At the end of May, I am holding a random drawing for a $50 Amazon Gift Card. To be entered in the drawing, subscribe (box at the right) to my Boring to Brilliant B2B blog. You will also get one additional entry into the drawing for every relevant comment (no spam) you post to the B2B blog by 11:59 pm ET. May 31^st. Note that comments on my Content Marketing Writer blog do not count towards this contest.

I have written a ton of boring B2B content over the past nine years as a freelance content marketing writer. Hundreds of pieces to be precise. Actually, my boring count is probably in the thousands. Yes, I’ve written some content that I am very proud of and that people actually want to read. But I’ve also written content that is all about the company, stuff that is so full of marketing speak and other content that is on the same topic with the general ideas as 76 other posts out there. Sometimes it’s what my client wants and I have no choice since they are paying my bills. But other times it’s simply because I didn’t know exactly how to fix the inherently boring nature of B2B content.

But you can’t learn to create the good stuff without recognizing that you are currently missing the mark. And more importantly, you must also understand why your content is boring. And you can’t get where you want to go (great content) without starting at the beginning. On this journey, the beginning is admitting that your content is boring.

It’s Going to Get Worse

This epidemic is going to get worse. According to the Content Marketing Institute B2B Content Marketing 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends – North America report, B2B companies are going to create 70 percent MORE B2B content this year than last year. This means that if we keep creating lackluster content then the result will be SEVENTY PERCENT more of boring stuff that no one wants to read. And it means companies spending a heck a lot of money on creating stuff that isn’t going to build trust in their brand and grow their companies.

The Only Solution Isn’t Creating More of the Same

But I think that often the examples and guidance given to B2B marketers are such a ginormous (I’ve always wanted to use that word in a blog post) change from companies’ current content. This makes content marketers feel overwhelmed and decide that the problem seems too big to tackle. It’s easy become discouraged that we aren’t able to do something totally unique and creative right this minute. And it’s easy to feel that the only two options are more of the same or do something super creative.

As a freelance content marketing writer (just like with corporate jobs), I am occasionally given the freedom to create unique and interesting content while, other times, I have to write exactly what people tell me to write. And if I don’t, then I don’t get a paycheck, which is a bad thing. My dogs get hungry. My kids go barefoot. You get the picture. I totally understand that you may not be in the position to create a something as noteworthy as Cisco’s Valentines Day’s video because the people that sign your paycheck are not ready to take a risk. But that doesn’t mean the only alternative is crappy content.

Let’s Rid the World of Boring Content

So, I’m tired of boring B2B content. I am tired of writing it. I’m sick of reading it. I want to stop creating boring B2B content, whenever possible. This blog is my journey of exploring all of the little and big ways I can do that. And hopefully along the way, I can create a community of B2B content marketers who are also committed to creating the really good stuff, but who also understand that sometimes we have to play within other people’s rules by starting with small changes.

Yes, the ultimate goal is to get the freedom to create the stuff lands that you on the “best of” lists and is used as examples in blogs like mine. But for many of us, this requires changing the culture of our business. And that takes time. It often also requires us to show small successes with thinking outside the box to get the go ahead to take a big plunge.

In the meantime, there are a lot of things you can do besides wait. In fact, waiting is the worst thing you can do. No one above you is going to wake up and change their mind. You have actively work to change the culture. It takes a two-fold approach – making small changes to increase the appeal of your B2B content and providing proof to the powers that be that your ideas work. This is the entire point of this blog. We are going to explore both the big and little techniques that we can use to create B2B content that really makes a difference in our company instead of getting lost in the virtual clutter.  And most importantly, we are going to figure out how to create B2B content that people enjoy reading.

At the end of May, I am holding a random drawing for a $50 Amazon Gift Card. To be entered in the drawing, subscribe (box at the right) to my Boring to Brilliant B2B blog. You will also get one additional entry into the drawing for every relevant comment (no spam) you post to the B2B blog by 11:59 pm ET. May 31^st. Note that comments on my Content Marketing Writer blog do not count towards this contest.

What do you think contributes to B2B content being boring? Are you tired of creating boring stuff?