With time, many writers are making their way into the content writing industry. Some writers believe that since they are avid readers and enjoy writing occasionally, they can crack content writing. Indeed, there’s no harm in trying out something new and having a go at it. However, there are certain areas that content writers must polish to ensure avoiding rookie mistakes.
Content writing greatly varies from traditional writing. For instance, if someone has a hang of writing short stories or pieces doesn’t necessarily mean that they would be great content writers too. However, with some learning and practice, you can surely master the art.
There are a couple of mistakes that most writers make that result in counterproductive content. As an expert content writing company, we have crafted a list of all the mistakes you need to avoid. Staying away from these mistakes will surely make your content 10x better, and you’ll totally thrive as a content writer.
Top 6 Tips Common Mistakes That Content Writers Need to Avoid
1. Not Knowing Your Audience
Before you begin creating content, knowing your audience is the first step to success. If you miss this vital step, chances are you will fall at the first hurdle. Without knowing your audience, you have no idea who you’re writing for, what they care about, and how you can help them.
Taking simple steps required to know your audience can magically transform your writing approach and help you create way better content. You will understand the mindset of the people you’re targeting and write with a clear picture in your mind. Your content will be directed at a particular group of people rather than scattered in multiple directions.
2. Writing Without a Clear Purpose
Before you begin, ask yourself: what do I aim to achieve with this piece? Do you want it to be informative, entertaining, persuasive, or a combination of all those things? Without having a clear picture of your goal, you’ll aimlessly touch multiple areas, and your content won’t deliver a purpose. In this way, you’ll have a clear idea of your intended goal. Once you know your goal, make sure you fully understand it.
If you’re writing for someone else, ask them about their expectations of the content and what goal they have in mind. Check with them to ensure that you produce precisely the content they hope to achieve.
Having a clear purpose is undoubtedly one of the essential steps of your content writing. Without it, you risk losing focus and ultimately writing a piece that fails to deliver a purpose.
Hence, your reader finds it confusing, boring, and lacking purpose. As a result, they’ll be less likely to read your content, and all your efforts would go down for nothing. Remember that planning initially can save you from a lot of pain later!
3. Not Following a Structure
Are you ever tempted to start writing a new piece of content just when a new idea pops into your head? Avoid doing that. A lot of writers make this mistake, which is not fruitful for their content. If you don’t sketch it out, you are at the risk of missing important ideas. Take your time to create a structure prior to writing.
Make a draft of your content’s outline and think of all the things you can incorporate to compel the reader to keep reading. For instance, covering the 5 W’s – what, who, when, where, and why are the critical element to grab the reader’s attention. Try to create separate sections for each point. Start every paragraph with a simple sentence and elaborate it in the subsequent sentences.
Use headings and stay specific to each heading rather than writing dispersed ideas. Summarise your piece with a conclusive paragraph to highlight all the things that will benefit the reader.
4. Turning Your Content into a Sales Pitch
Many writers are so absorbed in promoting their brand that they turn their content into a sales pitch. Remember that your content is supposed to add value for your audience rather than a promo piece for your products. Your reader should not feel like they were tricked into reading it. It will cause them to lose their trust, and your brand value will suffer.
Sure, you can market your product subtly, but make sure you avoid outright marketing. The purpose of your content is to provide information, and you could talk about the benefit of your products. Still, avoid exaggerating and be as humble as possible.
5. Assuming Your Work is Perfect
Avoiding mistakes is inevitable, and sooner or later, you are bound to make a silly typo or a grammatical error. It’s human to make mistakes, especially when you are proofreading your content for the hundredth time; you’re likely to read past these errors without even realising they are there.
So, always be open to constructive criticism and not assume your work is perfect. Don’t shy from taking a second opinion, and if they can offer advice about grammar, structure, or choice of words, it’s only going to help you become a better writer.
6. Overlooking the Importance of Call to Action
Writing an engaging piece of content adds value for your audience. However, there’s one last thing that you need to do; add a call to action. Your CTA will motivate your readers to take a step further in the journey that brought them to your content in the first place.
When we talk about CTA, most writers assume it’s only limited to selling your product or service. However, it goes way beyond that. You can add a supplementary source where they can get more information on the subject. Not giving a CTA will leave your audience unclear about where they should go next to find the answers they were looking for.
Conclusive Thoughts
That being said, content writing has a lot of potential with several areas to explore. You are inevitably going to make your fair share of mistakes before you get the hang of all the essentials and pave your way to becoming a master of the art. So, hang in there! With time and practice, you will marvel in the field and create impeccable content that you have always dreamed of creating.
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