Writing for a large audience can be exciting. For your efforts, you want articles to be published and enjoyed. Here’s how.
No One Reads Boring Articles
A wide variety of health topics are available on this site. Some are informational, presenting symptoms and available medical treatments. Read about the nutritional benefits of certain foods. Other articles highlight medical advancements or success stories.
As a writer, you appreciate when a large audience reads and enjoys the articles you submit. How do you write articles to get attention? Here are insights from great references and successful articles.
Be Charismatic
Charisma refers to compelling charm. Audiences are drawn to charismatic speakers. Emulate this in writing with three core elements: presence, warmth, and power. Avoid weak statements like: “Some might benefit from this.” Do not address readers as “persons in this category.”
Write for one reader in a natural imperative manner that makes him feel that you are writing for him alone. Come across as a person, not a company. Infuse your personality. Writing about something near and dear to your heart becomes evident. Be a storyteller, not just a fact conveyor.
An inspiring article provides hope. It makes you feel good through word choice that stirs emotions. Good teaching is the comparison of two things—something familiar with something unfamiliar. How is this new method more effective than what you are doing?
If there is no cure for a rare disease, how do others cope? What things allow them to take charge of their lives? Personal triumphs or pitfalls can be enlightening, at times humorous, and engaging. Convey this when writing.
Identify Specific Benefit
Know your target readers. It takes considerable skill to write a health article that appeals both to professionals and patients. If you are writing to patients, what are they trying to overcome? Are they trying to remain healthy while aging? Perhaps your article reveals how to achieve better results from fitness sessions.
Make recommendations attainable for readers. Provide an inspiring benefit to a course of action. Will it save lives, improve mental or physical well-being, and save time or money?
Physicians sometimes benefit from patient perspectives on various treatments. Do you know who else benefits from patient perspectives? Patients. If you are writing to doctors, what is their medical specialty?
Without sufficient credentials, you are not likely to alter the surgical or medicinal practices of physicians. Peers or subordinates gain more respect. Reference a respected authority for main points of action.
Do not offend visitors. It doesn’t matter whether readers are doctors, patients, or customers. Never belittle or demean readers; empower them. Products or recommendations should not be harmful. Medications must have proper governmental approval or clearly state the phase of a clinical trial.
Unless writing to prospective researchers, do not provide false hope for cures. Indicate whether remedies are many years away.
Focus on a beneficial message. What you write differs from classroom reading assignments. The reader doesn’t fail for not reading it. You do this by losing readership. Answer how the effort to read your article will be rewarding. Are you revealing a new cure for a disease, a clinical trial, or an often overlooked nutritional supplement? Inspire without exaggeration.
Support any claims with two or three authoritative references. Understand the difference between theoretical, anecdotal, and scientific evidence. If the benefit is both clear and useful, concisely convey it within the title or subheadings.
Know When To Quit
Write just enough to satisfy and inform. There are debates about article length. Some write thousands of words with search engines in mind. Others write articles so brief that people question their validity. Half of your readers use mobile devices. A tiny percentage of visitors will read 6000 words—especially on a mobile device. For the most part, a long article demonstrates the author’s affinity to write irrespective of the reader’s attention span.
Use audience behavior to your advantage. Speed readers grasp the first line or two of each paragraph. Most people read only a few paragraphs before scrolling for anything else that pops out like a subhead, pull quote, graphic, or video. Aim for 400 to 1000 words per article.
The average amount of time spent on web pages is about 20 seconds unless you engage readers. It takes about 8–12 minutes to read 2000 words. This article you are reading is a little more than 1000 words. There is no harm in following up with a second article. Craft short paragraphs; they look longer on narrow-screen devices. Include descriptive subheadings. Emphasize the benefit and motivate readers to action within your conclusion.
Identify keywords and use them repeatedly. This improves site engine optimization and gets more eyes on the page. Is your keyword “nutrition,” “fitness,” or “dermatology?” The phrases people use to locate articles using search engines vary. Include multiple variations within your article.
You can select from categories in the online store or within health article tags to get a better understanding of the content for each keyword. By way of example, what are the focus words within the article you are now reading? How often do you see the words “writing” and “article?”
Use references judiciously. Copying and pasting large blocks of text with dozens of supporting references does not inspire readers. They may question your integrity. Some references espouse eternal principles. Others are fleeting opinions. As a curator of references, aim to distinguish the difference.
Someone must verify each reference before publication. A 2000-word article that references several 24-page clinical reports slows the approval process. Some websites prohibit the use of any linked references for guest submissions. ClinicalPosters allows a maximum of 5 listed at the end of the article. If you require voluminous or lengthy references to establish authority, you can pay a fact-checking fee.
Time for Action
Are you ready to submit an article to ClinicalPosters? Great. Before you begin, determine whether you are writing a commercial or non-commercial article. ClinicalPosters supports both. You pay for commercial content. Simply add either to your shopping cart.
A link to necessary guidelines is automatically sent following checkout. Creating an account displays references for each article. This also tracks your history of submissions. I look forward to reading what you write!
