If you’re finding low offers and low readership on your AC articles, maybe it’s to review a few web writing basics to boost your rankings. AC articles come in all shapes and sizes-it’s a free platform for writers of all skill levels, and many make a part-time or full-time career writing exclusively for AC. In order for the submission to be lucrative, it needs to be well-written and follow AC’s editorial standards. Most of all, the piece needs to be sustainable on the web. Whether you’re new to AC, or just need a primer on putting together your next article, here are nine qualities that you’ll want to shoot for:
1. Consistency. Making sure you’ve captured your tone and overall voice in the article are trademarks of good writing, no matter what domain. For AC, the best articles are informative, casual but professional, and also capture figments of your personality. If you’re new to writing, this will come with practice. Your readers need to feel the flow!
2. Error-free composition. Poor writing is scattered with typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors; spare your readers the expense of deciphering your article, and make yours a clean piece. Check those sources too; factual errors can put you in a bad category fairly quickly.
3. Staying relevant. Make sure your headline and abstract really do capture the main gist of your article. Nothing will lower your ratings and readers than misguiding your readers. Use strong words and capture the message you’re trying to deliver; ‘fluff’ can ruin any piece.
4. Keeping it short and simple. Getting to the point is a key part of writing for the web; sure, you have many writing talents that could cover a niche topic in 5-6 printed pages. When you write an AC article, you want to capture and share the main points; let your source box guide readers to more.
5. Readability. Reading on a screen encourages people to scan the information, not always reading it line by line. Bulleted lists, itemized lists (such as this one), and making use of bolded text an help readers navigate your article much more easily.
6. Clarity. Limit yourself to a specific word count, and fine-tune each sentence as much as possible. You’ll need to create a strong message with your words; this will make you a power writer in no time flat!
7. Don’t count on being a search engine seducer. Even when you’ve found some great keywords to work with, or a topic that is sure to get you a nice offer because of popularity, avoid the robotic-writing syndrome as much as possible. Google has started using new algorithms to rank articles anyway, and you’ll be doing a disservice to your readers by focusing too much on search engine optimized writing.
8. Using sub-headings. Sub-headings can help organize your information, especially for articles that are higher than 600 words. The readability of most articles on the web is right around 350-500 words; most people stop or move elsewhere after reading this much. A well-organized piece can help you keep the reader engaged and interested.
9. Filling the resource box. You’ll gain integrity as a writer and allow readers to learn more about your topic.
These are just nine ways your AC article can become a popular and highly-rated one. Writing for the web takes practice, patience and persistence-quality writing will soon become a habit you can be proud of!
