Before you decide you’re going to be taken aback by the sheer callousness of the title, let me tell you right up front: There is a definite point to it, which I will get to a little later on. For now, I want to focus on the first part: Why are some people turned off by the content you produce and/or post? I have four reasons that I think might apply some or all of the time, so let’s see first if any of these apply to your content.
1. Your Content Is Too Sales-Oriented.
I’ve spent more than a few keystrokes on this concept in the past, but it bears repeating. In today’s marketplace, we all need to learn the subtle art of selling without selling. I know it seems a little strange, but I think you probably get my meaning.
People want to be involved with your brand. Straight selling makes them feel like the perpetual outsider. You need to get to the point where the themes and visuals within the content are conveying the message that it would be a good idea to do business with you. Google, for example, does not allow you to have a call to action on your page to click its ads. Google expects the content to do the job. It’s time we all took a leaf from that book, developed content that builds trust relationships, and let that content speak for itself when it comes to actually doing the selling.
To that end, however, you absolutely do need to direct people to make purchases or select yours as their service of choice in your niche. People will do nothing without being told to do it, so eventually you’re going to have to ask for the sale. By then, however, the selling part needs to be completely locked down.
2. They Don’t Find Your Content to Be Relevant.
Here’s a trap that a lot of marketers fall into: They let their content grow stagnant. They never have anything new to say. They curate everything and produce nothing. They let their evergreen content do all the talking.
All content – even content that can be considered evergreen – has a shelf life. Changes in the way people consume content, paradigm shifts within industries, even changes to your brand image over time are practically inevitable. In the words of Steve Winwood, your content has to be able to “roll with it, baby.”
Research into your target demo, a reassessment of your ideal avatar or buyer persona, and a close look at how your competition is running things lately are all good ways to make sure you don’t become a fossil within your industry. If you haven’t really assessed the effectiveness of your content lately, it’s probably time.
3. It’s Either Too Personal or Not Personal Enough.
The story of Goldilocks is a timeless commentary on the way people react to their world. We like things to be “just right.” Go too far to one extreme or the other, and you lose people. Some content is extremely detached and doesn’t appear to be directed at anyone in particular. Some content is so chummy that it can be a little uncomfortable.
Finding the right balance between totally detached and unnaturally clingy is the key to maintaining your audience. Yes, you should totally write and present content that proves that your brand knows its audience, but there’s a difference between that and being the last guy at the party who doesn’t seem to realize that he’s become the elephant in the room.
Being too personal, sharing too much information, and making blanket assumptions about your audience in your copy will only alienate people. As a custom writing professional and one who has seen his share of both good and bad content, I can tell you from experience that too much or too little in the relationship-building game is the kiss of death. Balance is key, so find yours.
4. It’s Too Forward.
I’ve stressed in the past the importance of calls to action. I’ve stressed the importance of offering incentives to do things like share content or give up an email address. What I want to make clear here is that there’s a limit to how much of that you can do at one time or how often you can get away with it.
This goes back to the “just right” concept. You can’t be pushy. You can’t be constantly asking your audience to do things for you. If you do, they’ll feel like their being treated like circus animals being promised treats for doing tricks. Remember that your marketing has to revolve around what you do for customers, not what they do for you. Do right by them, and they will want to do right by you.
Missing the Mark
So now we’ve arrived that the “why you shouldn’t care” portion of our story.
Here’s the thing – if you can say with a clear conscience and with a high degree of confidence that none of the things I’ve mentioned are problems in your content strategy, don’t worry about the haters. A successful marketing campaign gets the attention of sometimes less than 3 percent of your audience. Don’t fuss over trying to go after another half percent if doing so means that you’ll lose some of the audience you’ve already won over.
If you notice that some of the things I mention could use a little polishing, then do it. Just don’t sweat it if you get a few negative comments or if it seems like things are at a bit of a standstill. Try shifting the targeting for your advertising before you blame the content. The earlier is a lot easier to tweak than the latter.