Why I Wish Death on Content that Proclaims Something Is Dead

In a recent post about obsessing over and overreacting to announcements from Google , I mentioned how these announcements often lead to proclamations of death.

SEO is dead. Marketing is dead. Guest posting is dead.

But this isn’t limited to reactions to Google announcements. We’ve all seen headlines that have tagged the toe and shut the door on marketing-related concepts, platforms, strategies and even personnel.

Print is dead. Advertising is dead. The CMO is dead.

I wish all of this content would die. Quickly.

I have to admit that I read a lot of these articles. I know the headline is a gimmick used to get people to click, but I’m always curious to see just how disconnected the content is from the headline, or how ridiculous the claim is.

Content that proclaims something is dead lives down to my expectations just about every time.

Nobody likes to be lied to or misled.

As someone who reads a lot of content about marketing and copywriting, nothing is more frustrating than content related to those topics that fails to deliver on the headline’s promise.

This can be the result of a poorly chosen headline. However, in the case of “(fill in the blank) is dead” content, the author is almost always using manufactured drama to generate traffic.

In other words, they’re more concerned with the reader’s click than providing that reader with something of value. Even if that means misleading or flat out lying to the reader.

Seems pretty selfish to me.

Most people will just roll their eyes and move on. Others will leave angry comments. I’m all for a fiery debate, but I don’t see the value in having people call you out as an imbecile for making a ridiculous claim.

What these readers will be much less likely to do is trust you, share your content, read any other content from you, or do business with you.

Lost credibility is a hefty price to pay for a temporary traffic spike.

And let’s be clear about one thing.

There’s a difference between death and evolution.

Dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers and dodo birds are dead. Marketing is evolving.

Marketing tactics and platforms are evolving. Search and social media are evolving. Marketing technology and services are evolving. The roles of people who develop and execute marketing plans are evolving.

That doesn’t mean they’re dead, although the companies that fail to recognize and adapt to these changes are likely to die.

Many authors of “(fill in the blank) is dead” content realize this. They know their death-proclaiming headlines are misleading, overly dramatic, or as Mark Twain once said, greatly exaggerated.

In fact, writers of this content will often include the lamest of disclaimers within the content that say something like, “Well, it may not be dead, but…”

As a rule of thumb, if you’re going to come right out and say your proclamation of death is BS, or you can’t prove something is dead, don’t say it’s dead!

Take print marketing, for example.

When I say print, I’m talking about newspapers and magazines. People have been reading the industry’s eulogy for years.

While many publications have closed their doors, there are still thousands of profitable print publications on both the national and local levels, and many more advertisers who are using print successfully to market their businesses.

Could you make an argument that print is dying based on the number of magazines and newspapers that are no longer publishing? I guess so.

But print isn’t dead.

Maybe you prefer reading and marketing online. Maybe you don’t understand how best to use print. Maybe print isn’t right for your business. Maybe you’re selling against a print publication while trying to get someone to use your marketing platform.

When you make a blanket statement like “print is dead” based on personal preference or lack of understanding, you and your content can be perceived as self-serving or even ignorant.

And you’ll probably let down a lot of your readers.

Instead of saying something is dead when it’s really not…

Tell me how something is changing or evolving. Educate me. Tell me where you think it’s headed.

If we disagree, make me think differently or at least force me to recognize a different but valid point of view.

By all means, rattle my cage, but do it with a thought-provoking point of view, not an obviously bogus claim.

Just stop making false statements, write an accurate headline, and make sure your content delivers on that headline’s promise.

Unless you enjoy annoying people, letting people down, or just making yourself look silly.