Common Content Writing Mistakes to Avoid in 2024

Aug 17, 2022
5 min read
By
Angus Yip
A woman working with her laptop and writing on her notebook in a picnic table outdoors.

Since businesses started going online, we have observed never-stopping demand for content in this digital world. Content is integral to every place, from websites to social media platforms, and it’s available in abundance. This massive demand for content has urged many people to enter the world of content writing. Despite the worth of content, many people still don’t respect writing, as they consider this job a child’s play. However, writing is not easy, and you cannot become a content writer by just possessing the ability to jot down some sentences on a piece of paper.

Quality content consists of several elements, and writers must mix these ingredients flawlessly while creating any text piece to satisfy employers and, ultimately, the readers. Apart from the people just entering this field, even professionals make many mistakes while writing content. You might already be aware of components that enhance the value of your writing, which include uniqueness, relevancy, engagement, well-researched, and problem-solving. Nobody is perfect, and humans are prone to making errors. However, it’s essential to know about your mistakes, learn from them, and work on avoiding them in the future.

That’s the reason we are here!

This blog will highlight common content writing mistakes to avoid in 2022. Keep reading this post until the end to determine the errors you might be making while writing content previously. So let’s jump on the first mistake without any further delay! 

Mistake #1. Relying on Other's Ideas and Words

A student looking at another student's answers

Plagiarizing others' ideas, thoughts, and words is a significant mistake found in content writing, and it must be avoided in any case. Creating unique content is integral to this field, as plagiarism lands you in serious trouble. As far as content writers are concerned, employers may warn you for once, but if you keep duplicating every content, it will get you fired. Moreover, you will lose credibility in the market, as nobody wants to hire an individual who cannot write unique content. Therefore, writers need to check and remove plagiarism before submitting any piece of content. The best way to check for plagiarism in any text is by using an online plagiarism checker. Before submitting any content, it’s recommended that all the writers must use a plagiarism detector. The tool will provide links to matched sources if plagiarism is detected. So you must remove plagiarism before submitting your work. 

Mistake #2. Prioritizing Quantity Over Quality

Another common mistake among content writers is that they rely on producing more content instead of quality content. It’s a known fact that when you focus on quantity, work quality will be majorly affected. Undoubtedly, we cannot cast out quantity from work. However, the achievable thing in this regard is that the point that can be explained with a phrase shouldn’t be elaborated in multiple sentences. The repetition of the same point annoys readers and creates boredom, and such pieces of content are regarded as of low quality. You can avoid duplication and focus on providing value to the users instead of increasing content length (number of words).

Mistake #3. Not Following SEO Guidelines

Writing content is not similar to writing essays, as you need to create text based on SEO guidelines. Many pieces of content don’t follow SEO guidelines due to a lack of knowledge, and it’s a significant mistake. Some common SEO factors you need to remember while writing content are keywords, natural link building, relevancy, and uniqueness. If any of these factors go missing in your content, it won’t obtain a rank on search engine result pages. Remember, companies rely on content writers to deliver content that gets indexed fast and grows in ranking. Hence, following SEO guidelines is essential for content writers to excel in this career.

Mistake #4. Blatant Promotion

Although you’re writing content to promote a brand in the digital world, your focus should be on resolving the audience's queries. A significant blunder in content writing is that the pieces of text are entirely promotional and provide no value to the audience. For a writer, it’s essential to remember that you need to evoke readers' interest by countering the problem they are facing. After that, you can strategically discuss the brand you’re writing for to help the readers find the solution in a single place. If you’ll be too busy promoting your brand and your focus won’t be on fixing the problem for the users, they won’t get inspired by your content and simply switch to other sources. Hence, avoiding blatant promotion and creating high-quality content to produce excellent results is crucial.

Final Words

Getting a job in the content writing field is not an easy task. You need to prove your expertise in creating content in front of the recruiters to land your desired job. To summarize, the mistakes discussed above should be avoided in content writing to save yourself from any unpleasant situation. Instead of repeating mistakes, you should learn to avoid them. Content writing is a lucrative field, and to achieve success in it, you need to be extra vigilant while curating any piece of text.