Subject: Why Your Content DoesnÕt Sell

The first thing weÕre going to discuss in our series on writing blog content that sells is why certain content DOESNÕT sell. Only by knowing what it is that can make content perform poorly can one learn to create content that DOES perform.

There are five main reasons content fails to perform properly, and weÕre going to take a look at each one.

First, and most obvious, is the lack of a strong call-to-action. A lot of bloggers tend to write content and slap it up on the blog, just hoping for the best. ItÕs like the old adage that if you throw enough crap at the wall, some of it is bound to stick. The trouble is, when you have no call-to-action, people are not going to take any action at all. Oh, sure, you may get the occasional subscriber or the occasional click on an ad. Maybe even a sale or two here and there. But itÕs not likely youÕre going to see a lot of results.

Another major reason content fails to get results is that it is simply off topic. I mentioned this in our last lesson, but it deserves to be repeated. Content that is off topic may bring in some extra traffic, but itÕs probably not going to do much to help you achieve your goals.

Content that goes on too long is going to be counterproductive. I know the conventional wisdom these days says you should create longer content for search engines, but if you let your content go on for too long, itÕs going to become so boring people leave before they have a chance to take whatever action you want them to take.

Writing content that serves no purpose as far as your goals is also counterproductive. If youÕre writing content just to write content, itÕs likely not going to perform.

Finally, you donÕt want to include any kind of distractions that might capture attention and draw it away from your goals. LetÕs say your primary goal is to build your subscriber base. The last thing you want is for an interstitial ad on your site to draw attention away from your subscription box, especially if youÕre sending that traffic to some affiliate product that hasnÕt even proven to convert well for you.

Now that you know some of the things that cause content NOT to work well, itÕs time to move on to things that DO work. Our next lesson is going to delve into some ways you can create content that will help you get closer to your goals while still being useful, interesting, and entertaining to your audience.

Stay tuned, and be on the lookout for the next lesson, which should be arriving in your inbox shortly. See you then!
