Why Waste Time Reading Content That Hurts More Than Helps

Three ways B2B marketers can … BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

Why waste your time reading content that is boring, repetitive, wrong or just plain trash?

What is going on with the acceptance of mediocrity and the drivel that is being passed around by marketing bloggers? How are some of these people even employed or making a living? The garbage that is written and being passed off as valuable content is just ridiculous.  

I can’t believe what the industry is accepting as decent content. Just how bad has the marketing blogosphere become? In MHO the industry is almost at rock bottom.

Our industry is under attack from within. As proof, I offer that I read 3 really poorly constructed blogs today where no one even commented, but many of them were shared. Actually as an avid reader looking to grow and learn I am offended by much of the bunkum that is being offered.

To prove my point, I will dissect the most recent industry article, that I read today. Note, it was shared 216 times. There were no comments, good or bad. The post broke SEO best practices and was poorly constructed. I would have expected readers to comment.  I believe that it most likely wasn’t shared externally from the author's employer.

You can decide if I am full of it, a nut or perhaps, just maybe, I am correct.

HLED “Three ways B2B marketers can drive more traffic to their sites.”  A Good headline that caught my attention.

This article was in my Zest feed, so it supposedly was vetted by professionals, right?  I thought so, causing me to read on.  

I read the H2, which was: “Advice for B2B marketers often focuses on how to optimise the company website. Specifically, marketers should state what problems the B2B company solves, deliver high-quality content, and include a clear call-to-action”.  

Does anyone besides me see this multiple points H2 goes against SEO best practices?  I was taught the H2 is not for multiple sentences or thoughts.

The wording of the H2 reads like a train wreck. “Advice for B2B marketers often focuses on how to optimise the company website.”  WOW, so inciteful to us marketers!  

Is the intended audience of this article people that have no concept of best practices?  Are they “marketeers” or are they presumed to be frauds that don’t know squat! Now that is an interesting a target audience!

This article offends my senses so badly that I am guessing that this article or post was being written because it was on the content calendar and there was nobody else available to handle the assignment.  

I did wonder if the writer that received the assignment was in Colorado, or some other marijuana approved locale when it was written. Or maybe the sentence is constructed so poorly that the company website mentioned is actually the marketer’s client’s website?   

I wasn’t sure (even now) what the writer was trying to say, but rather than bounce, I decided to read on to see how bad the article could get. I rooted for a recovery and wanted to see if the writer could come back. I was rooting for the underdog!

Sentence two of the H2 says “Marketers should state what problems the B2B company solves, deliver high-quality content, and include a clear call-to-action.” Ok, this is earth-shattering. Who would ever figure this out? Where has the highly inciteful information been hidden?  

It did cross my mind that the H2 was actually the 3 promised tips that the title offered. I think the writer might want to take notice to his own written words which were “deliver high-quality content”. He should also stay on topic or get a copy editor.

At this point, you may be wondering if the writer that authored the piece is an idiot or if maybe I am an arrogant jerk with a bone to pick with him. Here is the full disclosure; I have never heard of him before reading this piece, I have no ax to grind. I could be a jerk though.  

I do have an agenda, which is to have those content providers actually think about what they are writing and to actually have it reviewed and copy edited before publishing. Follow industry best practices. Stop writing to hit word counts. Stop writing for 8-year old’s and write for grownups! Read your written words, out loud, to hear how it sounds.

Finally, after making it to the body here is how sentence one reads: “All of these suggestions, though, are of little use if the B2B marketer suffers from low traffic volume to their site.”

What? Are you kidding me? The title was nothing more than clickbait?   

I assumed that the author would share something of value. I thought he was going to tell me how to increase traffic? Instead, he basically told that his article was only good if you already had sufficient traffic, but you wanted more traffic. In fact, the author implied (via the title) that he was going to “supply me with three ways to drive more traffic” to my site.  

Nowhere was there an asterisk telling me that I should only read the blog if I have a lot of traffic but need more. At this point, I barely could finish the post. I just skimmed over it and if I didn’t do that my post that you are reading now would have been a couple of thousand words longer.  

I wrote in my opening that mediocrity and drivel are being passed off as high-quality content by marketing bloggers. This statement was made with a broad brush, one that sounded like it was being applied to all bloggers. I didn’t mean to knock or take shots at all marketers or bloggers. There are extremely talented folks who are real wordsmiths that pass on solid content and provide a real service to the industry.

Writers and marketers like Maddy Osman of The Blogsmith or Neil Patel, an entrepreneur, marketing genius, content writer, or Jeff Bullas who has an excellent blog and whom all deliver excellent content!

The time I spend reading their work is an investment on my part, that investment pays dividends helping me to stay sharp. I learn from them and many other excellent bloggers.  

Unfortunately, the marketing blogs that I am finding on LinkedIn and now Zest and other places are starting to add up to a pile of crap which is being passed off as good content!

If you would like to read the article in its own home environment here is the URL.

I would be more than happy to hear from you folks with your thoughts.  Please, don't hesitate to drop me a note, good or bad, or maybe just comment in the comment section where it is appropriate!  Remember, be honest and thoughtful.  People that are reading blogs and articles, etc., are looking for information, not word counts, click bait titles. Check out our company’s blogs. If I am being a hypocrite drop me a note and let me know.

P.S. I wrote this a month ago, but I am sending it out today because I STILL think it is relevant!!

Mike