Chances are, you already know the benefits of content marketing. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this blog post.

Content covers anything you produce for the Internet, including social media posts, landing pages, video, and slideshows. But what most people mean when they talk about content marketing is blog posts. That’s what we’re going to focus on today.

Blogging is it’s the easiest and most reliable way to drive free website traffic. I’ve seen this over and over again in the businesses I’ve worked with. More importantly, a study by Hubspot found the same thing.

“As expected, we found that the more blog posts companies published per month, the more traffic they saw on their website.”

If you want to start blogging for your business—and you should want to—read on to get my top advice on how to construct a solid content strategy that will drive traffic and sales.

3 Biggest Mistakes

After working with hundreds of businesses, and reading thousands of blog posts, I’ve noticed a few trends. In particular, there are three big mistakes I see bloggers making on a regular basis. Avoid these mistakes and you’ll be well on your way to killing it with content marketing.

Not Good Enough

The most common mistake I see content marketers making is low-quality content. These days, content is easy to come by. It’s not enough to just write a blog. You need to produce something exceptional if you want to get any traction. There are three ways to produce quality content.

1. Cover Something New

If you’re in a new industry or no one has covered your topic before, anything you do will immediately be the best.

2. Do It Better

Look at what everyone else has done and do it better. This could mean going more in-depth on a topic, but it could also mean simplifying it.

3. Use a New Angle

Finally, if you have a unique opinion or perspective on a topic, cover it in a new or unique way.

Not Writing for Customers

The second mistake I see far too often is people writing for their colleagues instead of their customers. A common example is a freelance graphic designer writing about how to get clients to pay their bills on time.

While it’s tempting to write for your colleagues since that’s the topic you know best, it’s not going to land you many clients. You’re better off writing about the things your customers want to read about.

Not Doing Keyword Research

73% of business website traffic comes from organic search. That’s a huge amount of traffic. To completely ignore SEO means you’re missing out on most of the website traffic you could be receiving. That’s crazy!

Before you write about a topic, use the Keyword Planner to find out which keyword has the highest search volume. As you write, work that keyword into the title and other parts of your blog post. For example, if you were writing a blog post about social media managers, you would be better off using the phrase “community manager” since it has a much higher search volume.

2 Highly Effective Strategies

There are many options when it comes to producing content. If you have time, it’s a good idea to experiment and figure out what works best for you. But if you’re just getting started, or you’re pressed for time, try one of the strategies below. When done right, they work every time.

1. One-Up Your Competitors

The first strategy is to one-up your competitors. Look at what they’re doing and do it better. Chances are, with a little bit of effort, you’re totally capable of this. You probably know your industry well. It’s just a matter of thinking about your what your readers want and giving it to them.

Better doesn’t necessarily mean more knowledgeable. You don’t need to know absolutely everything on a topic to produce great content. You just need to know enough to help your readers. There are many ways to improve on what your competitors did such as going more in-depth, doing a better job of explaining something, providing more practical insight, sharing context around an idea, or adding better visuals.

To see what you’re up against, use tools like Topsy or Buzzsumo to see what’s popular. Type your topic or keyword into the tool and it will return a list of the most shared blog posts. You can also type your keyword into Google and check out the articles that are ranking on the first page.

2. Expert Roundups

When you don’t think you can one-up your competitors, it’s time to call in the pros. Expert roundups are a great way to create top-notch content, even if you don’t think you have the required knowledge. 

Instead of writing the content yourself, ask experts on the subject to contribute their expertise. Use a tool like Buzzstream to create a list of people to reach out to. If you don’t want to pay for Buzzstream, you can also do it the old fashioned way with a spreadsheet. Email each expert and ask them the same question, then compile their answers into a blog post. 

Not only does this provide high-quality content your audience will love, but promotion is built in. Usually, the experts will feel good about being featured and want to share it. Let them know once it’s published so they can share the link with their audience through social media, email, or their own website.

Don’t Forget Distribution

Finally, don’t forget about distribution. Most people just hit publish and expect content marketing to work for them. That’s not how it works. You need to promote your content.

Many people worry about being spamming when they share their content. The thing is, it’s not spamming if you’re providing value. When your content is legitimately good, people won’t mind you promoting it. They’ll even thank you.

When you make something good, tell everyone you can, through any medium possible. 

How do you use content marketing in your business? Share your tips in the comments!

Author The Author

Casandra Campbell is a professional blogger and growth expert. She helps businesses leverage digital marketing to increase profits and grow their businesses. Read more by Casandra on the Shopify Blog and on her website, Minimalist Marketing.