The 7 Deadly Sins of Content Creation
Content creators and marketers are constantly looking for fresh, new ideas that will keep their content from becoming stale. But instead of coming up with original ideas themselves, too many rely on the same old tired clichés. The following blog post will explore the 7 sins of content creation—the most common clichés you see in marketing campaigns today. Join us as we take a deep dive into each sin to show you what not to do!
Content creation is one of the most important skills that we have in this digital age but it's also one of the hardest things to do well. The internet is littered with mistakes made by people who are trying so hard they're not succeeding. If you are making content for the sake of making content, these mistakes can prove to be deadly for your brand. If you want to make an impact on the lives of millions, these mistakes you want to avoid. So let's take a look at some common mistakes content creators make and how we can fix them!
It's easy to get caught up in the creative process and lose sight of what your audience may need. Content creators, speakers, thought leaders, brands... we all have our own personal biases that can cloud our judgment when it comes to content creation. This video will offer helpful tips for avoiding these common pitfalls and creating content that will resonate with your audience instead.
Learn how to avoid being self-absorbed or too negative by focusing on customer needs rather than talking about yourself. Avoid being boring by injecting personality into your writing while also conveying expertise through storytelling techniques. Be mindful of not just what you say but how you're saying it as well as understanding what your personality and style of content are.
Lazy: Make sure you're producing content regularly and it's not all about one topic.
When you're starting out, it's easy to see that content creation is a numbers game. The more articles you put out there, the better. This is a huge mistake because it's human nature to become more interested in something the more you talk about it. If you're creating content and it's all about you and your business - guess what? A whole lot of people are going to start tuning out. You have to give the audience a reason to care, not just talk about yourself!
This is something that can make or break whether your content makes it or doesn't.
If you're focusing on one topic too much and really need to expand your content niche, think about all the ways you can incorporate that topic into your everyday life. Some people have a passion for technology but also love photography - what better time to create content about photography than when you're out and taking photos with your new iPhone? Other ideas could be volunteering at events related to your industry or getting coaching in your field.
Whatever you choose to do, make sure it's genuine and not just an excuse to create more content about yourself!
It's like the story that's told about the artist Vincent van Gogh. Do you know how many paintings he sold while alive? None. He died a pauper. But do you know how many paintings were sold after he died? His work became popular and now sells for millions of dollars. He wasn't being lazy by only painting one subject, he was being strategic. He didn't have any interest in selling his paintings at that point because it wasn't his goal. Instead, he was waiting until after his death to share the wealth of knowledge he had gained! This strategy can work for content creators who are looking to build a brand and create raving fans.
Some of the best content creators in the world follow this strategy and it's for good reason. You won't turn a profit if you're only creating content for the sake of it, because no one will care.
If you want to create content that people will want to consume, think about how you can piggyback off of your own life and weave it into what you're writing about. The content doesn't have to be a blatant sales pitch - it can take the form of knowledge, experience, and other types of value that people will care about.
Learn how to create content that your audience really cares about by focusing on their interests and not just your own.
Greed: Don't publish the same post on multiple channels to get more views or shares; instead, be selective with what you share and where you share it.
Don't get greedy. It's very easy to do and it's what most people do. We have the tendency to think, "Oh if I put this on Facebook and Twitter, it'll get twice as much traffic!" or "If I do this, then that group will share my post and give me a ton more exposure!" We start thinking about all of these angles and where we can gain more views, followers, whatever it may be that we're after.
If you're finding that your Google+ posts are getting more engagement than Facebook, tweak it and make sure the content is complementary!
It seems like a no-brainer but there's more to content creation than just creating. You need to know where your audience is and find ways to get their attention with the right message at the right time. Research social media channels and find ways to share your content in unique ways that are specific to each platform.
If you're struggling to get the analytics you need or want a better understanding of how your audience is digesting your content, there's nothing like visualizing it! This video outlines different types of social tracking you can use to get a better idea of what's working for your brand and where you need to make improvements.
One of the best ways to get people talking about your content is to discuss it with them in real-time! You're more likely to have an engaged audience if you incorporate social media chats into your live events or create a weekly chat with friends or colleagues. You can also take advantage of the feedback loop and answer questions as they come up to create a better experience for future readers.
Posting the same content on multiple social media sites will only work against you - no one wants to read the same thing twice! Incorporating your content into something that's unique to each platform can help you build more traffic and reach new audiences.
Greed will only lead to resentment, so stop thinking about how you can get more and start focusing on what people will want.
Vanity: Focus on quality over quantity when creating content that will resonate with your audience.
Don't focus on Vanity. This term, which can also be called "vanity metrics," refers to the number of views, likes, and shares that you get on your post. It's a quick way to measure the impact of your content, but it doesn't tell you how much engagement each piece gets.
It's should not be the look, but the value of the content.
Know your numbers. It may seem like something of a no-brainer to look at analytics and figure out where you stand online, but the truth is that most people are too concerned with creating the content to spend time looking at the numbers and seeing where they can improve.
When your business is just getting started, it's easy to think that more content means more clients.
In reality, quality counts, and quantity doesn't matter as much! Most of the time when I launch a new blog post or social media campaign, my biggest goal is to be consistent.
While consistency can sometimes lead to better rankings in search or more conversions, volume isn't everything. This is why it's important to test different content types and messages to find what resonates with your audience. Having a good idea of where your target customers are and how they're engaging with other brands will help you write better copy that will get in front of the people who matter most - even when there are a million other brands fighting for the same eyeballs!
Vanity is a danger because it can lead to superficial decisions based on how content looks rather than how well it does the job you need it to do. When you're a brand new business, you need to focus on the quality of your content and not just how many views it gets.
One of the biggest mistakes I see new content creators make that's tied to vanity is the desire to do everything themselves. It's very common for new brands to want a lot of control over their content and this can end up with you spreading yourself too thin.
When you start with the mentality of "I want to do everything", the quality of your content will suffer because you're spread too thin.
Excessiveness: Don't create too many posts at once because this can overwhelm your audience and they won't know which ones are worth reading.
When it comes to content, quality really does matter. You don't want to overwhelm your audience with too much information or make them think "Oh, another one of those posts."
Remember: creating content is just one part of a multi-faceted campaign that can be optimized and improved over time.
While some businesses succeed by simply taking action and writing blog posts, others need to go a step further. You don't have to be the best writer in the world, but there are some basics that will help you write better content faster.
This post about logical fallacies is especially good for anyone who struggles with providing evidence or maintaining a consistent point-of-view throughout their copy!
This is a great place to start before diving into the previous content creation video.
While it can be tempting to oversimplify your social media outreach, trying to be cute with your blog posts or including various different pieces of content in one post, that isn't a sustainable strategy.
There's nothing wrong with having multiple social media profiles for different purposes. This is a common strategy among businesses that have distinct campaigns such as a blog versus their social media efforts.
Make sure that your social media profiles aren't all over the place and that they're easy to find! There are a few companies out there who make cool infographics that you can use for free - but these resources will only get you so far if you don't have a plan of action to follow. You might be asking yourself: what's the best way to create an infographic? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret - there is no one right answer.
If your aim is to create an impact, it's important that you create content that will live on long after you publish it. Content doesn't have to be complicated or long as a blog post can sometimes be the most effective form of content, especially for more long-form posts. That said, creating high-quality images or videos can help you truly stand out!
If you want to be seen as an authoritative voice in your industry, it's important that you have a consistent tone and style in your copy. If you're all over the place, it's going to be hard for people to remember who you are or why they should talk to you in the future.
If you're creating content for your brand or mission, be consistent with your brand voice and message from beginning to end.
Wrath: Be empathetic towards your audience and don't get defensive when you're criticized.
Content creation isn't easy, but it's important to remember that we are all in this together. That means working with other people, collaborating on ideas, and being kind to one another. It's not our job to criticize each other - it's our job to support one another and find ways to work together. There will always be opportunities for creativity, but when it comes to content creation, the most important thing is that we try our best. It's not about being right or wrong, it's about sharing ideas and trying to make a positive impact on the world around us.
If you've gained anything from this post, I hope it's that it's our job to support one another and be kind to each other. If you're feeling frustrated or disappointed, I encourage you to reflect on how you can incorporate this information with your personal or professional goals. How can you improve your current content creation practices, or how can you help others to improve theirs?
If you're ever looking for advice on a specific project, I'd be happy to review your work before it goes out into the world! Here are some examples from my own work history.
What are some of the biggest content creation mistakes that you've made in the past? How did you fix them? Why is it important to pay attention to these mistakes?
A great magician's greatest trick is making things disappear. If you keep this in mind, you won't be saying to yourself... "Where did all my time, money and effort go?" are the hardest times. You're doing the best you can, but things just aren't clicking. No matter how hard you work, nothing seems to be paying off. In fact, time goes by faster the harder you work at something. You may have heard of this common concept as Parkinson's Law: Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
This is a common problem among people who are looking to pursue a side-hustle or build something like a blog or a portfolio. It's not that you don't have the skills to succeed - it's just that you're not making your goals a priority. If you can't make your goals a priority, find ways to downsize and delegate so that you're available for your passions.
Envy: use other people's success stories as inspiration for new ideas rather than feeling jealous or resentful towards them.
Content creation is a long, labor-intensive process. If you're feeling stressed out and overwhelmed by the amount of competition in your niche, think of it this way: they're doing more work than you to get better results.
What can YOU do today to make yourself stand out? All you have to do is take action and try something new.
It's never too late to change your approach and improve upon your previous failures - the only thing that matters is what you do next time.
Consider how other content creators are doing better than you, and use what they're doing as inspiration for new ideas rather than feeling resentful or jealous towards them. You never know what's working for them until you try something new yourself.
You have a choice. You can either complain about how hard it is to get results in your niche, or you can take action and get the results you want. The choice is yours.
What choice will you make? If your motive is based on impact rather than envy, there's no doubt that you'll be successful with content creation. We want to focus on what people "don't" have. After all isn't that why we are creating in the first place, to solve their problem?
Pride: Pride is undoubtedly the hardest to avoid because it's both powerful and dangerous at the same time.
Pride is the drive to outshine others and lift up our heads, to think too highly of ourselves and feel superior to other people.
Pride can manifest itself in a number of ways: in the inability to take criticism, refusing to learn from others, or simply being overly critical of your own work. Pride doesn't allow you to improve or create better content, which is why it's one of the 7 deadly sins.
Are you afraid to show people your work in progress and get feedback? Are you holding yourself back from creativity by taking criticism personally? If so, I encourage you to write down 7 things that will help you work through the content creation process.
When it comes to content marketing or any other self-promotion efforts, pride doesn't allow us to share our work with other people until it's perfect. The problem with that is, although we all strive to create the best product possible, no one in this world can be 100% perfect at everything they do.
What I've learned from personal experience is that the creative process isn't about being right or wrong - it's about sharing ideas and trying to make a positive impact on the world around us. It's our job to educate and inspire one another, to share our insights with other people while learning new things from them as well.
What can you do to prevent pride from getting in your way? Just remember: it's not about being right or wrong; it's about sharing ideas and making a positive impact on the world around you.
How can you make your pride work in your favor? You have to be comfortable with sharing your ideas with other people while learning new things from them as well.
Try this: write down 10 concepts for content that you're excited about creating, but don't feel pressured to do anything with it. If you're able to get started with just a small spark of inspiration, then you can build on it and make your pride work in your favor.
If you want to be successful with content creation, you have to learn how to get rid of pride. Pride will hold you back from improving and sharing your work with other people while learning new things from them as well. It's not about being right or wrong; it's about sharing ideas and making a positive impact on the world around us.
It's never too late to change your approach and improve upon your previous failures - the only thing that matters is what you do next time.
The key to creating effective content is to strike a balance between entertainment, education, and promotion. If you can get all three right, your content will be successful.
Content is the strong suit of your brand and by investing in it you will help yourself to become a leader in your industry.
The goal should always be impact and transformation. If you can achieve that through your content, then you're doing it right.
Do you want to learn how to create content that will create an impact?
I’ve been doing this for years and I can tell you from experience, it’s not easy. But if you follow my 30-day course, I promise it will change everything. You won’t have to worry about coming up with new ideas or finding the time to write them down anymore because I’ll be there every step of the way. It doesn't matter what industry you're in - all of these strategies are universal and they work!
It's time for a fresh start. A new beginning where your content is helping your business create impact instead of holding it back. This is an opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime so don't let it pass by without taking action now! Sign up today and see just how much better things can be when you take control over your content creation process. Let me show you how simple this whole thing really is...it's never too late to turn things around!
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