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5 Clever Hacks for Researching That Will Help You Write Better Stories

by | Jan 28, 2014

Working as a writer and blogger can often mean producing content across a variety of sectors — not all of which may be your area of expertise.

Writing about new topics requires a bit more exploration and reading in order to be familiar with your subject matter. Completing this research in a smart, efficient manner enables you to concentrate more on the actual writing, and less on digging up information. This means more timely key articles for clients, better value for money, and a happier work life all around.

Here are five clever workflow hacks to help bloggers and writers gather information quickly and efficiently.

1. Set up Google Alerts

Google Alerts are an excellent place to start when setting up a smart workflow. Set up a series of Google Alerts for keywords you need to keep an eye on, and the relevant info will come straight to your inbox.

Need support with this? I’ve put together a short screencast to walk you through the process.

2. File newsfeed articles and sector roundup emails to a Google Doc

When you subscribe to a variety of news roundup blogs and sites, as well as the most important blogs in your niche, you’ll have a number of emails hitting your inbox each morning. Organizing these messages is crucial if they’re going to be of any use to you.

I use a filing trick in my Gmail inbox to earmark any important items as ones I’d like to write about or investigate further. I have set up a range of filters using IFTTT.com, a service that connects your web apps based on the concept of “If this, then that.” For example, if I star an email in my inbox, the content gets filed directly to a Google Doc marked “Blog ideas”. Then, when I’m ready to write, I simply scan the Doc for an interesting tidbit! (Like this idea? Click to tweet it).

3. Use Twitter lists to file news and articles to Evernote

Twitter lists are a time-saving trick which I highly recommend. In addition to reading tweets in this way, I use IFTTT.com to move any tweets I mark as ‘favorite’ to my Evernote notebook, ready for later use and reference.

4. Send key RSS feeds straight to Evernote or Google Docs

For sites with regular content that you really can’t miss, set up an RSS feed alert. You can set this up within Feedly Pro, or use IFTTT.com to send the content directly to your Evernote or Google Docs account. This makes sure that your key resources will always be available to you when required.

5. Use existing collated research

Stumble Upon now has list making facilities, similar to those on Pinterest, which are extremely helpful for sourcing new ideas and articles along a theme. Follow some key list-makers and influencers and use their collective research to boost your own.

Similarly, List.ly is a handy collaborative list-making site that may have some resources you need with a different spin to kickstart some ideas.

Do you use any of these methods for your research and writing workflow?