Article marketing requires consistency--for optimum results, you will need to submit articles each and every month. Not having a writing plan as part of your article marketing strategy can lead to sporadic writing, which can jeopardize the success of your article marketing campaign.

This article teaches you how to develop your own monthly writing routine, where to get article ideas, and strategies for stimulating article topics.

A Monthly Article Writing Plan

Step 1: The first day, spend about an hour or so thinking up article topics.

That's right--no need to actually start writing straight out of the gate. This strategy involves preparation for the entire month, so that you're basically putting your writing on auto-pilot. This means that for each writing session, you do not need to agonize wondering, "What should I write about?" By spending just one hour thinking of article topics for the month, you make your work easier the whole month long.

Where to get article ideas...

-Your favorite blogs in your niche. Look the topics that others in your niche are writing about on their blogs and get inspiration from them. Sometimes just seeing a blog post title is enough to stimulate an idea or two. When you're doing this, take care not to "borrow" any part of the other person's content--you are only looking for inspiration, and that means that the article that you end up writing will be 100% original and custom tailored to your particular audience.

-Customer questions--any questions that routinely pop up from customers are worthy of being addressed in an article. Look for frequently asked questions that reveal a misconception about some aspect of your niche. Look for questions that require you to teach the customer something. Articles used in article marketing should always be educational in nature, so any topic that explains or teaches something about your niche would be appropriate.

Ways to stimulate article ideas...

-Exercise is a great source of inspiration for some--getting out in fresh air or simply getting your body moving frees your mind to come up with ideas. You might try keeping a small notepad with you as you walk or jog or whatever your chosen sport may be. Meditate on your topic as you exercise, and try to think of questions that a complete newcomer would ask or skills that a beginner would need to know when entering your niche. I think you'll be amazed at how effective exercise is in stimulating writing topics.

-This one is very simple: Stay in the habit of writing. If you are just starting to write, you can be assured that it gets easier the more you do it. If you abstain from writing for an extended period of time, you might find that you're a bit "rusty" when you take it up again and that it takes you a while to get warmed up. The best way to make writing easy is to simply write on a regular basis. Try to write a little bit at least a few times a week, if not daily.

Step 2: At your next writing session, write! You already have your topics lined up, so just choose one that strikes your fancy and get started.

You've probably noticed that oftentimes procrastination goes along with writing--if you're not sure what you'll write about, you can put off writing until you have no choice. There is no need to make the writing process that painful--by having article topics lined up you will notice a new enthusiasm for your task.

The most challenging part of article marketing is writing articles on a consistent basis. Developing a writing method makes the writing process easier and builds consistency into your writing routine. I encourage you to try out some of these tips-- which ones make your writing process easier?