Online tutorials are excellent learning tools. Writing effective tutorials is an art. To some it comes naturally, the ability to communicate, teach and connect with the reader. To others not gifted with that ability, there are always ways to learn and get better at it. A tutorial is very different from a regular blog entry. A blog entry is like a politician. Just like him, it needs to have a sense of responsibility. Now it may or may not have that sense, but people will read it anyways and life will go on, just like when you hear the politician giving a speech. A tutorial on the other hand is like a teacher, quite literally. The sense of responsibility is greater. Just like teachers make or break generations, a design tutorial will teach you and arm you with the knowledge you need to design better or completely befuddle you and make you feel incompetent. There are some key things I keep in mind while writing a tutorial. These pointers are also an extension of the rules I used to practice during the 10 years I was teaching school children and compiling notes for them to study and developing tutorials and exam sheets. Today I’d like to share with you, some of those tips and practices that will help you write better design tutorials.

1. Pick A Topic And An Audience
Before writing a tutorial, pick a topic you know about like the back of your hand, then research. I would suggest running a search via Google using a combination of keywords to see whether that topic has been covered before. If it has, then how many times has it been covered. If you find 20 tutorials on "How To Design A Vector Cartoon Character In Illustrator", then you must reconsider your topic and try to settle on something that has either not been done before or has been done before, but just a couple of times and you think you can bring your own unique flavor and knowledge to the readers. After you finalize a topic, decide on your target audience. You must have an idea of the demographics. Is the tutorial going to be read by beginners? by experts in the field? by school and university students?

2. Decide A Style
If you are a blogger and write regularly, you must have an established style that your readers already relate to. If you don’t blog or have a website and want to write tutorials for other websites and blogs, you must decide your style and stick to it. Is the casual, engaging and humor-riddled your style? Or are you more comfortable with a formal, educational approach? Always write in a style that reflects your personality. Your words will flow easier and you will successfully connect with your readers because they will sense your honesty and true nature. Never try to portray a style that is not you. It might work a few times, but it will quickly get tiring.

3. Practice What You Preach
If you are going to write a tutorial about creating an icon in Photoshop, then create that "icon" in Photoshop. Once you finish, open up a new file and start all over again with the same icon. I usually like to do this because it equips me to think about the topic on hand in excruciating detail. I think about how I will "present" a particular step, about what "action" has to be stressed and highlighted, what problem area has to be "elaborated" and so on. This practice also helps once the tutorial is posted and readers pose questions. Since you have done it so many times over, you’ll be in a better position to answer any queries they might have.

4. Take Screenshots
When you are practicing, take screenshots of everything you do. Take extra screenshots so you’l have plenty to pick from later and won’t miss out on any important step or action. It is very easy to just keep on designing without stopping to take screenshots. Remember and you’ll reap!

5. Intro And Credits Are Important
I have seen many tutorials that begin with "Open A New Document In Photoshop". That is the equivalent of going to a cafe and having the waitress come and say "You will have a Soy Cappucino!". Where is the menu? the options? Don’t just tell me what to do! An intro is very important to a tutorial. You must summarize, concisely what you are trying to achieve in the tutorial and in case of a design tutorial, a graphic of the finished process is very vital. A reader wants to see what he is going to be learning, whether it is of any interest to him or he is better off taking a break and having a coffee instead. A short list of softwares and resources used with appropriate permissions, credit and links must accompany a tutorial. It shows a respect for the tools you use and a respect for the art and designs of other designers you might incorporate in your process. A quick blurb stating the "level of difficulty" of the tutorial is a great idea too.

6. Keep It Simple
So you are writing an advanced tutorial meant for the expert user level and the steps are quite complicated. It is still possible to keep it simple. Avoid long winding sentences, too many examples that sidetrack the reader and presumptions that what you are saying WILL be understood. Your method is not necessarily everyone’s method, so it is your responsibility in the tutorial to explain everything clearly and concisely.

7. Keep It Structured
Follow a flow. Go ahead, make a rough flowchart on paper before you begin. So you know exactly what steps come first and what steps follow. A structure is very important for understanding. If you can get your teaching done neatly without making a mess and confusing your readers, they’ll love you for it.

8. Use Visual Pointers
And by that, I don’t mean images. Of course you’ll use images. Remember all the screenshots you took? You must work on them. Assign one image for one step (you may use two images if you have to, but remember we are trying to keep things simple while conveying a lot). The image has to be relevant to what you are explaining in that step. Use few visual pointers in each step. Visual pointers can be simple arrows and a hand written note explaining where a particular tool is in the toolbox, or which circle is first and which is second. Try to ask yourself what you have explained in the step and whether the image accompanying it is enough. If certain actions mentioned in the step might raise a question in the reader’s mind, try to explain those via visual pointers in the image.

9. Explain Shortcuts
Design becomes a breeze with the proper use of keyboard shortcuts. Encourage their use and explain in your process, wherever applicable, the correct keyboard shortcuts for a PC and Mac. Just because you use a Mac, don’t ignore PC shortcuts. It becomes annoying for a PC user who is reading your tutorial to not have that option.

10. Check And Recheck
Proof read your tutorial for spelling and grammatical mistakes. When I write, I tend to get carried away, committing the long winding sentences crime I asked you not to commit a few steps ago. But later when I read and re-read what I have written, I break my long sentences up into smaller, more readable sentences.

11. Be Nice
Nobody likes an insufferable, know-it-all. Of course you are a very nice person but sometimes what you may consider nice may come across as arrogance to someone else. You can’t please everybody. It is just a perspective thing. But try to maintain a "I-know-this-stuff-but-no-big-deal-you’ll-know-it-too-very-soon" kind of attitude. Humility goes a long way and even though you put on the teacher shoes while writing a tutorial, don’t ever stop being a student. If some reader points out a mistake or suggests and alternative, open up your mind and learn.

12. Wrap Up And Encourage Dialogue
Just like you did a summary in the beginning, wrap up your tutorial by thanking your readers for reading your monologue. Then open up dialogue by asking them to comment and ask if they didn’t understand any part. Invite readers to share their tips if they have followed a similar design process in the past. It is amazing how a healthy dialogue developing in the comment section can add value to an already valuable tutorial.

These are some of the things I practice. What have I missed? If you have written tutorials, what are some of the things you keep in mind while writing one? Please leave us a comment and share. Thank You.

Sponsor
Get tutored on designing awesome graphic design at the Art Institute Cincinnati.