Help your stories stand out with these expert tips and tricks
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash
I signed up for Tim Denning’s free 3-day writing course, and here are my key takeaways from Day 2, which is focused on choosing the right image for your articles and writing great intros.
Here are the key takeaways from Day 1: 14 Key Takeaways From Tim Denning’s 3-Day Writing Course.
TA #1 — Choose images with Creative Commons 0 Licenses — Get them from sites such as Pexels, and Unsplash. There are other sites as well. There’s no need to use the same site over and over again. The aim is to stand out, not be like everyone else.
TA #2 — Choose large images — Make sure they stand out. If you choose small images they can end up looked blurred on a larger device like a laptop. That detracts from your story and may lead some readers to click the back button.
TA #3 — Scroll through images quickly to see what stands out — This is my favorite takeaway. Scroll through the images quickly. Which one stands out enough to make you stop scrolling? The one that does that may make a great image for your post. If it stands out to you, it probably will to others.
TA #4 — Use your own branding for images — Some writers use a specific type of image to help them stand out. Darius Foroux does this by using doodles as his main image. This means that people recognize his posts straight away. If you have a generic image that doesn’t stand out, then even followers may miss your story.
TA #5 — Credit your images properly — Always credit your images. You won’t curated if you don’t and it can cause problems later. It’s also the right thing to do. The photographer put some effort into providing you with the images. Show some courtesy and make sure you credit them properly.
TA #6 — Write great opening lines — Your first sentence is usually what the reader uses to decide whether to continue reading your article or not. You can also think of this as an extra subtitle.
TA #7— Be direct and concise in your intros — It’s an intro not a story, so try to keep it to 200 words or less. The reader wants to know what they’re going to get. They time is limited, so don’t waste it by waffling.
TA #8 — Offer credibility in the intro — Let the reader know why you have the authority to be writing this particular article. If, for example, you’re writing about making money, the reader needs to know why they should listen to you. If you’ve made money yourself, then tell them. If you haven’t, then tell the reader that it’s advice based on what Warren Buffet or a similar person said.
TA #9 — Drop a name into the intro — For example, here is a fantastic intro from Todd Brison… “Back in 2016, a British entrepreneur asked me one question about Donald Trump.”.TA #10— You don’t need to write chronologically — If the most interesting part of the story is in the middle, then start with that. You can circle back to the beginning later. Don’t start with the boring part.
I would suggest you sign up and watch the videos. You will get more out of it than just reading the above.
Everything will make more sense when you hear him explain these takeaways with examples.
In case you missed it, here are the takeaways from Day 1.
