Thoughts about research for those new at this whole blogging gig

Guilty.

So it is not that I don't want to do my homework, or write good content.... I just don't want to spend a day researching for one article that takes an hour or two to write. I mean, I am busy - we are all busy aren't we?

I chose my niche on a subject I am very familiar with. I have had the interest, training, life experience, career.... my whole life has been immersed in it. Everything in my life has led me to learn more about it, create ... and so on.

So..... I know at this point that more income is necessary so what do I decide? Use the knowledge of my subject and my years of developing a specific skill set and write about it. Share the knowledge with others.

I don't need to research. This is perfect!

wrong.

So, here's the thing. This topic has been so part of who I am - literally my entire life. My mother tells people she could see the traits developing before I could feed myself.....

But here is the problem.

It is so who I am that it is not something I "think" about. I mean, I don't know. I just know what I know...... So much that it has been hard to come up with how to's, or 7 steps to... or fix this by... blah blah blah. It is so much my daily life that it has taken me the last few months on WA to even come up with great ideas and how to's that I don't think every other site is doing. Some ideas came from suggestions of others I have met, things I have literally experienced but did not think to write about. duh.

research, research,research

You would think my creative brain as it is would have endless wealth of article ideas to write but I didn't. For a moment it truly made me feel like an artistic failure to be a couple articles in and be at a loss as to what the heck to write about.... But here is the thing, and I mean this to apply to everyone (especially those new at this like I am), do the research even on topics you know inside and out.

why?

I was doing some research this morning (as I seem to do a lot lately) on one particular topic for my site and by the time I was done and satisfied - knowing I had good content to write I got ideas for three more articles based on what I read. I will do some homework on those ideas and will likely end up with three or four more ideas.

I have been doing this almost since I started (reluctantly at first) - I have never been a "researcher" - ever. I hated it when I had to do reports in school and don't love it much more now.... So I am sure there are others who feel the same way and just want to write.....

The moral to my story.

Doing your homework ends up being so much more. Researching one topic gives new ideas... researching for those new ideas leads to even more ideas - like a snowball... gets bigger as will your notebook of ideas and content. Pretty soon you have a month or a year worth of content ideas - research is our friend.