I’ve been working on a new website, The Bold Italic, which I’ll be launching in the next few days. (No really, it’s almost done.) One of the things I’m most proud of is the copywriting on the site. I worked with an amazing group of writers who helped me find the right words to make the point I was trying to make, even when I’d never really used a thesaurus or an online writing tool before. (Shameless plug: you can get a free trial of Thesaurus.com if you want to see how this fancy tool can help.)
The Bold Italic is an online writing program that offers a unique feature: topics are selected for you based on your previous articles, making it easy to jump right into writing without having to think about what to create next. In addition, you can take advantage of all the resources the site has to offer, from stylists, to editorial support, to copywriters, making it the perfect place for beginners and pros alike.
The goal of this post is to help you find the right words to express yourself in a manner that will make your readers connect with you and your work. Let’s get started.
Finding The Hook
When you’re writing an article for a living, you learn quickly the importance of a strong opening. For non-fiction, this means introducing your topic in a way that will make your audience interested in what you have to say. (For fiction, the rules are a bit different, but the opening still needs to grab the reader’s attention.)
For example, if you’re writing about web design, you might start your article with the following:
“Web design is a broad topic that affects anyone who uses the internet, so it’s important to approach it from as many angles as possible. That’s what makes it so special: there are so many different ways to approach the subject, and with so many perspectives, you’ll never run out of things to say.”
This approach makes your audience interested in what you have to say, since they know that you will discuss something that is important to them. Don’t forget: your audience is likely to be other business people, bloggers, or people who work in internet marketing. They might be interested in your take on the subject, but they’re mainly concerned with their own challenges and how to improve their businesses.
Once you’ve established their interest in your topic, you can move on to the next part of the article, which is to convince them to do something. (Or not do something. That’s the beauty of persuasion: you’re trying to change someone’s mind about an alternative they might prefer over the one you’re suggesting.)
Whether you’re trying to sell them web design services or convince them to try out a new product, you can use the same basic approach:
- Establish the subject’s interest
- Propose a solution
- Conclude with a call to action
Finding The Main Points
Your article isn’t just about you. It’s about the topic and how you approach it. When you’re writing for someone else’s audience, you have to make sure that what you say will be valuable to them. This is especially important when writing for a general audience, like a blog or website.
To make sure that what I say will be valuable to someone, I usually:
- Find a few supporting examples
- Use a few short, punchy sentences
- Leave out the adverbs
- Cut out the overly complex sentences
If you follow these tips, you’ll make sure that your article will be easily understood by anyone who reads it. (Even if they don’t have a background in the subject matter.)
Finding The Best Words
One of the most difficult parts of any article is finding the right words. English is the most widely used language globally, making it the perfect fit for writing online. However, even for someone born into English, there are sometimes problems. (And no, I’m not just talking about the Brexit.)
If you’re writing for a worldwide audience, you might want to consider using a thesaurus.
I’ve been writing for almost 15 years and I’m currently working on my Masters, so I consider myself pretty well-travelled. Even so, I’ve never had any trouble finding the right words, until recently. For some reason, in the last year, the words I need keep popping up in the most unexpected places. (Like: ‘autumn foliage‘, or ‘garden gnomes‘)
This is probably because, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started noticing the world in a different way. Instead of just seeing the usual suspects every day, I started seeing unique and wonderful things that I had never noticed before.
If you want to find the best words to describe something, you can’t just rely on your thesaurus. You need to look for them in other places, too. (I know, I know. Learning new things is hard.) One place you can look is for synonyms. When you’re writing an article, you’ll often use words that have the same basic meaning. (Like: ‘web design‘ or ‘graphic design‘) However, not all words are created equal. Sometimes you need a word that will convey the same exact message as another word. (Ex: affordable luxury vs. high-quality item.)
If you follow these steps, you’ll find the perfect words to express yourself, quickly and easily.
An Example Of Effective Use Of The Bold Italic
Now that you’ve got the basics down, let’s look at how you might use The Bold Italic to write an effective article. (Please note: this is just one option and it’s up to you to find the best one for your needs.)
First, pick a topic that you’re already familiar with, having written about it in the past. For this example, let’s use web design:
“Web design is a broad topic that affects anyone who uses the internet, so it’s important to approach it from as many angles as possible. That’s what makes it so special: there are so many different ways to approach the subject, and with so many perspectives, you’ll never run out of things to say.”
After you’ve picked your topic, you’ll start to see a big plus next to your profile name. This is because, as you continue to write, topics will begin to appear more and more frequently.
Then, you can begin to look for the right words, using one of the tools I mentioned earlier. (If you’ve never used a thesaurus or an online writing tool, it might be strange to you that you’d ever want to do this. But trust me: it will make all the difference.)
“Graphic design is a form of web design that involves creating visual elements – like logos, icons and the like – for websites and other digital platforms.”
If you type graphic design into Thesaurus.com, you’ll see a list of synonyms and antonyms, along with the most common suggestions for each. (Or you can type it into Google and see the first few results.)
In this example, you can see that Thesaurus.com suggests using the words visual style and icon, which are antonyms of graphic design. This is a great place to start your search, since these are two words you’re likely to encounter frequently when writing about web design.
Once you’ve found your antonyms, continue searching for the right words, using your thesaurus. (Or, if you prefer, browse the suggestions in Google and pick the one you like the most.)
“Web design is a broad topic that affects anyone who uses the internet, so it’s important to approach it from as many angles as possible. That’s what makes it so special: there are so many different ways to approach the subject, and with so many perspectives, you’ll never run out of things to say.”