Sometimes I feel like writing about something different than what’s on the old KW list.
When I can’t think of a personal story or experience, I poke around one of my sites.
I check out some articles and look for any area or topic that needs expanding.
Usually, I find something in minutes.
Content generates content ideas.
But sometimes it’s refreshing to simply take a look at existing content on your site to look for something you can expand on.
Let’s take the basketball shoe niche.
Suppose you’ve written an article titled “Best basketball shoes for under $100”. That’s not a bad KW. 70 monthly searches. Keyword difficulty is 1 (actually KD and search volume varies depending on the wording of the KW).
Lots of buyer intent. The downside is you need to try quite a few basketball shoes to write intelligently about it. But I’m assuming if you’re in the basketball shoe niche you regularly buy them.
So you have this article published. It’s a beaut.
Includes plenty of photos of the shoes you own.
Plenty of technical basketball footwear discussion.
You wrap it up with your conclusion, which really is an opinion.
Shoes are personal. What I like may not be for you. But still, your opinion counts.
In fact, that’s one of my mantras in this biz – my opinion counts as long as I can explain myself.
While you read your best basketball shoes under the $100 article you notice that each shoe write-up mentions leather.
Yeah, most basketball shoes have leather.
You ask yourself, what kind of leather? Are there different kinds of leather for shoes compared to leather jackets, sofas, etc.
How is the leather for shoes made? Treated?
Are there any other materials in a basketball shoe?
There may be some mesh. There are laces. There’s the sole (likely some form of rubber I suspect).
Basketball shoes are pretty complicated.
A lot goes into a pair.
How exactly are they made? Robots. People. Both?
Where are they made?
“How are basketball shoes made” turns out to be a searched keyword phrase. Volume in Ahrefs is 0-10 with N/A KD.
That topic could be a huge article. I think it would be an interesting article that would end up targeting a ton of keywords.
You would probably end up with an entire series.
The article would no doubt mention the fact that the leather must be tanned.
Mmmmhhhh, what does tanning leather involve?
How long has that process been used?
Speaking of how long, when were shoes first made specifically for basketball?
On and on it goes.
That would be a research-heavy series of articles.
Maybe you’re not up for that today.
Maybe you prefer writing something that requires less research.
You poke around and notice mentions of laces. Yup, b-ball shoes need laces.
What do you do with laces?
You tie them.
Are there special ways to tie basketball shoes? Maybe.
Guess what? “How to lace basketball shoes” is searched 80 times per month and has a N/A keyword difficulty. Not a bad keyword.
That article would be easy.
You pull out a pair of basketball shoes and some cool laces and start lacing up in a variety of ways.
Take photos of each step of each lacing method.
Inside 2 hours you could have a killer, step-by-step article setting out 5 ways to lace basketball shoes.
Speaking of laces, I bet there are quite a bit of good keywords revolving around basketball shoelaces.
Right off the bat, I wonder “how long are basketball shoelaces”.
I’m also curious what are the best basketball shoelaces. You don’t have to spend much on laces to write that article.
As you ponder shoelace topics, maybe you’re curious as to how they’re made.
You wouldn’t be the only one.
40 people search “how are shoelaces made” per month according to Ahrefs. It has a KD of 4.
On and on it goes.
How about something even less strenuous?
You could write an opinion article on whether it’s okay to wear basketball shoes with a suit.
Yes, “basketball shoes with a suit” is actually searched. Not a lot (as reported) but it is.
That would be fun to write.
This email took 30 minutes to write.
During that time I’ve come up with a good number of articles to write in a niche I’m not in.
Content can often be the inspiration for more content.
In fact, writing this email inspired the next one.
What if you don’t have any content?
I think you know the answer to that.
Jon Dykstra is a six figure niche site creator with 10+ years of experience. His willingness to openly share his wins and losses in the email newsletter he publishes has made him a go-to source of guidance and motivation for many. His popular “Niche site profits” course has helped thousands follow his footsteps in creating simple niche sites that earn big.
