Finding & Capturing Article Ideas

Written on August 6, 2010 by Garland Coulson

I write a number of articles every month to attract people to my web sites.

Many people ask me, “WHERE do you get these article ideas?”

Well, I use a few techniques, including:

1. My Article Idea Capture System

2.  Researching What My Audience Wants

3.  Keeping Up With Topic News

4.  Applying Other Topics/Approaches To My Topic

Here is how I work with these 4 techniques.

1.  My Article Idea Capture System:

Have you every had a great idea, then a few hours later you couldn’t remember what it was?  Me too.  This is normal.  Our lives are so busy that there is no way you can keep everything in your head.  Einstein is said to have remarked that he never bothered to memorize his phone number as he didn’t want to keep anything in his head he could look up.

So, like Einstein, you need a way to easily look up stuff so your head is clear.  You need to create your own article marketing system.  This can either be low tech, like recipe/index cards or written notebooks or journals, or high tech such as voice memos, outlining or mind map software.

2.  Researching What My Audience Wants.

I regularly spend time in forums for my field, reading what questions people are asking.  When you see a question asked regularly, you know there is a need for an article about it – especially when you feel the pain of the forum writers when they post.

3.  Keeping Up With Topic News:

I use RSS Feeds to “feed” me news in my topic of expertise.  I look for hot topics and write my own article about it.  I also LOVE to write articles where the “common wisdom” is that things should be one way and I have a contrary view.  Could just be the brat in my, but controversy results in traffic.

4.  Applying Other Topics/Approaches To My Topic

Here is a fun one.  Look for interesting ideas from other areas and apply them to your topic.  For example, I am a Star Trek fan.  (Yes, my secret is out – I AM a geek)  I decided to write an article called “Borg Copywriting Secrets.“  It was fun, and gave me a welcome change from normal business writing.  And I was able to post it in Star Trek forums where it brought me to the attention of many people I wouldn’t normally reach.

So that is how I find and capture my article ideas.  At any given time, I may have 10 to 50 potential article ideas in my list.  Then I just look for one that grabs me and I start writing.

Make sure you have your own article idea capture system in place and start gathering your own ideas.  You will be surprised at how many you find.

Garland Coulson, “The EBusiness Tutor

Garland Coulson. "The EBusiness Tutor" is an Internet Marketing Speaker, Internet Mentor and Entrepreneur who teaches beginners how to succeed online.

Posted in Articles