No, I’m talking about robots who write content for you (that would be silly!), but handy tools that make the writing process a whole lot easier.

Here are 3 tools you might want to check out. And yep, they’re all free…

#1: Zemanta

This is a very useful browser plugin that helps you find related content and Creative Commons images as you write your content. It automatically inserts the links, images and provides proper accreditation, making it easy to create richer content for your readers. You can also download it as a WordPress other blog platform plugin.

Watch the video below for a 60-second demonstration.

More info: Zemanta.com

#2: Post Ideas+

This WordPress plugin helps you keep track of your post ideas as you come up with them, and saves them separately in your WordPress control panel.

You can sort your ideas by a priority you set, by title and more. Then when you’re ready to use an idea, you can click “Write” to turn the idea into a post and it will delete it from your ideas list.

More info: Post Ideas+ Plugin Download Page

#3: TouchGraph SEO Browser:

This one is pretty cool. All you do is enter a topic and the browser will show you a visual diagram of popular related sites. It also shows a list of searches, search results from Google and the top sites for that topic. You can even enter additional topics and it will show you the relationship between those ideas. It’s great for brainstorming related ideas, finding sources of information and more.

More info: TouchGraph SEO Browser

Of course, if you’re just looking for topic ideas already done for you, we have 100 ideas in a variety of niches for you. Check them out here. Use those and a tool or two from above…and you may never run out of ideas again!

photo credit: YLegrand

Guest blogging is one of the best ways to get original, unique, high quality content on your blog.

You’ve already heard a lot about writing guest blog posts on other people’s sites for links. Now let’s talk about the other end of the spectrum.

Finding top notch guest bloggers can help you get a different perspective on your blog. Readers sometimes get a little bored of reading content from just one person all the time.

It can help you get traffic. Guest bloggers will often link to their own article, bringing you more traffic from the guest blogger’s followers.

It can help take some of the workload off your hands.

Using guest bloggers can both make blogging easier for you and increase the overall quality of your blog.

Some of the world’s highest traffic blogs, ProBlogger for example, work exclusively through high quality guest blog posts.

Here’s how to find and hire great guest bloggers.

My Blog Guest

The easiest place to find guest bloggers is through My Blog Guest. My Blog Guest is essentially a matchmaking message board for blogs and guest posters.

There are two ways to find guest bloggers on My Blog Guest.

First, you can make a post letting potential bloggers know what you’re looking for. Make sure that you “sell” your blog well. Include traffic stats, your site’s PageRank and talk about the kind of people you can send guest bloggers if they write for you.

High quality guest bloggers are coveted resources. You need to sell them on the concept of your site if you want them to spend the time to write content for you.

The second way to find guest bloggers on My Guest Blog is to browse through the “looking for a blog” section. This is where people who want to guest blog post their credentials.

Browse through this section and look for people who you think might be a match. Look at their past posts carefully to see if their style matches what you’re looking for.

Be extremely selective when you’re choosing guest posters. Remember, the goal is to get high quality content – Preferably content that’s even better than what you put out. That way your site’s readers will actually be excited about reading posts by other people on your site.

Find Second Tier Blogs

Another way of finding guest bloggers is to go directly to the bloggers themselves.

The goal should be to get high quality second tier bloggers. That means bloggers who aren’t at celebrity status, but who still put out high quality content.

You can usually figure out which bloggers would be willing to write a guest blog post based on what kind of marketing activities they’re doing.

If you see them commenting on other blogs, posting YouTube videos, interacting on forums, etc you can probably bet that they’ll be willing to do a guest post.

On the other hand, if they’re publishing books, speaking publically or doing radio spots, they probably won’t do a guest blog unless you know them personally.

Find as many second tier bloggers as you can and contact them directly.

Magazine Op Eds

Another place to look for guest writers are magazines. If you have magazines in your industry, try contacting some of the people who are writing in the Opinions or Op Ed sections.

These writers are often unpaid who choose to write free content just for the exposure.

Since they’re in a magazine, you can be fairly sure they’re an authority figure. Furthermore, they’re not professional journalists who expect to get paid for their work.

Instead, they’re people who want exposure and are willing to write for it. So, get in touch with them and see if they’d be willing to do a piece for your blog.

Meeting People Directly

Finally, you can go to seminars, conferences and other events and meet potential guest bloggers directly.

Get to know people and get to know their ideas. Get to know their styles. If you meet someone who you think your audience might benefit from, ask if they’ll do a piece.

Again, make sure to sell the benefits to them. They’ll get exposure. They’ll get a quality backlink. They’ll get pre-sold visitors to their site. They’ll get your implicit endorsement.

These are a few different ways to find guest bloggers, from easy to difficult. Using guest bloggers can help you increase the overall quality of your blog, get you more traffic and decrease your workload. If you’ve never tried it, why not give it a shot?

- Derek

As I mentioned in January’s Preview, we’ve been cooking up something to make content planning a lot easier.

From working with other Internet marketers for nearly a decade and from working with our ghostwriting clients, I know that coming up with topic ideas can be a huge challenge. It’s not glamorous work and it can eat up your time, but when you’ve got everything planned ahead of time, everything else falls into place more easily.

So, with all that in mind, we’ve taken care of a good chunk of that planning agony for you…

Introducing…Contentrix Content Accelerators

To make things a heck of a lot easier, we’ve started putting together topic ideas collections in specific niche subject areas. 100 ideas per niche, in fact. We’ve got a small selection of niches now, but if you like these things, we’re going to make a lot more. The great thing about them is, they’re only $5 a pop and, unless you publish content like a maniac, they will take you through planning the first quarter of 2012 and probably a lot further.

Get the full scoop here.

We’ve even thrown in 4 of our blueprints to make writing your content easier. And of course, we welcome your suggestions too. We need your input to make sure we’re delivering what you need.

Well, if you’re ready to stay on top of your content creation in 2012, here are some tips for becoming more efficient…

1. Dedicate Time for Planning:

Contrary to what some might think, taking time to plan actually saves time. When you know what topics you are going to publish and when you’re going to publish it, it’s easier to get everything done. Whether you hire a writer, search for PLR or write it yourself…it’s much simpler to do if you know where you’re going.

If you don’t have them already, do pick up our free content planning tools.

2. Hire Help:

If you constantly find yourself too busy to get the content done, hire someone to do it. Whether you use our service, hire your  mother or find someone else, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that the content is getting done.

3. Recruit Guest Writers:

There are many people out there, ready and willing to write for extra exposure for their business. You can use a service like MyBlogGuest or reach out to people in your online social circles.

4. Use PLR:

PLR is pre-written content that you can add to, edit, chop up or even publish as is. It reduces your workload dramatically and is cost-effective too. By the way, you can save 30% at DIYplr.com until this Friday, if you use the following coupon code.

Coupon Code: 2011HOLIDAY
Discount: 30% off
Expiry: December 30, 2011

5. Reuse and Repurpose:

Here’s a big one. Most of us have a wealth of content right under our noses, but we’re always trying to start from scratch. Over time, your readers SHOW you what they’re interested in, so give them MORE of that.

If you’ve already written content on a popular topic, see how you can expand it or go into more depth on a certain aspect. Turn well-trafficked articles into videos or podcasts. Transcribe that webinar and turn it into articles, a report or even some workbooks. Take some ideas from your information products and make them into short pieces of content.

As long as you have a plan and a little bit of help, content creation in 2012 can be a breeze (well, almost!). If those tasks are taken care of, you can focus on marketing and growing your business for a very prosperous New Year.

It may be last minute, but there are still ways to get content out for your business quickly. Here are 5 ideas for you…

1. Try PLR Content: Use my service at DIYplr or All Private Label Content. Use coupon code: 2011HOLIDAY at either site and save 30% on you order by December 30, 2011. Use the coupon as much as you’d like before then.

2. Resource List: Make a quick resource list to prepare your readers for 2012. For example, “Top 12 Must-Have Gadgets for 2012″.

3. Compile a list of some of your most popular posts. Oldies, but goodies are already appreciated. Why not make a list of some of your best ones?

4. Publish a guest post. Not everyone is busy for the holidays and if you know someone, ask if they’d like to guest post.

5. Publish reprints: Check out an article directory like ezinearticles.com to find some content to publish.

It’s not to late to get that content out for the holidays and by the way, if you need help with original content for the New Year, check us out All Custom Content. We’d be happy to help you.