10 Content Writing Mistakes Startup Entrepreneurs Make

By Mike Hanski

You’ve worked hard to turn your dream of starting a business into a reality. Now it's time to share the awesomeness with the world.

Any marketing expert will tell you content writing is key to getting the word out about your startup. The internet is dependent on quality content; therefore, you must deliver. However, you can’t just slap some words on a page and call it a day.

Content writing requires finesse. It doesn’t matter where you hope to publish the content: a noteworthy media outlet, your own website, or in outreach emails. There are certain content writing mistakes that can instantly make your writing efforts less palatable to the reader. If you want your content to work, avoid these top 10 mistakes startup owners commonly make when writing about their new business ventures.

Content writing mistakes: PR content

Every startup needs to engage in some PR—it’s how you get the word out about your services or products. While you may know that your business is stellar and everyone will benefit from it, it’s often difficult to convince bloggers and journalists. There are a few mistakes startups often make that unnecessarily block the PR process:

1. Assuming your story is unique and interesting

Every entrepreneur has a story. Many times the story involves a hardship, an epiphany, and then eventual success. Assuming your story is unique is a mistake. Assuming your story is interesting to the masses is an even bigger mistake. When you pitch your company, it is important to remember readers aren’t interested in your story, they are interested in information that will help them write their own stories.

2. Failure to provide applicable information

Don’t write a profile piece about your startup. To you, your startup's story is an interesting story (of course it is—you lived it!). Few readers, though, will feel the same as you do. Also, remember a blogger or a journalist’s job is to provide useful information to a reader. You will only find PR success if you can help them do this while simultaneously tooting your own horn.

Talk about the mistakes you made, the knowledge you gained—anything that will benefit a reader. Readers don’t want to know about you; they want to know what you know. If you can help make their lives more successful, only then will they begin to show interest in your company.

3. Pitching low-value publications

There are millions of places where you can get exposure for your startup; however, not all media outlets are created equally. If you pitch a crappy publication, you’ll get crappy exposure. Don’t waste your time or money!

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• Why Storytelling Is So Important for Successful Content Marketing

Content writing mistakes: Email marketing content

Email marketing can be extremely useful for your startup, and you must avoid certain obvious content writing mistakes to make the process fruitful:

4. Writing generic subject lines

Getting readers to open your email is the first step in a long chain of events. If readers don’t even open the message, you don’t stand a chance of getting them to read what you wrote. Here are some tips for writing attention-grabbing subject lines:

• Give a sneak peak at some of the benefits the reader will find inside.
• Play off a reader's emotions.
• Be bold—so bold it almost seems unbelievable.
• Let readers know they are making a mistake, and the contents of your email will rectify that mistake.

5. Writing to the masses

When you send out a mass email, you are obviously writing to more than one person. However, you need to draft each message as if you are writing to one reader. By focusing on one individual person, you message will come across as more personal. The readers will feel like you are actually interested in them and their needs, and this will build trust and enthusiasm for your company.

Content writing mistakes: Website conversion content

Your startup’s website is one of the most valuable marketing tools at your disposal. To make it work as effectively as possible, you’ll need to avoid these common writing mistakes that interfere with the conversion process:

6. Focusing on features

Before visitors convert into paying customers, they need to care about your products and services. The best way to induce passion is to emphasize the benefits of your products and services rather than the features. It's easy to list all the features your product has, but the average reader doesn’t really care about the hypoallergenic fabric or the organic cotton filling; they care about the anti-aging benefits and the reduction of fine lines.

7. Being too technical

Your startup is your baby—you know it inside and out. As a result, it can be easy to go overboard with technical jargon associated with your company. Instead think about your company’s goals. Create a concise message that sums up what you are about by providing jargon-free content with value. You’ll be amazed at what you can convey with a simple, one sentence message.

8. Creating friction

Visitors are reluctant to part with their stuff—whether it is their contact information or their cash. Don’t use call-to-action buttons that make the friction worse. Rather than use the word “submit” on a registration form, consider “sign up for free.” If you must use something blatant like “buy now,” also add something like “90-day money back guarantee.”

Content writing mistakes: Company blog

Including a blog on your startup's website has numerous benefits, and to reap those rewards, you must avoid the following content writing mistakes:

9. Writing too often or not often enough

Ideally, you want visitors to sign up for your newsletter or to get notifications of new blog entries. Getting them to do so is challenging; getting them to stick around is just as difficult. Don’t make the process more cumbersome than it needs to be by scaring readers away.

Don’t post too often—you don’t want to overwhelm your readers. This is especially true if you fail to provide worthy content. It can be challenging to write new and noteworthy pieces every day, so if you're writing quite frequently, there's a very good chance your content isn’t worth reading. So when you're writing content, stick to the most valuable, informative, noteworthy subjects, and make sure every piece of content offers real value to the readers.

Likewise, you don’t want your blog to turn into a ghost town either. If you fail to provide new articles, readers will stop coming to check on you. Set a posting calendar and stick to it, and let your readers know when new content is coming. You can even tie in social media here by sending out tweets every time you add something new.

10. Not embracing SEO

SEO is essential for the success of any website. While you want people to find your site when they're searching for a particular topic, SEO goes much deeper than that. Yes, you must use SEO to drive traffic to your main website; however, you also need to consider SEO for your blog entries.

Consider the phrases most commonly used to access your site, then write blog posts about those topics. Or think about any questions your readers might have, and then answer those questions. For example, if you sell camping equipment, “tents” might be one of the keywords readers use to find you. Write a blog post about the most important features of a tent: tents are waterproof, they're easy to assemble, etc. This simple SEO technique will help drive people to your blog. You don’t even need to “sell” your own products in the post. In fact, it's more effective if you don’t. If the readers like the quality information that you provide, they might just click over to see what tents you have for sale.

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