Posts are too short:

Now I am no Leo Tolstoy, I certainly err on the side of getting to the meat of the information and leaving the reader with a funny quip, question, or something to chew on… but some of the posts I read are hardly posts at all.  They’re more like tweets, that ran over a few characters.   Two sentences does not a news item make.  When working on an entry it is wise to think broadly, beyond what you the writer finds contextually relevant, instead think of your audience.  Do they need back story, is there content relevant form another source that they may find interesting (linking is a great habit to get into), or perhaps you might just need to get a little “wordy” as opposed to right to the point.

The point being, you as the administrator of a site have the responsibility to keep entries engaging and, moreover, entertaining.

Poor Layout

Even if your content is perfect to the letter, poor spacing, broken images, misplaced images, or poor page formatting can be a death knell for a news item / blog entry / post.

The solution to this is to ALWAYS preview your entry.  I’ve probably previewed this entry 3 times already, just making sure the text is the right size, images are well placed and symmetrical to the entry, and things generally “look good”.

We’re all in a hurry, so I can understand getting the content up and posted, but, again, the goal is to entice the end user.  The last thing you want is to revisit an old entry on your site and say to yourself, “What was I thinking?”.

Fake Authenticity

In all types of writing its important to have a “voice”.  Many times, we are asked to write something on behalf of a larger entity, be that a Fortune 500 company, or a band out on the road.  Problems arise when your voice doesn’t quite match up with the brand you’ve been asked to portray.  A band doesn’t need a news entry to sound like a Fortune 500 company, and a Fortune 500 company doesn’t want to sound like a band.  Know your audience, know who you’re ghost writing for, and get a sense of what that messaging should sound like BEFORE you put fingers to keys.

These days, people are so over-assailed by marketing messages, they’re learning to tune out and ignore the stuff that’s not real. If you don’t seem real, you get the same penalty as those who aren’t real: You get ignored. (hat tip)

No SEO

…. But what if no one reads it???  Even the most well written, authentic, perfectly laid out post will get lost in the shuffle if it’s set up to fail.  Always be sure to tag your posts, link out to relevant sites, other posts, irrelevant posts.  Try to get your posts fed to other outlets.  There are a million ways to improve SEO… or at least ten.  Make an effort to get your message heard!

No Follow Through

This is most definitely another common mistake that I make.  I have every intention of doing a “series of blog entries” which turns into one entry, and no follow through.  If you set the reader’s expectation, meet it.  It’s as simple as that.  If you say there will be a new video on the site every week, make sure there is something there.  If it’s news entries, a blog series, photo galleries… pick your poison.  If you can get users into a routine of visiting your site, you’re winning the battle.  The best sites on the net churn out content at a constant pace, keeping the site both “sticky” and fresh.

If you’re diligent enough to avoid these pitfalls, it is possible to gain a fervent followers of your content.  Feel free to add to the Common Content Mistakes in the Comments section!