Top 10 Content Marketing Mistakes and
How to Avoid Them

Content marketing is a very effective form of marketing that has been around for
ages, well before the internet. It involves getting to know your audience’s problems
or difficulties and then providing the solution via content and products. If you are
having trouble meeting your business goals, take a look at these top 10 content
marketing mistakes to learn how to fix things or avoid the making the mistakes all
together.

Mistake #1: Marketing Content Without A Plan

If you want to be successful, you need a content marketing plan. Look at where you
are now and where you want to go. Then devise a plan of action to meet your goals.

Start by defining and describing your target audience. Plan to use the marketing
methods that work best with your audience. Marketing methods might include
email, social media, content, video, affiliate, etc. Based on the social media networks
your audience prefers, create accounts on those platforms.

Make a marketing plan that includes the kinds of content you will create, as well as
how, where, and when you will promote the content. Your goal is to reach your
target market and turn them into customers. Use best practices when marketing to
your audience. Adjust your plan based on your audience’s needs and their responses
to your content.

 

Mistake #2: Neglecting to Repurpose Content

If creating new content stresses you out, the good news is that you can repurpose
your older existing content. Just edit, update, and release it in a different format,
such as turning a report into an eCourse. You may want to do the same with related
content and release the items together as a new bundle.

Images qualify as content too. You can turn them into memes by adding quotes,
tips, titles, and more. Another option is to add other elements to the images and
create product covers.

Recorded webinars can be broken down into images, audio, and text products,
which can be converted into a variety of formats and products from checklists to
reports with audios.

Everyone has a different learning style and they like having content in different
formats. Find out which formats your audience prefers and repurpose your content
to meet their needs.

Mistake #3: Not Using PLR Content

Creating content can be very time consuming and overwhelming. This is especially
true if you’re trying to create every piece of content from scratch. If you are not using
PLR content to help reduce the workload of content creation, you’re missing out on
a great resource.

Content with private label rights (PLR) often allows you to take pre-written content
and use it for your unique needs. Depending on the seller, the actual rights may
differ. But in general, you can edit it to make it more unique and fit your purpose.
You can also add to it, bundle it with other content, or make something completely
new from it.

Be sure to buy PLR from reputable vendors and read the terms of service.
Sometimes the terms change depending on the type of package you get. You aren’t
the only one buying the PLR content. For this reason, you always want to edit the
PLR you buy. After editing and changing the title, the content should reflect your
style, voice, and views.

Mistake #4: Writing The Wrong Content

If you’re not making sales or getting click-throughs, you may have written the wrong
content. This can happen when you don’t research your audience enough,
understand the problem completely, or misunderstood the solution type/format the
audience wanted.

The most important part of creating content is making sure you provide content
your audience wants and needs. The best way to accomplish this is to research and
study your audience, first.

When you find out what their problems are, create focused content that addresses
their concerns, informs them of their options, and persuades them to try the solution
you suggest.

Mistake #5: Not Responding to Questions

Your audience will have questions about products and niche concepts. The
questions will be everywhere you go including social media, your blog, and your
inbox. When a question is asked, it’s important that you or someone “official”
answers or at least acknowledges/redirects it as soon as possible. To keep questions
manageable, create a customer support area and redirect all questions there. Add
an FAQ to make finding the answers easier for everyone.

While the questions may annoy you at times, they are a great sign! When people ask
questions, it means they are reading your content. They’re interested in the topic.
They value your opinion and want to know more. Turn the questions into more
content that will help others and thank or call out the person who asked the
question.

Mistake #6: Promoting Like a Used Car Salesman

Content marketers sometimes sound like a used car salesman. For most audiences,
a “hard sell” won’t work. Persuading your audience to buy or act on your
recommendations is a much better tactic to use. Your content should inform,
instruct, and inspire your audience to take a certain action, based on their trust in
your opinion and judgment. To get them to take action build trust. Then show your
audience how and why your recommended action/solution has helped others and
how it could benefit them too. Don’t pursue, persuade

Mistake #7: Using Poor Quality Content

While you know to use high quality content, there are times when you can’t or don’t
take the time to edit (or create) content as you normally would. If you’ve ever
published content that isn’t up to your standard, you also probably felt a little guilty
about doing so.
Just because a piece of content isn’t your usual, high quality work, it’s not necessarily
poor quality. It depends on how high your standards are and where you draw the
“acceptable” line. What may be “acceptable” to one person may be “poor quality” to
another.
To help you decide what is “acceptable” and what is not, ask yourself, “Would I pay
for and use it, as-is or would I toss it in the trash, even if it was free?”
As far as guest blogging is concerned, don’t accept anything that isn’t at least equal
to the content quality that is already on your site.

 

Mistake #8: Content Not Easily Skimmed

Online and offline readers tend to skim content, whether the content is a short
article on your site or a long PDF report that has been downloaded. If you haven’t
provided for the easy skimming of your content, you may lose readers and sales.
To avoid these consequences, make all of your content skim-ready. Use whitespace
to help break up content. Create headings and subheadings that signify
section/topic changes. Add bullet points to identify simple lists. Include relevant
images to support written content

 

Mistake #9: Failing To Create Compelling Titles

Interesting, compelling titles sell content. Many content marketers just slap on a title
that has keywords and a few descriptive words. Then they move on to the next
project. This is a mistake.
One of the first things that grabs a reader’s attention is the title of the content. If the
title is carefully crafted, it can induce the reader to take a closer look, read more
about it, and buy. If the title doesn’t make the reader want to know more, it hasn’t
done its job.
To keep this from happening, the title should intrigue, state an attainable promise,
express a specific need, or state a fact that resonates with the reader. Make your
content titles work harder and sell more content for you

Mistake #10: Trying to Do Everything Yourself

You have exceptional skills and talents but you also have your limitations. You can’t
do it all and you shouldn’t even try. Trying to do everything in your business only
leads to a huge amount of stress being added to your plate. That makes things even
more difficult.

When your business is still in the beginning stage, it is possible to perform many
tasks without the help of someone else. However, learning complex skills that you
will only use once or twice is a waste of your time. Web design and things that
require highly specialized skills are good examples.

You need to enlist the help and expertise of others. Use your skills and talents to
operate your business. You are the only person who can make “owner” decisions and
plans. Learn to delegate. Start building your team now and let an experienced
professional do all the rest.

These top-10 content marketing mistakes are quite common. If you’ve already made
a few of them yourself, you’re in good company. Just be sure you fix the mistakes
and don’t repeat them. On the off chance that you haven’t had any of these uh-oh
moments, you now know what to watch for and you can avoid them all together.

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.