10 Fundamental Errors in Content Writing

Table of Contents

• Who is a Content Writer?
• 10 Errors in Content Writing You Don’t Want to Make
• Top 5 Content Writing Courses

Today, when digital platforms are becoming the primary mode of marketing, digital content creation has become very important. A significant part of this is content writing. It involves creating blogs, articles, social media posts, video scripts, and other forms of written content. 

This content must be engaging enough to catch a reader’s attention and simultaneously provide all the necessary information about the business it is part of. SEO-driven content writing also plays a vital role in driving traffic to any web page or social media account.

But, a common misconception about content writing is that it is effortless and simply another form of creative writing. The reality, however, is very different. Content writers use specific strategies and content writing tips to encourage a favorable action from the reader and help their clients’ content gain more traction. And there some errors in content writing you must avoid at all costs. 

Who is a Content Writer?

A content writer is a professional that works with different clients – business owners, social media personalities, and advertising firms – to produce customized written content for their businesses. They create different kinds of content to suit each client’s target audience. 

The writing style may also vary according to the platform on which the content will be published. Content writers can freelance and earn very well, depending on their experience and skill level. Many companies now also hire full-time content writers.

10 Errors in Content Writing You Don’t Want to Make

With numerous opportunities to start working in the field of content writing, many amateurs have dived into this profession without much research into its nuances. As a result, they get stuck at the lower end of the payment spectrum and can never truly break into the big leagues of well-paid and full-time professional content writers. 

One way to excel at what you do is to know the errors you mustn’t make. Here is a list of fundamental errors in content writing we think you must know about. 

1. Keyword stuffing

When amateurs enter the world of content writing, they hear about the importance of SEO and fall headfirst into the rabbit hole of stuffing their pieces with as many keywords as possible. But, this takes away from the piece’s quality, and readers are immediately put off by this writing style. 

SEO content writing tips from successful writers explain that search engines also penalize keyword stuffing, and content with this style usually goes down in search lists.

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2. Not hyperlinking

Amateur content writers usually ignore the importance of hyperlinks. But, hyperlinks can be a beneficial method to improve the trustworthiness of any piece to the reader. Experienced content writers usually hyperlink their sources as references for their pieces. 

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This is a common practice in the content writing community and is especially popular in long-form content like blogs and articles. But, when creating pieces for a business, it is essential to remember that the content writer should never use their client’s rivals as a source. 

A common fear regarding hyperlinks is that they will take away the traffic volume to a particular site. But, this problem can be easily avoided by setting up the hyperlink to open in a new tab.

3. Using complicated jargon

Many amateur content writers believe that additional flair in their writing with uncommon synonyms will improve the quality of their content. This is perhaps one of the most common errors in content writing. 

The primary agenda of content writing is not literary excellence; content writing is meant to transmit some information to as many people as possible effectively. When potential readers are scrolling through the Internet, they want to get information quickly and easily; they are not up for a complicated reading exercise. If the reading level of a piece is too high, then readers will close the tab and move on to another easier-to-comprehend piece of content.

4. Forgetting to add a call-to-action

Most amateur content writers usually end their pieces with just some basic information about the topic at hand. But, one of the top content writing tips for successful content writers is that a good piece of content must always end with a call-to-action. 

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This is an actionable item mentioned at the end of any content. It can ask readers to shop at a particular site or encourage the reader to get their blood pressure checked. This kind of call-to-action can have a significant impact on a reader’s psyche and significantly increase the content’s effectiveness.

5. Not understanding what the reader wants from the content piece

One of the most critical content writing lessons for a writer is to learn that their readership is not here to enjoy their writing style. The majority of readers of digital content have some kind of need or problem that they want to resolve. So, the content writer should tap into this necessity right off the bat. This makes the reader care about the content and will be ready to invest time and energy into the piece.

6. Failing to proofread and check facts

While we say that content writing is more about what you put into than how you write it, we can’t deny that every piece of content needs to be as perfect as possible. Hence, if your content has grammatical errors or the punctuation is wrong, it can have a different meaning. 

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Also, fact checking is important especially when you are writing industry-specific content. Don’t use facts that you have no proof of. Check that you are adding the latest statistics and have understood it thoroughly before adding it to your content. 

7. Not doing enough research

Research is the crux of any content piece. Even if you are an industry expert, you need to do some sort of research to get your facts right. Thoroughly research the topic you’ve been given – go through the latest content written on it, journals, articles, news pieces, tweets and much more. 

Gather the data and see if it fits in with your brief. Talk to professionals in the field for their quotes and remember to include them if required in your article. 

8. Writing for the sake of it 

Listen, there are plenty of content pieces on the same topic out there. If anything, you have to constantly ensure that what you are writing stands out among the crowd and is noticed by your target audience. 

Use catchy introductions, quirky headlines, amazing conclusions that tie it all together. Keep the content concise, to the point and do not beat around the bush. Ensure that the images you use are properly credited; they should catch the eye and make someone want to look at what you are saying. Use SEO effectively. 

9. Hard selling 

It’s simple. Would you like to read content that constantly sells stuff to you? Or would you like to learn more about a problem you are facing before you find a solution to it? 

Today, content marketing is all about soft selling. The less you sell with your content, the more invested your target audience becomes in your content. That doesnt mean you dont advertise. Remember the marketing funnel and focus on which part of the funnel your target audience belongs to. Once you are aware of that, you can also align your content accordingly. 

10. Not identifying your target audience

If you look at any article on top tips for content writing, you will notice that every single one will focus on you knowing your target audience. 

If you do not know your target audience, and where they are in the marketing funnel, you might as well not write anything. Its almost like you are writing to someone but you dont know who that person is. What’s the point? 

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Your first step before you even set a topic for your content should be to identify your target audience – what is their gender, their age range, their location, their likes and dislikes and much more. Pick out topics they are most likely to be interested in and ensure they are aligned with your product or service offering. 

Now that you know about these 10 content writing errors, don’t worry about how not to make them. We list down some top courses that will help you improve your content writing skills. 

Top 5 Content Writing Courses

The top 5 content writing courses that can help reduce amateurish errors in content writing are as follows:

1. V-Skills 

This course provides several different certification courses and is well accepted in the Indian market as a legitimate source of skill improvement. They have a great content writing course that makes learners job-ready right from the start.

2. Digital Academy 360 

This online educational institute has rather affordable content writing lessons and offer a 100% placement guarantee.

3. Henry Harvin Education

This is a more comprehensive course than the other two. Henry Harvin has eight modules in its creative writing course, each targeting a different form of content writing. This course’s SEO content writing tips also include training to utilize almost 50 different kinds of content writing software.

4. Education and Career Times

This institute is recognized by the Government of India, and learners here are known to get good placements. Their content writing course teaches students the fundamentals of content writing while simultaneously making the students work on real projects so that they can identify and eliminate their errors in content writing.

5. Indian Institute of Digital Education

The content writing lessons at IIDE are geared towards creating marketing content. Students learn about creating brand identity and targeted marketing content creation.

The Final Word

Every day, an internet user encounters thousands of different forms of content. They also view hundreds of pieces of content writing. But, only a few pieces can catch their attention and compel them to invest their time into reading. 

Finally, only a handful can get the reader to take some action that fulfills the agenda of the content writing. This shows that to stand out from the glut of information on the Internet, it is vital for a content writer to properly understand content writing principles and tools. 

Only when a content writer is well-trained in the nuances of the profession will they be able to avoid all errors in content writing and create innovative, engaging, effective, and unique pieces of high-value content.

Key Takeaways

• There is plenty potential in building a rewarding career in the field of content writing. 
• This career requires proper practice and training and cannot be achieved by amateurs who have jumped into the profession with just some rudimentary language skills. 
• It is best to start off with some content writing lessons that will make it easier to get a job and provide the writer with some insight into practical aspects of the profession like SEO usage, client communication, writing tools, and more.

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