Here’s a trimmed down shot of the header and content footer from Buffer’s blog.

This is what happens when content marketers start optimizing for individual successes instead of a single, cohesive goal.

The focus should be on the singular purpose of driving readers to sign up for the product. Instead they’re pushing for readership with a huge subscription pop-up. They’ve got an advertisement for the upcoming webinar. They’re telling me about the job openings. There are a ton of social action buttons (both for the post and for the author). I’m asked to download their app. But they also want me to sign up for free in seconds. Each one of these things is a small victory for the content marketer. But it often moves one needle at the cost of the overall change they’re trying to effect.

This style of content marketing really only works well for those with diagnosed cases of ADHD. For the rest of us, it’s overkill and turns me off from wanting to sign up for an account. If your content marketing is this schizophrenic, how complex and hard-to-use is your product going to be?

(Note: I am an active Buffer user and do actually like their product.)