog
Visit a company’s website or social media pages