Posted by Clichés are easy, clichés are safe and they’ll kill your website. We all fall in their trap but quality website content has to be original and innovative. You have just a couple of seconds to impress the busy and demanding web crowd. Don’t waste this opportunity on clichés and common phrases that we’ve all heard.
Several website content writing clichés can be spotted all over the place. These decrease the chance of companies to connect with the right crowd and impress this audience.
Interested in boosting the engagement and making your website more popular? Here are five website content writing clichés that you should never rely on, if you want to accomplish your marketing goals.
Marketing Fluff and Professional Jargon
Marketing phrases are often sprinkled throughout website content. These phrases are supposed to give the content a sophisticated flavor but they immediately kill its effectiveness by turning the audience off.
If your readers haven’t left your pages yet, they will very soon. Marketing fluff and professional jargon are usually added by writers that have nothing to say to the audience.
The solution is very simple – opt for simple words but make the content informative. Jargon doesn’t add substance to your texts. It looks superficial, it sounds bad and it will quickly kill the audience’s engagement.
You can present a complex topic in a simple way. In fact, this is the best strategy to adopt when writing content for the web. Imagine writing the text for a dear friend or even for your grandma. It should be readable, fun and simple.
Self-Centered Content
Narcissistic content is very common among companies that are trying to shape up their online presence.
Focusing on your brand and its successes is ok on the homepage. It’s also good for presenting your products and services. Stop there! All other pages need to provide intriguing and useful content that the audience is going to like.
Have you seen those corporate blogs that speak solely about the company, its successes, the events it participated in and the new clients it acquired? Do you read such blog posts? We certainly don’t!
Self-centered content is very similar to using too much professional talk – it shows that you have nothing better to say. Use your blog and your articles to establish your authority in the particular field. Discuss common problems, create how-to guides and give the readers something valuable. If they like what they see, chances are that these people will eventually become your customers.
Long, Long, Long Paragraphs
Long sentences and long paragraphs that don’t say anything are probably the biggest website content writing cliché of them all.
This is another common mistake that companies commit due to the lack of experience. They believe that length gives the text substance and gravity. Not true in the online realm!
Keep it short and sweet, if you want to make your readers happy. People don’t have the time to go through the long and complex sentences that supposedly present your expertise. As already mentioned, it can be short and highly specialized at the same time.
Break your content up to enhance readability. Make use of the following tools:
- Sub-headings that show what each section is all about
- Bulleted lists
- Numbered lists
- Pull quotes that direct attention towards the most intriguing parts of the text
- Bolded text and other types of formatting that enhance readability
Too Much Hype
Marketing hype is ok for a sales page but you can’t make each article on your website about selling something.
People hate overly promotional content. They’re looking for genuine relationships with brands. If you want to get something out of prospects, you have to provide something useful in the beginning.
Most of your texts should be informative rather than promotional. This is your opportunity to establish your reputation and boost brand awareness. If you think that you can sell products by hyping it up, you’re incredibly wrong.
Topics that Everyone has Written about
Are you wondering what your new website content writing should be about? Thinking of new blog topics that will make your content fun and fresh? Chances are that you’ll do competition research to come up with something new. The strategy is fine, as long as you don’t choose topics that everybody else is writing about.
Cliché topics, especially if you’re trying to succeed in a very competitive niche, will establish mediocre reputation for your brand. Look for themes that nobody has presented yet or discuss the topic from a different angle.
If you want your content to go viral and you’re eager to accomplish your marketing goal, you have to come up with something fresh and fun. Interview an industry expert, create an infographic or put together a detailed how-to guide. All of these can help you impress the target audience.
Great content isn’t easy to put together. It requires a lot of preliminary planning and work. Well-written text, however, can be used as the most important part of your marketing campaign because of its versatility. Don’t underestimate the importance of this component and you’ll soon reap the benefits.
Do you need assistance for planning and writing the best possible content for your website? Phoenix Digital Solutions can help. Our experts have more than 10 years of experience in the field of content planning, optimization and writing. Take a look at our online shop to get started today.