The Biggest "Don't" in Content Marketing

Don't waste people's time.

That's the big one. People are busy. They're looking for insight. Whatever they read needs to be informative and eye-opening from the opening line.

That means:

• Skip the platitudes.
  Don't tell a hospital security officer that HIPAA is important. She's knows it's important. Tell her something new or genuinely useful about how to avoid a compliance violation. 
• Don't be wordy.
  It's OK to publish long pieces, but they should pack a lot of information. Individual sentences and paragraphs, wherever they appear, must carry their weight. 
• Don't make distracting mistakes.
  Errors in grammar and spelling interrupt reading. Puzzling arguments and poor sentence construction frustrate readers. Don't give readers an excuse to look away.
• Invest in research.
  Know your subject, and know it well enough to tell your audience something they didn't already know. 
• Arm your readers.
  Here's something that absolutely doesn't waste your readers' time: Giving them insights, arguments, and hard numbers they can use to do their jobs even better than before. Help your readers justify a new approach or a new purchase. Help them become heroes at work.

When you're looking for writers, look for people who can:

• Write something original.
• Write concisely.
• Write well and build solid arguments.
• Research a subject and dig up non-obvious data.
• Provide practical and important guidance.

Spend the time to find writers who won't waste your readers' time. Your readers will thank you by turning the page and perhaps eventually making a purchase.