Sooner or later every copywriter may come across a request to write a text on an unfamiliar topic for a good fee. The desire to earn money, not to scare away a regular customer, and to develop his copywriting skills pushes him to take the order. But how do you write an article on a topic you are not familiar with? College essay writer from Bidforwriting.com has prepared an algorithm of actions that will help to work up the material for a strong text.
Step 1: Prioritize and set a timeline
If you want to improve your professional level, you need to take on complex orders. But first analyze whether the time you spend is worth the money you earn: the longer you delve into the subject, the lower your efficiency and, therefore, your profit.
Acquaintance with a new topic will add to your knowledge, but it may not be useful in the future. Nevertheless, the experience gained often compensates for the loss of time in the future.
Step 2: Study several sources
Before writing an article, study the information on the topic. At the initial stage, it is not necessary to go deep into the search for details and trivia. Examine the top 20 listings for the search query you’re interested in. Then look at infographics, and videos, and determine the target audience. Don’t limit yourself to online resources to find useful information: data from reference books, encyclopedias, books, and official documents will make your text much more informative.
From the sources you read, choose four or five major ones, and thoughtfully, paying attention to detail, reread them again. It is also worth considering the experience and knowledge of colleagues, opinions of experts, and information from the customer. If possible, interview a famous person who has achieved success in the field you are writing about.
To write articles on unfamiliar topics you need to develop the ability to concentrate. So you will easily find any information, determine the composition of the target audience, learn about their needs and preferences, and find the words that users will perceive.
Step 3: Learn the terminology
It is not easy for people with a medical or pedagogical background to understand issues related to, say, construction or electrical engineering. Writing material on these topics requires knowledge of terms. You must learn the terms in order to understand what is being written. Otherwise, you will get a set of incoherent sentences and phrases: a normal person in such a text will not understand anything, but a specialist in this field after reading it will grab his head. If your goal is to write a review article for general understanding, it is better to present the material in a light, accessible and understandable form, minimizing the use of terms.
Step 4: Make a plan for the article
Creating a good text involves making a plan. It will help to reveal the topic, not to miss important details, and to avoid presenting information that is not particularly important. Any text should consist of three basic elements:
- Introduction;
- the main part;
- conclusion.
The introduction should describe the essence of what the article is about. This is a very important part of the text because its purpose – is to interest the user, to encourage him to read further.
The main part is divided into several subparts, each of which has a subheading. The main part of the theme should be disclosed in full.
In the final part of the said summarizes, summarizes, and concludes. Expression of wishes is possible. When writing the conclusion it is important to focus on the content of the main part. If a serious analytical article talked about a persistent downward trend in economic performance in any enterprise, it is inappropriate to predict its development in the short term.
Step 5: Match the brand
Pay attention to your customer’s branding. You can spend all day thoroughly searching for information on a given topic, and find many useful sources, facts, and data, but still, make the mistake of presenting it in a way that doesn’t match the brand.
Communication with the customer is extremely important. When you write a text on an unfamiliar topic, it is useful to find out what resource it will be placed on and what its specifics are, how your client usually communicates with the audience. Find out how the brand shows itself on social networks. That way you’ll know what they can and can’t talk about.
For example, the client sells nutritional supplements for athletes, and you promoted a product that was banned a month ago. To avoid this happening, you need to keep in touch with the customer and ask him about the details.
Step 6: Adhere to copywriting standards
Don’t fill the text with useless information for readers. Avoid using general phrases, give more evidence, examples, and facts.
Do not get carried away with long introductions. If a person needs an uninterruptible power supply for the computer, it is unlikely he wants to delve into theory and read about the principle of its work. Do not use introductory and cumbersome constructions for the binder. Users from the first words should be clear about what it’s about.
Do not neglect the rules of formatting. Format lists, divide the text into semantic parts, and paragraphs, and highlight important phrases and words.
Step 7: Insert keys
If you’re working on an SEO or LSI article, don’t put your keys in while you’re writing the main content of the text, don’t force yourself into such a framework. Once all the material is ready, you’ll know where those keys will look more organic, which means it’s easier to fit them in than to build text on a topic with which you’re unfamiliar around them.
Step 8: Be objective
In the final proofreading and editing of your article, be honest with yourself: is everything written correctly, concisely, and logically? The text you have been working on for a long time may “blur” your vision, and you will not see your mistakes. To do this, reread the article aloud, and understand whether it is read in the same breath, whether it is difficult to grasp word combinations and sentences.
Think of catchy titles and subheadings, take the time to check and correct lexical and grammatical errors, and remove inappropriate words and sentences. Give the text to your friends and acquaintances to proofread to get a reaction from a neutral party. If you have enough time before handing in your order, set aside an article for a day or two and come back to it with a fresh set of eyes.
By following these tips, over time you will spend less and less time writing articles on unfamiliar topics.
Register on the exchange eTXT and try to take a job on a topic you would like to study – suddenly it turns out to be not so difficult.
