1. Participate in chat rooms related to your targeted audience. Watch what questions people are asking and ask others what information they're interested in.
There are probably millions of chatrooms out there, just waiting for you, all you need to do is go to http://www.google.com or your favorite search engine and enter your target keyword and chat. For example, if you wanted to find chatrooms that are talking about dogs, you could enter +dog +chat in the searchbar and then have fun in the chatroom. Another good thing about this method (and also see the tip about the message/bulletin boards) is that you can establish yourself as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) by answering a few questions during your visit.
I always try to help on the forums that I am a part of, primarily because a lot of people have helped me along the way, but at the same time, I also am able to spread my name and my website information. It's a win-win.
2. Examine what information in being broadcast on tv, news and talk shows. That information is usually a hot topic.
This little tip is very crucial, if you see a news clip that talks about Yahoo, or Google, or something going on in the economy for example, you can use that to your advantage.
I have found that I can always relate anything back to business and use it to create an article. For example, not too long ago, I posted an audio post to my blog (http://blog.makemoneymarketingonline.com) where I discussed my experiences with the Houston Public Transportation System and what lessons could be learned from it.
3. Hang out in similar message boards. People leave questions for information they're seeking. That is a strong indicator of subjects to write about.
This is similar to the first tip in nature, but here is an added twist, if you see the same topic in many different posts or a really long discussion thread, it's worth having a closer look at it, you might find a topic, that is just begging to have a solution created for it, and then you could go to http://www.elance.com for example and just submit a quote request, describing the problem and what you are thinking about doing to fix it. Bingo, your very own product and all thanks to watching the board.
4. Survey your web site visitors or current customers. Ask them what type of articles they would like to see published on your web site or in your e-zine.
If you are a subscriber to eBusinessCornerNews (if not, you owe it to yourself to subscribe, I give away a lot of great information that others charge big bucks for, plus my subscribers also receive tons of free software and other tools, like rebrandable ebooks and resale rights products, at absolutely no charge. Visit http://blog.makemoneymarketingonline.com to request your free subscription today.) you already have seen that I quite frequently ask for feedback, input, comments and questions from readers and it's a great way to find out what you can do to improve your articles, ebooks and ezines but it can also lead you to the discovery of a new product.
5. Regularly check your site's guest books. People sometimes leave questions or comments that would help you generate high readership articles.
Believe it or not, but guestbooks do stil work. But not only that, they are a great place to see what problems people are having, especially on other sites (snoop around a little). But here's another thing. As you know, link popularity is vital to your search engine ranking and these little posts in guestbooks and on message boards all help you in that area, but please make sure your post is relevant and on topic.
Well, there you have it, the first 5 tips that will help you come up with article ideas and a few extra pointers to help you in your business adventure.
Here's to your success,
Xavier
P.s. Look for the next article in the series to get even more ideas. It's entitled "5 More Simple Ways To Get Ideas For Awesome Articles".
Xavier Nelson is the publisher of eBusinessCornerNews, your source for reviews, articles, free resources and more. Get your free subscription at http://blog.makemoneymarketingonline.com as well as the free tools, ebooks, and software only subscribers receive.
Don't forget to grab your free copy of the new, rebrandable ebook "Time to laugh" at http://freestuffbazaar.com/timetolaugh and promote your website and grow your list further. My gift to you.