Content marketing is one of the best ways of getting your voice heard online. With the right content, you can spread the word about your product and bring those customers in. As with all types of marketing though, there are plenty of myths out there about how it works. If you’re just starting out, here are some of the myths debunked, so you can create excellent content every time.

Myth: You’ve Just Got To Write Something

Truth: You’ve got to give the reader what they want. Many new marketers labor under the impression that ‘if you build it, they will come.’ In fact, the opposite is true. If you just keep writing with no real goal in mind, you’re not going to bring in any new readers. You’ve got to understand what your hook is and use it. What is it about you that should make readers visit your site? Write with this goal in mind.

Myth: Content Marketing Is Just About Search Engines

Truth: You’ve got to write for people, not Google. There’s no doubt that you need to make it easy for search engines to pick up on your content. You need to be finding the right keywords and helping the right people find your writing. However, a piece of content that’s written solely with search engines in mind will get you nowhere. Write for your audience first, and tell them what they need to know. If you show more respect for them, they’ll keep coming back.

Myth: Content Is Just Blogging

Truth: Content goes much further than words on a page. It’s true that a few years ago, content was simply creating a blog and keeping it updated. Nowadays, there’s much more than you can do. With so much content being created, you need to stand out. For example, you can start creating infographics to put on your site, to simplify a lot of data into one image. You can also create videos, with sites like Youtube making it very easy for you to spread them around.

Myth: Your Business May Not Benefit From Content Marketing

Truth: All businesses can use content marketing to further their brand. No matter what you sell, content marketing can help bring those potential customers in. The trick is to give them something that they want, and that they can use, right away. For example, say your business sells gardening equipment. You can start creating posts that show readers how to use that equipment, or related tasks such as how to plant crops, or how to take care of your lawn. These will attract the right audience for you, and you’ll have their attention.

These myths are what’s stopping a lot of businesses from succeeding online. If you’re just starting out, pay attention and don’t believe them. With the advice here, you can start using content marketing to stand out from the crowd and start selling online. Bring in that audience, and show them exactly what you can do.