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The original version of this blog appeared at: <\/span><\/i>https:\/\/smartercx.com\/9-content-marketing-mistakes-that-are-hurting-your-brand\/<\/a><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n A<\/span><\/span><\/span>re your <\/span><\/span>content marketing strategies<\/a> companies creating value or distaste among consumers<\/span><\/span><\/span>?<\/span><\/span> We asked our team of content marketers their biggest pet peeves (as both marketers and consumers) that really set them off and guide them on their own strategies of <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span>things not to do<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span> when creating content<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span>Just because I<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span>ve agreed to receive your periodic dispatches doesn<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span>t mean I have the time or desire to read everything you send. Sorry. As a result, the subject line <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span><\/span>January 2020 newsletter<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span> probably won<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span>t draw a click unless I really love your organization. You can help me out, however, with a bone in the subject line: Entice me with a teaser and by all means, use active verbs.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span>As a content marketing and SEO expert, my biggest pet peeve is the perception among some executives that crafting successful content is more about quantity than quality, and the lack of understanding all the elements that go into creating a blog post that eventually ranks in the top organic search position.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n When content mills were a thing, lots of companies start<\/span><\/span><\/span>ed<\/span><\/span> copying the strategy with their own blogs, thinking that this was <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span><\/span>content marketing<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span>. With Google and other search engines getting better at understanding the difference between high-quality URLs and thin content, the companies that followed this old approach are now rightfully losing a massive amount of organic traffic.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span><\/span>My biggest <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span> and only <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span> pet peeve in content marketing is when companies chase quick wins rather than long-term gains. We need to treat audiences <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span> and the people tasked with reaching them <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span> as people rather than machines.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n One piece of advice that I have for content teams moving into 2020 is to slow down and to focus on quality above quantity. In the digital ecosystem, there tends to be a lot of pressure to emphasize hypergrowth and hyperspeed <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span> to launch campaigns for the sake of launching campaigns.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n We need to remember that we<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span>re writing for people, not search engines, campaigns, or robots.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nMistake\u00a0#1:\u00a0Uninspiring subject lines<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Mistake\u00a0#2: Quantity over quality<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Mistake\u00a0#3: Chasing quick wins vs long-term gains<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
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