Writing about popular topics?

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   sheilamyersposted 11 years ago

   By "popular topics" I'm not referring to the same topics everyone else is writing and reading about. I write hubs on a variety of topics including writing advice, cat care, Christianity, etc. One of my groups contains hubs about law enforcement and those hubs are based mostly on the information I've collected while doing research for my novels. These hubs seem to be the most often viewed hubs I've written. One in particular is about women in law enforcement and always has the most views on any given day. While I enjoy writing hubs on the topic of law enforcement, it would take many hours of research for me to continue to provide hubs a lot of people are finding interesting and be within what I'm coming to think would be a unique niche.
   
   Now that I've written that drawn out explanation, I'd like to know if any of you find yourself in a similar situation. Are your most popular hubs about topics you've researched for other projects? Even if writing other hubs on that topic would require a lot of research because you're not familiar with it on the level of personal experience, would you do so because it's the most popular topic among the ones you write about?

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      Cardisaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I am not sure how to answer, maybe I haven't grasped the question fully. My most popular hubs are those I wrote on a whim or those that in answer to a question from the "question and answer" section here.
      
      Now that I have re-read the question I think I understand it more. I have written a few hubs while doing articles for clients, so that would be yes...in a sense. A client may ask for a specific article of a particular length and I see where the article could take on a different tone, information and length, so I write that for myself.  I remember sending in an article on iWriter with nearly 1000 words for a 500 word article and the client sent it back and ask that I reduce to the required amount. That led me to start giving the client exactly what they want and use the excess fro myself...lol

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         sheilamyersposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Cardisa: In a way, your response does help answer the question. Although you wrote hubs based on a topic you wrote for someone else. I'm thinking the client wouldn't have needed their article if they figure it wouldn't be read because there are so many similar articles out there, so in a way you're writing about something which would probably be unexpectedly popular because it's unique.

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            Cardisaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, I try not to go with the crowd...lol. So in a way it's has to be something that is unique.

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   lbsf1posted 11 years ago

   Interestingly I have found almost the opposite to happen. When I put a lot of research and effort into a hub then I don't get many views, however some of my other hubs that I sort out in a single evening do far better.
   
   It's rather frustrating.

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   jansharesposted 11 years ago

   I don't know, sheilamyers. That's a tough one to answer. It depends on whether you think the investment of time is worth the payoff which cannot always be predicted. But if you have a passion for the particular topic, you'll enjoy the hard work, regardless of the payoff.
   
   I can't say I've been faced with this dilemma yet. I agree with lbsf1 that the hub that didn't take a lot of research is the most successful. But I also had passion for and emotional connection to the topic.
   
   I asked myself early on, "when I run out of things I love to write about, am I going to feel like researching a completely new subject?" My answer was no. Since I've grown in my experience at HP, I can see myself doing more research to put out an informative article. It will take more time and effort but I'll do it if I think the investment of time is worth it and there's an audience for it.

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      sheilamyersposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ibsf and janshares: You two make some interesting points. I can be lazy when it comes to doing research if I'm not quite as interested in a topic. The answer to my original question may be to add hubs about law enforcement as I do the research for my novels.

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   MsDoraposted 11 years ago

   Sheila, if you're writing for the money, and more views mean more money, it is worth the investment of time to develop that niche.
   
   If you don't really care about the views . . . act accordingly.
   
   That's just my two cents.

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      sheilamyersposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      MsDora: Also a good point. As crazy as it may sound to some people, I've chosen not to have AdSense and write here because I enjoy writing and sharing information with other people.

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