Content Writing Myths You Need To Ignore In Your Writing Career

With so many rules coming from Google and with new ones every day, content writers feel that content creation is becoming quite exhausting. But there is a common denominator that all writers have – a passion for writing the content they want and need regardless of rules and regulations that may seem scary and limiting. But writers shouldn’t be intimidated. In fact, what some believe to be rules may just be myths.

While there may be plenty of myths out there, let’s dispel some:

Myth 1 – Anyone can do content writing

It’s easy! Just have good grammar, watch your punctuations and you’re set! Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. While yes, anyone can write. But wouldn’t you want to let someone with a bit of journalism skills, a little knowledge of marketing, SEO skills and a writing flair that is engaging help you get your brand introduced. There may be some differences between web content writing and newspaper writing. It’s still a lot similar since you’re telling a story. But then again, even if some writing skills can be learned, some writers are not meant for the web. You don’t even have to have a marketing degree, but yes it helps. Remember, you are writing to sell a product, you are writing to connect your readers to your product by answering their questions and you are writing to make them potential loyal customers.

Myth 2 – Publish as much as you can, as often as you can

The more the better, isn’t that what everybody wants? No, it’s not! It’s true, we need to produce on a regular basis (as directed by content marketing). But after all the content you’ve churned out, the quality of these content types still supersedes quantity.

If you’re in the pest control business, and you’re worried about website freshness and being up-to-date, you wouldn’t want to produce 3 articles per week. And for sure, your audience wouldn’t want you to either. Instead, write about your business that’s worth publishing because they are relevant, they answer a lot of clients’ questions and they offer valuable information about the pest control industry.

You gain nothing by publishing more for the sake of publishing. Google will not reward you either.

Myth 3 – 600 – 700 is the most ideal length

Actually, there is no set or accepted number of words to ensure that people will read your content. It all boils down to how engaging and how interesting your writing is and how well-written and informative your post is. An article that’s less than 700 may have no informative value. While it may look easy to digest to a reader, it will give him no satisfaction having read something short but useless.

Myth 4 – Nobody likes lengthy posts

This myth seems to contradict the previous myth, doesn’t it? Because in today’s busy digital world with multiple tabs, social media notifications and so much written content to read, you would believe people don’t like reading long posts and would rather skim through or just read the headlines.

The truth is, people won’t read long and boring posts that don’t offer solutions. Again, bottom line is if the post can answer clients’ questions, even if it’s 1,000+ words, he will read it because at the end of the post is a satisfied reader armed with so much information he never had before.

It takes longer to write long form content because of the research and skills involved. But if it’s interesting and relevant enough then write it in long form the way you want to tell you story.

Myth 5 – Keep keyword density in mind always

SEO experts will tell content writers to put in a specific number of keywords in an article. Truth is, there is no magic number. Yes keywords are important, having less and having too many are both critical for rankings. But that shouldn’t be the focus when you write. Instead, make your keyword scattering in such a way that it doesn’t seem planned. Also, use synonyms since Google uses Latent Semantic Indexing to track related keywords so you won’t have to use the same exact keywords over and over again.

Don’t count how many times you used the term “expert SEO” in your article. Why not use “professional SEO” instead and let it be read as naturally as possible. Be creative by using an introduction that can hook an audience, a relevant, informative and interesting middle and an end with some form of call-to-action.

Myth 6 – Make SEO love your content

Definitely not! Make your audience love your content! It will give you more success and a much bigger and loyal following. You shouldn’t even be worried about ranking yet. What you should prioritize is getting good quality content that will lead to conversion and a good ROI. Ratings will follow as well as a loyal audience. They see your commitment to produce content that they need in a way that reflects your true passion as a writer.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, what do writers really need to take into heart? Creating content for the art of it knowing that the reader will have better knowledge of the products he needs. The writer was useful in the audience’s eyes. Forget these myths and view them as writers’ tips instead. It is your job to give the best user-experience to the readers because they will become loyal followers. They want the best information? So write and give it to them!

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