Need Content Ideas? Let Your Readers Inspire You!
Posted by Mary Chris Hines on Mon, Jul 30, 2012
When about to embark on a project of content writing, a writer sometimes experiences the dreaded "block". He or she sits and thinks - What topic shall I cover? What shall I say about this subject? Perhaps you have some keywords that you need to include in the copy, and that can give you some small start, but the keywords are usually pretty general.
So there you are, contemplating your dilemma. You must find the topic that the reader will want to peruse for more information, to answer a question or simply for entertainment. And here is the trick! Let your readers inspire you! What inspires them can inspire you!
There are over 245 million Internet users in the United States alone. Many spend hours each week surfing various sites, logging into blogs or forums to glean information or to discuss their favorite subject. You can get a multitude of ideas by finding out where they go and what they discuss.
Search engines will be your first stop, as when you are looking for concepts to write about, this is how you can find them. Just typing that overall topic into the search engine box and hitting “search” will bring up the top sites your readers visit the most. But you can narrow your search, too.
Using the Search Engines to Narrow Your Search for Copy Topics
Using Google or Yahoo, you can find a wide array of subject matter to write about, but remember, you can’t copy anything word for word. You will want to put your own twist on the topic, making it unique.
Here is the way to narrow your search:
When people want to publish information about a certain topic, many will start a blog. This has become very popular as a way to advertise a business as well. A company offering cleaning services to companies may have a blog that provides information on green cleaning products or how to clean hardwood floors. Type your topic and then “blog” after the keyword. You will get a long list of blogs to explore for interesting subject matter to write about. Look for blog entries that have comments entered in reply, for this means that they are the most popular topics.
An Internet forum is a great place to find content ideas. Again, type in your keyword for the subject you want to write about, followed by “forums.” Go into a few sites. Look at the subject headings, explore the listings under them. For instance, if you are looking for content regarding gardening, type in the search engine, “gardening forums.” You will have a long list of forums where you can find what people are talking about regarding gardening. Look for topics that have the most replies, postings or follow-ups. This is content that has sparked interest. Make a list of topics. You will, of course, want to put your own twist on your copy as you write.
News articles can provide many ideas on topics. Let’s say you have been hired to write ten general articles regarding different aspects of building construction. Type into the search engine “building construction news articles” and explore the sites that come up and the topics posted. You are sure to get some marvelous ideas.
Millions of people every day are on Facebook and Twitter. You can find posts to explore even if you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account. Again, simply type in your keyword and follow it with “twitter posts” or “facebook posts.”
Interesting and popular ideas will come from searching for content under “how-to” articles. Just type the main keyword into a search engine and follow with “how to.” An example is when trying to find what the most popular subjects are regarding fashion. Type in “fashion how to” and click “search.” You will find long lists of sites with a multitude of topics to choose from.
Getting ideas for what to write about is simple and easy. The Internet makes it fun. You will learn a lot about what people like to read about and what they want to know. Write fresh and inspiring content that comes right from your reader, and be successful in your content writing endeavors.