10 Content Mistakes To Avoid

Updated: April 2020

The online world is littered with content mistakes, even by the pros. However, just because top brands commit a faux pas now and then, doesn't mean you should - but it also means it's not the end of the world if there is an extra space between words, or a misspelled sentence somewhere. Do you know how many mistakes I have seen in published articles, blogs, websites, to say nothing of published books? Too many to mention. Like with many things at work, recreation or life in general, we strive for perfection, but even though we rarely achieve it, we continue to work towards it.

Missing the point

Sometimes, companies tend to elaborate subjects so much, to the point where we forget what was the reason for the piece of content - social, blog, product description - in the first place. Occasionally, we tend to disregard the KISS (Keep in simple, smartypants*) factor.

TL; DR

When you write a long piece of content, and you precede it with TL;DR, the reader will almost always read the two or three line summary paragraphs and skip the rest. You've invested time researching and writing the content piece; you want them to read your content, not skim it. 

Lack of Engagement

The last thing you want your content to be associated with a lecture or your infographic compared to a Klingon spaceship manual. Users want to be a)informed in a new, useful way b)entertained (if possible). Not bored so much

Not Focusing on The Solution Remember, it's all about solving a customers' problem/dilemma/situation. starting off your blog, email or homepage with "at XYZ, we invest hundreds of hours and people blah-blah-blah" is a sure way to lose your potential customer. Compare that, for example, with:

"Every year, thousands of households suffer from the 'Santa stuck in the chimney' syndrome. Look at television or Online video commercials: you'll almost always see the "introducing the all-new..." message at the end of the commercial, not the beginning. 

Being Irrelevant 

What do good comedy and good content have in common? Timing. Timing is everything, especially when it comes to content & copywriting related to holidays, sporting or other special events. You can churn out content without relating to anything that has no hard relation to your business, but a) you'll be missing out on fresh content ideas and b) a chance to show your audience that you're not cooped up in your corporate world, 24/7.

Not being topical

When you're creating content, you must keep your hand on the pulse on everything that's going around: politics, sports, entertainment, etc. NASA released images from Mars? how about a mock-up of your product on the red planet, for your social media channels? or if you offer an added value, you can go with the headline: the big bang for your buck theory. How about Fantastic Bargains and Where to Find Them: Your Guide For Sane Christmas Shopping.

Not giving an extra incentive

Or as we call it in high marketing language, value proposition: Why should the user/customer sign up to your email, follow you or join your social media platform? he's already got enough spam and notifications: why you? you need to give them an enticing reason to join you on social media or leave their emails with you. Check out the difference:"Join our Facebook page for updates" vs. "Join our Facebook page to be on of the first to hear about exclusive discounts, Black Friday deals, coupons and more!"

Being condescending

Nothing is more off-putting to users than a condescending tone that shouts "listen to us because we know a whole lot more than you." There are also companies and personalities who still don't "get" the damage they're doing to themselves or their brands with arrogant tones. Like the Houston Rockets and their recent tweet. Things like that just make you a laughing stock. After ten years, 500 conferences, thousands of hours of research...yada, yada, yada. You can insert this in the "How we achieve these results" section if there is one, but other than that, it's a waste of the reader's time, and therefore, precious content space.

Totally ignoring SEO

Like a zombie that refuses to die even after it's been killed off a dozen or more times by experts the world over, yet it's still alive and kicking. Although the days of keyword-stuffing are long gone, so are the times of simply being relevant. Your content needs to be relevant and have value.

Being negative/attacking the competition Putting down someone else in order to promote your own businesses, is like setting your neighbors' house to increase the value of your own home: it's just stupid. And unnecessary. Check out what Burger King did on Halloween.

*more widely known as Keep It Simple, Stupid - I thought 'smartypants' sounds better.