It is Time to Dispose of Your Old Content Writing Practices

Five Content Writing Habits You Need to Dispose of Right Away

In 2014, search engines, especially Google focused its algorithm updates on providing informative and useful content and they have vastly improved their semantic search capability. Also, for many years, Google as has been cracking down low quality and thin content by rolling out Panda algorithm updates every few months and content marketers are forced to find new ways to produce high quality content with real value. If you are utilizing top content marketing strategies and still not seeing the expected results, then the problem might be with your writing practices. Here are some content writing habits seen in most marketers and that are negatively affecting their content marketing campaigns.

Double Space Dilemma

For the past few years, the writing community remains divided on whether one should place one space or two at the end of a sentence. Before the arrival of computer technology, when you type, all letters have the same amount of space and for example, a wider ‘M’ and a thin ‘I’ were allotted the same space. Thus, the additional space was needed at the end of sentence to showcase the difference between the space between words and the end of a sentence. Then came the very popular word processor software packages with all of their fancy fonts and the ability to group letters together based upon width. These days, nothing says outdated like two spaces at the end of a sentence.

Not Providing Proof for Your Claim

WhatsApp and other instant mobile messaging apps are gaining more new users than social media websites. That is fascinating, but where did you get this information? Did you make that up or whether your statement backed by solid research, or you just guessed it based on circumstantial evidence? You need to show your reader they can trust the information you provide. So, when you recommend that really awesome messaging app you have loved, they will actually believe you. Linking your sources allows your audience to follow up and make sure the information you provides is accurate, which in turn earns you trust and credibility for your writing.

Forgetting to Use the Oxford Comma

Another topic that is still subject to debate in the writing community is whether to use the Oxford comma. Many content experts say that one should use the Oxford comma if he or she is really into content marketing campaigns. The main objective of content marketing is to provide the audience with useful, relevant information that helps build your online reputation. If you are not using the Oxford comma for your content writing, then you are missing the benefits. The Oxford comma helps in making your content easier to read and understand, and it helps to clarify meaning, which again, is the whole point of content marketing.

Not Reading Your Finished Material

Most professional copy editors are strict when it comes to grammar and punctuation. But for posting content online, there are those who do not stress out about the finer points of grammar. You need to ensure that you reread your writing before you post it in your website or social profile pages. When you reread it, you need to check things such as trailing off in the middle of a sentence. You need to reread your writing so that you can make sure your readers will get higher quality content.

What Kind of Writing Format to Follow

There are people who follow academic research paper format for their content writing and their writing strategy may not yield the desired results. If you want some good writing tips then you can get it from Jason Brewer in his content marketing blogs. About the writing format, Jason says that “When considering a content marketing campaign for your enterprise, first you need to think about the reasons why people choose to interact with your online.” If you are writing for SEO value, then you need to forget your college professor’s outdated writing style rules, and write in a way that positions you as informative, approachable and entertaining.

You should not forget that the fact content marketing is the cornerstone of most online marketing campaigns and if you are not careful enough in the content development, it will cost you decreasing reader base and even ROI.