What prevents your content from engaging readers and generating leads? These five writing mistakes could be to blame.
Content marketers cite the number of leads generated as the most important metric they use to measure engagement. Your content can be well written and interesting but still fall short of your lead generation goals if you commit these common writing mistakes.
Not writing for the right channel
It’s not uncommon to see high bounce rates if you’re writing for a blog where content is self-sufficient, but a higher bounce rate could also indicate that your content isn’t adapted to the intended medium.
When writing for the internet, keep sentences and paragraphs short and easy to skim. Use white space to draw attention to important information, and introduce lists and headers to structure your content.
Expert writers use additional strategies, like avoiding walls of text for content that will be read on mobile or placing the main takeaway of an email early enough in the copy to appear in the email preview window.
Picking style over SEO
Varying the words and expressions you use can make copy flow better or feel more stylish. Your content will rank higher in search results if you prioritize keywords that align with the search terms your target audience uses.
Neglecting headlines
A great piece of content is pointless if the title doesn’t make readers want to click on it. A headline that immediately grabs attention and hints at the payoff of the content can make a huge difference.
You can write better headlines by keeping them short and specific. Use numbers if you can, and don’t hesitate to use A/B testing to see which headlines perform better.
Not writing for the right audience
Of all the writing mistakes, this is one of the most important ones. Your writing might fail to achieve its purpose because it’s not relatable, the tone isn’t right or you use too much jargon.
Research your audience before you start writing. Find out what they want to accomplish and how much they already know about the topic you’re writing about. If you’re writing for a brand or business, look into their content marketing strategy to get a better idea of the tone they typically use.
Writing without a goal in mind
Every great piece of copy should end with a call to action (CTA). The purpose of a CTA is to guide prospects to the next step in their journey. A CTA works best if it uses a strong action verb and provides a clear path to the next step.
You will generate more revenues with content marketing if you figure out the desired outcome of a piece and plan your writing around that goal. What kind of arguments will create a logical progression that makes the CTA more efficient?
In summary
You can write better content by listing the goals you want to accomplish before you get started, asking a few questions about your audience, and keeping your platform and channel in mind. When you’re done writing, go back to optimize your content and create a headline that will generate clicks.
Next steps
These are only a few of the common writing mistakes businesses make when developing a content marketing program. To fully prepare yourself to create good content, learn about 100 additional mistakes to avoid in our e-book.
