…then it’s better to not create any at all.
I’ve been thinking about the time involved for content marketing a bit more often lately as I contemplate starting up a Product and Support blog on our UIU and UIUSD site. I’ve done plenty of research to try and determine the value, focus, and time requirements of adding another consistent content stream to my existing obligations. Even though we are a niche software developer, and the content focus is rather restricted, I’ve got a pretty clear game plan worked out in my head that I think will be fairly successful.
The problem with adding more quality content obligations really comes down to the time required to generate something potentially valuable to our readers. And the more I think about it, the more I think that if I don’t have an adequate amount of time each week for at least one quality post, then I am better off not adding that content to our site, and instead, focusing on the other content marketing projects that are still in the works.
Sure added knowledge base items, support topics, new product development, and discussion on current trends in our industry would all make for great topics to bring people to our site and increase SEO. But if people get a few sentences in and don’t have anything good to read, then not only will they leave immediately without taking the time to read more about our products, but will be unlikely to return.
In my estimation, it’s far better to focus on quality, relevant content, even if that means there is less of it, than to crank out a slew of sub-par posts or pages that could potentially to more harm than good.
I realize that as a topic, the time for good content marketing might seem fairly obvious. If you can’t create something good, don’t do it at all, duh.
But I think that particularly when it comes to a continuous content obligation like a blog, it is vital to determine if you are going to have enough time to continue to generate quality content. It might be great for the first half dozen posts, but somehow that blog deadline sneaks up on you every week, and before you know it, you are struggling to not only find something worthwhile to write about, but allocate less and less time to make sure it's actually worth reading.
That is why, at this time at least, I have decided not to try and get the Product blog off the ground.
Any other kinds of content that would be better off left on the drawing board?