Research Writing Topics
Posted: April 10, 2018
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There's no doubt that knowing the subject you write about is vital. Being in the know can help increase the amount of work you get, and maybe even impact your credibility. Even if you've been in the freelance content creating game for a while, and this article focuses on other fields than the outdoor industry, here are some good suggestions for staying informed about what's happening in the topics you cover.
Kristen Pope, contributor to The Write Life, shares tips to help research your writing topics.
Whether you cover technology or hockey, it’s important to know what’s going on and stay on top of the latest news in your field.
Knowing what’s going on in your field can help you land more stories, and it might help you become your editor’s “go to” person for related topics.
Follow these techniques to stay on top of your beat.
1. Use Google Alerts
Writers use
Google Alerts in all sorts of different ways. You can use this free service to subscribe to companies, people or phrases, and Google Alerts will send you an email notification when the keywords appear online.
Many writers have a Google Alert set up for their name so they see when they’ve been mentioned or have an article published.
This is also a useful way to stay on
top of your niche and the main subjects you cover. If you cover technology, you might want to set up an alert for a specific technology company or a specific kind of technology or an aspect of the field.
Of course, when you receive an alert, that means someone else has already covered the topic. This is a great way to stay on top of current developments in the field, but not the best way to break the news yourself.
Read the entire article,
Do Your Homework: How to Research Your Writing Topics, on
The Write Life.