Four Keys to Writing a Successful Bleacher Report Article

One of the writers on this site left a message on my profile page asking for help. He had writer's block and was asking for suggestions from a number of people on how to overcome it. I took the time to give him a little advice, but it also got me thinking about something.

I’ve been on Bleacher Report now for over a month.

Since that time, when I first blundered onto the site, I’ve written 19 (now 20) articles.

Most have gotten favorable reviews. Some have gotten very favorable reviews (three Picks of the Day).

Others weren’t so well received, but as a whole, I’ve done well. I’ve moved up the ranks to be the No. 1-rated writer for a number of communities, including the Miami Heat, and the No. 7-rated writer for the NBA community.

I’ve had well over 15,000 page reads of my work, one of them getting more than 5,000 hits, and hundreds of comments.

Does this make my work successful? Some would say it does. If it does, I felt perhaps I could share a few tips on how others might be as "successful."

There are literally hundreds of things a writer here on Bleacher Report could do to ensure his or her articles are successful. The number of style, punctuation, and grammar tips alone could easily fill a book.

There are also hundreds of little tips I won’t even explore in this piece, as they’d make it an actual book. What I will do is explore four criteria I believe are necessary to writing successfully here on Bleacher Report.

First, however, we need to define the term successful for the purposes of this article.

By successful, I’m referring to an article or piece that will accomplish the following four criteria:

1. Attract Readers

2. Engage Readers

3. Inform Readers

4. Satisfy Readers

These are my "Four Keys to Writing a Successful Bleacher Report Article."

1. ATTRACTING READERS

The first criteria on my list is about the toughest in most cases, especially on sites where there are so many other authors competing for the same audience’s attention. How to draw people to your writing is a question all of us must ask.

So, what’s the answer?

Simple, really. The Internet is a tool. It’s a tool every author on Bleacher Report should use with a vengeance. There are literally dozens upon dozens of sports-related message boards on the Internet for each team or sport you're interested in writing about.

Some are run by massive media outlets, while others are as small and local as one can imagine. Whatever their size, the successful Bleacher Report writer will attempt to use as many as he can to drive readers to his pieces.

How do you do that? Again, simple; just post a link to your article on message boards.

However, there is a pitfall waiting for any who do this too hastily.

Most message boards have an established community of "board posters." These are fans who’ve been on these boards for a significant period of time, and many of them feel they run the boards.

Whatever their beliefs, they don’t tend to welcome those who come on "their" boards posting what they consider spam. This usually means advertising of one sort or another.

And while an author’s articles on Bleacher Report certainly aren’t advertising, the board regulars aren’t likely to see it that way if they don’t know you, so you’d do well to first appear on their board and become familiar with them.

Do this by posting some comments on regular board members’ threads, in order to establish your fan bonafides and introduce yourself to the community.

However, once that is finished, and it shouldn’t take more than a week or two in order for many on the boards to consider you a member (a new member, but a member nonetheless), you’re ready to go. Post links to your articles, and simply ask those you’ve talked with to check them out.

Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to 500 page reads in a day.

Oh, and don’t forget you can also press your family and friends in the real world to come check out your work. Their clicks on your article count as much as the click of any stranger.

Also, a picture is worth a thousand words, so they say. So choose the photo you attach to your article wisely. It will make a difference in attracting readers.

2. ENGAGING READERS

The second criteria on my list can also be difficult: trying to engage your readers.

You need something interesting to actually say in order to engage anyone in your work. Also, you need to say it in the shortest amount of space you can.

Lengthy prose is something most readers don’t feel they have time to wade through. This article itself is likely to turn many off the moment they click on it, simply because it’s more than a page in length.

Of course, I could never get through any of the stuff I need to if I limited it to one page, so I’ll have to settle for an audience who has more patience and understanding than the average web reader.

Now, how do you actually engage your reader (other than keeping your pieces short)? Well, the first thing I’d suggest is writing about something you actually care about. Not many people can actually write about something they care less about and make it interesting to read.

Passion is necessary to your writing. You need to find something you love or hate, and start thinking about it. Do some research if it’s necessary, then get to writing. Put down everything you can about that subject, then stop and take a breath.

Once you’ve paused, go back and take a look at it. Does it say what you wanted it to say? If not, try and rewrite it a bit to get it to say exactly what you wanted it to say. Don’t worry if the punctuation or grammar isn’t correct. Don’t worry about spelling (spell-check will take care of this). Just make sure you’re saying what you intended.

Once you’ve done that, take another breath. This is where keys three and four come in.

3. INFORMING READERS

Once you’ve finished pausing again, take another look at your work. By now you should already feel comfortable that it says what you intended it to say. Here, though, we’re going to be reviewing it to see if it says what it should.

Look it over good, and see if there are any points you’re making that you think might be contentious or controversial. These are generally the areas in your writing where someone else is going to have a differing view than your own.

You want to anticipate what they’re going to be saying to themselves when they read your article. You want to predict what parts of your piece they’re going to be saying, “Man, that’s total BS.”

This will allow you to look over these parts and see if there’s anything else you could add that might help to prevent this.

Are there any facts you can use to support what you’ve written? Do a little research here if needed.

Finally, once you’ve done all you can to anticipate the concerns of your readers, so that what you’ve written actually informs them, we’re on to part four.

4. SATISFYING READERS

There’s one thing for certain on a site like Bleacher Report. If you’re not satisfying your readers, you’re never going to be successful. This is where my fourth criteria comes in.

Anyone who’s written anything on this site knows that if people don’t rate your work well, you’ll likely languish in the unknown cellars of the “other articles on this topic...” pages, rather than have your work featured on the front pages.

How do you avoid this is the question. The answer is to leave your readers satisfied. If they’re satisfied they’ve just read something worth reading, they’ll likely comment on it, give you praise, and come back for more in the future.

This will also begin the cycle again, for if you satisfy them, they’ll be "engaged" in your future work, and you’ll be able to "attract" them to your new articles.

To do this, you need to edit your pieces as much as possible yourself.

Yes, Bleacher Report has a fine staff of editors here, and there are many volunteers among the other writers on this site who will gladly help you out to tweak your article as much as it can be tweaked, in order to put forth a good product.

Bleacher Report benefits from your work being as readable as possible. However, don’t rely on them. Do as much for yourself as you can.

This will both make it easier on those who do edit your work to polish it to as close to perfection as possible, and satisfy your readers that you are actually someone they feel is writing something worth reading.

My suggestion would be to go out and purchase a copy of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style.

If there’s ever been a better book written to aid authors in composing good pieces of work, I have yet to read it.

It’s a very small book, too, so it shouldn’t be too tough for most to get through and absorb. I’d suggest reading it from cover to cover and then rereading it every chance you get. Study it. It should be your Bible.

IN SUMMARY

Lastly, you should post your work, and once you’ve posted it, you should do as much as you can to gain attention to it. Post notes about it to all the fans you’ve got. You’ll build these up as your writing continues.

Shout out about your work to everyone. Let them know you have something new you’ve just written.

Most importantly, when they read your work and comment on it, be as gracious as you can. Thank them for their time, and express hope they’ll come back for more.

Also, you might want to make certain to oblige them as well, by reading some of their work and commenting on it. "I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine" is an old and applicable saying in this case.

Well, I hope this helps anyone who reads it to become a "successful" writer here on Bleacher Report. It’s definitely a site I’ve come to love and hope to be writing and publishing pieces on for a long time to come.

Here’s hoping you do as well.

However, whether your writing is well received at first or not, don’t be discouraged. Keep writing and voicing your opinion. Eventually, you might just find someone who shares it.

The following are links to web pages I'd recommend aspiring writers go to and check out. They should help with your writing:

Are You Writing Garbage? Keys to Writing Great Articles

3 Things You Must Do to be a Successful Writer

Patience and Perseverance: The Keys to Writing on the Internet

No. 1 Articles.com Writing Links

Trans4mind.com Writing Links

Writer Gazette Writing Links

And, of course, the Bleacher Report Style Guide

I hope this article and its links helps and inspires you, as it has Tyler:

What Does It Take To Be Number 1?