Content Marketing Challenges: Why 90% of Content Gets No Traffic, & 9 Steps to Follow So You Succeed

This is hard to believe, but 90% of content gets no traffic.

Zero! 🤯

That means the majority of content never gets seen.

That’s a scary stat to see when you’re in content marketing – no one wants to imagine spending precious time, money, and energy publishing content that gets you absolutely zero return.

But if you know which content marketing problems to look out for, it’s the opposite of scary…

It’s exciting.

Because there’s immense opportunity for you.

So many brands are pumping out content just to pump out content, so there’s a huge need for high-quality, useful, and insightful content (if you’re willing to create it). Because if you’re up for making it, expect people to find it.

You will get leads from your website if you do content right.

Whether you’re running an agency, managing a marketing team, or a passion-fueled solopreneur — you have to be on the lookout for the biggest content marketing challenges that people run into. That way, you can avoid letting them bring your business to a halt when they aren’t addressed.

If you want to be part of this explosive $600 billion industry you need to know the following content marketing problems I’ve spotted that can completely kill momentum and success within writing agencies, marketing teams, and business creators.

As a content marketing leader, your team and/or your brand is counting on you to be aware of these content challenges before they arise. So let’s do this.

Content Marketing Problems: Why Is Content Marketing Difficult?

Content marketing is more popular than ever before, and it’s growing by the minute.

But since only 10% of ALL content gets ANY traffic whatsoever, content marketing can appear like it’s very, very hard to master.

But it’s not.

Here’s what’s ACTUALLY happening with that 90%…

Content Marketing Problem #1: No Value

When was the last time you sighed at a typo in a piece of content online? If you cruise the web often, I’m guessing it was recently.

One of the biggest content marketing challenges today is most content provides absolutely no value.

Tons of content just straight up sucks.

It’s written completely by AI, is plagiarized, or shows a total lack of interest and effort on the writer’s part.

Before I sold and successfully exited my content writing agency, I saw all that icky content out there.

This is why my brand often ranked #1 in the marketplace in a sea of content writing agencies 🌊 (with zero funding… we were 100% bootstrapped). This is also likely why Kyle at Growth Badger called Express Writers the best high-quality writing service, and he tested a ton of them.

How’d we get to the top of that list? I demanded better from our content marketing writers and for our clients. ⬅ THIS is literally why we lasted and why we consistently outperformed the competition.

Content Marketing Problem #2: No Personality

I’ve noticed that many brands, marketers, and business owners are terrified to bring their personalities front and center.

But the ones who are….

…are raking in millions. 💰

We can’t ignore the monumental growth behind deeply authentic content personalities like Joe Rogan (yep, a marketer!). He’s always been himself and never taken the “recommended” road. And, agree with him or not, he’s built enormous brand trust by connecting with an audience of millions.

(I’m not advocating for any specific type of viewpoint here — I’m demonstrating the potential reach when you lean into your own thoughts, despite what others are telling you to do, and this is an extremely relevant example.)

Not having personality in your branding is a huge content marketing challenge. After working with over 5,000 brands, I noticed that B2B companies with marketing problems usually suffer the greatest from a lack of personality.

Why? Because 81% of people say they’ll buy from a brand they share values with. Buyers are looking to connect. Mistrust is at an all-time high and trust is the #2 reason people purchase from a brand (after price).

So you need to make sure your content includes your sparkling, bold, unique personality if you want to build a following that adores you, consumes your content, buys from you, and spreads the word. ❤️

Content Marketing Problem #3: Missing Strategy & Messaging

Did you know before they even think about buying, 50% of online shoppers read 3-5 blogs? That’s some compelling data to back up the power of content marketing.

But without a content marketing strategy in place, resources get wasted – time, money, energy… all out the door. 🚪💸

The 90% of content that doesn’t get seen was likely pushed out without a strategy. You need one, plain and simple.

And then, within strategy, what’s the biggest thing that’ll have your content fading away fast vs. having leads pouring in, jumping at the chance to learn from you?

Your messaging. 📢

One of the challenges in marketing that is becoming more and more apparent is the lack of focus on dialing in your messaging.

1. If it’s too broad, it’ll feel inauthentic
2. If it’s too complicated, we can’t get clear when delegating tasks
3. If it’s too plain, we feel like we can’t stand out and differentiate ourselves

It can feel like a lot to master.

But getting clear on your buyer persona and your brand, and aligning your messaging accordingly, is going to help you not only get your content seen but make it convert like crazy.

9 Steps to Overcome Huge Content Marketing Problems

Looking at these marketing challenges examples can make it seem daunting, but the problems faced by content marketers today are actually pretty simple to overcome.

Here are the steps you can take to avoid those momentum-killing content marketing challenges.

1. Develop a Repeatable Strategy

How do you get out of the weeds of your business to sit among the treetops? 🌳 How do you go about creating buy-in among stakeholders when talking about the need for content marketing?

Before you do anything else, you need to make a content marketing strategy — a repeatable, easy-to-follow system to nail your content marketing procedures over and over again.

There IS a proven strategy to content marketing, and implementing yours is the #1 step to overcoming these issues.

How do you stick to a strategy? Make it simple. Make it repeatable. Make it so rock-solid that you never question what you’re doing that day. Then, the clarity you’ll get to focus on your growth will be phenomenal.

2. Publish High-Quality Content

To make sure you’re providing value in your content, it needs to be good. Very, very good.

This isn’t overly complicated, and you’re absolutely capable of it.

Here’s how:

1. Be credible and establish authority in your content with consistent website traffic. Your brand’s name is tied to this, and people will associate your services with the quality of what you’re putting out there.
2. When you look at the top Google results for a keyword you want to target, know you need to beat them. Be better. If you can’t, it might not be the best keyword for you to go after. But with the right skills, your brand can do better than 90% of what’s out there (and more).
3. Avoid the biggest and most common online writing mistakes.

What sets you apart WILL be the quality of your content. This is how your content will grow to be part of the 10% that gets traffic.

But even if you’re creating high-quality content, you’ve got to make sure you’re consistently putting it out there. One tool that can help you scale high-quality content is BrandWell — an all-in-one content marketing automation platform designed to write 100% original, research-backed, SEO-driven long-form blog posts that rank well.

3. Publish Consistently on Your Site

What are the challenges of content creation? One of the biggest ones is confusion around how often you should post on your blog.

Consistency is key, and there’s no way around it. 🔑

Here are some of the best ways to show up for your leads, your customers, and your brand by staying consistent in your content:

1. Maintain a publishing schedule
2. Share your editorial calendar with your team
3. Align your content with the buyer journey

All of these pieces should be inside your content strategy, so make sure you don’t leave them out of your operating procedures.

Need to learn how to build a website and get yours out there? This tutorial on how to build a WordPress website from scratch can help you get started.

4. Adjust Your Mindset (Not Only Around Content Marketing Problems)

Marketing challenges in the 21st century are completely different than they used to be.

Because content marketing is relatively “new” since the advent of the World Wide Web 🌎, some business owners consider it difficult to grasp.

Which hurts them. They’re apt to keep investing in marketing efforts like billboards or radio ads that speak to a broad, non-targeted audience instead of seeing the crazy content marketing ROI statistics and acting on them by learning the needed skills.

That’s why stepping into the mindset of a high achiever is so important to overcome challenges in content marketing.

Mindset is more critical and scientific than you may realize.

In a fascinating Stanford study, people who adjusted their thinking around stress had a higher level of engagement and performance, plus lower blood pressure. 🩺

With the wrong mindset, it’s exhausting to manage any business, let alone content marketing.

Although this doesn’t feel as tangible, it’s one of the most important steps entrepreneurs must take when trying to create or scale a sustainable business.

5. Play the Long Game

Your content marketing efforts are not going to take off overnight.

Have realistic expectations here – and don’t set yourself up for failure by establishing giant traffic and engagement goals.

The solution? Having patience. ⌛

It takes time to build an audience and establish credibility online while as your content ages and Google and readers start finding it.

You must have practical goals you can actually achieve vs. dismissing your content marketing efforts as pointless when you fall short of goals that were way too ambitious.

If you’re consistently posting high-quality content, and if you’re inside your clearly defined strategy and systems, your brand is going to grow – and once it does, it’s going to be sustainable and LAST.

6. Delegate + Automate Content Creation

Cost and budget issues are a huge content marketing challenge for entrepreneurs, owners of small businesses, and marketing managers.

Expecting yourself (or a marketing employee) to simply “pick up” the task of SEO blogging for small businesses is a tall order – especially if you’re aiming for high-quality, consistent content. It’s a one-way ticket to burnout city. 🚂

To overcome this, you can tap into the freelance writer market. Thanks to unprecedented changes like the Great Resignation, smart, talented, eager contractors ready and willing to ghostwrite for you at an affordable rate are flooding the market.

59 million Americans did some sort of freelance work in 2021. That’s 36% (more than one-third!) of the entire U.S. workforce.

Don’t get me wrong. You still need to be involved in strategy.

But with numbers like these, it’s clear you don’t have to write your own content, or even have your team do it. And avoiding big problems in content marketing like excessive cost in content creation + content burnout is super important to your long-term success.

Learn how one of my students, Chiara Brancato, doubled her content production without burning out.

7. Establish Your Brand Voice

Whether your brand is already established or you’re just starting it, you need to find a strong voice. 🔊

To make sure you’re prioritizing your messaging, you need to get clear on your target audience and brand tone.

8. Choose the Right Channels

If your content isn’t performing, it’s not great content.

Content needs to convert to make you money.

…and content needs to last to make your revenue and business sustainable.

I get it. It’s so easy to get lost in shiny-object syndrome when considering which channels and platforms to put out content on.

So, don’t ignore social media. But make sure your content marketing strategy prioritizes blogging for organic content and SEO first, as well as video platforms like YouTube.

And pick just a couple of social media channels to be present on – based on your interests, your niche, your audience, plus the data behind the lifespan of content.

What I don’t want is for you to fall into the trap of overexerting yourself or your team on the hottest new platform because you feel like you need to be everywhere. Just don’t. Instead, double down on the places you already are, and you’ll see highly qualified leads turn into massive revenue.

9. Be Authentic

Your personality should and MUST be a part of your business.

This is more important now than ever, and that’s evident in the content trends for 2024.

Fun fact: One of my coaching students thought she needed to be more “professional” in her brand. After we started working together, I blew that myth up and told her to lean into showcasing her unique personality.

Guess what happened?

She got more leads and ROI after she:

1. Started speaking from her heart in messaging
2. Switched out her brand’s imaging to add breathtaking photos reflecting her genuine self + personality (gorgeous pics that were sitting unused on her desktop for THREE years!)
3. Decided she wasn’t going to “tone it down” and showcased her best self

Can you believe Loraine was told by someone not to use these stunning images that capture her and her brand’s essence so perfectly?

I was delighted when she made this change and saw this boost for her, but I wasn’t shocked when this happened. It happened to me, too! I’ve impacted and helped tens of thousands of writers because I got genuine and leaned into who I truly am.

Because personality is the secret ingredient to being part of the content that rises to the top. You have to use your real self and you’ll see more sales, recognition, and growth.

Conclusion

Sure, content marketing can throw some curveballs your way, but each challenge is just a chance to get even better. By staying flexible, really getting to know your audience, and tweaking your approach as needed, you can turn these bumps in the road into opportunities for growth.

It’s all about sticking with it and being ready to adapt. Keep at it, and you’ll find yourself creating content that not only resonates with your audience but also delivers great results.

Keep pushing through, and you’ll see your content marketing efforts start to really pay off.