Are you a beginner blogger or a well-versed content marketer? Maybe somewhere in the middle? You may be making blog mistakes you aren’t aware of.
Don’t worry, though, because the best thing about blogs is that they can be changed and optimized in the future. So, in order to fix those mistakes, keep reading to learn about the top four mistakes that bloggers are making and how to fix them.
The Top 4 Most Common Blog Mistakes
1. Not Knowing Your Audience and Buyer Persona
Probably the first thing you learn when you study marketing: always know your audience. But what happens when you get so comfortable with writing content that you forget to identify and write content meant for your audience? Or is it that you know your audience, you’re just not directly targeting them? You might need to slow down and consider if what you’re writing is even something your audience would want to read. One of the biggest mistakes a content marketer or writer can make is to write something that is tied back into a call to action, but is something that no one actually wants to read.
A great way to remind yourself of your audience is to create a buyer persona. With a buyer persona or two, you can put yourself in their shoes and think, “If I were this person, would I want to read this?” For example, if you’re writing for a clothing store that targets teenagers, you can create a hypothetical teenage figure. When building a persona, Hootsuite recommends that you “give this customer persona a name, demographic details, interests, and behavioral traits… understand their goals, pain points, and buying patterns.” Then you can think to yourself, “If I was my buyer persona, would I care to read this?” Remember, it’s best practice to cater your content to the audience rather than the company.
2. Not Optimizing for SEO
As a blogger, many people will tell you that you shouldn’t write content just for the sake of SEO. However, completely overlooking search engine optimization is one of the most common blog mistakes. Whether you do it or an SEO specialist does it, keyword research must be done before you start writing. Your job as a content writer is to create content that people want to read and make sure that your blog will rank on search engines. Having the perfect balance of SEO-focused and engaging content will get you to generate website traffic and an interested audience.
3. Not Creating Enough Content for Each Step of the Buyer’s Journey
The buyer’s journey is extremely important for all types of marketing. Before you start writing, ask yourself who the audience is and what part of the audience you should be targeting. Are you creating content for someone who’s never heard of your business? Create something educational, like a guide that ties into your call to action. Are they aware of the company but haven’t made a purchase yet? Use this stage to highlight your product or service. Ready to seal the deal? Write a content piece about what makes your business unique and stand out amongst your competitors.
writing too much content for one step of the buyer’s journey can make it hard for your blogs to create high conversion rates. With content and blogs, you can take your buyer by the hand and be their guide through the process—take advantage of it! As Social Media Today put it, “If you put too much focus on producing educational content, for example, appealing to those in the awareness stage, you can miss out on nurturing buyers further down the purchasing process.”
4. You’re Not Citing Your Sources
In writing content, it’s no secret that a lot of research is involved. And while learning from external sources is completely necessary, there’s no excuse for plagiarism while blogging. Sometimes, it’s necessary to quote an article or another writer; that’s totally okay! In fact, we’ve already done it twice in this article; just make sure you are correctly giving them credit. While this might not seem like an SEO tactic, plagiarism is looked down on by Google and search engines alike. If the algorithm has even a sneaking suspicion that you stole your content, your blog will rank poorly on the search engine results page. So, make sure you continue to do your research, but just like your high school English teachers taught you, always cite your sources.
The REVITY Marketing Agency Team Has You Covered
At REVITY Marketing Agency, we’re all about helping brands of all sizes drive traffic and revenue. Our content marketing and SEO teams are well equipped with all the tools to avoid any blog mistakes and help you reach your marketing goals. Offering our marketing services worldwide, we’ve assisted in the growth of all our clients, and we’re ready to help you do the same. Contact us today for more information on our services and to get a quote.
