What is Good Content vs Spam?

[nightcats]

I've just listened to Ed's video today -- and I am completly confused about what is good content vs. spam. I have earned a living as a professional writer since 1997 and this is truly a first for me. My blogs were both original content written by myself. They contained approximately 500 words each. I had one small link to the affiliate site at the bottom of the article. There were no pictures or images, so perhaps that was a weakness.

I have similar blogs at Blogger and lenses at Squidoo. None of them have e ever been deactivated.

So please Cara or Ed or someone -- make it clear to us what is considered spam and what is good content. I for one am completely bewildered.

[justaleaf]

@nightcats

DO NOT take the Tumblr nuke personally. Our blogs where removed "guilty by association" it's not anyone's fault, fully.

As for good content, did you deliver what the person searched for?

If they typed "how to make sausages" and you responded by telling them: "Making sausages is a lot of fun and and you really ought to consider making some! In fact, I just happen to know of this great book you can buy...", then I would call that dodgy content, at best.

BUT

If you responded by giving them a well-liked recipe and some tips on technique, and THEN recommended a book, in passing, that you liked... now you are providing content.

There's nothing wrong with making a plug when you've given someone what they were looking for, just always make sure it is in good taste and in their best interest.

But again, please don't sweat the Tumblr thing. Tumblr was a good service, but there are so many others to choose from, many of which are eager for good content.

-Garrett

[Caro]

Originally Posted by nightcats

I've just listened to Ed's video today -- and I am completly confused about what is good content vs. spam. I have earned a living as a professional writer since 1997 and this is truly a first for me. My blogs were both original content written by myself. They contained approximately 500 words each. I had one small link to the affiliate site at the bottom of the article. There were no pictures or images, so perhaps that was a weakness.

I have similar blogs at Blogger and lenses at Squidoo. None of them have e ever been deactivated.

So please Cara or Ed or someone -- make it clear to us what is considered spam and what is good content. I for one am completely bewildered.

Hi June,

Can I turn this around - not just to you - this is for other people reading this too...

What do you think - with all that you have been taught makes good content?

What do you think are the essential ingredients in content to make it 'quality content'?

If you think - well I don't know, that's why I am asking.

I then ask - if you had to take a stab at it - what is your response?

Why I am approaching it this way, is that we can tell, teach, inform - but the main thing is how YOU INTERPRET IT.

And by you offering your thoughts as someone on the receiving end, may also assist other's to have confidence in their own powers of discernment too

Many thanks in advance for 'playing' with me on this one

Caro

[nightcats]

Cara asks me to take a stab at defining qualiy content. I thought my blogs contained quality content, as a matter of fact.

However, here is what I think it means:

Good content is the same topic as the title. When people click through they get what they thought they would get.

Good content is original and not copied or plagairized.

Good content provides valuable information. Not necessarily brand new information because there is nothng new under the sun, as the saying goes, but valuable information pertaining to the topic. Can you guarantee its new to the reader? No. You have no idea what the reader already knows about the topic.

Good content is well written without glariing grammatical and spelling errors.

Good content is accurate, to the best of your knowledge.

Good content is not a thinly veiled sales page, nor is it full of hype.

I've run out of thoughts. Would anyone else care to add to this?

[Caro]

Please - everyone - add your thoughts

This is great June Thank you for your contribution!

And something I'd add. Think about if you were using Tumblr - or even a Blogger blog.

If as a user you saw one 200 word post and that was it - would that be a quality experience? I'd suggest no.

Whereas if you saw on your screen something that was either one 500-750 word article, OR a series of posts/articles making up say 500, 750 even 1000 words - that would be more of a quality experience.

As well as WHAT was in those posts/articles.

So whilst you don't have to write a novel - think if you were looking at a screen - if there was only 1 small piece and nothing else...seems empty (rushed even).

So think abundance - which is different to pages, and pages and pages. I use a gauge myself of 1-1/2 A4 size of content (unless it is a vehicle that specifies number of words - and then I make sure it's served on a silver platter)


So please...let's hear YOUR thoughts 30DCers

What is YOUR definition of Quality Content?

Caro

[NextInstinct]

As Ed has alluded to in his own words,
my personal measure has always been this;

Is the reader significantly better off for having read my statement?

-Ed

[doublehead]

Originally Posted by NextInstinct

As Ed has alluded to in his own words,
my personal measure has always been this;

Is the reader significantly better off for having read my statement?

-Ed

Good content doesn't always have to impart beams of wisdom. It can simply be, as Caro suggests, giving the person clicking on your site what they're looking for.

Look at your key phrase and ask yourself, "what would I expect to see on a site about this?" That's what you put on it! With maybe a little spicing up if you can just to make them say "hmmm, that's cool!"

[cindyks]

I think good content to me is reading information about my subject of interest from a place with "real" information. If the site has links, I want those links to go to places that give me answers. If a site has answers, I want them to be real answers.

When I'm looking for something on the Internet, I don't care if it's original material or a collection of gathered information as long as it answers my questions.

If you look at some of the "best answers" chosen by the readers on Yahoo Answers, they are the ones with a genuine *answer* to the question and not a run-of-the-tongue response or tease with a link to a sales page. They are chosen as best because of their content and ability to resolve the question.

Good information gathered in one location that keeps me from having to look in dozens of places is valuable content to me also.

Cindy

[eccles]

I think the big problem is is incredibly difficult to judge your own content. As suggested in other posts in the forum, always get other people to look at what you have written and be prepared to accept knock backs.

I agree with all the posts about what good content should be, but when you write something your judgement is coloured. What you think is good could be rubbish to other people.

One other way I deal with it is after I have written something, don't immediately post it. Do something else and come back to it later with a fresh mind. Does it still look good? If you think it does, then you probably still need to come back to it later and check it again. This is the method I used when I had to write dissertations for uni and from the results I received it worked. The weird thing is that if I dig out any of my uni folders now and look at what I have written I can't believe I wrote it.

[ArnieJ]

This is always going to be a subjective decision on the readers part.

There are no strict parameters that we can focus on, no rubric to follow with bullet points guiding us in our writing.

If I make posts in my blog that are of a personal nature, that tell a story, or share a funny anecdote that is somehow related to the topic, I don't think that would be considered spam by anyone other than Marcos over at Tumblr.