5 Ways to Find Good Topics to Write about Online
August 16th, 2009 | 24 comments
There are many different “road blocks” that come up along the way no matter what “model” you adopt or how long you’ve been working online. Usually each model or technique presents it’s own set of road blocks or issues that need figured out. But there is one that seems to come up over and over again for almost everyone, no matter how long they’ve been working online and no matter what it is they do online.
“Writers Block!”
I get it, you get it and everyone else who writes anything, whether online or offline, gets it too. It just sucks, doesn’t it?
It’s what happens when you know you need to write an article, blog post, web page etc. but you just can’t think of something good to write about.
Although I, myself, still get it, it happens much less frequently these days because of the advice I’m about to give you.
The following are the 5 best ways in my opinion to come up with topics to write about online when you’re suffering from your own unique case of “writer’s block:”
1. Go to one or more forums in your niche. Discussion forums are probably the BEST place to go to find topics in your niche that your readers will want to hear because forums are full of people just like your customers and in some cases they may BE your customers and/or readers! Check out the “hot” threads. The threads with LOADS of replies. These are awesome topics to write about!
2. Ask your subscribers what they want you to write about! Sending out a survey is the best way to do that. Offer something for free to those who complete the survey or some kind of contest. Asking a visitor what he or she wants to learn from you is about as accurate as it gets. You can offer the survey to your list if you have one, on your homepage etc.
3. Watch your competition! Particularly the competitors who are authoritative in your niche. They got that authority somehow and it’s a good bet their readers like what they are writing about, so looking at their content will usually give you some good ideas as to what you should be writing about.
4. Actively participate in social networking! Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc. are social networks that provide a unique opportunity to not only interact and get to know others in your niche to JV with etc. they are also full of potential readers, clients, customers and leads! Any chance you get to interact with these people is good. Social networking is a great way to find out what they’re interested in within your niche.
5. Look at what you’ve written in the past that seemed to have done well (if possible.) It won’t give you an exact topic, but it will give you an idea of some of the things you know your readers respond to historically.
Although some of these points may seem obvious or basic to you, hopefully you can refer back to this post next time you get writer’s block and hopefully they help find an idea for you:
(Keep in mind, if your business model targets long-tail phrases with niche marketing, it’s not about finding topics. Your keyword research will yield your topics for you. But for just about any other model this advice should come in handy.)
img credit: re_birf
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16th August, 2009 at 6:34 pm
I don’t really get writers block, what I know is, people usually can’t write because they kept thinking… “How to write?” But the real mind they should have is, “What to Write.” You need to know your subject or topic cold in order to write what you want to write, but the best advice that was given to me was, “write what’s in your mind, and just write it, till you got something to write.”
And it did work well for me, I doesn’t know why, but it makes it clear that, is all about what to write and not how to write.
16th August, 2009 at 8:15 pm
That is some great advice that you posted. It sucks sometimes to have writers block. I like to see what other people are writing about, and look at the news for the day. Thanks Greg Ellison
17th August, 2009 at 12:11 am
Thanks for the tips Josh, always nice to have a few ideas to come back to.
I tended to over think my blog post topics but lately have used survey results for post ideas which you mentioned, it’s very handy indeed.
17th August, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I think next time I am stuck I am just going to write about how great your posts are. Thanks for another great one.
Mark
17th August, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Hey! I think someone used the social networking tip on me just yesterday! But it worked. My Facebook friend asked her friends innocently (at least it seemed that way!) “What should I write about next? What questions do you have that you want answered? GREAT tip. Thanks, Josh.
17th August, 2009 at 2:52 pm
The fifth suggestion also provides you with an opportunity to update your readers about the things you wrote about. Perhaps that “something” has changed since then or something else has come along to replace it, say, in cases where you’re talking about software or a new book an author has written, whatever.
17th August, 2009 at 3:31 pm
When having writers block slowly move away from the computer, resist the temptation to get frustrated. I find a good run or exercise stimulates blood flow and sparks new ideas and topics. As Josh points out, if nothing else, start reading again. Forced articles usually don’t turn out to well.
Regards
17th August, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Josh,
Good post.
There are days I’m lucky to string two coherent sentences together. I employ a speed writing exercise.
I spend about 10 minutes typing on Note Pad everything I can think about and I pay no attention to sentence structure or spelling.
I think I’m going to combine that with your tips.
Thanks,
“The Mad Guy”
17th August, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Hey Josh…I get those “Blocks” all the time. This is what I do. I start up my word processor. Then I just type where ever my fingers go. It’s usually non-readable. But eventually ideas start to pop into my mind and my brain takes over the typing and the thought process starts to make sense. Works For Me!
Paul
17th August, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Hi Josh,
From time to time, I have this problem. So I really second your thoughts.
Thanks for the 5 tips above. I’d be sure to use them whenever I don’t know what to write about for my next blog post.
Cheers!
Welly Mulia
17th August, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Good thoughts. If you ever watched “Finding Forrester” he made a valid comment there. Just start writing. Write anything and pretty something will come along worth writing.
I have never tried it yet, but it makes sense to me. I believe the subconscious has more in there than we think it does and if we don’t try really hard it will come out when least expected.
Justin
17th August, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I am a web content writer and I get regular orders everyday. I keep tabs on what people order from me. If I have free time I research on just how profitable the topics are. If they have the potential to help me earn, I writer about them.
18th August, 2009 at 12:07 am
Writers block is caused by “having to write”. The best way to get past the block is to forget about “having to write” and go discover something new.
Stay within your niche and ask yourself questions like, “What would I ask Mr expert if I had the chance?” or “How do I change xyz” or “If I could create a dream product for my customers what would it look like?”
When you’re done your creative juices are flowing just start to write it down. You may even have some product creation ideas!
18th August, 2009 at 1:31 am
Hi Josh,
Nice post. Writers block happens to the best of us and it’s good to have a back up plan.
If you click on my name you’ll find some more ideas.
Cheers
18th August, 2009 at 3:18 am
One more way that I usually see works with me is to pick up a hot keyword and search in Google to see what’s been written about it.
The results can inspire me when I read the contents. then, instead of writing a long comment, I write my own perspective on the issue using that keyword as a new post.
18th August, 2009 at 11:41 am
Excellent tips, Josh.
Something else that works well for me is to review my PDF and printed book/magazine libraries and spin as many titles as I can that day.
From there I start combining title ideas to match title ideas with brief sub-headlines.
An optional, but highly desirable step is to make an ecover that I can paste into my draft copy. Seeing is believing.
18th August, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Great post. One thing I use is Google Alerts. Since Google News uses over 4,500 news resources, as well as tons of blogs, I can get keyword related stories and blogs too.
It’s an easy way to keep up on what’s going on with my topic, and I never get writer’s blog.
Jinger Jarrett
21st August, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Hi Josh,
Just a quick visit.
I like the colour combination on this site It’s simply pleasing on the eyes.
And “Article Marketing Domination”?
Bought it, Read it and it’s simply great!
No fluff and great content.
If you are reading this (not you Josh
) and you haven’t got your own copy then you better go get it now!
I’ll be back soon to talk about the topic on hand.
Cheerio
Will D
30th August, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Great advice as always. I would also add that getting paper magazines for your niche, especially the techie types, and subscribing to brand blogs (most big brands online have feeds) is a great way to find ideas and news to write about, especially new product launches.
5th September, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Good ideas. I would also recommend doing some searches on Google Trends. See what is popular right now and see what people are searching for.
Once you know what you are going to write about the best advice is to write, write, and write some more!!
Using an article submission service such as Unique Article Wizard also helps a lot.
8th September, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I am just recovering from a 4 month block. Thanks for the support. Life gets in the way of work sometimes.
4th October, 2009 at 8:50 pm
This is a really great posting for ideas on how to get topics to write. I find a lot of my topics while I’m posting on other blogs; I find stuff I disagree with, or topics I think my readers may like. I also post information that I have just learned, so others can benefit from it. Thanks for an awesome post!
27th October, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I find doing a search on EzineArticles or any other reputable article directory and reading a handful of articles in my niche or subject area will quickly inspire me to start writing.
I also find the Google AdWords tool really useful to come up with topics to write about – you can also see if there’s a hungry crowd for the subject.
19th November, 2009 at 12:21 am
Some cools tips there, I’ve been guilty of just writing for writings sake in the past. Not only does the content suck but it becomes a chore.
I think it helps to use something you’ve learnt during the past week, something new you’ve tried or perhaps something that hasn’t worked either. Then it becomes a bit of a diary – and we all like to read someone elses diary : )