I hate to break it to you. If you’re struggling with how to write unique articles, Mark Twain was right. He famously said:
“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn, and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely, but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.”
Words are words, and aside from new entries to the lexicon, such as “fleek” and “yeet,” replacing words such as “thou” and “thine,” we wield the same vocabulary used centuries ago.
Truly unique ideas are hard to come by, but here’s the thing: You don’t necessarily need a unique idea — all that’s required is a different approach, point of view, or personal experience that makes an old idea new again.
Whether you’re a writer looking for inspiration or a business owner hoping to use a professional article writing service to create a unique piece of content for your website or blog, we have a few ideas to help you breathe life into an internet that often feels filled to the brim with the same old, same old.
Shake Up the Angle
You may struggle if you try to write 100% unique content using the same brainstorming and research methods every writer uses. The internet is filled with low-level content because those articles practically write themselves. They require little research and provide equally little value.
Flip the script by changing up how you look at the topic at hand:
- Look for long-tail, related search terms. Long-tail keywords are at least three words long and offer specificity, such as “content marketing tips and tricks” instead of “content marketing.” Google is helpful for that — just type in your primary keyword or topic and see what Google’s autocomplete feature comes up with.
- “Listen” on social media. Visit your competitors’ social media pages, search for relevant hashtags, check out groups dedicated to your topic, and see what people have to say. It’s one of the easiest ways to surreptitiously survey real people reporting what matters to them — it’s essentially market research without the gasp-inducing price tag. Social listening also has the advantage of being an agile tactic. You can gather information quickly and put that data to work just as fast, slashing your turnaround time.
- Collect audience feedback/input. This is a more direct form of market research. Send an email to your followers, or create a social media poll asking the public for their thoughts on a given topic. “If you could ask your podiatrist any question, what would it be?” “What should people know about motherhood?” “What did you like least about the last marketing book you read?”
- Make an old topic new again. Perhaps there’s an article on wine pairing that everyone calls the gold standard, but it was written in 2008. A lot can happen in nearly 2 decades, and tastes and trends evolve. Twenty years ago, people would get a case of the vapors if you suggested pairing red wine and fish; today, sommeliers love to serve a light and juicy pinot noir with fatty, succulent salmon. Use modern data and current trends to spin an outdated article into something that reflects current tastes and, even better, your expertise.
Break New Ground
Tim Soulo, Chief Marketing Officer and Product Advisor at Ahrefs, has a wonderful anecdote from the days when he was a newbie blogger. He wanted to write an article about guest blogging, but there were already plenty of posts on the topic. So, he set out to get information no one else had.
“I acted like a journalist and reached out to over 500 bloggers, big and small, and asked them to share some data with me on how their guest articles performed and if they were happy with the results,” Soulo explained in an Ahrefs video. “This whole venture resulted in one of my best articles to date. And even though it was published on my personal blog, which hardly had any traffic, that article generated quite a buzz and got over a hundred links from 60 different websites.”
This example demonstrates that you can always find new ways to add authority to your content — just roll up your sleeves, and gather the information inquiring minds want to know.
Play with Different Formats
A title, an intro, subheaders, and a conclusion — it’s the go-to format for writing articles, and it works. But it’s also so common it can make your eyes glaze over. When you shake up how your article is put together, you inevitably shake up the content as well.
Make each subheader a well-known quote instead of a short, generic phrase. Use resources such as HARO to gather expert insights, and build your article around that input. Instead of talking about what your readers should do, tell them how they can do it. Frame your info using a series of dos and don’ts. Create a Q&A, which is a fantastic way to boost search engine optimization. Incorporate anecdotes and real-life experience to comply with Google’s E-E-A-T principle. Doing the unexpected can get you noticed, and that’s important when you’re trying to turn a good idea into a way to make money online.
Move Beyond Words
Blogs are traditionally text-based, but audiences do more than read online. They’re watching videos, scrolling through TikTok, and exchanging opinions on Reddit and LinkedIn. Draw inspiration from this rich landscape, and give your written musings a makeover with compelling visuals, informative graphics, and video snippets.
Is there an opportunity to illustrate a how-to guide by making a video or a way to conceptualize a process by creating a graphic? Perhaps a screenshot of a savvy post on X underscores your message. Integrating other media types can set your written content apart and appeal to different learning styles and preferences.
Brainstorm With AI
While you don’t want to rely on technology to write your content, you can fire up ChatGPT or other AI chatbots to toss ideas around. AI can help generate ideas and determine keyword intent, supplementing your thoughts and sparking that “a-ha!” moment.
Just be sure to add your point of view to any AI output. For SEO purposes, your content should reflect experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Many websites are also reeling from Google’s helpful content update, which knocked web pages deemed as unhelpful down the SERPs.ChatGPT isn’t quite at the point where it can create expert content on its own. As discussed in our post about whether AI content ranks in Google, AI combined with human oversight is where the magic happens.
Spy on the Competition — And Then Outdo Them
You’ve probably heard the old adage, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” but if there isn’t a way to outsmart, out-ideate, and outwrite the competition, you can hire someone with the writing skills who can.
You need to know what your competition is up to so you can be one step ahead. Perform a content gap analysis to see what’s been covered and what your content is missing, then fill in the gaps. You should attempt to create the most comprehensive content available.
To do that, use tools such as MarketMuse and Semrush to inform your ideation process. MarketMuse is an optimization powerhouse, but instead of optimizing for keywords, it focuses on topics. You enter the general subject matter, and MarketMuse gives you the top-ranking pages for that theme and topic suggestions that can add depth. Semrush is known for its SEO capabilities, but it also generates topic ideas and analyzes content on a given domain. In a conversation with Rick Leach, Crowd Content’s Vice President of Content Operations, he and I dive into how we differentiate content. It’s worth a listen if you want to pick up actionable tips for your own blog.
Take a Total Left Turn
It’s hard to come up with something fresh when everything you’re reading is staler than 3-day-old popcorn. When everyone in the real estate industry is writing about the same staging techniques and negotiation tactics, it’s time to get your inspiration elsewhere.
Stop reading blog posts and books from within your niche. Instead, give your brain an intellectual jolt, and see what comes out. Brainstorm with your readers in mind, and never settle for anything but high-quality content.
How to Write Unique Articles With Crowd Content
When you’re immersed in writing about the same topics day in and day out, it’s easy to fall into a rut. No matter how talented and creative you or your writing team are, you might find yourself relying on the same humdrum phrasing and approach. If you’re feeling stuck, send us an SOS for fresh perspectives. Our freelance article writers can inject energy into your content and revitalize a tired blog while ensuring your vision shines through.
