In an era where content is the king, you want to ensure that there will be no mistakes on it. You want that your posts, pages, and videos are the best ones that your target audience has ever come across on the web. And you are doing your best to make it happen.
If the paragraph above describes you, congratulations! You are on the right path.
But you might still not be sure about what are these mistakes that you must avoid at all cost. Especially when it comes to planning your content, it is very common that people get lost and confused about what to offer to their audience.
So let’s see what are the seven most common mistakes that people make when planning content to their site so that you can stay clear of pitfalls.
#1 – Not planning at all
If you are reading this post, the chances are that you think you aren’t committing this mistake. But, are you sure about it? Planning is more than just writing a list of topics on a spreadsheet, so if this is all that you have been doing, it is high time for you to improve it. A good content plan might be just one-page long, but it involves a complete editorial calendar, definition of goals and strategies, analysis of your target audience, the types of content that you will produce, a publishing schedule, and a promotion strategy.
#2 – Planning only short-term
Hopefully, you are expecting that your site has a long life. So why should you plan only for one week or a month of content? Or create a completely static website that will never get any fresh content? Unfortunately, this is what many of us do and then call it a content plan. But, in order to create something useful, you will want to think in the long term, especially regarding your goals and content production. And your editorial calendar should cover, at least, one year.
#3 – Not considering the target audience’s needs
You had this great idea, and you think it is so cool that everybody will love it. If something like this is crossing your mind at the moment, think again. There isn’t such a thing like something that everybody loves, as someone will always have a different opinion. And, sadly, it might be your target audience; the people that you want to visit your site and buy your product or service. That is to say that your content plan should be focused on what they want to find on your site, not what you consider as awesome.
#4 – Not relating it to sales and marketing goals
Every website has sales and marketing goals in its core. Even those which were created only to establish an online presence have brand awareness as their objective. And your content is the most powerful tool that you can have on your website, one of the secrets of a successful marketing strategy. So why waste it instead of using it to achieve your goals? Every piece that you write should be aligned with your sales and marketing strategy by having a clear purpose since their creation.
#5 – Defining deadlines poorly
Creating content can be overwhelming. There is a lot to create and details to perfect that you might end up spending a lot of time on each piece. And the best way to make it feel less daunting is by defining your deadlines correctly. While you are organizing your publishing schedule, you need to be honest with yourself regarding how much time you will allocate to create and maintain each page of your site, and when it should be ready. Even if you think you should be done in less time, don’t fall into this trap. Be realistic regarding your timing and your target audience will thank you for it.
#6 – Not deciding how success will be measured
So, you spent several hours creating content to your website. And now what? You want it to help you to achieve your sales and marketing goals, right? But how will you know if it was accomplished or not? Sadly, it is significant the number of digital marketers who still insist on creating and delivering amazing content plans without any evaluation methods or tools on it. But without them, it will be impossible for you to know if you need to adjust your plan until it is too late.
#7 – Not considering visual resources
Nowadays, content is much more than just writing. Visual resources are as important as texts, as many studies have proved that they can increase the engagement of any audience. But, unfortunately, many people still think only about the words that they will put on the screen, and then add any image they can grab for free on the web to illustrate it. And this kind of approach not only won’t add any value to your piece, but it can also damage your website’s credibility by making you look sloppy and indifferent to its quality.
In Conclusion
Your website is far too valuable for you to let it be ruined by committing silly mistakes. So you must have a content plan (and a good one) if you want to achieve your sales and marketing goals – which have to be connected to every piece you add to your website.
You will also need to think in the long term and have your target audience in the center of each decision you make. Realistic deadlines, well-considered visual resources, and reliable measurement tools will also be essential to your journey.
So you manage to avoid these seven mistakes, you will be one step ahead of your competitors. They will give you peace of mind and the certainty that your traffic will increase, and that your target audience will be coming back for more content over and over.
This article is written by Pat Fredshaw. She is a Professional Writer, Blogger, and Marketing Expert. Currently, she’s working as freelance writer for popular website essaysupply. You can follow her on Twitter and Google+.
