In today s world where content is traffic, how to write a good article?

(This article was first published on the "Liu Run" official account, subscribe to the "Liu Run" official account, and gain insight into the essence of business with me).

Viewpoint: Liu Run, Writer: Jing Jiu

Edited by Ma Jun and Layout by Huang Jing.

It isLiu Run***ofSection 2100Original article.

What to do?When an article is sent out, no one reads it. I'm already beyond what I can do, and if I don't have any more hits, I'm going to go out of business next month. ”

How do you find a topic?How can they all find such a good topic?”

I felt like I just wasn't talented. I sat all afternoon and didn't think of a word. ”

Recently, the frequency of hearing these complaints has increased.

With the adjustment of the push strategy, many of the stoppages have begun to update again. Writing entrepreneurship and content entrepreneurship seem to have ushered in a new dividend period.

However, when we finally muster up the courage to try, it is very likely that it will not be easy. It's really hard to write an interesting article and say something that others can understand. Every time I send out the article that I racked my brains to write, I open the backstage with joy, but I find that no one reads it at all.

Why is this happening?What can I do to change that?

Perhaps, the book "How "Wall Street**" Tells Stories" can give you an answer. The book is written by William E. Blondal, an award-winning veteran front-page writer for Wall Street, one of America's most influential newspapers.

Why do you say that?Isn't "Wall Street**" a print medium, this book has been around for a long time, right?I'm doing a new ** now, can it help me too?

Don't worry. Although the form of the newspaper and the new ** are indeed different, some of the underlying logic is the same.

From the very beginning, the newspaper must firmly grasp the interest of its readers, otherwise he will not hesitate to turn this side. It's the same with readers in the new ** era, if they are not interested, he will directly swipe his thumb and skip it.

If the newspaper doesn't consistently attract the reader's attention, the reader will close the newspaper or even throw it away. It's like a reader holding a mobile phone and closing the article window.

You see. No matter how the form of the medium changes, how to use good stories to attract and retain readers, their intentions are always the same.

So, if you can't write your essay and can't write a hit, if you can't always find a good topic, then I suggest you read this book and feel the wisdom from the old **. Or, at least take a moment and take a look at this article.

Let's get started.

First of all, please:As a creator, what role should you play in the article?

Who are you?

The creator, perhaps, is a storyteller.

Why do you say that?Because everyone has a heart that loves to hear stories. Remember?When you were a student, you were drowsy in class, but because the teacher said a mouthful of gossip about the principal, the sleepiness was swept away.

Therefore, the core competency of writing articles may be storytelling.

So, how do you let the story you tell so that more people love to listen to it and understand it?

Perhaps, you can try to find that kind of state of chatting with friends. Every time you write a sentence, ask yourself: Would I say this to my friends?

Why?Because storytelling itself is a state of chatting and communicating, and by telling stories in a chatting tone, your story can enter the hearts of more people.

In this way, instead of writing "According to research, there are probably hundreds of millions of people in China who have sleep disorders", you will write "Have you slept well lately";

You don't write "The loss of the food industry is shocking", but "Do you care about waste when you usually order food";

You won't write "If you want to ** the specific performance of Chinese companies in overseas markets, you must go to their side", but write "This year, I went out and went around in a big circle".

Good articles often have a "sense of conversation". Reading this kind of article is like having a face-to-face chat with the author.

Once we have found the state of chat, we may also need to find our own role: an observer, a summarizer, who summarizes a concise point or conclusion in the story based on the observed facts.

Because facts and information are chaotic and mixed, if you want the reader to read it easily, effortlessly, and without being misled, you may need to observe honestly and then help him summarize so that he is not bothered by trivial facts and arguments.

For example, to understand people's attitudes and opinions about AI, you interviewed 7 founders of startups focused on AI. But even if they all say in unison that "AI is the future of all mankind, with a trillion-dollar market", you can't assert that this is the case. Because you're not a practitioner in the AI field.

The most you can say is that in the field of AI, more and more people are starting to see business opportunities and start businesses, and they are all very confident. Then, you step back behind the scenes and let the founders and their business outcomes speak.

For example, in one report, the author first came to the conclusion that Disney was selling cheap culture in large quantities. Immediately, he gave the words of another critic:

Disney's machine will destroy the secrets and quiets of my childhood. It makes everyone dream the same, and it makes all kids in America love Mickey Mouse's hat. From a capitalist point of view, it is the product of genius;But culturally speaking, it's a tragedy.

Well, probably understood. I'm ready.

So let's start looking for a topic.

Find a topic

I believe this is the dilemma of many creators: make up their minds, take the time, sit in front of the computer, but don't know what topic to write.

When encountering this situation, many people's knee-jerk reaction is to read. That's certainly true. If you want to output a good story, it is necessary to input widely. But in this way, you may step into a misunderstanding:Just looking at the popular articles of other people's official accounts, I can't wait to write my own articles.

How to say?In the articles that have been published, there may be more opinions and fewer facts. Taking material from these articles is equivalent to looking for opinions from opinions, which will only become more and more empty and deviate more and more from the facts.

So, what to do?Maybe you should start over and find more facts. Extensive reading, numerous interviews,From facts to opinions.

Here's an example. You find that temu has been growing very strongly recently, and has even caught up with the established e-commerce giants overseas. Why?How does it do it?With such doubts, you first read Pinduoduo's financial report, which is indeed true. Then, you went to consult a large number of research reports on cross-border e-commerce and enterprises going overseas, interviewed a number of e-commerce sellers and front-line practitioners, and obtained a lot of fresh factual information.

By combing through these materials, you find that the confidence of temu to achieve low prices overseas is the reduction of costs. How to lower it?Oh, it turned out to be achieved through the centralization of operations, logistics, advertising. Thus, the article has content. This is from fact to opinion.

But what if I find that the facts themselves can't come up with an angle to write?

Perhaps, you can try to "draw inferences".

What does that mean?I'll give you an example.

An MCN institution and an artist parted ways because the revenue sharing could not be negotiated. MCN agencies feel that artists earn too much, and artists think they earn too little. This phenomenon, this reason, has obviously been written about by many people. So, is there a similar situation in other industries?

Hey, it seems to be true. Isn't it the same with the previous brokerage companies and celebrities?And the chefs and restaurants, it seems. Oh, there's a term for it, and it's called the "chef effect," ......Perhaps, you could write an article about the "chef effect".

This is to draw inferences. Starting from the cause of the event, see if it is universal in all walks of life.

Or maybe you can change your perspective and try to be a "miniature carving expert".

At a time when everyone is obsessed with the grand narrative, the future trends, and the overall scale of the story, you can zoom in and depict the details seriously.

For example, there is a park in San Francisco that is called "Drunkard Park" because it is full of drunkards. Many reporters came out and came to the conclusion that "because of the drunkards wandering in the park, the surrounding residents complained".

However, the reporter of "Wall Street**" does not think so. He walked into the park and talked to every "resident" in the park. Wrote a moving miniature sculpture work:

Mikey is a 36-year-old seafarer with a wife he loves very much but is not by his side. He was trying to quit drinking for her and be a normal person. He's been a whole day without a drop of alcohol. "I'm scared that I can't take it anymore and get tremors," he confides, "but so far, I'm feeling good." I ate a lot of food and drank a lot of water. ”

Last winter, an outsider brought lice to the park, and Mickey asked for half a bottle of lice removal potion from a nearby clinic and took her friends home to bathe one by one. Ms. Pieve praised this idealistic act. "If you get lice, will your friends bathe you?My friend won't anyway.

Drunkards know that their parks aren't up to their sights. But they have this goal in mind, and they already have a blueprint in mind.

In their blueprint, the park is like the legendary Garden of Eden, surrounded by greenery and vibrant, and they themselves are exemplary waiters in this garden.

In addition to being a miniature carver, you can also be a "forecaster".

What does that mean?I'll give you an example.

For example, a short **blogger became popular overnight, but his way of creating IP is very special, using three accounts with different contents, the content is hard work, awkward dancing, and sadness** (just like many people post in the circle of friends late at night).

It's so real, it's so funny. Isn't this the same me who works hard during the day and heals alone at night?The majority of netizens resonated fiercely because of this.

At this point, a series of articles may appear that describe how the matter itself "developed":

"Swipe!".Who the hell is xx?Is he the ideal state of mind for young people?》

xx, who became popular overnight: I still haven't gotten used to it

A single live broadcast has 20 million views, and xx is crazy".

"Starting from the popularity of XX: the new gameplay of IP, do you know?".》

Within a week, more and more people started to run multi-role IP accounts

Sad young people in the middle of the night, where does the future go?》

"Short ** platform: will not ban multiple account IPs".

Help, I really don't want the circle of friends to be swiped".

Three accounts, ordinary people really can't operate it".

Catch people with an introduction

Grabbing the reader's attention is mostly based on the introduction.

An introduction is a sentence at the beginning of an essay that is used to draw the reader into the text. It's too important.

No matter how good the content is, if the introduction doesn't serve its purpose of engaging the reader, the reader will not hesitate to turn around and walk away.

Introduction, like a movie poster. If the poster is not engaging enough and the reader does not know the actors and directors at the same time, it will be difficult to buy tickets.

Therefore, a good introduction should not only quickly grab the reader's attention, but also make him want to read it.

So, how to do it?

Perhaps, you can use a little subplot to give the introduction a "sense of mystery".

Here's an example. For example, you could write something like:

God, I can't take it anymore. Obviously, it is already busy during the day and at night, and it is already 996,007, but the orders are still getting fewer and fewer. What to do?Hold your horses. Some people say that maybe you can start from the opposite side and break the game easily.

Or maybe you could write something like this:

Lao Zhang is 47 years old. He had just been divorced, so he often borrowed wine to drown his sorrows. And today, when he pushed open the door of the restaurant again, he saw an acquaintance.

This is the "sense of mystery". In the introduction, a part of the information is hidden, which makes him curious, forcing him to look for the answer in the content that follows.

In addition to this, the introduction should perhaps be relevant to the reader.

Let's take another example.

I would venture to believe that the automotive industry could evolve in three phases. Perhaps, you really don't need to buy a car in the future.

Or:

Have you been sleeping well lately?I've also had a hard time falling asleep lately. No, I found a good way to help you sleep, and I will share it with you.

Here's what it is: it's about the reader. When the reader knows that the article is related to him, he will naturally become interested in reading it.

Well, I guess I got it. Now that the article has unfolded, you're getting better.

Then you have to face the next question: how do you get people to read your article and "can't stop"?

Use logic to keep people

If there is a break point in the logic of your article, then the reader may get stuck and stop as they read. Huh?It doesn't seem right here.

Thinking about it, I can't figure it out. Forget it, I didn't look at it, and I withdrew.

If you don't want this to happen, ask your essay to be logical and interlocking. Every sentence of yours answered the question he was sprouting, so he still wanted to read it, and before he knew it, he read it in one go.

So, how to do it?

Perhaps, you can make up a "particularly prickly reader" who is reading an article next to you. He's hard to convince, and he's very particular about asking questions and even raising the bar - he's a bar.

When he sees a point of view, he immediately asks: Why?Why should I agree with this?At this point, you should quickly explain and convince him.

Here's an example.

You wrote: Previously it was almost entirely private domain traffic.

Imaginary Reader): What is a private domain?Why do you say that?

You go on writing: a private domain is a user that you can reach repeatedly, at a low cost, or even for free. After explaining, you are still worried that he doesn't understand, so you make another analogy: if you compare the flow to water, then the private domain is like a well compared to the public domain traffic like tap water. It is expensive to drill wells, but water is free.

Imaginary Reader): Okay. But what does this have to do with ***?

You replied: And in the past, the core logic was subscription.

Imaginary Reader): What is a subscription system?How can the subscription system be linked to the private domain?

You patiently answer: subscription, that is, if you click on the subscription, you can receive the information pushed by this account. If you don't subscribe, you won't receive it. Therefore, with the help of the subscription system, the ** account owner can establish a private domain traffic pool composed of followers and belong to him.

All right. Now you have an appealing beginning, with logical content that continues to appeal.

Next, you may need to go to the next level:Find ways to make your text easier to read.

Don't be annoyed, I promise this is the last section. Don't hit me.

One level higher

An appealing beginning, a smooth logic, may not be enough to sustain a "good article".

There are so many more places that can help your article increase readability and take it to the next level.

Let me list a few points to lead the way.

First, be specific. Maybe you can try to replace abstract concepts with concrete actions.

Why?

Because of the abstract words, the reader gets tired. It's like a "sponge block". Use it to paint, and it will cost you a large piece with a single touch. It would be much better if it was replaced with specific words. It's like a delicate pencil that makes people suddenly realize: Oh, that's what you mean.

Here's an example: he's a "generous" person.

This kind of description makes people suspicious. How generous?How generous?Perhaps, you can write that he is a person who "only has 200 yuan in his pocket and is willing to invite you to eat Haidilao". Much clearer.

And a more subtle description technique may be seen in Mr. Lu Xun's "Hometown", in the description of Yang's second sister-in-law:

I was taken aback, and hurriedly looked up, only to see a woman in her fifties standing in front of me with bulging cheekbones and thin lips, with her hands between her hips, untied skirts, and her feet open, like a delicately legged compass in a drawing instrument.

Second, data. Replace the cold numbers with analogies that are easy to understand.

Why use as little data as possible in the article?

Because the human brain is inherently required to work harder to make sense of data. Then, if the article shows dense data, then it can be imagined that it is like a high wall, which discourages readers.

All right. However, this does not mean that all data should be avoided in the article. Conversely, we may be able to process the data that needs to be present.

How to deal with it?Perhaps, you can make the data a little more visual.

The growth rate is 359 percent, you might say, a growth rate of more than a third;The growth rate is 988%, you might say, almost doubled. Or, out of 9,887 drivers, 2,480 drivers have this problem, you could say that about one out of every four drivers is facing this problem.

Or, you can use a funny analogy.

To make a 7nm chip, it may be necessary to arrange tens or tens of billions of components. At this time, you may be able to say that making a 7nm chip is like "carving a map of the whole Shanghai in a place the size of a fingernail, and the location of every house and road cannot be wrong".

Third, make the text "move". Replace the stiff and cold things with living movements

Readers like to see the dynamics, just like they like to watch martial arts movies, so add more dynamics to the article. For example, you push the door heavily and walk into the barbecue restaurant with a chill. As soon as you look up, the gourmets fill the indoor space, and the hot air with the smell of alcohol and barbecue hits your face.

But what if you don't have a choice and you're faced with inanimate things?

Hold your horses. You still have a solution: a "dangerous" forest is more uplifting than a forest that "roars and desires to devour life".

A smart writer will make the person or thing they write about move and do something, instead of saying it dryly.

A little more specific, a little more vivid.

Today, content entrepreneurship is still a good choice compared to other entrepreneurial projects that invest hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

But if you want to do it well and do it solidly, the key is to look at the basic skills and see if you can continue to output good content that is attractive enough.

And how to output good content, William E. Blondal's book "How "Wall Street" Tells Stories" may give us a good answer.

Based on this book, I have also summarized five key points, from the identity of the creator, to finding the topic, writing the introduction, following the logic, and finally some tips to make the text more readable.

I hope today's content can help you write a more interesting and engaging story.

I wish you a great deal.

Personal opinion, for reference only.