Good Content vs Great Content

Good content will earn you a gratuitous head nod from your audience.

Maybe a ‘like’ or a comment.

Great content will earn you a loyal follower.

And you’ve experienced this yourself countless times. 

Consider YouTube. 

You’ve watched many videos from many creators and producers. However, not all of them earn your subscription. 

The same logic applies to social media. 

There are plenty of posts on your Instagram timeline that catch your attention, but only a few inspire you to visit the profile and give them a follow.

Let’s look at it from a content writer’s perspective.

If you deliver good content, your client will be satisfied with your work. On the other hand, great content will retain them for the long run. Similarly, good content will inform your audience and great content will motivate them to act.

In this chapter, I’ve shared a qualitative analysis of great content, drawing from my experiences as a professional content writer and amateur YouTuber.

Good Content Gets the Job Done

In a previous chapter of this book, I talked about the goal of a content writer, which is to continually nudge a prospect forward in their purchase journey. 

Good content will achieve it. Additionally, if you are looking to build a stable career in the content writing field, it will get you that too. In fact, there are many seasoned writers, with more experience than I do, who excel at producing good drafts consistently.

These content pieces will get you the desired marketing results as well. Higher ranking on the search results, traffic that converts, and more. On top of that, it will provide useful information to the reader while respecting the brand guidelines.

But there’s a problem.

How Readers React to Good Content

They skim through the draft and only read the important bits. A few lines of the introduction, the first paragraph of each section (if you’re lucky), the text around the images, and some portions of the conclusion.

When it comes to the emotional experience, there is none.

Good content rarely draws out a reaction from your readers. It is very likely that they are going through your blog post or article with a poker face. In some cases, it’s a chore, not an enjoyable reading experience.

Their primary concern is to spot the functional information from your content and go back to their busy (or whatever) lives. They seldom desire to sit down and give it a good read and immerse themselves into the sentences that you’ve written.

Consequently, as you may speculate, they don’t care who the author or brand is. The chances of them visiting your website or portfolio to check out what else you’ve got are next to zero. They won’t return, ever.

In simpler terms, you are forgettable.

Great Content Moves People

Great content pieces, regardless of the format, command your readers’ attention and keep it until the end. They keep the audience engaged throughout, make them feel a wide array of emotions, and inspire them to check out more of your content.

There are plenty of books, YouTube videos, and articles on the internet that left me with a memorable feeling. And those creators earned more of my time later on.

Another differentiating factor is the impact on the consumer. A dope blog post will push your reader to go out and do something. Or, at least, change their perspective about the central subject of the piece.

Overall, great content delivers an experience rather than just information in a palatable format.

So, how can you deliver such experiences to your audience?

Original Stories That Evoke Emotions

We’ve got an endless appetite for stories. I am pretty sure there is some psychological explanation for that. Maybe something about how it shifts the focus from the reader to a character that goes on a journey that evokes curiosity, but the reason doesn’t matter.

What matters is that emotions are a huge investment. And when readers make that investment, especially in the initial paragraphs of your article, they are more likely to see if it pays off.

That’s the all-elusive ‘hook’ that content marketing gurus emphasize.

Within that emotional experience, you can include your stats and facts to ensure your content is informative.

Start with a personal story, quip, sensational news, or an edgy opinion. That’ll get them going. 

Great content is critical to earn your readers’ trust so that they’ll open their wallets for your products or services. Good content can do that, but slowly. And in a world where attention spans are dwindling and the competition for those short moments is increasing, it’s imperative that you aim to produce great content in each attempt.

In the next chapter, I’ll speak about how you can make that offer or pitch to your audience.

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Next Chapter: If You Have to Pitch, You Failed

Previous Chapter: 5 Tips to Ensure Your Content Is Useful

Index (Prologue): What is Content Writing