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Are you counting on your web copy for leads and conversions?
If you are, you’ll want to pay close attention to this post. Not every business that publishes copy online gets it right. You won’t attract customers unless you really understand content marketing.
In this post I’ll list ten common content mistakes.
Common Content Marketing Mistakes
Do you recognize any of these common mistakes? Here are ten things to watch out for:
- Not having a plan. If you don’t have a plan, you probably won’t achieve your goals. Know why you are publishing online and who you are trying to reach with your content.
- Filling your web content with legalese. If you’re overly formal in your online writing or use long words and sentences you will lose readers. Remember, most readers will skim web content first.
- Only publishing sales pitches. Most audiences will tolerate some sales pitches. They know you need to earn a living. But many readers are turned off by constant selling. Make sure your content has value.
- Writing your copy in-house. You’re a good writer, just a little busy. So, you decide to write all your web copy yourself. Pretty soon, nothing new is being published and no one is visiting your site.
- Not addressing your readers. To write effective and shareable copy, you need to really understand what your readers want and provide it. If you don’t know, do some research.
- Ignoring your headlines. A good headline can mean the difference between whether your copy gets read or gets ignored. Make sure your headlines are snappy and eye catching.
- Not promoting your site. Even the best written web copy will be ineffective if no one knows about it. Share your website URL both online and offline. Make good use of popular social sites.
- Ignoring or not engaging your readers. Do you allow comments on your blog posts? If you do allow them, do you answer the comments? Engaging your readers is one way to build an online community.
- Not proofreading your copy. Even the best writers make mistakes. Always have someone review your content before you publish anything. Editors may seem expensive, but mistakes can cost more.
- Not having an online presence. Your business is well-known in your local area so you think you don’t need an online presence. But people may be looking for your product or services online right now and you wouldn’t know it.
Your Turn
What mistakes did I miss? Add them in the comments.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Diana Schneidman // Jan 4, 2014 at
Laura,
Great tips!
Since much content marketing is in the form of blog posts, I’d like to add a mistake that is specific to blogs. It is important to delete spammy comments. The presence of spam indicates that the blogger is lazy and contributes to a less positive impression of the entire blog.
-Diana
2 Laura Spencer // Jan 5, 2014 at
Thanks Diana!
Excellent addition to the list. I have a pretty robust spam filter and that does a good job of keeping a lot of spam out. However, you still have to check the comments manually since a few will slip through the filter.
I do try to stay on top of comments and answer most legitimate comments myself.