Tim Bossie.com

Article marketing for website traffic is one of the most powerful – and used – online marketing tactics used today. However, sometimes writing the articles can get a little difficult at times trying to keep the content fresh and inviting.

I have a list taped to my desk that I use when I get bit by the brain block bug. Sometimes, the ideas just are not there. You know you want to write something, but can’t seem to put the words on the screen, or on the paper.

There are times when I am writing articles for clients that I sit there tapping the keys and nothing happens. No words are formed. No earth shattering phrases. Just a blank screen.

That’s when I begin to scan the horizon for the ideas. There is something that I learned a long time ago from a seminar I paid $1,000 to attend. I’m going to let you in on it for nothing.

When stuck, get a new perspective.

If you are having a hard time coming up with something to write about, move around, get a new outlook, change your environment, go somewhere. This can be both in terms of physically or mentally. Either way do something different.

10 Quick, No-Fail Ideas For Writing Articles

One of the other things I do is look at my list. This is a simple list of 10 ideas that help get the creative juices flowing and articles being written. It has gone through several different stages during the last 13 years of writing web content, but for the most part it has stayed the same. Here are the 10 article writing ideas.

1. Top 10 List – This never fails, which is why it is at the top. I simply write down 10 things about a topic and fill it out from there.

2. Watch A Video – YouTube.com has millions of videos ready for watching. Sometimes it just takes watching any video to get some ideas. However, watching something that is topic specific helps immensely.

3. How-To – When people are looking for information it is mostly in a how-to type of article. Find something that you can explain and write about it.

4. Visit Forums – When you are stuck travel to some of the online forums. I am a member of several forums where I see what is being asked, or talked about.

5. Read Other Blogs – My Google Reader is full of blogs and ideas just waiting to be written about, or expanded on. I will look at the title – without reading the post – and get a lot of ideas that way.

6. Learn Something – I have found that the more I learn about a topic, the more I can write about it. When writing for clients, I take some time to learn the topic before I begin writing. This helps come up with new angles, ideas, and information.

7. Write Something Personal – We all have stories in our lives. Use those stories to write about the topics you want to put down on paper.

8. Use Current Trends – This is easiest when working with marketing articles, but can be done with any topic. Remember that people want new information, not old. Keeping up to date, or just doing a quick search, with current trends will give you a lot of ideas.

9. Product Review – I don’t do this a lot. However, it is a good idea when you are stuck. I mostly do this for my own article writing. Client articles are mostly informative or how-to. A great example of product reviews, and how they are done is, Lynn Terry of ClickNewz.com. She writes great reviews of the products that she recommends.

10. Write About Experience – This doesn’t mean tell all about your life experiences. You are doing this is tip #7. If you have done something recently in your niche, then write about how it went – either good or bad. Darren Rowse, of Problogger.net is a master at this. HIs most recent post is a great example of writing about experience.

Bonus Article Writing Idea Tip

Other than the ten that are listed, I have one more at the bottom of my list. It says,

“Just Write Something!”

Some of my best articles – either for myself or for clients – are the ones where I just start writing. Sometimes I completely change the entire thing, but out of all that writing comes a brilliant idea that I can frame my article around.

So…

What are you waiting for? Write your next article using one of these tips. But, get started by at least writing something.