Do you guys find it difficult to come up with content for articles in same niche?

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by MarkUSA, Dec 6, 2009.

  1. #1
    I just wrote four articles in the Solar Energy niche, and while workinig on the fifth, I found myself repeating some of the things I wrote in the first four.
    I was wondering how experienced IMers crank out 100 or 200 articles per month on the same niche? Don't you guys run out of things to say? :)
     
    MarkUSA, Dec 6, 2009 IP
  2. gvannorman

    gvannorman Well-Known Member

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    #2
    I have met this obstacle. When I do I usually take a bit away from writing so I can refresh my mind. There is just so much that you can say about one topic. But, you can always put a different look to the article.
     
    gvannorman, Dec 6, 2009 IP
  3. DreamingBig

    DreamingBig Well-Known Member

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    #3
    It can be hard sometimes but I use a thesaurus online to help come up with new words if needed. If that doesn't work I take a break, clear my mind and then get back to it. Sometimes that does the trick. Try looking at the pictures that the niche provides and do a brain storm. Write down the words that come to your mind. Don't use all of them at once but break it down.
     
    DreamingBig, Dec 6, 2009 IP
  4. lightless

    lightless Notable Member

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    #4
    Well, another way to get more writing ideas is to actually research about solar energy offline and get involved. Go to places where solar energy is produced or used or such. If the project pays well or if it's for your own site, it will be worth it.
     
    lightless, Dec 6, 2009 IP
  5. MoneyWrite

    MoneyWrite Member

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    #5
    I tend to find that the best way of doing this is to find articles that go a bit further. For example I concentrate on the personal finance niche, and you'd be amazed at how many substantial sub topics there are in, for example, credit cards.
     
    MoneyWrite, Dec 6, 2009 IP
  6. wolfbenedict

    wolfbenedict Peon

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    #6
    I haven't run into writer's block in a while. Not going to post the link to the article I wrote on it, just look in my profile and "See All Posts" link to see what I wrote about it.

    Basically, if you have run out of ideas, it could mean you are due for a break. Much like working out with weights - if you lift too much, your muscles will get tired and eventually won't work nearly as efficiently (or at all) if you continue on.

    Take a rest, a deep breath, come back, then look around.

    By the way, being repetitive is not always a bad thing. If you have an important point, you can just rephrase it from a different angle as someone else here has said. Besides, it's usually the important points that newbies and students miss when they hear it the first 600 million times. I know it was this way for me.

    So it's okay to be repetitive to a point. It's okay to be repetitive to a point. It's okay to be repe-...

    haha :)
     
    wolfbenedict, Dec 7, 2009 IP
  7. deannatroupe

    deannatroupe Peon

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    #7
    One way that I come up with a lot of articles on the same topic is to first write a set of tips articles. Then I can write one article about each of the tips in the other article. It also helps me to take a break from writing.
     
    deannatroupe, Dec 7, 2009 IP
  8. latoya

    latoya Active Member

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    #8
    Not at all. I have written hundreds of articles within my niche, I have a list of 100+ more to write, and I am coming up with new ideas every day.

    Read through the articles you've already written. After each sentence ask yourself whether you can expound on that topic. Then, take a look at each article and try writing it from a different angle. Think about appealing to different audiences: companies, consumers, teachers, scientists, etc. The reason IMers can write so many articles on a topic is because they milk that topic until it is completely dried up, then they sell it to McDonalds to put on their hamburgers.

    Search for news on your niche and turn that into an article. You don't necessarily have to cover the news, but if the news piece brushes over a concept that a beginner wouldn't understand, there's an article. Or, you can talk about the impact of the news.

    It's all about being creative. Sometimes you will repeat some of the same information for the benefit of the first time reader. For example, if I wrote about changing a baby's diaper, I might explain that babies wear diapers to keep their excretions from getting all over their clothes, the floor and your lap. If I wrote about choosing a diaper, I'd say it again. Same thing if I wrote a comparison of cloth and disposable diapers. You get the point.
     
    latoya, Dec 8, 2009 IP
  9. SocialMediaExpert

    SocialMediaExpert Peon

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    #9
    I know exactly what you mean. Our company offers products to socially market small businesses, and often times, I feel so frustrated because I seem to hit a wall when writing unique content.

    I am not sure if you are familiar with an article spinner, but it would be a great tool for you. Many social marketing businesses use them to multiply their current article selection by changing words and sentence structure so search engines do not penalize you for duplicate content.

    SpinProfit and JetSubmitter are both free and easy.
     
    SocialMediaExpert, Dec 8, 2009 IP
  10. comusher

    comusher Peon

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    #10
    I have hit this wall before. What I did was find someone who wrote for .004 cents a word and paid them to write a few. Of course they did not turn out well but it gave me fresh ideas and approaches I used to write my own. It was worth money spent.
     
    comusher, Dec 8, 2009 IP
  11. peter250

    peter250 Active Member

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    #11
    I think you have this problem when your not writing about something you love, or are seriously interested in. I had the same problem when i used to have a weight loss website.
     
    peter250, Dec 8, 2009 IP
  12. Y.L. Prinzel

    Y.L. Prinzel Peon

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    #12
    Curiosity can help you out a lot here. When you start asking questions, you start developing new paths to explore and begin coming up with new topics within one niche to write about.
     
    Y.L. Prinzel, Dec 10, 2009 IP
  13. pixie dust

    pixie dust Peon

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    #13
    I used to have the same problem when I started writing. Now, I just chunk down the general topic first and then develop each "chunk" into a separate article.
     
    pixie dust, Dec 11, 2009 IP
  14. kargl01

    kargl01 Peon

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    #14
    I have that problem if I write a bunch of articles about the same particular aspect within niche all in a row. So instead, I write about different aspects of the niche so it doesn't matter so much, and sometimes take a break to write about another niche. I've found this makes for less repetitive articles.
     
    kargl01, Dec 27, 2009 IP
  15. olaric8

    olaric8 Member

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    #15
    My own problem is coming up with Titles and nothing else. I am still trying to resolve that though!
     
    olaric8, Dec 30, 2009 IP
  16. The Chaotic Writer

    The Chaotic Writer Peon

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    #16
    This is the way I do it -- it is amazing how many ideas you can generate that way. I keep a notebook beside the computer to jot down ideas that come to me when I am writing an article.

    Using article generators is a waste of time -- if you have ever gone to a site and read a feeble article and then look at the next one and see that is it the same basic article with the same information but using different words, are you motivated to stay there and check out what their offer is?
     
    The Chaotic Writer, Dec 30, 2009 IP
  17. nmsptyltd

    nmsptyltd Guest

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    #17
    I used to write articles for one site that pays for submissions. During those times especially if I'm not interested with the niche I was given, It felt like I've stared with the blinking cursor on my PC for a week. When that happens, I just refresh myself a bit by taking a short walk just outside our house.
     
    nmsptyltd, Apr 28, 2011 IP
  18. etali

    etali Well-Known Member

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    #18
    When I'm running low on ideas I'll look for something topical in the news to talk about (there's usually something going on), or revisit a seasonal article that I wrote last year, but bring it up to date.

    Product reviews work well for me too, but I guess there's only so many solar panels out there, so that's not so great for the OP.

    I think I'm lucky in that I picked subjects I genuinely love, so I enjoy doing interviews, news, reviews, and other detailed articles. That makes it easy to revisit the subject later from a second or third narrow angle, and still have something that my visitors haven't read before.
     
    etali, Apr 28, 2011 IP
  19. peejaydee

    peejaydee Peon

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    #19
    I completely agree. If you approach it from a logical point of view, you can end with a 'tree' of articles. Each 500 word (for example) article can only ever be a summary of a subject. Very few subjects can be fully tackled in 500 words. Within that single original article you will probably touch on several aspects of a subject, each of which could be expanded upon. This can easily spawn more articles on each of the sub-subjects. Applying that theory to each of the 2nd generation articles will spawn yet more, 3rd generation articles.
    It's amazing how far you can take this. Allied to taking different viewpoints and stances, the article titles can quickly mount up.
     
    peejaydee, Apr 28, 2011 IP
  20. writerock

    writerock Peon

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    #20
    I believe it is not a good idea to make a single writer write on the same niche for more than 10 articles in a stretch. Me and my brother both write articles, what we do is after 10 articles we swap our assignments. This gives us ample room to be innovative and creative when we fall back to write the next ten articles.
     
    writerock, Apr 28, 2011 IP