10 Excuses Holding you Back from Creating Great Content (and how to overcome them)
When it comes to content creation, you might feel your head filled with excuses.
You have deadlines coming up and not enough time in the day.
You have more questions than answers.
There are so many things to consider when writing content for your business.
You know you need to create more content, but you just don't have time.
You're exhausted from all the other tasks on your plate, and it feels like a big hassle to find a new topic or write a blog post that will be worth reading.
Plus, what if no one reads it? What's the point?
What about SEO, keyword density, and all of those other technical details that make it hard to stay focused on the big picture?
These are some of the most common excuses I see when it comes to content creation.
Do any of these sound familiar?
This post will address the ten excuses holding you back from creating great content... and how you can overcome each one of them.
10 Excuses holding you back from creating great content (and how to overcome them)
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Content Creation Excuse #1: "I must be a writer to write content for my business."
Many feel like they must be professional writers to create content for their business.
But this isn’t true at all.
In fact, your readers probably don't want to feel like they're reading a masterpiece when scrolling through their feeds.
They want something that resonates with them. Not a Tolstoy piece.
Use tools like Grammarly to improve your writing and Hemingway to edit your post.
And hit "publish".
Content Creation Excuse #2: "I don’t have time to create content."
How can I possibly find the time and energy to write content?
Well, that's a good question. But it all depends on the strategies you use.
You can't compete with Gary Vee or Brendon Burchard, who have a team of people creating content. But you certainly can do your part.
Instead of writing every single day -- set aside an hour or two each week and make it happen then.
It doesn't matter whether that's on Sunday afternoon between football games or Monday morning before the office opens up: just do it!
We're all busy, but when you stop and think about it, what are your top time-wasters? Answer this question honestly to be more productive with content creation.
Here are some ways to create content in a shorter period:
Repurpose your old content in new ways -- more about it here
Have a massive list of ideas to write about -- more about generating an infinite number of ideas here
Use strategies to speed up your writing process -- more about it here
Use the right tools to create content -- more about it here
Content creation is an investment, and it adds up.
Content Creation Excuse #3: "I don’t know what to write about."
I have struggled with this one for a long time.
I had no idea what to write about.
But nowadays, there are so many existing tools that can help me generate topics to write about that it can't be an excuse.
Here are some ways to find ideas to write about:
Use Idea Generation Tools
Research your Competitors
Find inspiration in everyday life - use social media or inspirational quotes as jumping-off points for what you want to talk about (or just share your thoughts)
Research your Customers
Repurpose content
Use Google Trends
Use existing materials to start with
You can find the process I use to generate an infinite number of blog post ideas in this post.
Content Creation Excuse #4: "I don’t understand SEO."
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it is all about making your content rank higher on Google -- which leads to an increase in traffic to your site.
The best way to optimize content for SEO is to use keywords that people might be searching for on Google and then writing about those topics.
If you know what questions or problems your customers are having, this can give you a good idea of the types of keywords they might search on Google so that they land on your page instead.
It's a myth that you need to be an SEO specialist or use advanced tactics. If your content is unique and helpful for users, it will rank on Google.
Indeed, there is a TON of information you can learn about SEO. But if you know nothing about it, focus on just these three bullet points:
Use a great headline that captures attention and transmits the message of your post
Use keywords within your post organically
Be consistent with your content -- create new posts often
Overthinking SEO and forgetting to create great content is the worst mistake.
Content Creation Excuse #5: "I can only write with Technical Language."
You want your content to be engaging. And jargon makes it difficult for people to understand and interact.
Unless you write about very technical stuff, use simple language and short sentences.
If necessary, find an editor to clean up your writing for simpler words or phrases.
This way, people will actually read the content instead of scrolling past it.
And they'll be able to understand what you're trying to say!
Content Creation Excuse #6: "I Can't Keep Up with all the Available Platforms."
Neither should you!
Trying to be everywhere at once when it comes to creating content is a terrible mistake.
This will spread out your efforts and dilute them across multiple channels.
It's far better to create amazing stuff regularly in one place than mediocre stuff in many places.
Choose between 2-3 platforms -- a blog, Twitter, and Linkedin, and stay consistent there.
Ignore all the other platforms.
Content Creation Excuse #7: "People don't care about what I write."
Maybe they won't really care.
But it's your job to show them why they should care.
It's your job to learn more about copywriting, marketing, and social media.
It's also your job to ask your audience what they would like to read.
And then, it's your job to write that content.
If you want people to care about what you have written, you need to work at writing valuable content for them.
By doing this, you can build engaging content that addresses your customers' problems and questions.
You don't have to create a viral post, but you should always be getting better at writing and creating a more effective copy.
Content Creation Excuse #8: "I'm not a Creative person."
It doesn't take much creativity...at least in the beginning of creating content for your business.
You can get started by answering questions from your audience.
If people keep asking the same question, you should write a blog post that answers it. That's content creation!
It doesn't have to be pretty or creative...it just has to solve a problem for someone else and add value to them.
Once you get more comfortable with creating content, then begin to play around with different ways of writing and delivery.
Content is just information that someone finds useful or entertaining enough to share with others.
People love sharing things that are interesting and valuable. If your content is not adding value in some way, no one will care about it.
Don't focus too much on creativity at first.
Focus on delivering value.
Content Creation Excuse #9: "I don't know where to Start."
This is a common problem for people who lack clear ideas and quickly get overwhelmed with too many options.
The first thing you can do is take a step back from social media and the content world in general--it's easy to feel that everything has to be perfect.
The second best thing you can do is... starting.
Everyone has to start somewhere, so don't worry about whether what you write is good enough--it's more important that you just do it.
Write something that isn't even near perfection, just for the sake of getting started.
Write about how you don't know where to start--then go ahead and explain what you actually did.
This will help build your confidence so that it's easier for you to get past this obstacle next time.
Content Creation Excuse #10: "People will think my ideas are stupid or unoriginal if they see them online first."
You likely read hundreds of blog posts and social media updates weekly.
How many of them were about the same topics? Many.
Do you think people are stupid and unoriginal because of it?
Of course not.
So why would anyone think that about you?
You have a different perspective to offer on topics you've been learning for years.
People want to read your ideas.
So, write content despite not being the most revolutionary idea in the world.
What seems obvious for you won't be for many.
Excuses are just that--excuses.
We all have excuses that keep us from creating great content.
They're not just holding you back from growing your business. They're keeping your audience from learning from you.
It's time to stop making these excuses and start getting more content out there.
With this post, you learned how to address the ten most common excuses holding you back from creating great content.
Which excuse are you most guilty of? Let me know in the comments below!
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