How To Write a How-To Article

My mentor says, “The thing about a research question is that it’s a question.” It sounds like pretty obvious advice until you have a room full of grad students posing hypotheses as research questions. 

I think about this advice when I write or edit how-tos. Because the thing about a how-to article is that it tells you how to do something. If it doesn’t clearly provide steps, it’s not a “how to” at all, and you may want to reconsider your approach or at least your title. Just like, if it doesn’t end in a question mark, it’s not a research question.

How-tos are one of the most popular types of blog posts. The reason is pretty simple — people come to the internet trying to learn something. They’re trying to solve a problem they have, which means they’re immediately attracted to a Google search result with a title of “how to” solve that problem. 

You’re likely reading this post because you aren’t sure if your how-to posts are up to snuff. Good! You’re in the right place to improve and learn more about how to write a how-to article.

1. Understand the Audience 

The first thing you must always do before writing any type of content marketing is to be sure you understand your audience. Who are you writing the piece for? Why do they want to know how to do this thing? What bigger problem does it solve for them?

Understanding your digital marketing target audience is the first step. Then, you make sure you write your piece to relate to them and fulfill their needs.

2. Choose a Relevant Topic

Based on your audience’s needs, you’ll choose a topic for the post. Chances are you had a pretty good idea of what you wanted it to be about when you started — something related to your business and your audience. Now, do keyword research to ensure you’re using the right words and phrases around that topic to attract search traffic. 

Also, think about your audience, what they already know, and what you need to explain to them.

3. Do Some Research

The last thing you want to do is explain how to do something to your audience the wrong way. You probably already have an idea about how to do the thing in your business niche, but go ahead and do some research to make sure you don’t forget any steps and can explain it correctly.

4. Outline the Post

Good writing starts with clear thinking. That means you should outline your content, however informally, before you start writing. Make sure you have your steps in order and know key details you must include in each explanation.

5. Write the How-To Title

The title is a critical part of your blog post. It takes a reader five seconds or less to decide if they’re going to click on your post. They read the title to make this decision. That’s why it’s so essential to write click-worthy blog titles. 

Of course, how-to blog titles are a bit easier than others because you simply use the words “how to” and whatever you’re teaching the reader in the post, phrased in a way that it uses your keyword. 

Not quite ready to write the title yet? That’s ok. Use a place filler and go ahead and write the post.  You can always come back and revise the title when you’re done.

6. Write Your Rough Draft

Here’s the thing about a first draft — it’s rough, and that’s okay. The most important thing at this stage is to get the format of your post right and make sure you have the details you need. 

The rough draft is also a good time to work on your introduction. You want it to draw the reader in and keep them reading. 

In a how-to piece, the intro should establish why it’s essential to know the information you’re going to teach. Why does the audience need this? 

Write your intro in an appealing way, and make sure to use keywords for search purposes.

7. Explain How To Do Something

For some reason, this step is where writers tend to go astray. A how-to needs to explain the steps of how to do something, just as promised in the title and intro. You don’t have to number the steps, but they should be clearly defined and explained. 

Here’s a brief outline for a how to post:

• “How to” title
• Introduction
• An optional “what or why” graph that explains what the thing is. You only need this if people don’t readily understand what you’re talking about.
• Step-by-step “how to” for doing the thing
• Conclusion 

8. Wrap It Up

The post’s conclusion typically circles back to the piece’s introduction. It will reiterate (using new language) why the reader needs to know how to do the thing. It also may explain why the piece is a trusted resource on that topic. 

The conclusion also may include a call-to-action, offering the reader help with doing the thing or providing information about other related products or services.

9. Edit and Revise

Once you finish your first draft, it’s time to go back to edit and revise. I like to wait 24 hours to do this, if possible. That way I’m looking at the piece with fresh eyes and can see errors for revision more clearly. Of course, that isn’t always possible, so do the best you can.

Want to make sure your piece is ready for publication? Follow these essential editing tips and don’t forget to edit for SEO writing best practices.

Let Content Journey Write Your How-To Articles

We know we made writing how-tos look ridiculously simple in this post. We always make writing look easy, even though it’s certainly not for a lot of people. Writing is our expertise. 

Whether you’re looking for how-tos to attract readers and help them solve their problems or more long-form content to explain a complicated concept clearly, let Content Journey take care of your writing needs. Start your journey to better content and more attention for your brand by scheduling a free consultation with us.