Every article should have an objective behind it, it should focus on a clearly defined topic, and it should be written with a specific audience in mind. Without a clearly defined topic, you are likely to end up with too many ideas in your article, which will confuse your audience, and writing it will be a major challenge. Similar problems will arise if you don’t have a clear objective.
Once you have established these basics, put yourself in the audience’s shoes and think about what they would be interested in knowing about the topic, as opposed to just what you want to tell them.
It is worth remembering that your audience may be made up of people that have varying social and educational backgrounds, perceptions, cultures, and levels of understanding of the topic you are writing about.
Some may also have a limited vocabulary and grasp of the English language. This is particularly applicable with articles you are planning to publish on a website, because anyone could stumble across them while searching for information.
It is therefore wise to write the article in plain English with the lowest possible common denominator of the audience in mind, and not use unexplained terminology or assume any prior knowledge of the topic.
Have a conversation with the reader, making sure you haven’t left any questions in their minds, because if you do this will frustrate them, and they will not enjoy your article. To test this out, once you have written your article, you can apply the So what? technique.
Read the article through and ask “So what?” after each sentence and make sure you have answered this question in the next sentence or two.
Jennigay Coetzer is a freelance business and technology journalist with 25 years experience, and she writes regularly for Business Day. She also runs media training, communication skills, and writing skills workshops, and is the author of A Perfect Press Release – or Not?, a guide to writing and distributing effective press releases, an electronic version of which can be downloaded free from her website: www.jennigay.co.za.
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