How do you write articles on topics you have no experience on?

I don't really do it, seeing I don't feel comfortable doing so... I tried, but I think you will rarely gain enough knowledge in a short time to actually provide valuable content.
I think those people either actually do know a lot about a lot of topics, or they collaborate with people that know a lot or spend a lot of time researching.

Hello, Tenzho.

You can actually find some valuable information to write about in just a matter of hours. You should definitely start of by finding other free e-books about the subject or search around the web and listen to people. Professional Articles writers has tence to sound professional in the subject even if their information is very limited. You should try to find the most important aspects in a subject to write about. You don't want to struggle around a few subjects.
My personal opinion is; Take your time to find valuable information. You want to find out what people needs help with for example. E.G If you are writing about bodybuilding, Start a topic with information about the diet, Get on the internet and find the most valuable information about diets for a specific body type. Think about your next step, excercise? Then, Go ahead a search for good exercise for that type of body .
My biggest recommendation is to find youtube videos about your subject and listen to experienced people. You'll get a strong grasp over the subjects in a matter of hours. Your next step will be to think logical.
Good luck and don't hesitate to contact me for further information about this.

That's where 'research' comes into play.

Hello Tenzho,

I'd suggest what a few others have: research through both free ebooks and through search engine results (you can also use it to find blogs related to that topic and read some of the information found on those blogs). You can also draw upon any experience or information you have (people often know more about a topic than they initially think).

Of course, you could outsource it to those who are more experienced at writing. They (myself included) can often find out information about a topic relatively quickly, plus are often knowledgeable about many topics. If you read a lot (both offline and online) and pay attention to what is going on in the world, you can often find out a great deal about popular topics.

Hopefully this helps- good luck!

Take care,

Joe Chengery

Speaking as a content writer, if I don't know about a topic I'll spend time researching it. Take 'corned beef' as an example. If I don't know what it is or how it's made, I'll first look for a wikipedia page or something that gives me a summary, then I'll look for 'how to make corned beef', and once I've figured out the basics then I'll begin to write the article and look for answers to any questions that come up while I'm writing.

If it's for a client who needs a huge amount of articles on a subject that I don't know about (i.e. 100 articles on dixie cups), then the process is the same, but I'll go a lot more in depth, looking up the history of the item (dixie cups), how they help people, why they're used, etc.

Writing about something you have no idea about is a very difficult task. However, I never liked to give up. You CAN write about things you know little or nothing about - I know I did it - but it will take more time than the usual.
You will be amazed how much info you can get in a short time thanks to our beloved internet.
Not easy, but not impossible either!

Hi Tenzho

Most marketers utilize 3 ways to write about any subject.
This is for basic articles that do not require extreme research.

1. They find an ezine website, find the subject they want to write about, find an article and then rewrite your version of the article. Or just use the articles you find to get some ideas to write about.

2. Find some PLR articles and then rewrite those articles with your own version of the article.

3. You can have the articles written by someone else. There are plenty of warriors that can do that for you on the forum.


I hope that helps you Tenzho
Good Luck
SEO-IM7

The best cannot come out if you don't have enough experience on a topic. Hence, it's best to perform thorough research on a topic and then write about it.

I do at least some of it offline.

What you can find online, other people can find online. And some of them will be the people reading your article. The information in it isn't necessarily going to be truly "original" to all its readers. In other words, this is an instance of "Google not necessarily being your friend", simply because it's everyone else's friend, too, and for this purpose you need more selective/discerning friends!

You need to be creative and determined to find the benefits of what's in the topic. Research is key, and collaboration is very important. You have to have a good team that can bring it all together. Good Luck

Utilize research to write articles on topics that you have no experience with. Using research can be a way to gain and obtain knowledge about a subject. If you are not willing to research something, and you have no knowledge about it, then you probably should not write a whole lot about it, unless you are writing about how you know nothing about it, or how you plan to learn something about it.

The short answer is--get some experience.

Research. The entire knowledge of the world is practically at our fingertips with the internet, just got to find out where to look Once you've found some things that help you start writing. Your first few articles will be horrid but you can write about something to help you learn about it. Just like some people learn best by doing, seeing, or hearing, writing it out is another way to make new knowledge stick. Once you're done writing, write more.

I would like to add to what others had said here: find books or magazines on the subject that have bibliographies and notes. They are excellent sources for research.

Quote, quote & quote this is how you pass most degrees nowadays

The article be series of quoted sources pulling it all together. I can only write in subjects that interest me though

One thing that I do is to locate web istes that have the information that I am looking for. I then read that information and in my own words without plagiarizing, begin to write the article. However, I also visit several sites, article directories and blogs to get the information. I would then sift through all the information tht I got and pick ut only the most relevant points and put them into the new article.

Because of the nature of the Internet, research really isn't all that hard to do these days. It is really easy to perform so you shouldn't have any trouble writing articles on topics that you have no experience with or knowledge about.

I think the really interesting thing in this conversation is that Tenzho asked about writing on a topic on which he has no real current knowledge - and the most expert advice given has been to either outsource it to an expert in that field or do the research diligently so you are no longer a newbie in the niche.

Now, you are no longer writing from the perspective of a person who knows nothing in the niche . . . and the question is moot.

Basically it is incredibly difficult [and possibly impossible] to write about a topic on which you have no knowledge and still sound professional.

You can try an article spinner.

Although I don't really do this anymore, this is what I did.

I would do some simple research but most importantly I would see what other people in this niche were commenting about. Like in blog comments and/or Facebook groups.

For me this would give the best and most 'real' information about the topic. Hope this helps ;-)

I write articles using these few steps.

1- Search the keyword at Wikipedia
2- Search few videos on YouTube
3- Download a free E-Book about the topic

Using these 3 sourse I can easily write a very good 700 to 800 words article in 3 hours. No matter how difficult the topic is, by performing these 3 steps i always gets what i want.

I usually start blogging on the topic that i am familiar with ....

Or if I don't have enough knowledge on the topic.. i would its time to open up Google and start the research ...

google research, get involved in forums and find out what people want to know, outsource someone to write it for you!

Don't learn. Relate someone else's knowledge. For example:

Topic: DMX512

1. Google Explain DMX512.
2. Open 2 articles that explain it. For example:
Lighting Equipment | Resources, DMX 512 Explained - DMX 512 Equipment

http://ezinearticles.com/?DMX-Lighti...ned&id=1818654

See that? Nice and simple. Already in article form, not raw knowledge like:

http://www.dfd.com/primer.html
http://www.dmx512-online.com/packt.html

Unless you're writing a white paper or something. Then I like to use manufacturer's data sheets.

3. Relate half from one article, half from the other. Mix and match. All you're doing is reading and then explaining it to another person.

Make money, not grades.

If writing on topics you don't know much about, wikipedia is your best friend. While many people scoff at using wikipedia for research, it's actually an extremely accurate and extensive database of knowledge. Because the information that is listed comes from other websites which are listed in the reference, you can simply go to these referenced sites for a more authoritative reference.

They aren't, or at least they don't claim to be. For most articles, you are usually targeting readers who have little to no information on the topics. Therefore, you only really need to recite basic facts or information.

(Not that I write general articles anymore!)

Ok, here is a legitimate advice, buy PLR and MMR...

It's a license where the author sells most or all of the intellectual property rights to their work. You can rebrand, resell and freely republish. Normally, you need to rewrite them not only to comply with the T&Cs under which they are provided, but also to ensure they pass Google...

Buy a book on free writing and read that. "Accidental genius" by Mark Levy is supposed to be good.

If you have no knowledge of the information that you are writing about then there is nothing to write but your opinion or perspective as others call it. I use logic and reason when I approach something I know nothing about. I then get the top 5 books on the subject and use quotes. Also I give my perspective on them. This is the only way to add value to an article that does not cross the line of Copyright infringement. Just good common sense and the right thing to do. If you use someone else's work then use the limit allowed by law and give them attribution.

Research research research is the moral of the story, through the many different avenues you can research.

The way I usually do it is by reading a PLR article ( I have hundreds of thousands on my hard drive) on what ever topic I want to write about, get the main points, then re-write it in my own words. Or, you can do the same by reading articles from ArticlesBase, GoArticles, Ezinearticles, etc.

no point in spinning articles at all. waste of time.

why would you write an article on a topic you don't have experience on? simple answer is to get someone else to do it!

Thanks guys for all those wonderful advices!

I'm seeking advices from a freelance article writer point of view.
I wouldn't want to spend 1 whole day researching and learning
a topic you have no experience just to write a 1000 words to make $10.
Buying PLR and outsourcing articles will only make you lose more money.

Experience is something you gain in time.
The magic recipe:
- patience - (a lot!)
-will to learn and determination
-time (plenty, so that you can inform better)
-inspiration (to be creative and write new stuff out of old one )

When you are willing to try, you write slowly at first. Eventually you learn really good knowledge sites and search techniques for whatever field you're writing about. You learn how to take a 3 hour process and whittle it down to 30 minutes.

That's when you're writing high quality in bulk production.

There is no shortcut but experience.

Try it, your hidden talents might surprise you.

It's simple. Outsource!

You just learn the basics, see if you have anything to add from personal experience, if not, after a long reading, youll see the articles coming to life in your head, with your own words, saying things that have already been said, but in your own way.

You outsource it - intelligent readers can see through fluff pieces, they know when you know what you're talking about and what you don't.

If I absolutely had to come up with content on a topic I had no experience with, if I had a TRUSTED writer I would hand it off to them. If I was resorting to [shudder] Fiverr or other low quality writers I would hire 2 or 3 of them and then create an "original" piece using the best parts of each.

If I do not have any experience writing about a particular topic I will just research the topic thoroughly and then write down the key points and construct an article around them. It's not that difficult really. There is information about literally everything online - you just need to know where to look for it. Alternatively, if you can't find the information you need online you can check your local library for books about the topic.

I usually just conduct thorough research online before writing any article. I like to know exactly what I am writing about so that I can explain the topic in a easy to understand way.

Good luck!

Research, research, research and more research is needed. And as much as possible I try to interview or collaborate with people who do have experience in that field. There's really no shortcut if you want your article/post/feature to be accurate.

I think you can see that, from the statistics from everybody's response, is research cannot be avoided.
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An Easy to Follow Framework you can use to easily write and increase the value of your Articles:
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Write your initial article by answering these questions (being as specific as possible will increase the value of the audience you build);
1) who is your target audience, why do they want to read your article - what problem are you offering a solution to.
2) Give an overview of your topic explaining the basic 'features' of your topic or your solution and how they apply to solving the customers problem
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That could be your initial article for $10!
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Then do further research on each of the individual topics in the first article. Expand on each topic in an individual, more highly researched in-depth article and now sell this article for $15-20. Everybody who were interested in the solutions outlined in the first article will likely buy all/most of your following articles. Assuming the content is useful and relevant.
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Once you have written a few articles featuring different topics/verticals of your first article you can include them as a bundle or ebook and multiply your earnings sufficiently.
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Build each article further with more detailed/specific research and make your package even more valuable. This could eventually turn into a subscription basis. Now you'll have built something extremely valuable and turned an amazing profit while building it.
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Now you will have a profit generation system that can be automated and require very little time and maintenance.

FYI: I am not a journalist but I have studied University level marketing courses and they require you to know and use research techniques that get the answers that matter to your target market. Thus, the methods outlined here, and by each of your replies above, pretty well fall into the category of "Proper Article Research Techniques."
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Final point.
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Determine the amount of research you need to complete the article depends on whether you want to build an article series as outlined above. Offering something valuable in the beginning will increase your lead base and improve your sales on recurring articles later on.
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I wouldn't want to spend 1 whole day researching and learning
a topic you have no experience just to write a 1000 words to make $10.
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P.S. Consider selling that article to the masses, like a WSO here on this forum, and multiply your $10 by 100 sales. Then next article; $20 by 200 sales. etc.

Please give a Thanks if you like these ideas and let me know if you try this framework and how it turned out for you.