One of the things that has really made me sit and scratch my head over the course of my career is this: how-to articles are extremely popular. I could write a really fantastic article that I’m really proud of, but the sad truth is that not many people are reading it. Instead, people like or are drawn to the instructional articles I produce. Funny, right?
But thinking on another level, it makes sense.
For one thing, people on the Internet aren’t really readers. There are more researchers sticking their noses into the computer screen than there are actual readers. When they want to read for entertainment, they prefer to sit in their favorite chair and read a magazine or a book. That is why people who read on the internet are people who are looking for some kind of information.
And that, my dear friends, is why people are drawn to how-to articles.
Suffice to say, the how-to articles are fluff-free. Fluff like in fancy footwork, floral decorations and all that fancy stuff. That’s what makes instructional articles easier to write and read. It has a skeletal content, straight to the point, and readers need not try to decipher a metaphor or some philosophical meaning behind the words.
So when you sit down to write a how-to article, write it like it is. Start here, do this, then do that, then do this, then do that.
You’ll also need to break the process down into little chunks so that people who read your how-to article know precisely what to do and what step to take. Don’t assume they know what you’re talking about. Most people who read instructional articles know nothing about things, so write not just like an expert, write like you’re standing in front of a classroom of students eager to learn from you.
Write like a teacher who is interested in teaching his students a thing or two about what he is good at.