How NOT to Write Junky Content

This post is kind of like my “how to” in reverse — I see a lot of junky content as I crawl the internet and web-based marketing material. Boring, ugly, grammatically incorrect, factually incorrect — just plain junk. The internet is like a bathroom wall — anyone can say anything they want at any time. I think we can all agree we’ve seen some annoying content online. What are some tips for avoiding these common verbiage annoyances? What does your content communicate to visitors, and what are some ways to improve it?

Many businesses look at their content as an afterthought, and they don’t necessarily think about what they should write in a consistent, strategic way. So…with that in mind, here are a few common mistakes NOT to make on your main site, sub pages, and blog.

How NOT to Write Junky Content

• Don’t write paragraphs longer than 5-8 sentences. Long blocks of text intimidate site visitors, and they tend to skip reading ALL of it. They click off the page, never to return again. Instead, write short paragraphs filled with bullet points in order to create manageable content for readers.
• Don’t write overly emotional, personal text. Rather, use the words “I think” or “I hate” or “I feel” as sparingly as possible, particularly when it comes to static website content. It’s okay to write some of those emotive phrases on your blog — just be sure to do so in moderation.
• Don’t write overly technical content. Be accessible to your target market. Inform and educate in an interesting, empowering way.
• Don’t copy another website’s content (or book, magazine, article, etc.). Doing so is illegal, not to mention mortally wounding to your search engine ranking.
• Don’t use the passive voice too much. Stay away from words like being, is, are, am, etc. Of course, using them isn’t deadly, but your website deserves interesting writing. Write using active verbs.

I could go on and on and on about principles that constitute interesting website writing. Effective, web-based content depends upon your ability to communicate in memorable ways. Your goal for your site should be to drive traffic to it, and then entice visitors to stay longer than 15-20 seconds. SECONDS! You literally have seconds to keep visitors. Junky content repels them; interesting content compels them. Choose the latter.