For you to attract visitors and for them to engage with your content, you have to be an expert author. This means you know what your audience is looking for, writing in-depth high quality content that resonates with your audience. However, I am caught off guard when I see the amount of people making common mistakes when trying to write content. I think the only way to build your brand through content marketing is by becoming an “expert author”. This means knowing what works and increases ROI. Over the years, I’ve learned becoming an expert author takes time because it all comes with experience so you need to know what things to avoid that will hinder your progress. I came across a very interesting article outlining the common mistakes made by writers along the way. I want to present the MOST common right now.
I hope you’ll make use of this information going forward, increasing your credibility and defining yourself as an expert author.
Self-Doubt
Writing is very strategic and you have to be confident about the content you publish. If you have self-doubt, the visitor will be able to see it in your writing. However, self-doubt is something that can be erased from your writing by implementing a few of these strategies. First, always research you topic so that you’re confident about the information you provide. Secondly, have someone read it before publishing so you can get feedback before your audience has access to it. Third, keep updating your content as new information becomes available because this shows your content is trending and provides the latest news.
I’ve noticed that knowing your topic well is a great way to remove self-doubt so spend time researching before writing.
Not Editing
The funny thing is, I’ve met some awesome writers, but their grammar is NOT that good. However, this should NOT slow you down. I like to consider both of them separate because some people find it easier to put thoughts on paper and hard to correct their writing. I’m speaking from my own experience because I have hired a professional editor to read over my content before publishing. If you want to be an expert author, make sure your grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation is correct. It doesn’t matter if you do it or someone else because the bottom line is to make sure it’s perfect before going live.
Tracking Results
Expert authors are very strategic because they keep track of everything from the second they start writing. The reason is simple because they want to ensure they know what’s working compared to what’s not. For example, they’ll keep track of the following…
- Content length
- Structure
- Social shares
- Topic
- Bounce rate
Why is this information important to an expert author? By tracking what works, the author can focus on what’s proven to work and increase brand awareness quickly. When the author knows what resonates with their audience, they can focus on that content to build credibility. Keep in mind, there’s a reason some read certain content over others and it has everything to do with value. By knowing how long people spend on your content, you’re able to conclude you’re actually providing value, increasing your credibility.
Irrelevance
The common mistake made by expert authors is adding irrelevant content when publishing. You have to know to stick to your content, which means being straightforward. People have arrived on your page because they hope to find a solution to their common problem so adding information they don’t need will push them away quickly. Expert authors know how to stick to the topic, making sure the in-depth solution they provide is well focused. If you drift off course, then a visitor will NOT come back the second time because they know it’s going to be tough to get a straightforward answer through your content.
If you want to be an expert author, then stick to the topic and focus on going in-depth to ensure a complete solution is provided. Don’t add irrelevant content because this will throw your visitor off track. It helps to write out an outline before getting started so you have a written guide to follow while writing your content. It’s amazing how much an online can help keep you on track.