Alert: Your “Killer” Content is ACTUALLY Killing Your Content Marketing Efforts!

How many times have you heard that common copywriting advice about writing “killer” headlines or titles?  Of course, you know what I'm talking about. The one that goes somewhat like this: “If you want to make great impact with your marketing copy, write a killer headline!?”

How about the one that says you should spend 80% of your time on the headline or title and 20% on your main content – the 80/20 rule! – because the title is the most important part of your content?

You are familiar with those content writing tips, right?

Of course, I must agree that these are generally accepted content writing tips passed on to us by seasoned copywriters. However, may I inform you that simply putting together any piece of marketing content and stamping a “killer” headline on it will not help you achieve your dream result?

Truth is, you might have just packaged a “killer” with all the capabilities of KILLING your marketing efforts!

What do I mean?

Now listen to this:

Creating marketing content that is relevant and remarkable is beyond writing crafty headlines and titles. You must understand that content marketing as an inbound marketing technique, uses new content creation tactics aimed at attracting the right audience to your offers. It is not about trying to prize the sales from some reluctant prospect using covert headlines and titles but through using highly engaging, trust-building and thought-leadership content that employs the rules of inbound marketing content.

So, applying the 80/20 rule in creating your marketing content is nothing but “putting old wine in a new wine skin” – a sure path to failure!

Recommended: Top 3 Reasons Why Content Marketing Will Fail You!

Here Are 5 Signs That Your ‘Killer' Marketing Content Is Indeed Killing Your Efforts!

1. No Target Audience

This is indeed the first sign that your marketing content will end up a failure. Your content could be of the highest quality, expertly written and accurate in details but without a specific target audience that content will definitely flop.

Every piece of marketing content should be written with a picture of your ideal customer or prospect in mind. Who are they? What are their needs? What are their biggest concerns? How do you aim to solve those needs and concerns with your marketing content? How best should you reach them? Etc.

To understand all of these it is important that you do some basic research. You should be able to know who really, is the most common buyer for your product or service. If possible, lay out a detailed description of this ideal customer.

This is what a buyer persona is all about.

Write without a target audience in mind and your content would indeed qualify as a “killer”!

Recommended: How NOT to Create Marketing Content that Sucks!

2. Content Not In Sync With Buying Cycle

Marketers agree that every prospect goes through a certain journey before making a purchase. This is the buying cycle or buying process. A typical buying cycle goes something like this:

(i)    Awareness

(ii)    Research

(iii)    Comparison, and

(iv)    Decision or purchase.

Each of these stages of the buying cycle requires different forms of content.

You need to identify the buying stage you want to target with your content before creating that content. This is important because if your “killer” content is not in sync with the prospect’s specific stage of decision making, it would as well be just a piece of entertainment – making the prospect feel great but without any tangible returns for you.

3. Not Optimized, Socially And SEO-Wise!

One thing that savvy marketers have come to realize is that writing content for the web is miles apart from conventional content writing. And one area where this difference is most noticeable is writing SEO optimized and SMM optimized content.

While SEO content ensures that your marketing content is optimized for the search engines, social media marketing optimization ensures that your social media updates are optimized to achieve the desired results on the platform you are using.

Unfortunately, many marketers or content writers never care about optimization and this is truly a grave mistake because without the right optimization tactics, any “killer” piece of content will end up driving the wrong type of traffic.

This is indeed a specialized area of web content writing. But the good news is that you can always get a professional SEO web content writer if you are challenged in this area. A professional will help you create the form of marketing content that will achieve your marketing purpose.

4. Does Not Engage Your Target Audience

What, in your own opinion, makes a marketing content a “killer”? Is it because you put the word ‘killer' in the title? Is it simply because it is relevant to the subject discussed?

As much as these are good reasons, you must understand that without truly engaging the prospect, the content will have little impact. Prospects and customers do not want to simply hear from you, they want to engage with you. It is important therefore that in creating your marketing content you must find ways to make it create a sense of shared value with your target audience.

Like a seasoned orator, you should be able to empathize and resonate with your target audience making them more open to do what you want.

Using the basic conversation skill of empathy, your marketing content should be able to engage your prospects and lead them along until they click that button or link. Anything short of this will be a wasted piece of content.

Recommended: Inbound Marketing Misconceptions Unveiled – The Sure Path to Succeeding As an Inbound Marketer!

5. No Calls To Action

The CTA is one major aspect of a marketing content that many content writers easily overlook. But the truth is, the word “marketing” is what differentiates marketing content from other forms of content. Content marketing is nothing but using content to market your products and services therefore, writing your marketing content without any clear-cut “Call to Action” (CTA), is like a fisherman who throws out his net, encloses a big catch but refuses to pull it in!

For example: The author of this article is a Freelance Blogger and Professional SEO Content Writer. His passion and specialty is in the are of helping entrepreneur bloggers and small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) write web content that both engages your site visitors and is pleasing to the search engines.  Every of his content is designed to enhance your site’s search engine rankings, drive more traffic, increase your brand visibility and boost your site conversions.  If you desire truly ‘killer' marketing content that will not jeopardize your marketing efforts, then visit his SEO content writing site and request your free quote today!

Did you see what I’ve just done here? That, is a typical CTA that can go with this article. You must make the best use of your marketing content. Warm up your target and then, tell them what to do next – your Call to Action!

Conclusion

Content marketing as an inbound marketing tactic is a new form of marketing that requires new rules and tactics. Trying to use out-dated and fragmented outbound marketing techniques to boost sales will only result in ruining your marketing efforts. Instead of depending on these outbound “killer” tactics, you will do your business much good if you will create your content using engagement tactics based on your understanding of your target audience and what they need. Know where they are in the buying cycle and use your piece of content to easily guide them along until they make that final decision.

Over to You: I’ll appreciate your thought on this post. Do you know any other killer mistake content marketers are making today with their web marketing content? Share with us in your comments.