Author Topic: How to make a successful Tutorial for new ones. (Read 2425 times)

Zaroque · « **on:** October 05, 2012, 08:11:04 pm »

Hello there, and welcome to my guide on ''How to make a successful Tutorial,
Apologies if I have missed anything out, or there is another topic relating to de' same thing.

A lot of people want to post tutorials, but often hesitate in doing so. If you have a tutorial idea that you think members might find useful, don't hesitate. ~ I can tell you, the more help the merrier.

~ Part one ~

~ Want to make a tutorial, but have no ideaz? ~

Good ol' Ouka has made a full list of all the tutorials created. On second post, she has listed tutorials that the community would like done.
~Tutorial List ~ Updated: 09/09/12

Quote from: Ouka. on March 05, 2012, 03:32:46 am

Tutorials that would like to be made/added to the list

More FH + Tutorials For Errors
~~Tutorial On How To Make A Tutorial~~
FH Map Guide ~ A List to all FH maps
How To install FH on a MAC

If you cannot find anything there that you know what to do, why not snoop around the main post and click on a tutorial based on something that you know well enough to share. If the tutorial you selected could be better, why not make your own version? FH members needing help always rely on the best tutorials.

~ Naming your Tutorial ~

The easiest thing to do by far. Make your title obvious to what your tutorial is all about, and if your topic has screenshots - why not put: ''Tutorial name here (With Screenshots).''

~ What not to do ~

You should not name your tutorial anything along the lines of this: ''TUTORIAL LOOK!!!''

~ Part Two ~

~ Starting the bloomin' thing off ~

If you click on a tutorial, it's always nice to have an introduction. Something simple is always appreciated by the reader (e.g. Hello there, Hi! Yo' broz). After your hello, why not give a brief introduction on what the tutorial has in store? Such as a small contents opening. If you do this, it gives a professional look to it.

As always, try and include proper grammar in your sentence/topic, it always helps the reader to understand what you're trying to say. Also, don't over-complicate things when you're trying to explain something! That's important, and I see it far too often.

~ Part Three ~

~ How should I do my tutorial? ~

In my opinion, the best way to do a tutorial is to do it step-by-step. What do I mean by that? I'll show you.

Step 1. First, open your FeralHeart folder.
Step 2. Then, go to Media >> Items >> and paste the folder in there.
etc

^Doing that makes your sentences simple, brief and to the point.
Another really good way of doing things, is blending step-to-step points with screenshots as extra directions.

Don't know how to take and upload screenshots? Look here!

A good example of step-by-step/Screenshot tutorial's is one of Rimfrost's/Misa's. You can find this by pressing here.

~ What should I do now? ~

If you're nearing the end of your tutorial, and there are other tutorials based on the same subject, you can post the other topic URL's at the end of your post if your tutorial did not help them.
Also, don't be surprised if you do not get post's on your topic. Do not start to think no-one is using it. Because far too often user's will click on it, use it and not post a reply. You're still helping peeps no matter what. :3

~ Part Four ~

~ Confused? ~

Has anything I said confused you? Or are you having problems with your tutorial (such as phrasing things etc)? Post a reply on here with your problem and I'm more than happy to help you out with anything!

~ Q & A ~
Question and Answers.

~ What should I do once I've completed my tutorial? ~
Before posting your tutorial, why not press preview and see what it looks like? Once you're satisfied with your layout, read through what you've written and make sure it makes sense.
In addition, once you've posted your topic, press the 'post' button and in your post say: 'Reserved'. This means you have an extra spot for your tutorial if you needed to add anything important for the reader.

~ Do you have any tips? ~
I sure do! When your topic is in the making, I always open up a notepad and paste the contents of your topic (so far) in it. You can then save it in your files, and if something were to go wrong (accidentely closed the tab etc), you have a back up.

~ Having trouble with my topic layout, got any suggestions? ~
A few:
It looks nice if you generally keep one font size for the main text, and something a larger size for your font to introduce the next section (Like I've done with ~ Part one ~ and so on).
Centering your topic also look's very nice a professional.

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[center]TEXT HERE[/center]Having a certain amount of appropriate links to help the user often makes it look professional, and it really does help people.
I do not suggest using loads of different colours in your tutorial, such as rainbows and other really eye-burning colours.
If you use chat speak (u, y? 4u etc), it gives the reader an impression that you do not know what you're doing, so I'd stick with proper text. ~

Got anymore questions? Post! :3