WRITING
3 Must-Have Rules to Write Deep Impact Articles
Copy-paste my secret sauce to write convincing stories
Do you want to write convincing articles that have a profound impact in the lives of your readers?
If you are a Medium writer like me, you have probably read plenty on the topic. But today, I want to share with you the top 3 rules I’ve come across since I started writing on this platform.
They are so valuable I have written them on a template I use for each and every new article I write.
Enjoy!
You instead of I
The first rule is to use “You” as much as possible instead of “I”. You have to commit the reader, and think about his best interest.
This will probably be difficult at the beginning. After all, a good story often involves your personal life. But adding more “You” in your post will help engage the reader.
In my case, I struggled with this when publishing my very first story. Fortunately, I have to credit Ash Jurberg, editor at Inspired Writer, for helping me realize I was speaking too much about myself.
And you can see the result here. It’s not perfect as I had to refactor many parts of the story. But it’s probably much more engaging than the first version I wrote.
Prove your points
Then you have to prove what you write. Internet is full of people that don’t know what they are talking about.
Academics call this the Dunning Kruger effect. According to the book Barking Up the Wrong Tree, the Dunning-Kruger effect is “this odd phenomenon of people with the least experience being the most confident because they don’t have the experience to judge just how challenging something is”. Did you notice what I did? I proved my point by citing a cognitive bias. And I also mentioned its reference in an authoritative book.
Again, I got this tip from Ash Jurberg. If you want one more example of it, I think I did a nice job citing scientific research on my first Medium story.
Sometimes, you can also use screenshots or photos to prove your points. For example, that’s what Medium authors often do while sharing their traffic stats. I also used this technique when writing my second story about the Attention Bubbles focusing technique as I shared screenshots to prove I’ve been using it for many years.
Last but not least, you can cite other authoritative persons or articles speaking about your point, which is what I did here by citing Ash Jurgberg as he is an editor for a Medium publication and an experienced writer.
Find 10 title options
The third rule is about titles. If you are a beginner, you probably don’t spend enough effort crafting compelling titles for your stories.
This is a pity, as it plays a significant role in their success.
That’s why I made a vow to find at least 10 title options for each new story I write before I choose the final one.
I got this tip in a great Udemy course by Scott Stockdale, which spends an entire module discussing them.
In case you are wondering, here are the 10 options I found for this article:
- The 3 rules that differentiate you from Amateur to Professional Writer
- 3 Must-Have Rules to Make Your Story Shine
- 3 Must-Have Rules to Write Deep Impact Stories
- My secret sauce to write convincing stories
- I’m using this checklist for each story I write
- I now use these 3 rules for each story I write
- Steal my secret sauce to write convincing stories
- Influence your readers with these 3 simple writing tips
- 3 tips to write convincingly
- 3 Must-Have Rules to Write Convincing Stories
Another resource you might find interesting is the book Contagious. I’m reading it right now and it’s got great tips on making your stories viral.
For example, one of the tips is to make sure people look good or clever while speaking about your story.
That’s it, you now have my secret sauce to make your articles convincing. You can put these 3 simple rules on your writing checklist, just like me.
I hope it helps improve the impact of your writings!
In 1st february 2022, I’ve embarked in a 100 days writing challenge. This is post number 9.