The most dangerous blogging myths

bysmartketeer

6.8K followers

Updated 6 years ago

If you want become a successful and trusted blogger you'll have to focus on what is really good and useful in content marketing.

And for that, you need to reject all the commonly believed myths and hypes.

So, let’s debunk them together!

1. Everyone can be a successful content writer

Unfortunately, that’s not true. If you are a direct descendant of Shakespeare you might have some good genes, but, even so, you’ll realize very soon, that creating truly useful and engaging content is far, far away from being just a simple walk in the park. No doubt, you can learn the essential skills and tricks, but you’ll need to put in some serious effort. And once you have learned the basics, you’ll have to practice. A lot. You’ll have to develop your own style, to find the perfect tone and voice for your target audience, etc.

More than that, content marketing is not only about writing – or creating – content. The most important and time consuming phase is the research itself, therefore a certain level of analytical thinking is also required.

The bottom line: not everyone can be a successful content writer. You won’t become a good writer or content marketer reading quotes from those who have succeeded. If you want to impress your audience you’ll have to make serious efforts to become a good writer and an efficient communicator.

Don’t worry, there’s good news too. First and foremost: it’s not rocket science and all you need is determination, willingness to learn and of course, practice. Second: there are many other content types – infographics, videos, podcasts, etc – and you can always use your preferred formats to reach and engage your target audience. Third: if you still have concerns about the quality of your content, you can anytime to hire freelance professionals to create certain content formats.

2. The mandatory need for fancy words

When you want to create a new piece of outstanding and truly unique content there is a natural, instinctual impulse or urge to use fancy words or complex phrases in order to enthrall your audience.

Well, do yourself a favor, forget the high vocabulary and take off your smarty-pants! If you need big words or difficult expressions to capture the attention of your audience, you should probably forget the whole content marketing story closing your browser right now.

To put it simply, instead of using a bunch of fancy words that will only make your readers confuse, you should focus on creating interesting, digestible and easy-to-read content. Is the best way to impress them.

3. The vital importance of the perfect length

What is the perfect length for a given type of content? It has to be short or it has to be long? This is another highly debated question with more than enough content marketing gurus on both sides….

It seems to be another perfect opportunity for me to manifest my nonconformist tendencies, so hear me out: the big secret hasn’t been revealed yet, because it doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as “perfect length”. We are not talking about a tweet! We are talking about several content types, various content formats, different carrying platforms, typical verticals and more importantly, about individual – or at least specific – goals. You can create extremely helpful content with 200 words and you can write endless novels without creating any useful content.

The bottom line: if you need 2,000 words to cover every single angle without repeating yourself and your carrier pigeon is able to deliver the entire message, forget everything else and just do it!

4. All you need is a couple pieces of interesting and engaging content

False. No matter how brilliant you are, a few enthralling masterpieces won’t make any difference. Content marketing is not a one-night affair. If you want to succeed with content marketing, you’ll have to come up with new, different ideas one after the other. You’ll have to use those ideas to create high-quality content consistently and continuously.

No doubt, with a few outstanding posts you can make a good entrance, but if you want to stay in the game, you must accept the rules and you must prepare yourself for a game of patient. You’ll need a long-term content creation strategy without giving to your audience all your gems and all the good things in one go!

5. A good content will take care of itself

Is probably the most dangerous misconception about blogging and content marketing. Why? Because if you believe it, you are going to ruin all your content creation efforts and any chances to become a successful content marketer.

Any content – even the most unique and valuable content – is useless without a consistent and well-thought-out promotional strategy. And I am not talking about a few tweets or Facebook posts! I am talking about a balanced and sustained promotion plan involving multiple promotion strategies and delivery channels.

If a homing pigeon can help you to reach new audiences interested in your content, you are gonna need it.

6. Publishing your work exclusively on your own website

Many bloggers "refuse" to share their posts in reciprocal content curation partnerships, reciprocal link building collaborations, etc.

Honestly, I can’t understand, how is even possible, that such a nonsense has become a widely accepted misbelief. What’s the point? After making a huge effort to create a great piece of content and an efficient, feasible promotion strategy, you are going to keep your masterpiece for yourself?! It’s nonsense. Period. Even if you haven’t heard anything about inbound links or link building strategies …

7. Content marketing is spam or hardsell

Quite the opposite. Content marketing it’s awareness. Content marketing is about solving problems, providing help and real value. Content marketing is benevolent and generous. At the very least you’ll be entertaining people or enriching someone else’s life. Content marketing has nothing to do with direct selling.

8. Content marketing is expensive

If you have no plan or you haven’t learned how to unlock its secrets, marketing – not only content marketing! – can be expensive indeed. If you have made your research and you have find the optimal marketing channels, marketing – especially content marketing – can be very cost effective. Besides, how much does no marketing cost your business?!

9. Content marketing will make you rich quickly

Stop chasing shiny flying objects my friend! There are many different forms of marketing, but there is no marketing which can make you millionaire overnight! Any form of marketing requires time, investment and sacrifices. Forget the “gurus”, the newly revealed secrets, the limited time courses with groundbreaking turn-key methods, and forget any miraculous recipes involving big bucks earned without hard work. In plain English: forget any wild promises with price tags attached. You know, if it seem to good to be true … it probably is. Even if they “work” at a certain level, they work in the favor of the gurus and not for you. Period.

10. Social media is easier, quicker and more effective than content marketing

Wrong! Social media is not an alternative marketing option which can be used to replace content marketing. Social media is an amplifier. A “complementary aid”. It can be an efficient communication channel used to deliver your content and to amplify your voice.

Have you followed any of these myths?