Define ‘Good’

More than any piece of advice found in this book, the suggestion to write good content is the toughest to absorb. In the previous sections we encountered a brief introduction to what I perceive as good content, now let me elaborate. I believe that a piece of content falls on a spectrum that begins at good and ends at guile.

At the far end we have click-bait headlines and derivative material, plagiarized from a dozen credible sources, so thinly diluted that it borders on meaninglessness. Guile lacks novel ideas, thoughts, and serves the purpose of one: the publisher. Guile is easy to forget, but if retained, leaves a bad impression on the reader. Good content does the opposite.

Good content provides value, delivers on the promise of its headline, and does so by placing the focus on the reader. Whereas guile serves our needs, good content serves the reader’s needs, the customer’s needs. The majority of content produced by respectable brands falls somewhere in the middle; this happens for two reasons.

First, readers have grown accustomed to click-bait and to see it for what it truly is: valueless drivel. Quality brands are smart to avoid publishing click-bait garbage—but do they produce good content? Brands lean to content that delivers information in a way that reinforces their value proposition but diminishes criticism. This middle-spectrum is what we’ll call safe content.

Fear motivates brands to write safe content. Imagine our manager tasks us with writing an article about the state of our industry. We begin to research the topic; we study the competition, the up and comers, the trends, and our own company’s tactics. Unfortunately, the outlook is bleak.

Industry analysts believe our organization is moving too slowly meanwhile new players gain ground and steal previously-held contracts. As the industry grows, the role of our organization diminishes. In the face of this evidence, what do we write about? If we feel fear, we might write guile.

Fear of appearing weak motivates us to downplay the bad news, spin it as a positive, or exclude it altogether. Fear of bolstering our competition motivates us to ignore their gains. Fear of backlash within our company motivates us to write a ‘positive take’ that disregards purely negative indicators.

If we give into these fears, we will publish a listless blog post that redacts vital information, assumes our company lacks competition, and continues to pitch our solution with a desperate and heavy hand. The result is a forgettable compilation of words that fails to galvanize interest. It succeeds at one thing: abating our fears.

The content inspired by fear serves the purpose of only one person. After publishing it, the author feels safe, feels she wrote a great piece for her company, feels she positioned her brand carefully to avoid the invitation of scrutiny. She is the only one left feeling satisfied; satisfied not by what she wrote, but by what she omitted.

Okay we get it, let’s quit bludgeoning ourselves over the head with the point. But the question remains, what do we write? Good content is synonymous with good writing: it entertains and it educates. Good content also satisfies an audience of one, but the satisfaction comes from a place of pride, not fear. The author should be proud of what they present, proud to avoid self-embellishment, and proud to provide a value to readers.

This pride does not have to come at the cost of our business goals, it merely treats those goals as secondary. Our primary content goal should be to help the reader—that’s it. If we communicate something purely helpful, we achieve our goal. Even when we discuss the myriad benefits of our product, approaching the topic from a place of helpfulness is our main priority. Let’s look at some examples.

Of the three sets below, which statements represent a helpful, reader-focused approach?

Statement A

“We have the best tire selection in town!”

Statement B

“If you love options, stop by our showroom—over 80 tire brands on display”

In the first set, it is clear that statement A is a brag, and unless it was produced by the only tire shop in town, it’s also subject to debate. Like every Tommy’s burger joint that claims to be The Original Tommy’s, this business uses an unsubstantiated superlative to lure customers.

Statement B makes no such claims and uses a fact to identify with the reader’s desire for variety. This second business believes in offering a great selection, and they’ve communicated that to the customer while maintaining objectivity.

Statement A

“Fine diners with rich, discerning palates are welcome at Ariana’s.”

Statement B

“Ariana’s chef graduated at the top of her class from the world’s premiere culinary school: L’école Du Chat Fantaisie³.”

In the second set, statement A takes the perspective of the diner, the diner that cares for a fancy experience. After reading the statement, someone may identify themselves with Ariana’s values and discover a new favorite restaurant. Statement B achieves a similar goal, but places Ariana’s needs before the customer’s.

Statement A

“Have a question, comment, complaint, or something you want to share? Leave us a message anytime at help@ourbusiness.com.”

Statement B

“Customer service is important to us, we do our best to satisfy each and every comment, complaint, and request.”

The last set is trickiest; the two statements resemble each other more closely than those of previous sets. But we’re getting the hang of this by now, so we’ve identified statement A as the reader-focused statement. While the goal of statement B is respectable, the customer goes unmentioned. The focus of statement B remains the organization and on how well it responds to customer service rather than the importance of the customer and the service requested.

If we’re still a little confused as to what is meant by good content, we needn’t fret. Throughout the course of this book we will continue to see examples of good content that helps the reader, avoids embellishment, provides value, and as a result, drives continued reader engagement, brand trust, and conversions.