You've agreed to write a guest article, or been asked to. You know your field: the work, the customers, the problems that come up again and again. Then the first real question stops you: what should it be about?
A workable topic rarely appears from nowhere. It usually starts as something you already explain every week. Below, you'll find where those topics hide in your work, how to shape one into a working title, and how to check that it fits a website's readers before you write. At the end are example ideas for five of the fields we publish in.
Where guest article topics come from
You need less inspiration than you think, and more noticing. Open a note and keep it for a week or two, writing down every possible topic as it comes up, in conversations or in the work itself. While the list is growing, don't judge anything. The University of North Carolina's Writing Center makes the same point about freewriting: writing without stopping to judge lets you "free up your internal critic and allow yourself to write things you might not write if you were being too self-conscious." Choosing comes later.
Four places in your work are especially good at producing topics:
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The questions customers ask. If a question takes ten minutes to answer on the phone, it has enough in it for an article.
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The mistakes you see. The errors people make before they come to you, and the misconceptions they arrive with. An article that says what goes wrong and what to do instead is useful to the reader and shows what you know.
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The decisions your customers face. Choosing between options, deciding when to act and when to wait. Decisions come with tradeoffs, and tradeoffs can carry a whole article without a word of promotion.
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What's changing in your field. New rules, new tools, new habits. You've kept up with them; your customers may not have. An article that explains what a change means for them saves them the reading you've already done.
When the list has a few entries, pick the two or three you know most about: the ones where you can give concrete steps, examples and warning signs. Depth matters more than a subject nobody has covered.
Turn a topic into a working title
"Senior care" or "small-business loans" is a subject. Editors don't accept subjects; they accept articles, and an article answers a question. Keep narrowing an item from your list until the title names a reader and what that reader wants to know. For example:
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from "estate planning" to "What documents does a young family actually need?"
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from "IT security" to "How should a small office prepare for its first security review?"
Then apply two tests. Would the intended reader recognize their own problem in the title? If they'd have to work out what the article is about, keep narrowing. And can an editor see at a glance which question it answers and why their readers would care? If it takes a paragraph to explain the idea, the idea isn't ready.
Keep one boundary in mind: the article informs rather than advertises. A title that's really about how good your company is won't get far, because the publication's readers came for the subject. Your business belongs in the byline and the links to your site. The article itself should make sense to someone who has never heard of you.
Check the topic against the website before you write
A strong idea can still be the wrong article for a particular website. Before drafting anything, read several recent pieces from the section your article would join, then ask:
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Who reads this site? A website for consumers needs a different article from one for professionals. A homeowner's guide to water heaters and a contractor's comparison of tankless models cover the same appliance for very different readers.
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Is the question already answered there? If the site recently covered nearly the same question, change your angle: narrow it to one type of reader, add what has changed since, or answer the question the existing piece skipped.
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What shape does the site use? Plain-language walkthroughs, numbered how-tos, comparisons. Write your piece in a form its readers already know.
If you're still deciding which publication to approach, our article on choosing the right websites for a guest post covers audience fit, recent content and editorial standards in more detail.
When the article is for one of our websites, you don't have to judge the fit alone. Tell us your topic and we'll reply with the websites that cover it, before you've written a word.
Example guest post ideas by field
Here's the method at work in five of the fields our websites cover. Each idea would still need narrowing and a check against the specific website, and the editor makes the final call.
Legal
Our legal websites cover attorney directories and practice areas from personal injury and family law to immigration and elder law.
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What to bring to a first consultation with a personal injury lawyer: a question clients have before the first meeting.
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Common mistakes people make in the days after a car accident: built from the mistakes a practice sees.
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Which documents a family should gather before an immigration consultation: preparation that makes the meeting more useful.
Health and wellness
Our health and wellness websites serve dentists and doctors, physical therapists, gyms, nutritionists, senior care and skin care clinics.
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What happens at a first physical therapy assessment: a question to answer before someone books.
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How to choose a gym that suits a beginner: a decision that weighs cost, classes and how much support a newcomer gets.
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How to help a nervous child get ready for a dental visit: a practical question parents bring to the dentist.
Finance
Our finance websites cover financial advisors, accountants and tax services, lenders, debt consolidation services and insurance companies.
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What to gather before a first meeting with a tax preparer: preparation the reader can act on straight away.
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When debt consolidation makes more sense than extra monthly payments: a decision with tradeoffs an article can lay out honestly.
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What lenders look at before approving a small-business loan: answered from the lender's side of the desk.
Real estate and home services
Our real estate and home services websites serve agents, appraisers, property managers, mortgage companies, home builders, movers and home service companies.
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What a first-time buyer should budget for beyond the down payment: a decision where the surprises cost the most.
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How to get a home ready for an appraisal: a question sellers have once the appointment is booked.
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When to repair or replace an aging water heater: a decision a plumber can explain better than most.
Technology
Our technology websites publish on software, artificial intelligence and consumer technology, and serve the companies in those fields.
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How a small business can try its first AI tool without a big project: a change in the field that customers want explained.
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Questions to ask a web design agency before signing a contract: a decision where a web design firm knows what goes wrong.
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What an API is, in plain language: an explainer a software company is well placed to write.
Start your list this week
Keep the note open for a week or two and see what collects. Then pick the item you know most about, narrow it until the title names a reader and their question, and check it against the website you have in mind. If that website is one of ours, the guest-posting guidelines ask for an original article of at least 600 words on the website's topic, written to inform rather than to advertise.