Formatting and Why It Is Important

When we talk about format in relation to computer documents, we usually mean one of two things. If asked what format a particular document is in; the answer will depend on the program it has been made in, so Word, Note, Adobe .pdf and so on.

When we talk about the formatting of a document, we are referring to the page arrangement of the various elements within the document.

If you want to become a successful writer on Steemit, then you are going to need a good writing style and to be reporting on a topic or topics of widely held interest. However if your wonderful 1500 word article on the merits of base jumping and parkour is badly formatted, then no one will read it, not even your friends.

Here's what I do if one of my friends sends me a link to a badly formatted article that they may or may not have written. I will skim the first 5 lines and then skim the article for a point of interest, read that line or lines and then reply to my friend quoting the point of interest, making it seem as if I had read it.

Here is what I do if one of my friends sends me a well formatted article; I read it.

As much as I'd love to think of myself as being unique and special, I'm not and I won't be the only person to have this kind of policy with badly formatted articles.

If you have joined Steem to become a contributor and you want to earn money as you write, you need as many upvotes per article as possible. The problem is, you are not going to get many votes, if nobody reads to the end of your articles.

You could end up bashing away for months, wondering why your articles aren't doing very well, when other people writing about the same subjects as you, seem to be making hundreds or even thousands of dollars per article.