Everybody says that you should have good quality content on your blog, but there is a lot of ambiguity regarding what exactly quality content is.
The main purpose of it is to make your visitors spend some time on your blog, enjoy it and come back again to check for updates.
There is no recipe for producing it, but there are some factors that you must keep in mind when writing.
Helpful content Probably one of the most (if not the absolute most) important factor to determine if a blog content is valuable or not, is by judging how helpful it is to the targeted audience.
Unfortunately there is no exact way of determining that and therefore, many tend to be very subjective about this issue.
I think that every blogger out there should try to put himself in his reader's shoes and be as objective as possible when analyzing how helpful an article is.
If you find the inner strength not to post an article that you have just written because you think it is not good enough, you are on the right way (I know it may sound strange...
).
From time to time, take a step back and have a look at other more successful blogs in your niche.
Compare their content to what you have written until that point, and again, try to judge from a 3d person perspective and see if their content seems more helpful than yours.
Ask yourself: -what kind of information they are providing and you aren't? -do they write longer articles than you? -up to what extent do they go when analyzing certain things? -do they use a familiar or academic approach in their articles? -do their articles target your affective or rational side? -are their writing skills still better than yours?...
and why? Although there is also the chance that the content itself is not the reason why your blog is not as popular as theirs, but there is always room for improvement.
However, don't fall into the trap of searching for "the philosopher's stone" for this and neglect some other aspects (promotion, design, accessibility, etc.
Last but not least, probably the only instrument that will give you some idea regarding this issue is your audience's behavior.
If the percentage of returning visitors is high and you receive lots of comments, than you are probably on the right way.
Original Content Try not to use free articles from article directories.
If you start a blog thinking that you will add content to it this way, it is better not start it at all.
In some cases it might work but those cases are very rare.
The explanation for this is very simple: 1) It does not work because it is basically impossible to build a loyal community of readers 2) It is practically impossible to rank higher in search engines than the authors's website or the article directory.
Do you know any successful blogs that "suck their juice" from free articles directories? I personally don't.
Are you among the first to blog about an issue? If you can be the first, or among the first to blog about something it would be perfect.
However, it is rarely possible nowadays for an average blogger that does not have the resources of a press agency to do it.
Furthermore, subjects of general interest have been highly debated over time...
so is there something left for you? Sure it is...
just don't try to copy what others have said before.
Instead, share your visions or opinions regarding those issues.
Try to see if others have missed something on those and add your contribution.
If you don't agree with something that has been said, don't be afraid to say it but always make sure that you have some strong arguments to back you up.
You could even turn out to do some linkbaiting with this approach.
Timeless content If your blog is focused on providing "breaking news" you can skip this part.
If not, try to write your articles in a manner that will be interesting to people for a longer period of time.
If you are able to do this you will not only enjoy seeing new visitors coming to your blog because of "old" content, but you will also benefit from it in terms of website monetization (building timeless content is by definition a source of passive income).
The marketing hook Accentuate the interesting and try to do it in a controversial way.
An article without a marketing hook will be more similar to a school essay.
The best example that comes to my mind now is a quite recent post written Cornwallseo.
The post title was "How to get Darren Rose to read your blog".
Not only he got Darren to read his blog and post a comment, but he even managed to get a link from one of Darren's "speed linking" posts.
Even though the concept was in reality a little more general and not 100% original, the title and the way the author has put the pieces together resulted in a great marketing hook.
Step by step guide or general directions The internet is full of content that doesn't say much.
An article that provides precise indications has more chances to be successful than one that is only pointing out general directions.
People love step-by-step structured instructions on how they can achieve something, so if your niche permits it try to provide the information in this manner.
Make it easy to read -Phrase structure You may have already heard this several times before, but since it is an essential part of creating quality content I have to remind you again.
Don't use long and complicated phrases! This type of sentences are more difficult to be processed by the brain, and they can either become boring or even impossible to understand, so avoid them as much as you can.
Just be careful not to end up doing exactly the opposite, because that is not a good idea either.
One short sentence after another may end up in a very "rigid" article, without having any personal touch, which eventually will be boring and unpleasant to read.
-Use subtitles and paragraphs Most people quickly scan the text before reading it, so you have less than 10 seconds to get their attention.
Organize your text nicely with subtitles and paragraphs to make it appealing and easy to read.
Develop your unique style of writing This is probably the most difficult part, especially for people that are not native English speakers.
However, this is something that you should always keep in mind and strive to achieve.
If you look carefully to the some of the big boys like Darren Rose, Steve Pavlina, Yaro, John Chow, etc.
you will see that each and every one of them has developed a specific style in writing that their readers appreciate.
If you are a loyal reader of these blogs (like me) you will most probably recognize an article written by them even if you see it someplace else.
A unique style of "presenting your content" can actually make the difference (just like in any other writing-related profession) The emotional factor How do people actually feel after having read your articles? Do they say something like "this guy really knows what he is talking about!", "This was very helpful...
I will come back to check this again soon" or just "hmmm...
nice"? Depending on the niche of your blog, you may want to trigger some emotions into the reader's heart, that will make him come back.
If you haven't read the article about blogging language that I have written recently, you may want to check it out.
It contains some ideas and general directions on how to target the affective side of your visitors through specific language.
The main purpose of it is to make your visitors spend some time on your blog, enjoy it and come back again to check for updates.
There is no recipe for producing it, but there are some factors that you must keep in mind when writing.
Helpful content Probably one of the most (if not the absolute most) important factor to determine if a blog content is valuable or not, is by judging how helpful it is to the targeted audience.
Unfortunately there is no exact way of determining that and therefore, many tend to be very subjective about this issue.
I think that every blogger out there should try to put himself in his reader's shoes and be as objective as possible when analyzing how helpful an article is.
If you find the inner strength not to post an article that you have just written because you think it is not good enough, you are on the right way (I know it may sound strange...
).
From time to time, take a step back and have a look at other more successful blogs in your niche.
Compare their content to what you have written until that point, and again, try to judge from a 3d person perspective and see if their content seems more helpful than yours.
Ask yourself: -what kind of information they are providing and you aren't? -do they write longer articles than you? -up to what extent do they go when analyzing certain things? -do they use a familiar or academic approach in their articles? -do their articles target your affective or rational side? -are their writing skills still better than yours?...
and why? Although there is also the chance that the content itself is not the reason why your blog is not as popular as theirs, but there is always room for improvement.
However, don't fall into the trap of searching for "the philosopher's stone" for this and neglect some other aspects (promotion, design, accessibility, etc.
Last but not least, probably the only instrument that will give you some idea regarding this issue is your audience's behavior.
If the percentage of returning visitors is high and you receive lots of comments, than you are probably on the right way.
Original Content Try not to use free articles from article directories.
If you start a blog thinking that you will add content to it this way, it is better not start it at all.
In some cases it might work but those cases are very rare.
The explanation for this is very simple: 1) It does not work because it is basically impossible to build a loyal community of readers 2) It is practically impossible to rank higher in search engines than the authors's website or the article directory.
Do you know any successful blogs that "suck their juice" from free articles directories? I personally don't.
Are you among the first to blog about an issue? If you can be the first, or among the first to blog about something it would be perfect.
However, it is rarely possible nowadays for an average blogger that does not have the resources of a press agency to do it.
Furthermore, subjects of general interest have been highly debated over time...
so is there something left for you? Sure it is...
just don't try to copy what others have said before.
Instead, share your visions or opinions regarding those issues.
Try to see if others have missed something on those and add your contribution.
If you don't agree with something that has been said, don't be afraid to say it but always make sure that you have some strong arguments to back you up.
You could even turn out to do some linkbaiting with this approach.
Timeless content If your blog is focused on providing "breaking news" you can skip this part.
If not, try to write your articles in a manner that will be interesting to people for a longer period of time.
If you are able to do this you will not only enjoy seeing new visitors coming to your blog because of "old" content, but you will also benefit from it in terms of website monetization (building timeless content is by definition a source of passive income).
The marketing hook Accentuate the interesting and try to do it in a controversial way.
An article without a marketing hook will be more similar to a school essay.
The best example that comes to my mind now is a quite recent post written Cornwallseo.
The post title was "How to get Darren Rose to read your blog".
Not only he got Darren to read his blog and post a comment, but he even managed to get a link from one of Darren's "speed linking" posts.
Even though the concept was in reality a little more general and not 100% original, the title and the way the author has put the pieces together resulted in a great marketing hook.
Step by step guide or general directions The internet is full of content that doesn't say much.
An article that provides precise indications has more chances to be successful than one that is only pointing out general directions.
People love step-by-step structured instructions on how they can achieve something, so if your niche permits it try to provide the information in this manner.
Make it easy to read -Phrase structure You may have already heard this several times before, but since it is an essential part of creating quality content I have to remind you again.
Don't use long and complicated phrases! This type of sentences are more difficult to be processed by the brain, and they can either become boring or even impossible to understand, so avoid them as much as you can.
Just be careful not to end up doing exactly the opposite, because that is not a good idea either.
One short sentence after another may end up in a very "rigid" article, without having any personal touch, which eventually will be boring and unpleasant to read.
-Use subtitles and paragraphs Most people quickly scan the text before reading it, so you have less than 10 seconds to get their attention.
Organize your text nicely with subtitles and paragraphs to make it appealing and easy to read.
Develop your unique style of writing This is probably the most difficult part, especially for people that are not native English speakers.
However, this is something that you should always keep in mind and strive to achieve.
If you look carefully to the some of the big boys like Darren Rose, Steve Pavlina, Yaro, John Chow, etc.
you will see that each and every one of them has developed a specific style in writing that their readers appreciate.
If you are a loyal reader of these blogs (like me) you will most probably recognize an article written by them even if you see it someplace else.
A unique style of "presenting your content" can actually make the difference (just like in any other writing-related profession) The emotional factor How do people actually feel after having read your articles? Do they say something like "this guy really knows what he is talking about!", "This was very helpful...
I will come back to check this again soon" or just "hmmm...
nice"? Depending on the niche of your blog, you may want to trigger some emotions into the reader's heart, that will make him come back.
If you haven't read the article about blogging language that I have written recently, you may want to check it out.
It contains some ideas and general directions on how to target the affective side of your visitors through specific language.