Finding things to blog about
August 22nd, 2008
I know I’ve been writing about blogging a lot lately but I truly believe it’s one of the best ways to market your internet business - no matter what your actual business model may be. Today I thought I’d share a tip for bloggers facing writer’s block: Google Alerts. Google Alerts is a free service anyone can sign up for that delivers an daily email digest of the latest news and blog articles containing keywords you specify. So if your website sells toys online you can sign up for a ‘toys’ Google Alert and let Google deliver industry news to you!
Of course if you’ve been reading this blog over the past couple months you know simply re-posting articles on your blog is a bad idea - not only because it’s plagiarism but also because your search rankings could be penalized for duplicate content. Instead, find an interesting article to summarize on your blog, then add your take on it. Readers will appreciate having a source for the latest news while thinking you must read every daily newspaper each morning (how’d he know there was an article in today’s Des Moines Register about toys made from corn?).
Sometimes an article may even spark an original idea you can write about on your blog. These are often the most successful articles from a search perspective and you’ll be amazed how many ideas you’ll get just by skimming the headlines. Even moderately narrow subjects produce dozens of news and blog mentions each day so you’ll almost never run low on inspiration.
Google Alerts is a powerful tool for bloggers looking for interesting daily content. It’s also a great way to keep tabs on your competitors to see what they’re talking about 
