There's one key rule that every writer should understand before sitting down to write an article and that's "know your audience".Who are you writing for? A limited group of subscribers to a magazine about pig farming or a wider, more general audience?
If your goal is to reach as many readers as possible, you'll need to know which subjects sell.
Given
choice between "How To Grow Mushrooms" and "Decorate Your Home on A Budget", which do you think would be most popular? Pretty obvious, isn't it? But when you're faced with a choice between "Sell Your Junk on Ebay" and "How to find and destroy virus on your computer", it's no longer quite as easy to decide which topic to go with.
Having run a website with lots of original content, I've been in a position to monitor subjects that are most likely to draw attention. By basing your articles on following ten subjects you'll know you're writing articles that will be read. And that's idea, after all, isn't it?
1. Children
Babies are born every day creating a constant demand for advice about every aspect of childcare and general parenting.
Try to imagine of kind of situations parents are likely to find themselves in and give them information to help them deal with it. If you're a parent yourself, you should have no trouble finding a plethora of sub-topics to write about.
Article ideas include:
* Entertaining young children during long journeys * How to feed a fussy child * Developing a regular sleep pattern * When should solids be introduced? * What you can do to improve your child's education and * How to say "no" and mean it.
2. Home and Garden
When you consider that we spend most of our leisure time at home, it isn't difficult to understand popularity of articles aimed at helping people make most of their surroundings.
Women want beautiful, clutter-free homes where they can enjoy entertaining friends and a safe-haven where they can raise their families; men want homes that are easy to maintain and that won't make too big a hole in their bank accounts.
Article ideas include:
* De-cluttering your home * Decorating on a budget * Child-proofing your home * How to throw a successful dinner party * Quick cleaning tips and * Designing a low maintenance garden.
3. Relationships
Most of us want to love and be loved. We want romance, great sex and security of a stable relationship.
Articles aimed at those who are either looking for a relationship or want to improve one they're in have are always popular and, contrary to what most may think, not just amongst women, either.
Article ideas include:
* How to attract a mate * Where to go and/or how to act on a date * Using an online dating service * Does speed dating work? * Great sex tips * Is he having an affair? and * Arranging a romantic break
4. Personal Care
Women have always spent time and money on their appearance but during past few years men have been rapidly catching up.
While it's a shame that so many people are unhappy with their looks, as writers we can help them find new ways of dealing with their problems. We can offer advice to help them make changes or simply help them understand that they're not alone.
Article ideas include:
* How to combat spots and blemishes * Looking great on a budget * Home-made natural beauty products * How to dress to suit your figure * Dressing for different occasions and * Give yourself perfect manicure
5. Health
While health related articles weren't particular marketable a few years ago, with more and more people now turning towards a healthy lifestyle, there are now entire magazines and websites dedicated to healthy living.
Now that focus has turned from cure to prevention, most people are looking for ways to improve their health. Fitness studios have never been so popular and even good old-fashioned walking's back in vogue.
