7 Content Writing Mistakes Small Businesses Make
Unlike other types of marketing, content marketing is focused more on meeting and anticipating the customer’s already existing need for information. The focus here is not to create demand for a need.
Several years ago, James O’Brien from Contently said:
“The idea central to content marketing is that a brand must give something valuable to get something valuable in return. Instead of the commercial, be the show. Instead of the banner ad, be the feature story. The value returned is often that people associate good things with — and return to engage with — the brand.”
When it comes to content writing, marketing experts will tell you that it plays an incremental role in spreading the word about your organization. Content is, after all, the bread and butter of the internet. And you will need to deliver to remain relevant.
7 Content Writing Mistakes
Nevertheless, writing any content and just hoping for the best, will not work. You can’t slap some words on a page and call it a day. Content writing requires a degree of finesse, There are plenty of common mistakes – not only made by new and small businesses.
1. Preconceived Assumptions
The whole point behind content writing is to make your brand look authoritative. To do that, many seek to frame the company’s story in the best way possible. But the problem here is that, despite what adversity you may have gone through to get here, your story is not necessarily unique. Nor is it something that your audience has a particular interest in.
As James O’Brien pointed out, content writing is about providing value – namely, information – that talks more about your audience than about yourself.
2. Applicable Information
When we talk about value in the context of content writing, we are referring to information that your audience can put to good use in their private and professional life. As a means of tying that information back to you, frame it as the knowledge you’ve gained over your many years of experience in the industry.
3. Being Generic
Another common mistake in content writing, especially when it comes to start-ups, is the attempt to appeal to too many people, interests, and perspectives at the same time. Going down this road does make some sense on paper. But in reality, it will not satisfy anyone over the long-term. Consider picking a niche and stick mostly to it.
4. Focusing Too Much on the Features
If and when you talk specifically about your products and services, do not focus too much on the features. Try instead to center the attention on the benefits. Both tackle more or less the same thing. But people are generally more interested in why your product will improve their lives and not precisely how it does what it does. The best analogy here is the car. Few people want to know what’s under the hood.
5. Using Technical Jargon
When people start on their content writing journey, they usually forget about one crucial factor – not everyone is an expert. It is a reasonably simple slip of the mind, especially for newbies. Nevertheless, abstain from using any technical jargon in your writing since it’s not going to be understood by very many people and they will lose interest, sooner or later.
Your subject matter might require that you use terms that aren’t universally known. If that’s the case, include a brief description and/or hyperlink to an article on a trusted site.
6. A Lack of Consistency
Humans, like most other creatures, are drawn to comfort and routine. Over time, your audience will begin to expect a certain degree of consistency in posting frequency. You need to find that so-called sweet spot, between overwhelming your audience with too much content or making your blog seem like a ghost town.
7. No Personality
In the overabundance of information circulating around the internet, you will need to write your content in a way that is unique to you. Allow for your personality, as well as your company’s culture to shine through your material. Provide your audience a sense that they’re receiving the information from a subject matter expert. Don’t just repeat things your audience will have seen too often already.
Conclusion
At Curatti, we help businesses obtain the most out of their content. We can help you avoid these mistakes and focus on what’s important. Do not let your hard work go to waste. Let’s connect!
Your Thoughts?
Are there any common mistakes missed here that you’d like to add? Please leave your comments, below. Thanks!
You may also want to read: Blogging Blunders (And How To Avoid Them) [Audio Interview]
6 Mistakes That May Be Sabotaging Your Content Marketing
6 Common Blogging Blunders (And How To Fix Them)
9 Mistakes That Even Experienced Bloggers Make
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Jan Gordon
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