Why Your Content Isn’t Converting

You’re publishing regularly. You’re posting to all the right channels. You have researched your audience, and you know the kind of content they consume. Still, at some point, you’ve probably experienced something quite common: your content isn’t converting.

This is one of the most frustrating positions to be in. After all, content marketing is only valuable if it’s contributing to some larger purpose at your organization. Luckily, there is good news: creating content that converts doesn’t have to be difficult. 

In this post we go over five possible reasons your content isn’t converting, as well as what you can do about it. Let’s check it out below.

What Does “Converting” Actually Mean?

Let’s start with the basics. The word “conversion” gets thrown around a lot, but it means different things for different organizations. Plus, some conversions are more valuable than others.

This can be confusing. After all, if you don’t know what your content is supposed to do, it can be impossible to know if it’s working or not. 

Here are a few common types of conversions for both businesses and nonprofits:

• Email sign-ups. If you are using email marketing (and you should be), a lot of your content will lead to some kind of email signup. This is great: it allows you to communicate with your subscribers whenever you want, and has a higher ROI than most of your marketing efforts.
• Resource downloads. This is often connected with your email marketing. Usually you will provide some kind of resource (a “lead magnet”) in exchange for somebody’s email address. Provide the right resource, and you are already providing a ton of value to your new lead. 
• Event registrations. There are a ton of different events that your content can promote: workshops, webinars, or even in-person community events.
• Booked call. Depending on your organization, your content can guide people to a “book a call” option. Because of the higher price point, this conversion is particularly valuable in the B2B space. 
• Clicks to a page. No need to complicate things: a ton of your content will simply lead to another page. Not only is this conversion highly customizable (based on the page you are sending someone to), but it’s also easy to track.

There are obviously many more possible conversions than just these five. Each organization will have different actions they want to take, which means each one should be tracking slightly different conversions. Still, the point remains: content is essential in getting people to convert in the way you want them to.

As for why your content isn’t converting? Read on to find out.

5 Reasons Your Content Isn’t Converting

Once you know what your content is supposed to do, you can figure out where it’s underperforming.

Here are the most common reasons your content is not converting:

1) You’re Solving The Wrong Problem

Don’t just assume you know your audience’s problems. Otherwise, you risk creating content (or worse – products) that nobody actually wants. Content that leads to action starts by meeting a real need. 

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• Who is this content for?
• What does this person care about?
• What problem is this person trying to solve?

If you don’t already know the answer, this is where audience research can help. And once you do? You’re one step closer to content that converts.

2) You Aren’t Clear With Your Calls-To-Action

Many organizations treat a call-to-action (CTA) as an afterthought. They spend hours on keyword research, create fantastic content, and then do a great job promoting it. But the missing link between this content and conversions? 

That’s right: strong CTA’s. If you want people to take action after consuming your content, your CTA’s should be:

• Clear and direct
• Relevant to the content itself
• Easy to spot (not hidden in the fine print)
• Easy to do (don’t make people jump through hoops)

Clarity is essential. If people are confused, the odds of them converting decrease substantially.

3) It’s All About You

This mistake is quite common, especially in mission-driven work. Yes, your mission is important. And yes, you should paint your organization in a good light. But content that converts needs to be applicable to the person consuming it. If it’s not, it becomes less about helping them and more about pitching them. 

When you’re creating content, try to focus on what’s in it for your potential lead. Why should they care? How can your content help them solve a problem? With these considerations at the forefront of your content marketing, you build trust and motivation much quicker. After all, content that converts makes the reader (or viewer) the hero of the story – not the organization.

4) There’s No Urgency

Why should people act now? If someone doesn’t feel any real urgency to do something, oftentimes, they won’t. This is simple human psychology. Even if your content is more evergreen in nature, whatever you are asking shouldn’t be “open-ended.” Otherwise, people may never actually convert.

There are a few ways to build urgency (and increase action) in your CTA:

• Highlight limited opportunities (deadlines or limited spots)
• Connect it to current events
• Frame the impact of acting now vs. later

The fact is, without urgency, “someday” often becomes “never.” And once that happens, your conversion is lost.

5) The Experience Is Clunky

We’ve written multiple times about the importance of user experience. No matter what content you create, people won’t convert if it’s hard to read or slow to load. The reason is simple: they won’t stick around long enough to take an action in the first place.

Make sure the entire path (all the way from “interest” to “action”) is smooth and frictionless. You should also ensure that whatever you create is mobile friendly. This makes for an experience that is genuinely enjoyable. Get this right, and when the time comes, conversion is much easier as a result.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!