If you have a news story to tell, why not let someone else tell it for you? As well as keeping the facts straight, good headlines are vital too. If you find it hard to write an interesting headline or summary then there are plenty of examples out there that can help inspire your own ideas.
It’s important to remember that news writing is about communicating information in an interesting way – so don’t be afraid to inject some personality into your work!
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Master the art of writing news articles. |
| 2. Learn how to craft engaging headlines. |
| 3. Understand the elements of a compelling story. |
| 4. Explore opportunities to get paid for your writing. |
| 5. Embrace the world of digital journalism. |
Getting The Basics Right
Lead – The first paragraph of your article should be a grabber. It should include a hook or a one-sentence statement that grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to read more. It should also briefly summarize what you’re about to say in greater detail.
Body – The rest of your article should expand on the lead, providing additional information and details about the subject at hand.
Conclusion – Once you’ve made your point clearly and concisely, it’s time to wrap up with a final thought or two (or ten).
This is typically done by summarizing what you’ve said in previous paragraphs, but if there are any other points that you’d like to emphasize or call out as important takeaways from your piece, now would be an appropriate time for them too!
Layout – This refers to how an article looks when it appears online: its fonts, spacing between lines/paragraphs/sections/etc., images used as support material instead of just as a decoration around text…
The list goes on! It’s also worth noting here that layout helps determine where readers’ eyes go when they first visit an article; if the content isn’t organized well enough (e.g., headings aren’t bolded enough), then they might overlook certain pieces altogether!
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Be Able To Write Interesting News Articles
Being able to write interesting news articles is the first step to getting paid to write for the web. If you want to be able to make money writing for blogs and websites, you need to be able to write articles that people want.
You can’t just write any old thing and expect it will get shared or commented on by other people. Most of what I see on sites like Facebook are boring stories that no one cares about or wants in their feed at all!
It doesn’t matter how good your article might be if it isn’t interesting enough for someone else!
A Good News Story Contains The Following Elements
To write a good news story, you need to include the following elements. Remember that each of these must be written in the present tense and they should be in chronological order:
- Who – is involved in this story?
- What – what happened?
- Where – where did it take place?
- When – when did it happen (date)?
- Why – why did this event happen?
- How – how did this event come about (how much detail is needed)?
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Writing The Article
After you have a good headline, the next step is to write your article. Your writing style should be concise and simple. Use short sentences, paragraphs, and words.
Remember that most people will be reading your article on their mobile devices so they don’t have time to read too much at once.
Here are some tips on how to write an effective news article:
Use short sentences: Sometimes it’s hard for writers to get into the habit of writing shorter sentences because they want every sentence in their articles to sound important or interesting enough for readers’ attention.
However, this can result in longer paragraphs where each sentence is complex with lots of clauses or dependent clauses (elements separated by commas).
Instead of using longer sentences that take more time for readers to process, try breaking up long ideas into two or three shorter ones instead!
This will make it easier for readers who don’t have as much patience while reading online content on their phones/tablets/laptops etc)
Preparing The Article For Publication
Before you submit your article to a publication, you must check for errors. This means checking for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Don’t forget that people are going to read your work and make judgments about you based on how well-written it is. So be sure to proofread carefully so that everything looks professional and polished.
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Identify Your Audience
Before you can write anything, you need to know your audience. This may seem obvious, but many writers fail to take the time to figure out who their readers are and what they want.
When drafting a news article or any other kind of content for the web, you must understand who will be reading it and what their needs are.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Who is my target audience?
- How do I reach them on social media?
- What topics do they care about most?
- Are there specific keywords they use when searching online (and if so, how often)?
Research Every Possible Angle
When you’re writing a news article, your facts and figures must be correct.
To ensure this, do some research before you start writing. Look for the facts and statistics that are relevant to your story, as well as quotes from experts to provide credibility and support for your claims.
You can also use quotes from people involved in the stories if there aren’t any experts on hand to speak with directly about their views on the matter at hand and sometimes even personal anecdotes (if appropriate) will help add weight to your reporting!
Get A Compelling Headline
The headline is the most important part of your article. It should make the reader want to read more. The best headlines use a few words and are catchy, like “How To Write News Articles & Get Paid To Write For The Web” or “You Can Make Money Writing Online: Here’s How”
Your headline should be grammatically correct, but don’t worry too much about finding just the right one for every article you write.
If someone were searching for “how do I make money writing?”, then “How To Make Money Writing Online: Here’s How!” would be an excellent choice.
Put An Interesting Lead In Your News Article Paragraph
The lead paragraph of a news article should be short and sweet. It should give the reader a sense of what you’re talking about, with enough information to pique their interest so they’ll want to keep reading.
You want to make it interesting and relevant, but also concise and readable.
That’s not easy! To write an effective leader, you’ll need some writing skills and probably some experience too. The best way to practice your leads is by reading other journalists’ stories and analyzing them for their effectiveness (or lack thereof).
Writing compelling news articles that captivate readers is an art form in itself. Uncover the secrets to crafting news stories that gain widespread readership in our article on the secrets to writing great news stories that get read by millions.
Include A Summary Or Abstract In Your News Article
The summary or abstract is a summary of the main points of the article. It’s usually the first few sentences and it appears at the beginning, middle, or end of your news article.
An abstract helps readers decide if they want to continue reading your news article when they see it in search results or social media posts.
You should always include an abstract for each article that you write because people might not have time to read all of your content the first time around!
Use Quotes From Experts, People Involved Or From Yourself, If You Are The Only Witness To Provide The Facts And Credibility To Your News Story
Use quotes to provide credibility and facts. If a source is an expert in the field, use their expertise to lend greater credibility to your story. Quotes that come from knowledgeable sources can also help provide facts regarding what happened and why it occurred.
Use quotes to provide a more human perspective. Adding personal stories and anecdotes builds empathy in readers.
It also makes them see what happened through different eyes than their own, which can help them imagine themselves experiencing something similar, even if they haven’t had similar experiences in their lives yet (or ever).
Use quotes to provide a more emotional perspective. As humans, we have emotions and feelings about everything we experience;
Sometimes those feelings are stronger than others depending on who you are or how you react emotionally when presented with certain stimuli (i.e., seeing someone get hurt).
When writing news articles, it’s important not only to report facts but also to capture these emotional responses so people can better understand how others may be feeling after going through similar situations themselves!
Use quotes to provide a more objective perspective: You might want to include some information about weather conditions at the scene where this event took place before getting into any other details about what happened or why these events occurred at all times.
So readers know exactly where they’re located within your story without having any context clues beforehand.”
Make Sure That You Check Your Facts, Spelling, And Grammar Before Submitting Your Work For Publication
Keep in mind that it is the responsibility of the writer to make sure that his or her articles are factually correct and free from any grammatical errors. It’s also your job to ensure that your article is written in a way that makes sense, sentence structure-wise.
When submitting a story for publication on a news website, make sure you have checked all of these things:
Spelling and grammar – check for spelling errors (i.e., “their” instead of “there,” or “you’re” instead of “your”), punctuation errors (i.e., missing commas).
Capitalization issues (using caps when they shouldn’t be), word order problems (saying “I went to the store” instead of “I went shopping”), and other types of mistakes related to syntax and sentence structure.
Facts – double-check what facts are being reported as accurate before publishing them online!
Understand How A News Story Is Structured
When you write a news story, there are three key sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. The purpose of these sections is to make your article easy to follow and understand.
The introduction usually contains the who, what, when, and where of your story. It’s also good to include how people feel about it as well as any background information that might help readers understand why this event occurred or what it means for society at large.
After all this context is provided, you can move on to explaining how your story fits into the bigger picture of current events. This section should be around 100 words long (not including quoted sources).
In the body section, you’ll expand upon the facts presented in the introduction by providing some context or background information that helps readers better understand why this event happened and what was going on before it did. What will happen after?
How does this affect other events happening at this time? You can also include quotes from experts if they have something useful to say about what’s going on here, but don’t quote them too much because then readers won’t trust what you’ve written!
Writing news articles for the web can be financially rewarding if done right. Learn valuable tips and tricks to succeed in the world of news writing and earn from your passion in our guide on how to write news articles & get paid to write for the web.
Conclusion
Reading this article has hopefully given you a good idea of how to structure a news story. We have also provided some examples that show how these principles apply in practice as well as what makes them so effective.
You can use these tips to help write your news articles and get paid for them too (as long as people are willing to pay for them).
Further Reading
20 Amazing Sites That Will Pay You $100 Per Article: Explore this comprehensive list of 20 websites that offer attractive pay rates for freelance article writing.
How to Get Paid to Write Articles: This article provides valuable insights and tips on how to monetize your writing skills and get paid for writing articles.
4 Realistic Sites for Beginners to Get Paid to Write Articles: If you’re just starting as a freelance writer, check out these four realistic sites that offer opportunities for paid article writing gigs.
FAQs
How can I find websites that pay for writing articles?
There are various websites and online platforms that offer payment for freelance article writing. Some useful resources include job boards, freelance marketplaces, and content creation platforms. The Further Reading section above provides a list of websites where you can find such opportunities.
What types of articles do these websites usually look for?
Websites that pay for articles often seek a diverse range of content, including blog posts, listicles, how-to guides, product reviews, and opinion pieces. The specific content preferences may vary between websites, so it’s essential to research each platform’s guidelines.
How much can I expect to be paid for writing articles?
Payment rates for writing articles can vary widely based on factors such as the website’s popularity, your experience as a writer, the length and complexity of the article, and the niche or industry it caters to. Some websites offer flat fees per article, while others may pay based on word count.
Do I need prior writing experience to get paid for writing articles?
While having prior writing experience can be beneficial, it is not always a strict requirement for all websites. Many platforms are open to beginners and offer opportunities for aspiring writers to showcase their skills. Building a strong portfolio and submitting well-crafted samples can increase your chances of getting paid writing gigs.
How can I ensure my articles meet the requirements of paying websites?
To increase your chances of being accepted and paid for your articles, carefully review the guidelines provided by each website. Tailor your writing style and content to match the website’s target audience. Properly proofread and edit your work before submission to ensure it meets the required quality standards.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.