The Top 3 Reasons Your Content Marketing Doesn’t Convert Anyone
Posted on the 18 February 2013 by Elizabethlmaness
@elizbethlmaness
The Top 3 Reasons Your Content Marketing Doesn't Convert Anyone
What are your content marketing stats looking like these days? Are you producing loads of great content, attracting ever increasing numbers of visitors and enjoying all the business you can stand? Your content marketing doesn't convert anyone?Or – are you getting stuck in any part of that process?Let me be blunt and get to the point here – is your content marketing converting the kind of numbers you'd like?If you wonder how I might have known your conversions were suffering, I don't have any super secret spy ware in your computer that's sending me your traffic information, Alexa score and Google analytics, honest! (But let me tell you – if you're not tracking those, you've got to, if you have any hope of understanding just where you're getting stuck in the process of turning leads into customers!)Here's a secret – if your content marketing isn't converting, you're not alone. Writing content that converts is one of the hardest parts of online marketing, honestly. And in my opinion, while anyone can blog, outsourcing your content marketing is one of the smartest tasks in your business to outsource. If you haven't started out knowing how to create an effective content marketing campaign strategy, much less actually create that content, it takes a tremendous amount of time to learn how to do it adequately – not to mention well.But if you are still creating your content marketing yourself, you need to look at it absolutely ruthlessly to make sure you're not doing any of these 3 things that will prevent it from converting every single time!Are You Committing these Top 3 Mistakes of Content Marketing?
1.Your Content Marketing Isn't Engaging I don't care how perfectly your content marketing has been optimized for this, that, and the other kind of search engine. If it's not interesting, it's not gonna convert. Period. Not only do people have to read it, it has to appeal to their emotions. If it's as dry as the old Encyclopedia Britannica and doesn't actually keep their attention 'til the end, it's not going to convert. It's got to be so engaging they can't imagine going without your content. It's got to be so interesting they just have to share it with their friends. And it has to be so compelling that if it's promoting your services or product, they're looking for the buy button even before they know what you're selling or how much it is. (And if that sounds too good to be true, let me assure you that the best kind of content marketing can truly accomplish that – but it's not usually something that every new content marketer can do.)2.Your Content Marketing Isn't Clear Is it absolutely clear to your prospect just what your content marketing is promoting? Do your readers know what to expect when they sign up to receive your updates? Do they know what you're going to deliver – and is that what you deliver? Or is your content all over the place and does your audience never know just what to expect next (let alone when to expect it)? Your content needs to be crystal clear and easy to understand. When your readers read your title and first line, it has to be painfully obvious just what they'll learn when they read your content. Otherwise, you'll lose them before they're even halfway down the first paragraph, much less all the way to your calls to action. And speaking of those -3.You Don't Have a Clear Call-To-Action If you haven't told your audience just what to do, they won't know what you want them to do! I know – it sounds too obvious, right? But the thing is, you absolutely must include a call to action in every piece of content you create. What is the thing you want your audience to do after reading your piece of content. If leaving a comment is what you're looking for, give an open question and ask them to comment (How's your content marketing conversion rate? What can I help you with? Leave a comment below!) Are you looking for social media shares? Ask for them! (If you found this useful, please tweet a link to it using the social sharing buttons below!)And if you've provided enough value up front that it seems a good time to ask for the sale (no more than 10%-20% of the time is a good rule of thumb), go ahead and ask for it. Is your content marketing failing to convert? Have you realized your content marketing isn't working? Check out my content marketing services; my customers haven't stopped raving about the high value I've provided their businesses!So tell me – how's your content marketing conversion rate? Which of these reasons might be holding you back from greater success? Leave a comment – I'd love to help your business grow!