What is Great Content? Defining this ubiquitous term

If you are a blogger you'll hear or read the term 'great content' thrown around all over the place. They say, "If you want to have a great blog, simply write great content", or "If you want to make a ton of money with your blog, write great content", or "If you want to get tons of traffic write great content".

Well, what is great content? This posts aims to answer that question. Let's think about what makes a post great:

Great content is...

• worth linking to
• unique
• well written

Worth linking to

You've most likely come across a post on someone else's blog that made you want to link to it. This is one, if not the goal, of great content. You want people to link to your blog because that will in turn generate more traffic, increase various rankings, etc. So you'll need to write content that is worth linking to. How do you do that? Well, you have examples in all of the posts you have been linking to. Are you're posts up to snuff with those? Would you link to your own posts? If the answer is no (and be really honest and critical) then chances are you are going to have to write better. Use the posts that you are reading on a daily basis to act as a mentor for your writing. Over time and with practice you'll develop a keen sense for what is a good post and what is not.

Unique

Now you don't have to pull an idea out of the ether that no one has ever written about before, and if you can, then you don't need to read this. However, if you are like the rest of us, then coming up with unique content is the day in and day out task that makes blogging challenging. What you do need to do is write about your topic in a unique way. Some writers call this ‘voice', and it basically is how you come across to your readers. Do you always echo what others say on your blog, or do you give your unique stance or opinion when you write? People are coming to your blog because they want to know what you think, not what Joe Blogger thinks.

Well written

While you don't have to be an English major to write a blog, your posts do need to be well written. Nothing is more frustrating than wading though someone else's half assed attempt (or non-attempt) at proof reading. You need to proof your posts for spelling accuracy, grammer, and to make sure your links are working. I know that there are lots of famous blogs out there that are horribly written, but until you are famous, you should probably invest some time in writing quality posts.

A note about quality

When posting, always shoot for quality over quantity. You'll need to decide for yourself and for your blog exactly what that means, but in general, all of your posts should be of above average to great quality (judge your quality against the top blogs in your niche, or against the blogs you read in your niche). Don't let that urge to post something crappy simply because you are behind in your blogging schedule get to you. Remember that what you let go out the door reflects on your blog greatly and your readers will thank you with linkbacks if they always read quality “great content”.