5 Micro Habits that Will Improve Your Article Quality
You’re doing it all wrong, now you can make it right.
“ My article is not doing as well as I thought it would.”
This has become an increasingly popular sentence in the minds and mouths of young writers.
We pay little attention to the fact that we might be the ones hiding the key to the same door we’re trying to open.
Did you write a great article? Of course!
But we’re not looking for a great article, we’re looking for a great audience response.
Here are five habits which are easily neglected but could make a big difference in your turnout:
1. Read As Much As You Write
This is so obvious yet so overlooked. Most times people log on to Medium, it’s to write a draft of a great idea.
Take out time to read articles; from newspapers or you could also watch documentaries.
These are great ways to build communication skills and creativity.
Use this write-to-read formula:
1 article you write = 3× the articles you’ve read.
However, don’t waste your time reading articles that wouldn’t make any useful contribution to your writing.
If you practice this for, let’s say, a month; you’ll soon see yourself writing in the same style with which some of the articles you’ve read have been written.
Just like playing the piano, writing also needs a level of dexterity to become successful. (Yes I’m learning to play the piano 🎹🤸)
2. Write Frequently in Particular Places
How does writing at a particular place help me write better? That can’t be true?
Well it is!
It could be your office, a coffee shop (I’d really love a coffee right now actually, you can donate one to me after the article), at your reading table or on your bed.
Many people find inspiration from writing in a place. It could be from that guy talking back to his boss at the coffee shop or your siblings playing games all day.
Aside from finding a comfortable place to write, you’ll also need to find…why don’t I make that number 3?
3. Don’t Make a Writing Timetable…It’ll get you overworked
Most experienced writers would have a problem with this suggestion and they have very good reasons for that as well.
But I’ve tried it and all it did was make me feel so uptight about writing. When you make writing too much of a commitment, you’ll find yourself creating halfbaked content.
You might have a good idea but your creative juices might not just be flowing that day. Give that idea a day or two, carry out some research and then write when you feel comfortable.
That brings me to my next micro-habit:
4. Carryout Enough Research
Nothing ties an article together like detailing and facts. Think about it this way if I had an idea to write why Vocal Media is a great platform to write with, which it is by the way.
My readers would expect to find out things like how much they pay, the cost of their paid plan(s), the back story of the platform, the number of monthly visitors, how high it ranks on Google and stuff like that.
Compare these two paragraphs of articles:
- A– Vocal Media is a wonderful platform to write with because it comes with vast features which other platforms do not offer. It pays pretty well too; I heard from a friend that you could get about $40 from 10,000 reads.
- B– Vocal Media is a wonderful alternative to the traditional blogs you’re used to. It comes with a vast array of features like division of stories into categories, frequently organized writing competitions as well as a dedicated team to reviewing articles before it gets published. Vocal Media also has a paid plan known as Vocal+ for $9.99; with the paid plan, you have access to a higher payment per a thousand reads at $6.
If you read both articles it’s obvious that the writer of the second article did his homework.
Hats off to some writers like
who really put their shoulder to the wheel in writing their articles.5. Don’t Do the Editing Work Alone, Ask for Help
Editing doesn’t only have to do with the words, it also has to do with the message. You may feel your article is stellar, you might have even given it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. But give it to another person, your sibling, your friend or in the case of some articles someone who is in higher position of authority in a work situation.
If the person who reviewed the article doesn’t receive the exact information you were trying to convey in the article, then it isn’t good enough and you need to do more.
Also crosscheck for typos and stuff that could change the whole message that a sentence represented.
I’m not a writing expert but I am sure that a month or two you spend developing this habits, will greatly improve the standard of your articles.
If you loved this article which I’m sure you did, show some love with a clap, a comment or share it with a friend and follow me for more amazing articles.
Support my articles by Buying Me a Coffee (make sure to add a little sugar). Thank you!
