Before writing a Hub, do you search for a similar article and base your decision

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   Jeremy Gillposted 8 years ago

   Before writing a Hub, do you search for a similar article and base your decision off it?
   
   If you're like me, before writing an article, you research it and see what similar material is out there. Often, the quality of what I discover influences my decision whether to make the Hub; if I know can provide a better read, I'll go for it.
   
   Anyone else use a similar method?

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   FatFreddysCatposted 8 years ago

   Nope. I write what I feel like writing about.

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      Jeremy Gillposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Many Hubbers do! And I agree that writers should talk about what they want to, but if I have multiple ideas in mind, I may pursue the less-discussed one.

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   Wesman Todd Shawposted 8 years ago

   What I do is get a tall glass of wine, boot up my media player, start jamming some classic rock. I start looking through guitar magazines and ....after that glass is finished I have an idea I suddenly think should work.
   
   So instead of research, I use alcohol, music, and magazine media. Sometimes after I've already started I wonder if there isn't maybe already an article on the subject.
   
   Other times I've decided I want to learn about some particular subject...like some specific animal or something, and because I'm determined to learn something about the thing, I set out to write my conclusions and make it into a hub.
   
   I'm just shooting in the dark hoping to get something out of it. On the upside, I'm sure I've got a whole hell of a lot better at writing.

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      Jeremy Gillposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I can understand; there are many times where I'm so eager to write on a subject, I disregard what is or isn't out there about it.

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   Kierstin Gunsbergposted 8 years ago

   No, I just write it my biggest traffic earners (and money makers) are usually articles that are about popular subjects. I read somewhere once not to stop writing something just because everyone else is writing about that same thing. If a subject is popular you already have a market waiting to read about it!!

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      Jeremy Gillposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      That's an excellent point. I often rotate between articles I especially want to craft, and those on trendy subjects I expect to get the most views.

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   tomsmithnowposted 8 years ago

   No, I just start writing about whatever is personal to me at that time. I do research on it, and learn more on the subject which also helps me in the process too, so it can be very therapeutic for me in more ways than one which is great.

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      Jeremy Gillposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Same, I always supplement my knowledge with research, which helps provide engaging reads. Thanks for your insight!

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   Lindsay Bloomposted 8 years ago

   I'm still writing my first article, but yes, I did look for other articles on the topic. If there had been others, I probably wouldn't have bothered doing my own, unless my slant or my presentation was better. I couldn't find any other articles on the topic, so now I'm planning to do 3 - 4 articles on it. It's something I'd been searching for info on for a while, so I imagine others will want the info, too.
   
   I will probably always check to see what's already out there before doing an article. If a topic has been done to death (for example, how to make money online), I may let it go if I can't find new info to provide or customize it for a different target audience.
   
   It's worth reading articles on your planned topic - you may just learn something you want to include in your article. I'm not talking about plagiarizing an existing article, just adding a fact or tip found, using it as another source of research.

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      Jeremy Gillposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Welcome to HubPages, Lindsay. I use a similar method if I'm unsure whether or not I want to explore something. When it's a topic I only have moderate interest in, I'm less likely to write on it if others have extensively. I look forward to your work!

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