To continue the series on web content writing, I want to share some of my personal tips & resources with you.

These are particularly helpful for creating that endless flow of web content for your sites, blogs, articles and even emails or short reports.

I’ll start by giving you a list of great places to find hot topics in your niche to inspire high quality web content.

Writing topics that will attract visitors and build a strong readership is not rocket science. In fact, if you pay attention your target market will even tell you exactly what they want you to write…

Sources For Web Content Ideas:

• Your first choice should always be keywords & phrases that you find through keyword research. Writing seo content, or content that is optimized for specific search terms, will help you reach your ideal visitors when they are in the process of searching for solutions – when they are most likely to subscribe or buy.

• Search niche forums for hot topics when you’re looking for content ideas. Take notice of threads with the most views or the most replies. Most forum software is set up to show you these numbers at a glance while scrolling through the topics. Threads with the most replies sparked a discussion or raised more questions. Threads with a lot of views but no replies obviously had an interesting title, but perhaps didn’t deliver. Both are usually good topics to consider writing about.

• Watch for news or stories that surface that will be of interest to your market, or that you can write about with a slant that relates to your topic. Subscribe to Google Alerts with specific keyword phrases, scan traditional media such as magazines and television, search YouTube for new and interesting videos, etc. This type of content is great for niche blogs, along with your thoughts or opinions on the topic. (example)

• If you blog, your comment section can be a great source for new web content. Especially when people leave you questions, or dive deeper into the topic. This gives you the opportunity to write a second “Part 2″ blog post, and then offer the link to that post as a reply to their comment. The comments on other popular blogs in your niche is also a great source. Search Technorati or Google Blog Search for specific topics, and scan through the comments for questions or comments that inspire new content ideas.

• Share websites, blogs or resources in your niche that your readers would enjoy. If you sell running shoes, you could create a directory of marathons. If you promote financial calculators, you could review the top Finance magazines. Consider any other products, services or resources that your target market needs or would appreciate and use that as a source for new web content.

• Other blogs in your niche are also a great source for new content ideas. You can share a list of blog posts by various authors on the same topic, or take one good blog post and expand on that topic with a different angle on your own blog. If you publish this on a blog, linking to the other blog(s) will usually result in a trackback there which is also a great way to get targeted traffic.

• If you are an Affiliate check in with your merchants frequently for sales, special offers, coupon codes or new products. These are always a good thing to announce on your blog or website, or send out to your mailing list.

• Search Twitter at http://search.twitter.com with your topical keywords and scan through the conversations. Find out what people are saying, asking or talking about. When you get in tune with how your target market feels about a topic, it helps you write web content they’ll be most likely to read and share.

Also See: 5 Types of Web Content That Readers Love!

I hope these web content writing tips & resources proved helpful for you, and sparked some new ideas you can use to create fresh content for your blog or website. These are the same ideas and resources that I use every single day across my own blogs and websites.

Best,

p.s. My next post will feature specific resources that I use myself in developing fresh, new web content. Subscribe below to get updates if you’d like to receive email notification about new posts here on ClickNewz…

Some people are writing machines. They get an idea, pound it out in minutes, post it to their blog, and move on to something else. For the rest of the world, writing is often slow, grinding work.

But it doesn’t have to be. Anyone can write faster if they follow a 5-step formula for writing more efficiently. I call it S.P.E.E.D. Writing.

Before I describe this formula, let me admit that I write a lot. I serve dozens of clients, maintain two of my own blogs, write for a political blog, write articles for half a dozen other blogs, and do other miscellaneous writing. It seems I can never write fast enough.

I’m not slow. But I can’t whip out copy and walk away as some do. One problem I have is editing while I write. It slows me down. In fact, I rewrote this paragraph that you’re reading right now three times before moving on.

By studying my own bad habits and with the advice of others, I came up with the S.P.E.E.D. Writing formula to help myself write faster and be more productive. When I follow it, I can write twice as fast or faster.

S: Select a topic

Not having anything to say can cause writer’s block. But having too much to say is a problem too.

If you try to jam in every thought, you’ll end up with an unfocused post. This slows you down because you’ll have to figure out how to make all the extra stuff sound relevant. Then, because you know it’s not relevant, you’ll just spend more time deleting it later.

Narrow your topic to one idea. ONE idea. If other topics come to mind, make a note of them for other posts. By sticking to one and only one idea, you’ll force yourself to stay on-point, which will shorten your writing time and give your readers a better post.

P: Prepare your facts

When you find yourself staring helplessly at your computer screen, it’s almost always because you don’t have facts at hand. Gathering information before you start will usually get you writing quickly.

Before you write a single word, jot down a few notes. If you don’t have the facts in your head or if you need additional information, do a little research. That can be as simple as opening a book, scanning a magazine, or Googling a few key terms. Don’t “compose” while taking notes. Just get the facts all in one place.

Starting an idea file is a huge time-saver. I keep a simple text file on my computer desktop and jot down ideas as I get them. I also use Google Notebook to record notes from online reading. I don’t tear out magazine bits anymore because that creates clutter that I have to sort through later.

E: Establish a structure

Some writers like to think that writing should be free of rules. But that’s bunk.

Every piece of writing, especially blog writing, needs structure. It could be a short narrative, a Q&A, a series of bullet points, a numbered list, etc.

You can use this structure to outline your post. It doesn’t have to be a formal outline like the type you learned in school. Just take all your facts or ideas and arrange them in the order you want them to appear in your finished piece, using your chosen structure as a guide.

For this article, I decided to use an easy to remember acronym, S.P.E.E.D., to give me five points to cover. Once I collected my information, I divided it among these five points.

A set structure also helps you avoid the trap of linear writing. You don’t have to start at the beginning and write line-by-line to the end. With a structure, you can write in pieces, in any order you like. For this article, I’m writing the five points first, and I’ll write the introduction last.

E: Eliminate distractions

This is harder than it sounds. There are so many distractions in my day that I often take multitasking to the extreme. That slows down writing exponentially.

Like any other task you want to complete quickly, writing requires undivided attention. Turn off the TV, mute the phone, close your email program, get off your social networks, and just write.

D: Dash to the finish

This is the biggie. You can’t agonize over every word or sit and stare at your computer screen. Put your fingers on the keyboard and GO.

It doesn’t have to be perfect writing. Just get the words down. You might be surprised at how much you can get done and how good it is if you take off the brakes and let ‘er rip.

This means you can’t read and reread what you’re writing while you write. I’ll admit, this is tough for me. When I get stumped, I often go back and read what I’ve written to create momentum that can carry me forward.

It works sometimes. But it’s a bad idea for a first draft. You can read what you’ve written after you’ve written it all the way through.

It also means you shouldn’t edit while you write. Writing and editing should be separate tasks. Take off the editor hat and just plow through until you’re finished. Later, you can edit and revise.

(I have to laugh at myself for giving this advice, because if this were a crime, I’d get life in jail.)

If you follow this formula, you’ll quickly end up with a written post. You’ll want to edit right away, but don’t. Just walk away. Once all the words are down and in order, save your document and do something else.

Later, you can edit with a fresh eye. Objectivity always makes you a better editor. You’ll catch the mistakes. You’ll spot the extraneous details. You’ll cut the fat.

Okay. I’m done. Now I’m going to save this and . . . aw nuts. I just reread the article.

It’s easier to give this advice than to follow it.

About the Author: Dean Rieck is an internationally-respected copywriter and publisher of Pro Copy Tips, a blog that provides copywriting tips for professional copywriters.

Vampires are everywhere at the moment. At the movies (Twilight), on your TV (True Blood) … and in your copy.

It’s nothing new. E.B. White recognised the problem in his revision of Strunk’s Elements of Style:

“Rather, very, little, pretty – these are the leeches that infest the pond of prose, sucking the blood of words.”

White was writing back in the 1950s, though. With the internet making writers and publishers of us all, those little words aren’t just leeches: they’re full-grown vampires. And they need to be stopped.

How to Spot Vampire Words

As well as White’s “Rather, very, little, pretty”, there’s a few other words you might recognize in your own copy. Here’s a few examples:

• Quite
• Fairly
• Sometimes
• Often
• May

These are all qualifiers: wishy-washy qualifiers at that. They suck the life-force from a red-blooded sentence. They make readers yawn, or switch off, or lose confidence.

So stop qualifying. Start being bold and direct. Sure, you might risk a few pedantic types taking issue in the comments – but you’ll be keeping the rest of your readers gripped.

When you edit your copy, hone in on those words that are sucking your sentences dry. What grabs you?

“You may see fairly impressive results”

Or

“You’ll see impressive results”

Grab a piece of your copy. Go through it and highlight every qualifying word you can find: adjectives and adverbs. Here’s an example, from Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Tips:

Want to convince your readers to do something or agree with your point of view?

OK, that was a silly question. Of course you do.

Persuasion is generally an exercise in creating a win-win situation. You present a case that others find beneficial to agree with. You make them an offer they can’t refuse, but not in the manipulative Godfather sense.

If you take a word out, would the sentence still make sense?

“Silly” and “Beneficial” are obviously necessary. “Manipulative” isn’t grammatically essential, but it makes the meaning clearer.

When you’re not sure with a word like “generally”, ask yourself whether it makes the sentence stronger, or whether it’s draining its life blood.

“Generally” is the one word that could be cut, to make the sentence read “Persuasion is an exercise in creating a win-win situation”.

Clear Those Suckers Outta Your Headlines

The worst place for a vampire-word to lodge itself is in a headline. A quick reminder from How to Write Magnetic Headlines:

“On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.”

Want more people to make it past the headline? Then don’t put a vampire in their way.

Don’t write “Fairly Recent Research May Indicate…”

Write “New Study Shows…”

Don’t write “Some Reasons Why List Posts Usually Work”

Write “7 Reasons Why List Posts Always Work”

Don’t write “Why Your Blog Might Not Be Making Much Money”

Write “Why You Can’t Make Money Blogging”

You get the idea.

What To Do With Your Vampire Words

We all know how to deal with vampires.

Stake them.

Cut those words right out of your copy, and don’t look back.

About the Author: In between watching episodes of True Blood, Ali Hale occasionally gets some writing done. She’s a freelancer, a post-grad creative writing student, and a blogger for several sites, including her own Aliventures on “getting more from life”. (Go ahead and yoink the RSS feed.)