Many people who love writing especially about current affairs news or feature stories for top news websites often get stuck when coming up with a good article for a news website. These simple tips will help you communicate better with your audience and increase your traffic when writing news articles.
Know Your Audience
This is the first step towards writing a good article that will be of interest to the readers. People visit news websites for different reasons. Knowing the type of audience will help one understand the kind of news category to write about. The audience may be categorised by age, gender, interest, and hobbies, professional status, or marital status. If the audience falls under more than one audience category, try to focus on the interests of as many readers as possible.
Use Descriptive Titles
Most news websites focus on current events that are happening around us. The news articles revolve around politics, business, technology, sports, art, entertainment, and celebrity news. When writing these articles, one should use both descriptive and catchy titles to attract the attention of the reader.
Use a Storyline
A storyline in news article writing refers to how the author or writer narrates the happenings. An article should detail the events in chronological order. The most important facts should be captured in the first paragraph and other supporting information to help the reader understand more about the contents of the article. Also, remember to quote the source of information to establish authority and increase the trustworthiness of the website.
Focus on Human Interest
Creating a human face when writing a news story may lead to more user engagements since readers will relate to the information given. A good article for a news website will speak sympathy, anger, compassion, love, fear, laughter, and motivation which the writer should try to focus on as much as possible though not in equal measures.
Avoid Jargon
A writer should avoid using words that readers may not relate to. Though every industry has its language, one should strive to use words that the audience can’t empathise with. Some journalistic jargon includes by-line, storyline, splash among others. It’s important to decide on the language to use and ensure that it’s concise, clear, and to the point.
Have Someone to Read Through the Article
Before publishing, it’s essential to have a colleague or friend go through the article because very few people can spot their mistakes. After proofreading, the piece is now ready for publishing. Remember to share the article for more user engagements.