5 Things You Need To Know Before Writing That Next Tutorial

Ever read a tutorial that stinks? I’ve read plenty and there are many reasons why they may not be good. The sad thing is, most of the time they are written by really smart people who give great advice but don’t know how to write in sixth grade English or don’t know how to lay it out so it’s digestible to the reader. Yikes! You don’t want to be one of those people do you?

I thought not. So before you go and write that next tutorial that you are super passionate about writing, try and remember these pointers.

1. An intro paragraph  can be helpful.
   Tell people why you are writing it and what they will gain from reading it. Be sure to include a list of any materials or prerequisites they need before reading the tutorial.
2. Layout is key.
   Remember to number your steps and use bullet points and illustrations rather than long paragraphs of text. (no one reads all of that text anyway).
3. Spacing is important.
   Try to limit one action per step and make sure you put proper spacing in between the steps so that it doesn’t look like two steps are running together.
4. Don’t assume the reader knows anything.
   This is probably the biggest downfall of really smart people who write tutorials. They often assume some level of expertise that the reader has and then the reader gets stuck on a step because they can’t move forward. Very frustrating. If you write from the reader’s perspective, you’ll be on track every time.
5. Run through your tutorial after you write it.
   Sounds so simple doesn’t it? This is a great way to make sure you didn’t miss any steps or assume the reader knew something.