Marketing your blog can be very difficult and you have to explore what methods are working for you. For example, I’ve found one of the hardest things of blog and content marketing is the inability to find an effective method quickly. Sometimes, it can take months to find an avenue that is working better for you than others. You have to keep in mind, some marketing methods will be more effective depending on the niche you’re involved in. However, content marketing relates to every niche because it’s essentially promoting your products and/or service through your content. The study of content marketing has been growing over the last several years because it’s proven to be very effective in creating conversions. We also have numerous case studies that allow us to learn quickly what mistakes to avoid. Having a better understanding of them will ensure you don’t waste time on the unnecessary.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been writing out a list of the common content marketing mistakes made by amateurs and would like to go over a few right now. Let’s get started…
Automation
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen bloggers make is NOT automating when they can. Content marketing is only effective when you get your posts out in front of people so they can actively engage with them. However, I see many people fail to do this simply because they are lazy and can’t find the time. However, this process should be completely automated so all you have to do is set it up once and let the tools handle the rest. For example, Bufferapp.com is a great tool for Twitter that will automatically post “tweets” on your behalf. There are other great tools perfect for Facebook, Twitter, and other popular social media platforms. You should research a few, making use of them going forward because they are very effective in marketing your content WITHOUT you doing any work after the initial setup.
Depending on your type of blog, you can even automate the curation process by using tools that gather content from around the web and post it on your blog.
The Headlines
You have to make sure your content stands out compared to your competition so it’s important to focus on your headlines. Explore popular keywords and make sure you know what your audience is looking so you can provide a taste to them through your headlines. Keep in mind, your content will be displayed in search engines with other relevant search results so it’s important you’re the one who gets all the click-through creating increased conversions.
My strategy is very simple because it involves me finding popular keywords that my audience is looking for. Then I write out my entire content and write down the main points on a separate piece of paper. Before I publish, I’ll skim through my main points and create an awesome headline reflecting as many of these points as I possibility can. My objective is to standout compared to everyone else because this will increase the likelihood of success.
Wrong Content Type
Sometimes, getting your point across and converting your readers doesn’t have to be a lengthy process. By “lengthy”, I mean 2,000+ words of content because sometimes, getting right to the point is the best approach. A recent study shows the most popular type of content is “List Type” because it’s short and right to the point. Imagine how useful this type of content is when people are searching for “top 10 vacation spots” and your blog is number 1 in the SERP’s with your title being “50 Beautiful Places to Travel in the World”. I’m sure you’ll get the highest CTR and will easily be able to convert your visitors.
I suggest focusing on list type of content because it provides substance quickly and Google loves it for the value it provides.
Optimizing Content
Content marketing is only useful if people are able to find you online, which is why I encourage everyone to always optimize their content before publishing. This means to have the right keywords in your content and always research to find out what your audience is looking for. As a matter of fact, research should be done way before so you can write content around your keywords. This way, you have guidelines and direction as you begin typing, but after completion, it’s time to tweak your content. For example, add “target” keywords in the title, first paragraph, throughout the body, and in the concluding paragraph. Don’t forget text formatting as this has been proven to help, for example,
- Bold
- Underline
- H1, H2, and H3
- Italic