The WMF Archives

Maybe you're a new writer that just wants to get seen. Maybe you're an old hat at this but can't think of anything to write. Maybe it's simply one of those mornings when you're sitting with a cup of coffee, knowing you have assignments due, but completely unable to focus. I call this Writer's ADHD.

Whatever the problem is, you have to get to work. Writing is your bread and butter. Unlike any other job, your wares are locked inside your head and only you hold the key to getting them out and putting them into words. Once you get them out they need to be seen. Online writing is manipulated in a different way than any other type of writing. While you may gain followers if you have quality writing, you have to get them to your writing to read it in the first place.

The Golden Key
The key to writing online is SEO. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about SEO right now. That's a whole other article. But I will tell you this, if you want to be a successful online writer SEO is your Golden Key. Learn it, know it, love it. Become one with SEO and make it bond with your writing style and niche and you will be a success. It's all about the keywords, how they lay out in your article and how many you have.

To make things really simple, download DupeFree and write your articles through it. It's a free program that tells you whether you need to brush up on your SEO. It's very easy. You write the article and check for keyword density. If you get a smiley face at the bottom, you win the bonus prize! The only thing that would make it simpler is if little elves came in and plucked the ideas right out of your head and put them on paper. When this happens, let me know. I need to borrow them so I can have a couple of days off.

Google Trends
Alright. The elves still haven't shown up. You can't focus on the topics at hand. You have the computer on and the DupeFree program ready to go. You want to write. You have to write. Can someone please just give you something different to write about that is still going to make you money and get your name into the writing world?!

Yes as a matter of fact I can. Okay well not me personally, but I can tell you where to go to find topics that are sure to get you some killer page views. Google Trends. Google Trends is a list of hot keywords and phrases. You can even see how hot they are by clicking on them. This is a great way to get ideas about what to write and is especially useful if you are interested in writing news items. Using this Google tool you can easily find out what people are looking for right now.

Now, you have to be careful because some trends are short trends. You may only get high page views on these for a couple of days. But, if it fits in with your niche then writing a news article on it is only going to draw people to your work and allow them to look through other items you may have that are related to the trendy news item.

For example, consider the death of Michael Jackson. If you write a lot about 80s music, famous African Americans, or the Jackson family in general, this is a great news item for you to use to draw people to your work.

To be honest with you I never watch the news and rarely read it. Why would I? If I want to get depressed I'll simply focus on all the mistakes I've made in my life or think about all the people I know that are jobless. But, when I go to Google Trends and see some interesting keywords, not only will I do some research and read about it, I'll write about it as well. I end up learning a lot about what's going on the world while getting my own work done!

For instance, I write a lot of lesson plans and other articles about parenting and children. I went to Google Trends one day and saw enough keywords on the Microsoft Xbox 360 Natal Project to tell me it was an ongoing hot topic. I don't own a 360. I've never even played one to be honest with you. But I do have an 8 year old son who wants to know when there is any kind of new hardware coming out. And that is exactly what I based my article on. I wrote an article that describes the Xbox 360 Natal Project and just watched the views roll in. It's as simple as that. Find a hot topic, research it and find a way to fit it into your niche.

Boosting Page Views