How to Write an Effective Online How-to Article

In my last post, I discussed how to write a catchy how-to article title that grabs readers' attention by promising benefits. In today's post we will take a look at how to write an effective online how-to article.

A how-to article is easy to construct and basically has three parts:

1. Introductory paragraph
2. Steps
3. Concluding paragraph

How-to articles tend be evergreen and, as such, are a good choice when creating online content because as long as humans look for direction to complete tasks on their own, they will seek out how-to-type information. We all know that readers are looking online for almost all of their information these days.

A good how-to article takes the reader by the hand so that he or she feels confident that armed with your information, the task can be mastered.

Let's examine the three parts of an effective online how-to article:

A Compelling How-to Introductory Paragraph
You promise to deliver the goods in this opening paragraph. Your reader knows that by reading your article, he will learn how to do something. But you want to do more than this. Your title hooked your reader by offering to show "how to do something so that he or she would benefit" and now your introductory paragraph should engage and inspire this person to continue reading your article. This can easily be accomplished by raising a question and promising the answer.

If you've used keywords in your how-to article title (and you should have), you should also include them and related terms in your opener so that your online how-to article is search engine friendly and attracts a higher number of readers. 

How-to Steps Presented in Logical Progression
Use your numbering tool when creating your instructions.

When creating your instructions, step-by-step, ensure that these are in logical order. You do not want to confuse readers by offering information but failing to actually organize the steps they'll need to take from start to finish. This may seem obvious but when reading through your completed how-to article, you may be surprised to find that some housecleaning is in order.

Do not use unnecessary words such as "next" or "now." Be clear and concise.

Keep in mind that while the information may seem simple to you because you have done the task before, to someone who has never tackled that particular project, you will need to approach it from every angle, anticipating questions the person may wonder about; in sum, making sure that your steps take a newbie from start to finish seamlessly.

Creating a Satisfying How-to Concluding Paragraph
Your concluding paragraph should motivate your reader to use your information to complete the task.

If your reader appreciates what he has read, he is far more likely to copy/save/bookmark your material and reference it or print off when he is ready to start his project.

Additional Tips to Make an Online How-to Article More Compelling

• It may be helpful to include a list of supplies in your how to article, if warranted. If you include a supplies list, place the list ahead of your step-by-step instructions, and be specific about which actual products are necessary or what sizes or amounts are needed for materials. 

• If possible, include photos. Visual aids can be extremely effective when demonstrating how to do something. 

•  If warranted, include a cautionary note. 

• Before you publish your how to article, scan it for your selected keywords/keyword phrases and insert additional keywords in your subheadings, throughout your steps, and in your concluding paragraph. 

•  Encourage your readers to bookmark or print off your online how-to article so that they'll have the information ready to hand

As can be seen, by taking care when creating an online how-to article, you can create an effective tutorial that will attract a wide audience.

Next article in this series:  How to Make Additional Income Creating Online Content

*Start this article series here: So, You Want to be a Content Writer