{"id":1399,"date":"2017-06-06T15:58:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-06T15:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commarts.pleather.us\/2017\/06\/06\/5-ways-to-create-bullshit-free-content-marketing\/"},"modified":"2017-06-06T15:58:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-06T15:58:00","slug":"5-ways-to-create-bullshit-free-content-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/m2\/2017\/06\/06\/5-ways-to-create-bullshit-free-content-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"5 WAYS TO CREATE BULLSHIT-FREE CONTENT MARKETING"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared on\u00a0Column Five<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Have you ever slogged through an article only to find out it was a complete waste of time? We all have. The Internet is full of content marketing that is all fluff, no substance, or totally irrelevant. Frankly, too many of us have been guilty of wasting our audience\u2019s time. That\u2019s why content marketing is facing a bullshit epidemic.<\/p>\n

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH BAD CONTENT MARKETING?<\/b><\/h3>\n

This industry-wide problem became clear to me after reading Josh Bernoff\u2019s book Writing Without Bullshit<\/i><\/a>. The driving idea behind the book is what Bernoff calls the Iron Imperative: Be more respectful of your reader\u2019s time than your own.<\/p>\n

This philosophy seems intuitive, no matter what content we create, but the truth is we have become accustomed to BS, both consuming it and creating it. Why? Bernoff identifies four main reasons<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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  1. We got the wrong training in school. We tried to BS our teachers into thinking we knew what we were talking about.<\/li>\n
  2. Once we started working in the real world, we were saturated by jargon, from employee manuals to tech babble that only insiders understand.<\/li>\n
  3. We soon learned that avoiding risk is critical, and writing clear copy means someone can disagree with us.<\/li>\n
  4. No one edits what we read.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Now we\u2019re drowning in meaningless content, which is a huge problem. But it\u2019s also an awesome opportunity for your brand to stand out by creating A+ content.<\/p>\n

    The first step? Stop the BS and start focusing on creating high-value content that is worth your reader\u2019s time. To get you on the right track, here are five things you can do to take the BS out of your content marketing ASAP.<\/p>\n

    1) AVOID BUZZWORDS<\/b><\/h4>\n

    Wheelhouse. Implementation. These buzzwords have become a plague. Sure, every industry has its jargon, but too often it\u2019s used as a crutch to sound <\/i>like you know what you\u2019re talking about. Worse, too much jargon can confuse your reader if they don\u2019t actually know what you\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n

    Your audience wants to connect with you. They want your knowledge and experience, so write the way you speak\u2014like a human. When you do use the occasional buzzword, make sure you explain what it means. (If you still want your buzzword fix, check out our marketing gibberish generator<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

    2) GET TO THE POINT<\/b><\/h4>\n

    A good content marketer has one job: To deliver a\u00a0story or message as succinctly and efficiently as possible. Yet we see so many \u201cthought leaders\u201d drone on and on in 3,000-word articles simply for vanity\u2019s sake.\u00a0Avoid their mistakes.<\/p>\n