How to Generate Dozens of Article Ideas at the Touch of a TAPTAB

Writer’s block… the blank page blues… words and images that incite fear into the hearts of bloggers far and wide. And it can become the ultimate show stopper (not in a good way) if left to grow in the garden of your mind.

This could be YOU after 3 hours of staring at a blank screen!

I did quite a bit of ghostwriting last year where I dared not even utter the words “writers” and “block” in the same sentence for fear of jinxing my personal airspace. The need for speed was directly tied to my bottom line. Client orders work today. Client wants work completed in 48 hours, or client becomes very agitated.

During those ghostwriting days I came up with several little tricks to jumpstart those resistant little neurons — the cornerstone of my success being the TAPTAB formula. TAPTAB works because it fills a very real need for your readers, and it allows you to create new content ideas almost instantly.

Best of all, you can start using it right now. Let’s go!

1) Open a text file and create a list of keywords that pertain to your niche.

Don’t use any keyword tools for this process, and don’t use any complete sentences. I just want you to pull the keywords directly from your brain. At least 10 keywords, okay? Broad or long tail, it doesn’t matter.

2) Copy and paste that list of keywords you just compiled into the Google Adwords Keyword Tool.

What that tool will give you is a basic list of potential article ideas or writing prompts. You’re going to save that data as a spreadsheet file and print out a list of the keywords so that you have it within eyeshot when you need to brainstorm.

(Be sure you sign in to your Adwords account before using the Google Adwords Keyword Tool, or you’ll only get a limited list of keyword ideas returned.)

3) Create a TAPTAB file from your keyword list.

TAPTAB stands for:

Topic – This is the keyword.
Audience – Who’s going to be reading the article?
Problem – Describe the problem they have, as it relates to the Topic.
Tools – What tools (if any) can they use to solve the problem?
Action – What action will they need to take solve the problem?
Benefit – How will the reader benefit by solving the problem? What’s the big prize at the finish line?

For each keyword in the keyword list you just compiled, you’re going to add the TAPTAB details. So let’s say one of your keywords is: outsourcing to a virtual assistant

Your TAPTAB entry would look like this:

TOPIC: outsourcing to a virtual assistant
AUDIENCE: Internet marketers
PROBLEM: How do you know which company to choose?
TOOLS: BoardReader and Omgili
ACTION: Do research on forums to see what others are saying about the companies/individuals they’ve worked with.
BENEFIT: You get the real story about these companies instead of relying on happy-go-lucky site testimonials.

Here’s another entry for the exact same keyword:

TOPIC: outsourcing to a virtual assistant
AUDIENCE: Internet marketers
PROBLEM: What tasks should you outsource?
TOOLS: NONE
ACTION: Maintain a to-do list and a completed tasks list for a week to see exactly what you’ve done and what you’ve missed.
BENEFIT: You can see exactly where your time is going, and what you’re slacking on.

And still, here’s another one for the same keyword:

TOPIC: outsourcing to a virtual assistant
AUDIENCE: Internet marketers
PROBLEM: How do you train them when they’re not local?
TOOLS: Jing
ACTION: Create short training videos with Jing. One task per video, so they can be easily accessed in the future.
BENEFIT: When you train your assistant properly, there’s less chance they’ll make errors in the work they’re doing for you.

As you can see, TAPTAB doesn’t give you a full-blown article outline, but it does get you pretty darn close.

Why TAPTAB is a great blog buddy

The real sweet spot of TAPTAB is that you’re always solving a specific problem for the reader.

Even if you’re creating a list post, the items on that list are solving a clearly defined problem. Readers want their problems solved and they like articles that incite action. If you don’t learn anything else of importance from me, take this one with you and hermetically seal it into your brain.

I like to go through my list of keywords on a daily basis, and add 3-5 new TAPTAB entries to that list. Not only will you ALWAYS have blog post ideas, you can use many of these ideas for guest posts or to create an information product.

How?

If you subscribe to my Monday Morning with That Internet Marketing Thing newsletter you’ll get a free copy of How to Become the Guest Blogger Everyone Wants. In it I’ll show you exactly how to take a single TAPTAB idea and easily transform it into 10 different articles. This is where you really become a content creating dynamo.

So what are you waiting for… Monday Morning with That Internet Marketing Thing is 100% free and 100% filled with awesomeness for your brain. Indulge.