Some six weeks ago, I began writing and submitting articles to free content sites in order to promote the six commercial Websites I own. The results have been both swift and dramatic, and the number of links from external Websites to my own Websites has increased from nearly nothing to more than 10,000 in a little more than a month. These results have inspired me to write more articles, and as I own six different Websites, I have six different topics to choose from. Still, my ideas occasionally run dry and that certainly happens to others who write articles for their own Websites. Writing and submitting articles on a regular basis does a lot for promoting your Websites, but where can you find more ideas for articles when you run out?
I have several sources that work for me. I subscribe to several newspapers as well as several newsmagazines. Most of my Websites are devoted to “topical” subjects, so the sorts of things I write about tend to be in the news. Sometimes, when reading an article about one of my topics, I find some angle or aspect of the topic I hadn’t previously considered. I read a lot of blogs devoted to my topics. All you need to do to find those is to type in “blog name-of-topic” into Google or any other search engine. You may find hundreds of blogs devoted to your topic of choice, and by reading them regularly, you may find some subject related to your topic that you hadn’t previously considered. You might also try looking for forums related to your topic of choice. Again, just type in “forum name-of-topic” into a search engine. You’d be surprised how many forums are out there. Each one is a potential source of ideas for articles on your topic.
A new tool that really helps is the new Google Alert feature. If you go to Google.com and find their Alert link, you can sign up to have Google send you e-mail once a day, once a week or once a month when a news article turns up relating to any topic you choose. With Google Alerts, sometimes ideas for articles just show up on your inbox!
It goes without saying, but I should mention it just the same. Plagiarizing articles is a crime. Most articles that are published on the Web are subject to copyright. Copying, rewriting or quoting from copyrighted articles without permission is illegal. There is nothing, however, that prevents you from using such articles or the subjects of such articles as inspiration for your own, unique writing. If you are willing to do a lot of searching, there are many great sources of ideas for articles. Just make sure that the articles you write contain content that is your own. The rewards are great, and it’s worth the effort.
Home Loans – Identity Theft Protection Could Hurt Home Sales
Identity theft has been a hot topic in the news during the last few years. Just a month or so ago, forty million credit card numbers were compromised due to a computer attack on a credit card processor. Consumers are rightly concerned, as it can take years to unravel the problems created when someone’s identity is stolen. New legislation in Texas and California, also proposed elsewhere, is designed to protect consumers by letting them put a “freeze” on their credit reports. Those in the real estate industry are worried, however, that doing so may make it difficult for some people to buy homes.
Debt Consolidation – How to Protect Your Credit Accounts from Theft
Last week, a security exploit at CardSystems Solutions, Inc, a credit card processor, may have allowed thieves to obtain as many as 40 million credit card numbers from unsuspecting victims. The theft was brought about though a virus introduced into the CardSystems that allowed external hackers to obtain access to the account information. Adding to the problem was the fact that CardSystems wasn’t supposed to have the account information at all. It appears that CardSystems “inappropriately” held onto the information after clearing the credit card transactions. At that point, the account information should have been deleted. CardSystems held onto the account information for supposed “research purposes.” Fortunately for those involved, the compromised information only included account numbers and not Social Security numbers, which would have assisted the thieves in identity theft scams. This latest security breach at a credit card processor outlines how anyone can be vulnerable to account or even identity theft. Is there anything that can be done about it?
New Bankruptcy Law – Targeting the Wrong People?
Last April, President Bush enthusiastically signed into law the oddly-named Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act. This bill, representing the biggest overhaul of bankruptcy law in twenty-five years, was written in order to discourage “bankruptcy of convenience.” Proponents of the bill, which included the credit card industry, say that the bill is necessary in order to stop an avalanche of bankruptcy filings by drug users and compulsive shoppers and gamblers. The law makes it harder to have debts wiped away, requires credit counseling for those considering bankruptcy, and holds attorneys responsible for paperwork errors by their clients in bankruptcy cases. The net result will probably be chaos, as fewer attorneys will handle bankruptcy cases, credit counselors will raise their fees, and more consumers with problem debt will be clueless as to what they should do next. Adding to the confusion are some new statistics that suggest that a large number of bankruptcies that are thought to be personal are actually business bankruptcies. As a result, the new law may be unfairly targeting consumers for punishment when they are not actually the biggest part of the problem. Worse, it could be harming small businesses.
