What do you know? Is there a quick way of doing something that you want to share with others? If you have ever written something like a recipe down or shared instructions on how to do something with someone, then you already know how to structure a how-to article. These are written down as a simple sequence, an order of how to do something, and these are the 6 steps you need to follow to produce the perfect how-to article:

Choose Your Topic

This should be something that you have an interest in but don’t choose a broad topic. Narrow it down to a specific area, for example, rather than doing a how-to on home decorating, choose a specific style or a low budget to center your article on.

Write an outline, just a basic one, and then you can build on it later.

Think About Your Audience

Now read your outline from the reader's perspective and not the writer's. Choose three words that would describe your target audience and then write down what questions you would want to be answered as a part of that audience.

Do Your Research

This is where the meat of your writing comes from and details that you should include where possible are:

Statistics

Well-known quotes

Anecdotes

References to film, media, etc.

Definitions

Any helpful resources or tools needed for the how-to

Put everything together and make sure you can track any sources – you may need to verify them later.

Write Another Draft

Now you can fill in the skeleton that you drew up earlier, using some of the sources and information that you gathered. You might find that you want to start afresh, that’s fine; it all comes down to the information that you have.

Now read it again and ask yourself some questions:

Does it sound right?

Is more information needed?

Is it boring or really interesting?

Does it make sense?

If necessary, read other how-to articles and get ideas for techniques.

Time to Get Specific

Make sure that every step is covered and make sure it is thorough. You are holding the hands of your readers, walking them through every step, and you want them to know exactly what to do when they are done reading.

If your article drones on, break it down, use subheadings and bullet points to keep people on track.

Read and Revise

And then repeat again. Read it out loud to a friend and then ask how it sounds. Does it make sense, can they follow the steps easily, is there anything missing? If needed, make some changes and then do it all again. Here are some helpful pointers:

Did you describe all the tools/ingredients, etc. that are needed for the task?

Are all the steps there?

Is it in a logical order?

Have you warned of pitfalls and how to get around them?

Once you have read it, revised it and repeated several times and you are finally happy, you can go ahead and submit your how-to article for publishing.