5 Content Writing Demons and How to Exorcise Them

Articles and blog posts have evolved (back) to its true form in the last few years. They are no longer lightning rods that aim to absorb all search results probabilities; rather, they are now reservoirs of electricity that can sustain itself with its own power – the power of quality.

This trend poses a problem for content marketers who are not “true” writers. Most of them have been accustomed to focusing on “keywords” and shooting for high SERPs, not giving valuable content its due worth. Now that readers have become more info-thirsty, content writers need to put their thinking caps back on and start writing real stuff, so they can drive away the bad spirits that inhabit their style of writing.

Take a deep look at these content killers:

1.Broad keywords. Blogging used to be like a use-this-word-in-a-sentence game. The objective was to scatter the keywords throughout the article as much as sanity could allow it. You can’t fool readers with such a petty tactic nowadays. You need to be specific with the topics you want to talk about. Broad keywords are difficult to focus on and take away the meat of it all.

2.Using the passive voice. The Reagan-popularized statement “Mistakes were made” is probably one of the most quoted examples of using the passive voice. This kind of phrasing is generally perceived as lacking in force and sense of responsibility. Saying “We made a mistake” reflects more ownership and honesty, don’t you think?

3.Unsubstantiated claims. There’s a fine line between giving an opinion and declaring something as true without showing proof. It makes your readers think that you easily jump into conclusions based on gut feeling and overblown gossips. Back it up with references.

4.Ankle-deep writing. You commonly stumble upon articles that, after taking you into a mental maze, make you realize that you’re actually going nowhere. That’s usually the signature of writers who don’t do research or even do a quick reading session before they start writing. If you don’t have a predetermined point in mind, it’s hard to translate ideas into words.

5.Poor repurposing. Kudos to you if you DO take time to read before writing. But if you plan to curate and repurpose stuff you've read, you need to make sure first that you got the point – and we’re talking about understanding it 100%. Misinterpreting articles (and worse, crediting the source for it) could make you incompetent in the eyes of readers, a blemish in your reputation that’s usually hard to wipe out.