4 Common Content Marketing Mistakes Costing You Thousands

Be honest: How many times have you sworn off writing content because it wasn’t producing the juicy results you were working so hard for? 

It’s probably *way* too many times to count, am I right? 

Between writing emails, blogs, and social media posts to recording podcasts, YouTube videos, and IG stories, you’re creating a lot of content…and I’m willing to bet you feel like you’re wasting your time most days. 

“Is anyone even reading this?”
“Does any of this matter?”
“Why should I even bother?”

Sound familiar? 

But here’s the truth: Conversion rates are nearly 6X higher for businesses that use content marketing than those that don’t. Talk about a jaw-dropping stat! 

And think about the impact that can have on your business… 

Before you throw in the towel on content marketing, keep on reading. I’m going to walk you through the four most common mistakes I see online coaches making. 

So, once we’re finished with today’s lesson, you’ll be able to crank out community-building, lead-generating, cash-creating content your followers will drool over on repeat! 

Mistake #1: You Don’t Have A Written Down Plan

Have you ever gone months without sending a single email to your eagerly awaiting subscribers or weeks without showing up on social media? Maybe you completely spaced on that all-too-important blog you were supposed to write about the new course you’re launching. 

If coaching is your current side-hustle, or you’re in the very beginning stages of your business, it’s easy to get caught up in the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants method of creating content. Heck, even seasoned business owners go dark on social media or forget to write an email or two. 

But the key to consistently creating blogs, emails, social media posts, podcasts, Youtube videos, and eeeeeverything else that falls under the content umbrella is having a plan. And not one that lives in your head—it needs to be written down, organized, and easily achievable. Luckily, I wrote a step-by-step guide showing you how to create a content plan you can use all year. 

Mistake #2: You’re Not Repurposing Your Content

If you’re still writing original content for every platform every day, then you need to listen up. The days of creating dozens of pieces of content a week are over because *no one* has time for that, especially entrepreneurs who are juggling every part of their business like you. 

My best advice is to create a long-form piece of content like a blog and turn it into multiple formats you can use throughout the month. Send your latest blog to your email subscribers, break it down into an IG mini-series, turn it into quote graphics, share it on YouTube, or create Pinterest pins. The options are endless. 

And while you may think repurposing one piece of content across all your channels may be redundant and turn off followers, the reality is everyone has a different learning style. Some of your ideal clients may love listening to your videos on the way to work, while others may prefer to read your blog before going to bed. Either way, if you’re not creating evergreen content you can use repeatedly, you’re wasting valuable time and energy. I promise once your content strategy becomes “one and done,” you’ll never look back! 

Bonus Tip: If you can help it, don’t add a publish date to your blogs. That way, you can promote them year-round (and even years later) without people thinking the information is out-of-date simply because of when it was written. 

Mistake #3: You’re Not Using SEO

Writing great content alone won’t get your blogs, YouTube videos, product pages, or anything else you publish online seen and read by the masses. If you want hundreds or thousands of people drooling over your words, your content needs to rank in Google. And to show up on the first page (or even the first couple of pages), you need to implement search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. 

If you’re thinking what the heck is SEO, let me explain: It’s the process of optimizing a website or piece of content so people (AKA your dream clients) can easily find it. Think about the last time you searched a topic on Google. While there were probably hundreds of pages of relevant content, I’m willing to bet you clicked on one of the first few results that came up. 

Keyword research is what comes to mind when people think of SEO. And even though it’s not the only element of a successful SEO strategy, it’s arguably one of the most important. When you’re creating your content plan, base it around topics your clients are searching for, and then include those keywords throughout the piece. And I’m not talking about stuffing the same keywords repeatedly throughout your content so it’s nauseating to read (if you’re doing this, stop right now!).

If you’re unsure what other SEO strategies you should focus on, here’s a few basic ones you can consider implementing: 

• Link building 
• Site structure 
• Content promotion 
• Page optimization

Mistake #4: You’re Not Digging Into Data 

Are your dream clients *actually* reading your blogs, connecting with your Instagram posts, listening to your podcasts, or watching your YouTube videos? Do you know what emails are receiving the highest open rates, which types of Pinterest pins are getting the most attention, or what social media posts are growing your community? 

One of the biggest mistakes I see online coaches make is not diving deep enough into their data (or not monitoring it at all). Instead of “going with your gut” to choose the content you think will resonate with your dream clients, data can help determine trending topics and channel-specific preferences. 

The truth is content marketing isn’t going to make you a six-figure business owner overnight, or quite honestly, even in a few months. It’s a long-term strategy, which means you need to optimize the content you’re creating to ensure the time and energy you’re putting into it pays off. 

Here’s a few key performance indicators (KPIs) you should pay attention to: 

• Unique page visits 
• Engagement Rate 
• Conversion Rate 
• Subscriber growth 
• Open rate 

Raise a hand if you’re guilty of making one or all of these content marketing mistakes. *hand raised high* We’ve allll been there—mistakes are a part of owning a business, but the most important thing is to learn what mistakes you’re making and fix them STAT. 

Content marketing is a long-term, robust strategy with multiple elements. Sometimes the smallest and simplest mistakes can hinder your success. But growing a loyal community, generating qualified leads, and increasing your paydays through content creation is possible with a few tweaks to your strategy. It may take a little extra time and effort, but once you start seeing results, it’ll all be worth it.

So, are you ready to get to work and take your content to the next level? I have a bonus for you: my 24 Done-For-You Subject Line to Increase Email Open Rates guide. This will help you craft the perfect subject lines to grab your readers’ attention quickly. The best part? It’s FREE, so don’t wait and snag it now!