Stop Making These 5 Major Mistakes to Create Better Content
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Jedda Cain, full time blogger.
For any content writer, it can be frustrating to see your content rejected, again and again, or even worse -not fulfilling its purpose. It’s possible that you are making mistakes whenever you write your content that are causing this outcome.
Your primary goal while creating content is to attract more readers, which should lower the bounce rate as readers who find the content interesting will read it. We all make mistakes, but that shouldn’t deter you from reaching your goals.
If you’d like to turn an ordinary piece of writing into a masterpiece, stop making these common mistakes:
#1. Not Knowing Who You Are Writing For
There is a clear distinction between a nursery book for toddlers and a book discussing quantum physics meant for college students. Both of these are written keeping the appropriate readers in mind.
According to Neil Patel, “Great writing is connecting with readers in a meaningful way.” Therefore, you cannot create great content if you don’t know who your target audience is. Until you know the exact mindset your audience, you cannot create an engaging post or captivating article.
Before you start writing your content, do proper research on your target audience. Make sure you know what pain points or problems are, and what they are looking for. This way your writing will be more focused and more helpful for the readers.
#2. Using Unappealing Headlines
“What’s in a name?”- This famous quote by Shakespeare may be appropriate in other contexts, but, in content creation, it is not. If you want your content to be accessible to your target audience, you will have to create exciting headlines that attract attention.
Copyblogger found that eight out of ten people, on average, read the headline, and leave the page instantly. By using an uninteresting title, you lower the visibility of your content. To understand the headline landscape, have a look at the following numbers:
- 2 million blog posts are created daily
- 864 thousand hours of video are made daily
- 294 billion emails are written each day
Among all this content available online, why would a reader click on yours? In this fast-moving world, nobody has a minute to spare, and you have to grab your reader’s attention in seconds.
Buzzfeed are known for creating some of the most interesting, eye-catchy headlines. Have a look:
Source: Buzzfeed
Take a cue from them and learn what an attention-grabbing heading looks like.
#3. Publishing Content With No Proofreading or Editing
Ask anyone if he/she would pay a company for non-edited articles. The answer will be no. Making grammatical mistakes is common, but publishing the same copy online is the kind of error that you should never make. Grammatical errors can ruin your content or even your marketing strategy.
- A study showed that 59% of people would stay away from using the product or service of a company whose website’s content contains spelling or other grammatical mistakes
- Research conducted by Clemson University has revealed that a better quality text increases the chance of considering the author as a credible one
- According to Charles Duncombe, an online entrepreneur, online sales can be reduced by 50% due to one spelling mistake
It’s pretty clear just how badly grammatical mistakes can affect your content and reduce the chances of meeting your marketing goals.
So, read and re-read your article several times before publishing it online.
#4. Not Conducting Detailed Research
The primary goal of your content is to provide value to your readers. According to Sam Barros, an essay writer of a reputable academic writing company, “The priority should be given to conducting the research, based on which, the quality of the paper is determined.”
Even if you create well-written content, readers can still see the lack of information in it if no research has been done.
Why is research important?
- It adds credibility to your content
- It can help you to include statistical evidence which persuades the readers to believe your argument
- It helps you to identify your goal, to find the best way to achieve it
You may be an expert on a topic, but, you need to carry out proper research. Extensive research makes a whole lot of difference between a bad article and a great one. Your readers are more likely to be impressed if they find detailed information, data, and pieces of evidence that allow them to make an informed decision.
#5. Not Writing for the Medium
Will you write a 1000 word piece for a Facebook post? Of course not.
You should always understand which style of writing is appropriate for which medium. You must make necessary amendments to fit the medium where it will be published.
Content types can differ, there are blogs, articles, social media posts, videos, infographics and so on. Some of these are more effective than others, depending on your audience and goals. You can get an idea of the various types of material from this infographic:
Source: Content Marketing Institute
Using the wrong style and format when writing can lower impact and effectiveness. So, you need to know the type of the material and the medium it will be distributed in before you start writing.
Keep these in mind when creating content and you’re sure to see your content shine.
Jedda Cain is a full-time blogger who has written hundreds of blogs and other marketing content for several reputed companies. Currently, she contributes to Essay Assignment Help. In her free time, she likes to cook and read novels.