Because the very idea of content marketing is undergoing renovation at the moment… and, to be honest, has been for years, it is simple to discover content marketing blunders on the web nowadays.

Pardon our grime.

Even when content marketing was a relatively novel online strategy, there were sceptics. Now the sceptics point to the abundance of poor writing and ask, “Do you think that’s effective?”

However, trash has always existed. Currently, it is just simpler to locate. It feels filthy, as if there is a stratum of grime that requires a thorough Clorox cleaning.

However, I know that content marketing is not extinct because it consistently works for me.

I purchase from firms that publish insightful articles. I am subscribed to video channels that compel my attention.

There is a proven method for content marketing mastery that builds your business buried beneath the soil.

It is simple to compose for “everyone.”

I enjoy “easy.” Everyone loves “easy.”

However, the negative side of simplicity has contributed to the current content marketing climate.

It is simple to piece together words that will appeal to a broad audience.

And technology facilitates online publication and blog-based sales.

Therefore, all of this simple-to-produce, redundant information exists on the Internet, but no one is interested in it.

When you don’t also acquire how to be a copywriter, the likelihood that potential audience members will swiftly leave your website… increases significantly. You are left with the impression that content marketing is ineffective.

Writing for specific individuals requires significantly more skill.

Real investigation, real listening, real empathy, and real guts are required to publish over time and earn the attention of an audience.

As Sonia Simone constantly emphasizes:

We are (still) not suffering from an abundance of quality content.

There is no substitute for the creative momentum generated by consistent publication.

I enjoy using the example of weekly content releases. It is a paradigm for focused content — a presentation that your audience genuinely views as a gift and anticipates receiving.

This is the type of content that merits publication.

Let’s say your optimal audience is “small business entrepreneurs.” I can conceive of a great deal of common information that would be of interest to that group.

But if you want to avoid common content marketing blunders, you shouldn’t publish for “the small business entrepreneur,” you should publish for small business entrepreneurs…

• Charles
• Colette
• Cynthia
• Carl
• Cedric

These are the individuals whose attention you seek to capture and whose needs you seek to fulfil.

Not everyone in your audience will be satisfied by a single piece of content, so this is another reason why it’s crucial to publish on a regular schedule.

It provides numerous opportunities to interact with various categories of individuals.

When developing a content marketing strategy to serve small business owners, you will begin by asking:

Who should you produce content for this week?

Each character’s profile will outline their difficulties and the types of resources they prefer for assistance.

Let’s take a look at some personality traits that you might include for Charles and Colette, just for amusement.

Charles:

• Enjoys doing everything for his custom confectionary business by himself and dislikes employing others.
• Creates compelling email autoresponders that cultivate his leads.
• Occasionally eats (tuna, BLT, chicken, etc.) sandwiches for lunch while reading about embellishment techniques.

Colette:

• Arises at 6:00 a.m. and walks to a local coffee establishment to socialize with other regulars before beginning her workday.
• Appreciates working in a team environment to expand her fashion-styling application.
• Early evenings find her bringing her canine Nevil to a park with great pleasure.

As members of the group “small business entrepreneurs,” Charles Content and Colette Content may have some overlap, but avoid the temptation to be vague.

A week might be for Charles… The following week may be for Colette… likewise for the remaining personas you create.

In your editorial calendar, keep note of who you’re serving so that you routinely interact with each character, but don’t be too strict.

If you write for Cynthia for two consecutive weeks, you are not inherently forsaking the rest of your audience. Carl or Cedric may also find Cynthia’s information valuable.

With each installment of your content series, be specific about what each individual will:

• Thinks
• Feels
• Sees
• Does

You’ll use those details to make individuals feel that your articles, podcast episodes, or videos were created just for them — because they were.

What occurs when a visitor clicks through to your website?

Through the experience you provide instantaneously, does your blogging persuade readers to remain and learn more about you?

Or, do visitors see content that is identical to that of competing websites?

There are no further questions at this time.

But as you consider your responses, consider these five common content marketing errors that prevent prospects from engaging with your content.

Each section includes instructions on how to correct the error.

Recent construction on my street resulted in the construction of four identically designed new homes.

Do you know what will occur when a real estate agent begins giving prospective purchasers house tours?

The prospective purchasers will evaluate the properties based on the minute differences they observe.

A woman will detest the filigree on one of the front gates and choose the home with the simple brown gate and oversized veranda.

A male will adore the home with the intricate front gate filigree. Another woman will dislike the home with the oversized balconies and prefer the home with a larger living room.

You understand the purpose.

Although these houses appear relatively similar from the exterior, visitors are able to rapidly determine which property best suits their needs based on their individual preferences.

The same occurs when individuals seek for information on a subject. The websites that appear at the top of search engine results for a particular keyword phrase may appear identical at first glance, so visitors will rapidly examine your content to determine if it possesses the qualities they seek.

If your unique qualities (your proverbial front gate with filigree, large veranda, or capacious living room) are unclear, you won’t be able to persuade the individuals you wish to attract that you can meet their needs.

Weak headlines that could appear on any other website in your niche typically do not provide any value.

Or, the benefit may be so vague that it fails to attract the attention of the audience for whom the content was intended.

They may also be monotonous.

Numerous websites publish successful first-draft content. If crude draughts create a rapport with the audience you intend to serve… cool.

But if your content fails to resonate with the individuals you wish to attract and cultivate relationships with, you may need to exert more effort.

A website with a large amount of content may still appear to be a “brochure” website if it does not present a unique angle or perspective that makes visitors think, “I like this specific approach to this topic.”

When visitors perceive that you offer them something they cannot find on other websites, they want to hear more from you and maintain a relationship.

If you don’t anticipate a reader’s desire for more information, he may leave your site in search of additional resources.

Information alone doesn’t spark the buying process.

If you don’t give visitors a taste of what it’s like to do business with you, you won’t convert prospects to customers.

If you wish to do more than simply ponder the above concerns, here is an exercise:

• Assign each of these five mistakes to a day next week, Monday through Friday.
• Invest a few hours per day determining where you might make these mistakes and how to correct them.
• By the end of the week, you will have an abundance of new ideas for future improvement.

This is the ideal moment to take the work you’ve already put into your freelance website and enhance it for the next phase of your business.

Now, let’s turn to the real world for further clarification on some of these concepts…

A grocery store solicitor is annoying because grocery purchasing is typically not a pastime.

The consumer must get down to business, as they will have numerous other responsibilities once they depart the grocery store and continue with their day.

However, some individuals may view grocery purchasing as a more casual activity, perhaps as an opportunity to discover new products or even socialize.

Those are the most receptive prospects for grocery store solicitors.

So, the solicitor does have a chance, but I’ve recently witnessed one squander it twice.

On this fateful day, a table with a sign reading “Meditation” was placed next to the entrance of the organic grocery store I frequently visit on foot.

Not a horrible beginning.

The location is advantageous.

Not everyone who purchases organic groceries is interested in improving their mindfulness, but they may be inquisitive about meditation and wish to learn more.

Unfortunately, the situation rapidly deteriorated, providing us with three related content marketing errors to examine.

Meditation constitutes a “feature.”

The features of your product or service define your offering. Benefits convince someone to be interested in the offer.

Benefits and features work in tandem, but leading with features frequently results in a lacklustre presentation.

It does not matter how many Instagram followers an acquaintance has; what matters is whether they remember your birthday.

Instead of simply stating “Meditation,” the table’s sign could have referenced any of the actual benefits of meditation.

• Improved attentiveness
• Relaxation
• Peaceful slumber

Smart copy could have also highlighted the pain points that would motivate someone to seek a new method of stress management.

An individual stood behind The Meditation Table.

We shall call him Rick.

As I passed the table, he remarked:

“Ma’am, do you practice meditation?”

As you may have surmised, I find this greeting/question problematic.

First, it just makes no logic.

I was unaware of what Rick desired from me.

Should I:

• Start meditating on command, right then and there?
• Teach him about meditation?
• Confirm he was pronouncing the word correctly?

Due to the lack of clarity, I was unable to comprehend his message.

Second, suppose I had recently begun a meditation practice and discreetly hoped to find someone interested in discussing it at the grocery store that day…

Rick’s salutation was unclear, so I walked past him and into the tomato-and-onion aisle on the other side of the automatic sliding door.

Regrettably, he may have dissuaded an otherwise interested prospect.

Lastly, I have already mentioned that the table displayed a sign that read “Meditation.”

If I did not know what meditation was, I could readily conduct inquiry about it in the future.

Rick neglected to provide a distinguishing factor for his meditation proposal.

There was no reason for me to choose him over discovering a meditation resource with which I resonated.

If you “mumble” in your small business content marketing, you provide no compelling reason for anyone to pause and pay attention.

I overheard a woman ask Rick: “Where are your keys?” as I exited the grocery store, strategically glancing down and fumbling in my purse for them.

“Where is the meditation centre located?”

This time, he responded with a lengthy response.

It should come as no surprise that it was not a powerful argument.

Similar to his muttering, this response provides Rick’s prospect with no cause to select his meditation organization.

In fact, content marketing errors such as these give her a reason to select a different one — to search elsewhere for a meditation community that more closely aligns with her sensibilities.

You need to release your work knowing you’ve polished it up to professional standards, so you feel good about sharing it.

We all have the potential to build engaged audiences.

Don’t let your content be an insignificant event others pass by without thought or care.

Have it be a milestone.