[adning id=”12070″]

[adning id=”12070″]

7 Reasons Why Your Content Isn’t Being Read

The cat’s been out of the bag for a while now – content is as essential to a website as coffee is to a morning.

You’ve been working on creating content for months – anything from blog posts to videos, podcasts and webinars. The only problem is that no one is engaging with it. Here are seven reasons why.

 

1. The writing needs work. 

You could have the most fascinating information in the world, but if it reads badly, your readers won’t bother trying to decipher it. The same can be said for content that is overly complex—you want to position yourself as an expert in your industry, but you still want the general public to be able to understand what you’ve posted.

Our advice: invest in a solid copywriter who can make your words sing on the page.

2. The formatting is difficult to read.

If you’re going to promise readers an article with seven reasons why no one is reading their content, you had better give them a numbered list with seven reasons.

But seriously, if you make that kind of promise in the headline and then offer up a big chunk of text, there’s no way they’ll still be reading at the end. Use line breaks, sub headings, bullet points, and images – generally, make your content as easy on the eye as possible. A wall of text is intimidating to even the biggest bookworms.

3. It’s not the right content for your audience.

Remember that what you’re passionate about isn’t always what your audience wants to read. Don’t write content just because you find it interesting—instead, put yourself in your readers’ shoes.

If you’re struggling to find out what your audience wants to read, there are a number of free online tools for generating smart content ideas. Eventually, you’ll be able to analyse your own content to see what sticks and what doesn’t, refining your content strategy as you go.

4. There isn’t enough of it.

How often are you posting? Because if it’s less than once a week, it’s generally not enough.

Many companies will aim for a new post two to three times per week, while the real big hitters will go for a couple of pieces of content a day. At minimum, give your readers something new at least once per week, or you risk losing their attention for good.

Plus, regular posting can help with your organic SEO, which is always a win.

5. Lack of paid promotion.

You might have the best blog on the internet, but without an amplification strategy, how is anyone to know it exists? Unfortunately, simply posting your content to Facebook or Twitter isn’t going to do the job unless you already have a massive following on social. In most cases, you need to consider putting some of your marketing spend behind paid promotion. This could be pay-per-click, display ads, social media promotion, a mix of all three, or something else altogether.

6. It’s too salesy.

Did you know 11% of the global internet population uses adblockers? Nobody likes to be sold to, especially not if they’re trying to read up about whatever it is you’ve promised to tell them in the headline. If your blog post or landing page reads more like ad copy, you’re going to annoy your readers (and see your website traffic suffer).

Instead of making a hard sell in your copy, throw some natural links to landing pages or products, and use clear calls to action in the side bars or as buttons throughout the content, rather than trying to sneak it into the written word.

7. Not optimised for mobile.

With the majority of people surfing the web on their mobile devices, you need to be absolutely sure your content is easy to read on smaller screens. If your site isn’t responsive, now is the time to invest in a developer who can help you get up to speed. Otherwise, you risk losing out on the heaps of mobile traffic that could be coming your way.

Samantha Thorne, Marketer and Strategist

Source: Sensis

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Print

SUBSCRIBE FREE
SME NEWS BRIEFS

Get breaking news delivered
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?