"Prescription” for Article Writing

The freelance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.

~ Robert Benchley ~

As we’ve discussed in other lessons, freelance writing can be a tough life – much akin to suffering a chronic illness at times.  Maybe an article will sell, maybe it won’t.  Perhaps I’ll eat tomorrow.  Perhaps I won’t.  In the meantime, I’ll muddle through somehow.  

I’ll do the best I can in my weak, weary condition to make the best of this illness I’m suffering.  Maybe I’ll even make a little money along the way.  In the meantime, I discover that my readers are suffering a few illnesses of their own.  They have heartaches, problems with children, financial woes.  

(Remember those felt needs we addressed in an earlier lesson?) Since I can relate to their pain and happen to possess a never-ending file of article titles in my head, I feel sure I can help. But how do I reach them?  How will my readers and I ever connect? Do I really have answers to their problems? If so, how do I go about communicating them?

After years in the industry, I’ve come to a rather startling conclusion. Most articles offer information that the reader already knows. Sometimes readers just need to be reminded—in a new and fresh way—to act on what they know. 

Let’s look at a few questions before proceeding: 

• Do you hope to make money selling magazine articles?
• Have you worked at perfecting your writing skills?
• Have you studied magazine articles, to see what’s selling?
• Do you know the hot markets?
• Have you made a list of “felt needs” – topics you can address that will resonate with readers on the deepest level? 
• Do you feel you have answers to the problems people are facing? 
• If so, can you think of ways to present your facts so that your readers are motivated to act on your words?

In the quest to be published, freelancers must become skilled at selling themselves.  They must also acquire a taste for formulaic writing.  Most would admit, with some chagrin, that there really is a prescription for article writers.  We addressed the various article types in an earlier lesson. Each has its own formula. Memorize those formulas, follow them, and your pieces can and will sell.  Once that happens, your words can meet and address needs of every sort.  But what is that secret prescription?  Where can it be found?  It’s closer than you think. You just have to think like a doctor. 

When I’m suffering from an illness – hypoglycemia, for example – I sign onto one of the many medical web sites for more information.  I don’t look for anything with a fancy title.  I simply type in the word, “hypoglycemia” and a host of information becomes available to me.  The same is true with articles.  People are usually drawn to a simple, logical title they can relate to.  If the piece has a long, flowing or vague title, the reader often won’t take the time to find out what it’s all about.   Resist the temptation to get creative with titles and chances are you will sell the piece quicker. And remember to hook your reader with the title. Ask questions. Offer hope. Encourage change. 

• List a few of your magazine article titles.  If you haven’t yet written an article, list some of your ideas.
• What is it about your title(s) that will cause people to want to read your piece? 
• Have you ever consider the fact that your title is the best promotion for your piece? It’s true! So make it a snappy one!

Once I sign onto the medical site, I immediately read the description of the disease or illness I’m researching.  This is key.  I can find out in a few short sentences if I need to read on.  The same is true with magazine article readers.  The first three sentences of any article must draw them in and convince them they need to read further.  One way to accomplish this would be to tell a personal story at this point – the simple facts about something that happened to you, personally, or to a friend.  Too much information, too fast – and you’ve lost them. Too impersonal, and they won’t care. If I were writing an article about sleep apnea, for instance, I would take the time to share my own personal story, about how I stopped breathing nearly fifty times a night, and how that lack of oxygen affected my heart and sent me to a cardiologist’s office. See how that tiny bit of information has engaged you? We’re suddenly connected because I’ve shared my personal story with you. 

So, let’s talk about the opening of your article. 

• What is your article’s “hook” (the opening line or lines)?
• Could you improve the opening of your article in any way?
• Have you started with a quote or statistic?  This often works as a great hook.
• Once you get past the initial hook, can you think of a personal story to share, (either your own or someone else’s)?

We’re diving back into our analogy about medical research, comparing it to article writing. We’ve talked about titles. We’ve talked about great openings and hooks. Here’s where it starts to get interesting. When I’m on a medical website researching a particular illness, I always click the little “symptoms” button and settle in to do my research to make sure I really have the disease in question.  I spend a great deal of time on this page, for this is where I begin to connect on a personal level. I learn by reading that I have many of the same symptoms hypoglycemia sufferers deal with.  

Now I’m interested.  I go over and over the list, making sure I’ve got a match.  The same is true with article readers.  Once they reach this point in the article, they’re hooked. They realize the article was meant for them. They have the symptoms. They’re struggling with the issue you presented in your article. They recognize their need, in other words. And if you’ve made a clearly defined presentation, they will stick with you, in the hopes that you will offer a solution to their problem.  (What would be the point in presenting the problem, if not to offer hope?) If the reader can relate to your topic, she will nod her head in agreement, then begin to look for answers within the piece you’ve written. In other words, your reader begins to accept you as a trusted friend, or advisor.

Let’s pause to address a few questions:

• Where is the “connecting point” in your article?  At what point will the reader feel as if they need to keep reading?
• Have you presented a problem to be solved?  If so, what is it?
• Do you have a real and lasting solution to offer? 
• Where does the rubber meet the road in your article?
• How does it feel to serve as a trusted advisor to your readers? Are you intimidated by that idea? 

Now let’s talk about the treatment, or the solution.

All sufferers want to know how to fix their problem, which is why medical sites come equipped with a “treatment” button.  When I click that button, it sends me to a page that offers hope through a recommended course of treatment.  At this point, I usually breathe a huge sigh of relief.  There I find that someone cares enough to provide not just an explanation of my ailment, but a genuine answer to my problem.  If I follow the rules, (or the formula) I’m given on this page, I can live a healthier life.

Our readers need the same assurance.  After we lay out the problem they’re facing, offer a personal story, give facts and statistics, present a list of symptoms – we owe it to them to offer hope.  While we can’t step in and fix their problems, we can offer advice/suggestions to help the reader turn the tables on his problem.  Quotations from notable people, a carefully researched list of possible options for the reader, advice from professionals – these and other such ‘treatments’ will do more than offer hope.  They will prove that you genuinely care about the reader. And that’s the goal, after all. That’s the connecting point. People need to know that someone cares. That’s why they’re taking the time to read your article in the first place. You can be that someone who offers hope. 

Here are a few questions to consider:

• Once you’ve carefully presented a “problem” – have you given a logical (workable) solution?
• Are there steps involved in your solution?
• Will your solutions really make the reader’s life better?
• Have you “backed up” (or proven) your conclusion/solution with statistics or quotes?
• Have you left your reader with a strong feeling of hope about his or her situation? 

I don’t know about you, but once I’ve finished researching my potential health problem, I always like to go to the “other helps” or “other links” section.  This will give me more places to look for additional pertinent information.  When we write our magazine articles, we can and should leave the readers with other options – addresses and/or phone numbers of professionals in the field, links to great websites on the issue, or scriptures to give them assurance.  This is often accomplished in a sidebar where we offer the top ten tips for overcoming their problem. Or maybe it’s a quiz, giving the reader further insight into the issue he’s facing. Sometimes it’s a list of resources with names and contact information for others who can help them jump the hurdles they’re facing. Regardless, we must go above and beyond the call of duty, giving our readers—and our editors—even more than they expect. 

What about you?

• Have you given the reader other places to turn (suggested additional resources in a sidebar, for instance)?
• Do you keep a list of pertinent websites/quotes/statistics or professionals you can call on? 
• Can you come up with a top ten list to add to your article? 

Let me close with a personal thought…

When I’m researching an illness online, what I’m really looking for is the cure. My ultimate desire is for a healthy life. The same is true with my reader, symbolically speaking. We don’t have all of the answers for our readers, naturally.  But many of us who write articles for a living have acquired enough information through the years to offer a waiting public some degree of hope.  While we can’t cure their ills, we can offer carefully thought out advice and direction.  Somehow, in the process of doing so, we receive a degree of healing, ourselves.  So get to work, freelancers!  Physician, heal thyself!