What Makes Good Content

Here are my basics. I will switch on my creative writing hat. ;)

Good content is like music, it resonates with the audience. It makes them feel.

Good content is not the ingredients of a recipe, it is the final presentation of a five star meal prepared for a special and unique guest.

Good content is written for the individual, not the crowd.

Good content shares passion. It communicates desire. It creates inspiration. It moves people to take action.

Good content defines mastery of language. Simple words define brilliant thoughts.

Good content does not accept definition by the reader, it has a definition to itself.

Good content translates a thought into words that create understanding.

and my comical answer...

Good content is SEO friendly ;)

I worked on a few bits and bobs where the company gave me an exact template to follow, so that I could write, "good content". My good content then ended up in a magazine where every other article looked exactly the same and followed the same pattern.

Only when I created content that included my style did the results and readership improve...but I had to battle to break out.

So, I'd not prescribe a formula, a system, or any key words or phrases. Know your audience, know your self, mix and match as appropriate

I love discussing what makes good content. To me, to start with, it has to be:

fresh valuable relevant

But Stephen hit on something else when he referred to templates that made his article look "like every other article." I agree with Stephen that you need to show up, I mean the real you. I think that the best columnists and TV commentators show us their authentic selves, quirks and all.

Beyond that, probably the most important thing about content, at least for me, is that people don't need more information. They are up to their ears in information. Good content is not just information that makes your customer or prospect more intelligent. It contains advice, yes, even opinion—your take on a topic. The best bloggers (Brian Clark at Copyblogger, James and Harry over at Men with Pens) do this very well. When I read their stuff, I not only learn a lot, but I feel like I'm sitting down with a good friend.

And lastly, I think that good content communicates with your prospects and customers without selling.

Thanks for the question, Susan. I'm looking forward to hearing other perspectives.

And yes, as usual, Barry is eloquent and I especially like his remark that good content is like music. It makes the reader FEEL.