How do some websites, some writers, always seem to have lots of hot topics to write about, almost seeming to churn out interesting articles and blog posts anytime they want? Can you too do the same? Are there shortcuts?
We all know how important it is to write fun, interesting, and easy-to-read articles. So, how do you come up with these topic ideas, given that not everyone has the same interests as you? In this post, let’s look at the options at your disposal…
You should usually write articles on subjects that you enjoy, or that you’re are familiar with. But to keep your readers coming back, you should also try to broaden your horizons and give your readers a wide variety of trending or hot topics.
To do this, you want to think about writing articles that cover “hot topics,” even if those topics are outside of your normal comfort zone. There are a number of different approaches that you can take. The first step is to brainstorm.
Brainstorming is how other prolific writers come up with their article ideas. Brainstorming does not involve using your brain only. Your mind isn’t the only tool at your disposal for coming up with a wealth of article ideas – you should also use the internet to come up with ideas for hot topics for your articles. If you’re socially very active, keeping your ears peeled for ideas also works.
How that works is you could be talking to friends and you use a term you think everybody knows, say a word like ROI – return on investment. But then one of your listeners goes, “Yeah, what is ROI?” And it becomes clear that almost everybody wants to know what you mean by ROI. That, right there, tells you that many people will find an article discussing ROI informative and interesting; if you can write it in layman's language and give them specific instances in their lives where factoring ROI in their affairs can improve their situations.
But let’s stay with getting hot topic ideas for articles off of the internet…
When it comes to writing article topics that you are unfamiliar with you’ll find that the internet is your best source of ideas and information.
As stated above, to reach the most readers, you want to write articles that focus on subjects that are considered hot or trending. This can include many things. A “hot topic,” can be a recent news report, gossip concerning a celebrity, a highly-debated issue, or even a popular product or service the reading public is interested in.
Of course you decide which hot topic you would like to cover. But you should know that many users of the internet enjoy reading content that focuses on popular products/services. These types of articles are often referred to as product reviews. People go online to get what’s called social proof – opinions of other people who’ve used the product, or the opinions of people who have researched what others who have used the product or service are saying about the product or service.
To write an article that reviews a specific product (a product review) you want to examine popular shopping sites such as eBay and Amazon.
These sites often list popular, big-ticket items right on their home pages – items that are getting a lot of interest from the public. Writing an article that is focused on popular items internet users are buying and researching to get social proof is one of the best ways to create fun, interesting, and needed articles – articles people are interested to read.
The same can be said for common services and popular news stories. Once you decide exactly what you would like to write about next you need to decide exactly how to write the piece. The best way, and also the easiest, is to create an outline for yourself.
When making your outline, it is important to first research thoroughly. Examine the topic that you plan on covering in your article and find a good interesting angle from which to create the article so it’s unique and adds something new or brings a fresh perspective.
Ideally, for a product review article, it would be better if you can familiarize yourself with the product as much as you can because the best product reviews are produced by writers who have actually used the product in question. But it’s not strictly required that you have used the item in order to write a helpful review article.
You can easily find online product reviews; in fact, you can do this right at the online retailer websites. The problem shoppers have is that there are simply too many user reviews on a site such as Amazon, so your big job is to help the person reading your review to find answers to their questions in as few words as possible.
To do this, you can use internet searches and keyword research tools that point out what specific searches buyers are looking to find answers to. As an example, a person looking to buy a bird feeder wants to know if the feeder is right for hummingbirds, how easy it is to clean, if it can stand on a windowsill, how to keep it there and so on. If you took two bird owners, each will have different questions, depending on their particular set of circumstances.
A standard internet search will allow you to determine which topics are already covered in articles – thus giving you an idea of your competition, and what’s not being covered enough, for example. Keyword research tools often tell you exactly what keywords internet users are searching with and how those searches are being performed.
Whatever you choose to write about, whether it is a product review article, or you’re reviewing a service, or writing a news story, you are sure to find success, as long as you cover something that is popular at the moment that people are searching online for answers.
This approach outlined above is one of the easiest and quickest ways to find hot, in-demand topics for articles.
One final note: Even “hot topic,” articles can be boring to read. That is why it is important that you write from the heart. You may want to read the article on how to write persuasively for tips on keeping your readers engaged and tuned in. A lot of the time this has to do with how you use “elegant variation” and such other writing devices. This other article offers a really simple tip on how to achieve that.
