Web writers and bloggers need new article titles constantly. While there are theoretically thousands of topics to cover, with time, it becomes more and more difficult to come up with new subjects on a daily basis. Part of the problem is that not every subject sells well on the internet and that some of the most profitable content niches are extremely saturated. Successful online writers will stick to writing about what they know, as well as about what they’re interested in by managing their resources wisely. Here are top 20 ways in which you can maximize your article ideas in quantity, quality and earning potential.
Keywords used in searches – keywords that appear in your search stats can give you a more exact idea of what information people were searching for when they accessed your blog and how you can answer their questions better next time. You can use those keywords in order to cater to some of the missed searches (also reflected by your title-specific bounce rate) as well as expand your content hubs and improve site navigation. More often than not, a whole string of short-tail search queries will make the title of your next popular blog post.
Article series – using keywords is a great way to create content webs — mutually interlinked article series, each with a limited focus, that guide the reader from one step to another, are a way to keep readers focused on reading and navigating through your blog.
Splitting posts – try splitting your blog posts into fragments. Writing posts containing too many details and multiple angles is an unnecessary waste of resources. Be comprehensive, but also focused and systematic.
Re-writes and round-up articles – rewriting your blog content must be approached reasonably and you should avoid repetition. This method works best with posts targeting search queries vastly different from your original posts — more general information, more specific information, a general interest story, a fun fact, etc. It’s also a way to make your content go viral.
Traffic statistics – observing where your visitors are coming from may give you some fresh article ideas, possibly in low-competition areas, on anything local or regional.
Keyword Research – never overdo your keyword research — Google doesn’t like it. That said, the Google Adwords Tool can give you a better idea of when and how people search for the information you’re about to include in your post. This is especially important for niche blogs that don’t get too much traffic from search engines.
Social networking and social bookmarking sites – follow users whose interests are similar to yours as well as established sources in your area of expertise — you’ll get tones of new information and things to write about daily with “research” and “ideas” literally delivered to you in your feed. That’s yet another benefit of using social media – instant access to new and interesting information.
Personal experience – the hands down best source of new blog posts — anything that happens in your life or the way you deal with behind-the-scenes problems on your site can be the subject of your next blog post.
Research – every time you research information for your own use, you can turn the knowledge and experience into a new blog post.
Press releases and newsletters – great source of newsworthy writing material and topical issues that can get popular on social media sites. They can also be an inspiration for commentary and opinion pieces.
Discussion groups and forums – a great source of ideas for how-to articles and guides since the amount of questions posted and discussed there is bigger than anywhere else. You can then link to your article from those places and earn more contextual backlinks.
Read related blogs and websites – you may discover that you know more about a topic already covered by someone else or will feel you’d like to dispute their viewpoint. You should check if the article is missing information you can add, but you should also avoid using the same keywords as they did – it’s unproductive from an SEO perspective and can be considered plagiarism (cannibalism).
