The 5 mistakes holding your content back – and how to create better content instead

People get bored easily. This is a fact. Your content needs to get their attention quickly and keep them engaged and reading. Here are 5 mistakes that are holding your content back and how to create the compelling stuff instead.

1.Thinking it’s about you (too much you, not enough tips). Inserting your personality into your content is great, but keep your personal life out of it. Unless you are a super-star celebrity, nobody cares about your life, they care about theirs. Offer something they want. How can you help make them happier, healthier, smarter? Are you providing useful information? It’s all about them.

2. Not having a Plan (editorial calendar). Too many or too few posts? Did you forget to post last Tuesday? If this is you, you need to use an editorial calendar. Keep your audience engaged, up to date, looking forward to the next post. Check out the WordPress editorial calendar and keep on top of it all. If you forget so will they.

3. Not Having a Focus (no niche). You may be interested in fly-fishing, fashion and Fiji, but unless you are selling fashion specifically for fly-fishing in Fiji they should not be together in one place. Each subject deserves its own space and should be separate. If you are interested in fly-fishing, then write the best content on fly-fishing and only fly-fishing. If someone is looking for information of fly-fishing they don’t want to hear about your trip to Fiji.

4. You Don’t Invite Action. “Action” is when your reader will click through to other pages, add comments, share on social media, etc. Your content should invite these actions and actually make the reader want to click, comment, share, sign up or download the freebie. Add links and “Call to Action” buttons. There should be interesting and promising content on the other side of the action. And don’t forget to respond to comments, no one likes to feel ignored.

5. Bad Formatting. Remember, people get bored easily. If you aren’t grabbing their attention immediately they will move on. What makes good formatting?

• Exceptional Headlines – This is what will make your site stand out in the crowd (and it is crowded out there). Here are some tips for Creating Headlines.
• An Interesting Introduction – Put the good stuff first. Most people spend less then 15 seconds on a page. You have to give them a reason to stay and read on. First impressions count.
• Insert Images – Images are processed by the brain much faster then words. It is what will capture the most attention in the shortest amount of time. Have at least 2 -3 quality images interspersed throughout the text to keep the eye moving. This is a great article on finding good images.
• Keep it short and simple – Remember, people bore easily (I know I am repeating myself, but it is worth remembering). Information should be easy to read, in small chunks and short sentences. Use bullets and numbers and forget the “jargon”.
• Edit, edit and edit- Did I say edit? Yes, edit at least 4 times. Spell check won’t pick up everything. There is nothing worse than poorly edited content. It looks sloppy and unprofessional.  Just for fun check out these commonly misspelled words. And remember – edit!

There is a lot of stuff out there, use these tips to help you create compelling content that will engage and inform. Got a great tip to share on how you create better content? Don’t forget to leave a comment below!