As a copywriter I am constantly asked to write about a variety of different niches/industries. Weight loss, property, accounting… the list keeps growing and as a result it is necessary for me to keep on top of what is happening in the industry.

Myself, I love using Google Alerts to keep my posted. Admittedly the search terms can be broad and your email account can get filled up fast with random emails. But pick the right keyword and the quality of the stories is increadible.

So what do you do?

First things first, visit http://www.google.com/alerts. As soon as you log onto this page you will notice to the right of the screen a box asking you to create a Google Alert.

The options themselves are fairly simple:

• Search Terms – this is plural, so you can easily ensure that your searches are more focused.
• Type - this can be comprehensive, news, blogs, videos or groups
• How often – this can be ‘as it happens’, ‘once a day’ or ‘once a week’
• Your email address – I suggest you create a new email address from this, so it doesn’t crowd your personal account

And finally… Creat Alert. After this a screen will appear telling you to visit your email and verify that this Google Alert is correct. Do that and it is set up.

It is truly that simple, but is a fast easy way to keep track of what is going on in your industry.

The one suggestion I do have though is that you create specific folders, especially if like me, you are writing for a number of different industries.

Give it a try.

Rowena