Whatever type of solopreneur you are, you probably need to create content on a regular basis. Blog posts, website content, social media updates and ad copy, emails to your list, online courses, and digital products, opt-in freebies and content upgrades, checklists, cheat sheets and other extras to provide value to your subscribers.
Original content is the lifeblood of the internet. It’s what makes the search engine bots happy, it keeps your audience engaged and entertained, and ultimately it’s what brings potential new clients to your door.
But there’s no doubt about it…creating lots of content is hard work and it’s a continual process. There are lots of right and wrong ways to do it – but here are three of the biggest pitfalls for anyone who writes their own online content.
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Not Writing Often Enough
You’ve probably had this experience: You discover a new-to-you blog that looks interesting but the owner hasn’t published anything new in months or even years. This situation is more forgivable if it’s a mom blog or something that was started as a hobby, but if you discover a business blog that’s outdated, it hurts the owner’s credibility and makes the reader wonder if this person is still in business. Or how about being on an email list where the list owner disappeared for months or years and then tries to start up by emailing again, like nothing happened?
Solution: Create a writing schedule or outsource the writing tasks so you can avoid both of these scenarios. Life events can certainly affect how frequently someone communicates with their audience, but if you’re in business to make a profit, you need to be creating content consistently.
Always Sounding Like a Sales Letter
We’re all trying to make a living, and that includes closing sales, but content should mainly be about pre-selling, not selling (I provide a lot of info on the art of the pre-sale in my Affiliate Marketer’s Success Kit). In general, all your content should provide value to your readers and while there’s certainly a time and a place to close a sale, not every blog post, email, or video should be a hard sell for your products, services or programs.
Solution: Answer your readers’ questions. Address their fears. Discuss changes in your industry and how it may affect them. Talk about how much fun you had on your weekend retreat that you hosted with select clients. Give them a behind-the-scenes look at your office or how you record videos. Show them photos of your team members who keep the gears of your business running. These are all topics people can relate to and they will feel like you’re speaking directly to them, wanting to help them, instead of just wanting their money.
Not Editing or Proofreading Before Publishing
The world of internet writing is definitely less formal than some forms of business writing. However, we still need to be professional, and sending out emails and contracts (or publishing blog posts) that have typos and grammatical errors won’t impress potential clients.
Solution: Let your content sit for a few days before you go back to edit it. When you look at your content too long, your brain becomes blind to glaring mistakes. Regular readers know I’m a fan of Grammarly to help you perfect your content without having to have someone else look at it.
Struggling To Keep Up With Content Creation?
Consider Professional & Affordable Done-for-You Content
The folks over at CoachGlue.com pride themselves on their professionally written done-for-you content. They have teams of writers and editors who review each and every piece of content multiple times before they make it available to you. You deserve the best and they aim to deliver it, every time. Browse through their done-for-you content and remember that every piece of content can be edited and branded to match your style and objectives. And sign up to their email list to grab their FREE new client kit – then stay on it for more great freebies, discounts and special offers.
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Have you downloaded your free printable workbook to help you run your online biz yet? You’ll get a chance to grab my Busy Blogger’s Success Kit half-price, too.
