Blogging: Quality Content Part Two

Posted: September 26, 2011 at 1:00 pm

I have given you some background now into my current approach to my own blogging habits and the content that appears here on FFF. Now comes the time for the more in depth discussion. I hope you will join me, because I believe this could provide some good “food for thought” for each of us in the blogosphere. Ready? I know I am!

In my post from this morning, I posed a few questions related to what determines “quality content” and how we approach the content we put into our blogs. I want to share my thoughts on each of those now, and feel free to give yours to me straight in the comments at the end.

What is “quality content”?

content-is-key source

I think quality content is anything that comes across with heart behind it. Posting just to post isn’t quality content. However, I think a wide variety of subjects fit the description of “quality content”. A lot of harping has happened on the things bloggers choose to share.

In my opinion, posting about your breakfast and a small thought you had that morning can still be quality content if there is care in the crafting of the post and joy sparked by the feeling of heart behind the post. Sure, some topics hold more weight and importance than others, but I don’t think posts need to reach a certain level of “importance” before being worthy to appear on a blog – especially in a lifecasting blog. I find a lot of quality when a blog encompasses all aspects of the writer and what he/she wishes to share.

Is there such a thing as too much content?

I don’t think so…as long as it still has that quality of not “posting just to post”. Every person comes to blogs for different reasons. Like I said, I don’t expect everyone to read every post that I write…but that shouldn’t limit how much I feel like sharing because a fear of judgment on “posting too much”.

I don’t base my blogging habits on the belief every person will be interested in every single thing I have to say. I choose to write about the parts of my life and thoughts that inspire me to write. I write in a manner that I enjoy writing. If enough things spark my interest and get my fingers typing, I will blog. And whether that means I am sharing some deep, personal reflection or what I had for lunch that day, so be it. If I write with purpose and passion, I believe the quality can exist – whether posting once a week or three times a day.

How do you define the line between posting for yourself and making an enjoyable reading experience for your blog friends/readers?

content community source

I want you all to experience FFF in a positive way. I hope for you to leave my space with an uplifting thought, a bit of reflection, a new idea, or even a simple smile. Different things bring those for different people.

Some people choose to read FFF for the workout ideas. Some people like the stories about day-to-day life. Some connect with the thoughts on body image and eating struggles. Some love to see pictures of the kids and hear about them. Some enjoy most everything. So, I will write about the many subjects I expressed in my earlier post. People who visit FFF can pick and choose what they wish to read and what they connect with most.

Sometimes that means deep thoughts, and sometimes that means the randomocity of my head. Remaining true to myself holds precedence in my blogging, but it also interests me to provide for you. I wish to give you a welcoming space with conversations via my posts for us to connect over. Remember – the connections matter most to me.

Final Thoughts

content is source

So, when all is said and done, I think quality content boils down to two things. Staying true to your own interests and writing style. Write about what interests you – what you have the time and drive to post about. Write it well. Don’t feel the need to limit yourself, but don’t pressure yourself to write solely for the sake of churning out a post either. Then, also know your audience and be open to feedback. Don’t change who you are, but be aware of the blog friends who support you with their reading, comments, and friendship.

  • How would you define quality content?

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32 Comments to “Blogging: Quality Content Part Two”
  1. Kiah says:

    “I don’t base my blogging habits on the belief every person will be interested in every single thing I have to say. I choose to write about the parts of my life and thoughts that inspire me to write.”
    I love this. As I read through the post, I found I didn’t have a clear stance on a lot of it…mostly, I think, because I’m still relatively new to blogging. What you said here pretty much sums up how and what I choose to blog. I feel like it’s an organic process that will eventually articulate itself. Thanks for sharing (as always), Tina!

  2. to me quality content can be summed up quite simply: “would i want to read it?” i always try to write blog posts that i think i (as an unbiased blog reader) would want to read.

  3. Love the 2 posts today. Content is something I’ve struggled with a bit in figuring out what is to be considered “quality.” I know I love reading everything from the more trivial confessions/random thoughts/quick blurb type posts to the deep, thought provoking ones. Interestingly enough, that entire spectrum is sometimes what I want to blog about which for me, can make it tough to pick a topic on a given day. I would love to have the time to post more than once so I could cover more of what I’m thinking but when it comes down to it, if I try to put it all in the 1 post a day I do have time for, it seems like I’m just throwing up thoughts in a totally uncohesive manner on the page. So, I try and pick one thing and roll with it.
    I agree with you that as long as there is heart behind it, quality can come in many different forms.

    • Tina says:

      That’s often how I felt when I was posting less frequently so I can relate. But you have to do what works for you and your current situation/schedule too of course. Regardless, though – love you and your blog Gina!

  4. Lisa Fine says:

    I love these blogging-based posts, Tina!

    Anything written with care and self-interest, which can definitely be detected by readers, shows quality. I can see in my own writing whether or not I write with passion, and it shows in others’ work too.

  5. Khushboo says:

    Quality content absolutely comes from the heart. Even if a blogger is talking a bowl of oats, the style of writing and passion behind it can really take the post to another level. Quality posts should have a reader leave the blog with a positive mindset and able to take something away from it.

  6. Maria says:

    I love your idea of each person reads a blog for various reasons. It boils down to that you can’t please every single one of your readers and that’s not the point: the point in blogging (at least for me) is some sort of self satisfaction. I blog to look back at my life during this time and see what my thoughts were and what I was doing. No one else may be interested in what I did on vacation, but I know future me will. 🙂

    As far as content goes, I always say if someone has a problem with it, then they can move along to another blog. Once I make a personal investment in a blogger (see them as a friend), I DO care about what they had for breakfast. I DO care and want to see pictures of how their day went.

  7. When I am writing a blog post, my first thought is “would I want to read this?” and if the answer is “no.” then I close my laptop, take a step back, and try to answer the question “why.” If it is because I think it is boring, then I may think of a way to jazz it up, or I may scrap the post altogether and write something else.

    I think quality content is written from the heart, not out of a “has to” mentality. You write from your heart, Tina, and it shows!

  8. Jess says:

    I like your approach Tina and tend to agree – for me, quality content means it comes entirely from the heart. I write with passion. If I don’t have anything in particular to say on a given day (I tend to blog m-fri), I don’t publish a post just “because.” Funny enough, even if I don’t have a post planned on a particular day, I often find inspiration in some shape or form during my workout or ride into work or whatever that strikes up a thought process that suddenly turns into a blog post. Funny how that happens, right? The best posts (from me) tend to be the unplanned, totally inspired by something I did/saw/read/experienced.

  9. You know, after I read your first post this morning I got to thinking about how pregnancy has made my blog so much better. I have the tag line “finding my passion” at the top of my blog and I think sharing my experience is something I’m truly passionate about. I post about baby-related things maybe 2 times per week and I feel they are the most real, the most loving, the most creative, and the most representative of me and my life!

    Great series Miss Tina!

    • Nining says:

      oh my word servo is gorgeous! Im so happy he found a home. I have ayalws wanted a Siberian Husky. If i could i would adopt all dogs from the shelter. Looking at him brings tears to my eyes.

  10. Quality content to me is genuinity in an author’s writing. If I sense an author is being genuine and passionate, I feel as though it is more quality. Great post!

  11. Missy says:

    Tina,
    One of the many things I admire about you is that you are one of the very few “thrice daily” bloggers who manage to come up with interesting and innovative content every single day. It amazes me.
    Many bloggers fall into a routine: This is what I ate for breakfast, this is what I ate for lunch…this is what my workout was…etc.
    with the occasional quip or sidenote.
    (And don’t get me wrong I enjoy them as well).

    But you?
    It’s like three awesome articles every day and you never know what you’re gonna get (besides knowing that it will be awesome Tinasauce content).

    Not many people can do that!

    • Tina says:

      Thanks, Missy! I really appreciate that. I just always have things swirling through my head. 🙂

    • Lien says:

      I comment each time I eselaiclpy enjoy a post on a site or if I have something to contribute to the discussion. Usually it’s a result of the sincerness communicated in the post I browsed. And after this article Profile |. I was actually excited enough to drop a comment I actually do have a couple of questions for you if it’s okay. Could it be just me or do some of the remarks appear like written by brain dead visitors? And, if you are posting at additional sites, I would like to follow anything fresh you have to post. Could you list every one of all your communal pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?

  12. Hilary says:

    Once again – thanks for sharing! Quality content is tricky to define, because it can look so vastly different depending on who you’re asking. I think it needs to be well-thought-out and helpful to someone, some where, in some way shape or form, and not just “out there for the sake of it.” That being, said, it can look SO DIFFERENT depending on who’s writing!

  13. I think you explained quality content so well Tina! I think quality content means posting about what you want to post about and connecting with people who relate. A boring post to one can be a fabulous post to another.
    “Those who mind do not matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”

  14. I think it’s 100% obvious when content is forced. It’s just not quality, like you said.
    I can totally tell when a post was simply published just to be published. Unfortunately, I’ve had a couple of those posts in the past, but anymore I’ll just miss a post. Like you said, there’s gotta be *some* heart behind it.

  15. I’ve stopped reading certain blogs that I feel were just posting to post and that’s not any fun. It can’t be fun for the blogger either, I would think.

  16. Like P.P. said, quality content = would I want to read it!
    P.S. I know I told you before, but I’ll be in ATL this weekend! Friday and Saturday. Staying downtown. Let’s meetup or run or something!! How far do you have to run this weekend?

    • Tina says:

      I have 11 miles for Saturday morning that I have to do early. I’m open Friday night or Saturday during the day though as far as I can remember. 🙂

  17. That diagram is great, I think that + your general approach to posting says it all! It should never have to be a certain # of times per day, because often times that leads to a lot of posts about “nothing”. But sticking to one thing doesn’t have to translate to “quality” either.

    For what it’s worth, I think you have a great attitude about this! You know that not every post will interest every reader, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t post about the topics that interest you!

    To me, posting quality content is posting what inspires or motivates the blogger, as well as using your influence (whatever it may be) as a blogger to educate on your ‘expertise’ or interests!

  18. Brittany says:

    Great post Tina thanks for the tips! You give great advice on your blog I always love reading it.
    I agree with Julie and Tiff. I think about what types of blogs I enjoy reading and would other people want to read mine.
    Everyone has a different approach and style to blogging but that is what also makes them all great reads.

  19. I made a promise to myself when I started bogging that I wouldn’t just post to post something. I fully believe that your readers can see through BS, so it is very important to me that people can see my heart shining through each post I write.
    Great Post!

  20. I’m with you on the “blogging with heart” from a quality perspective. I think it was the Pioneer Woman who once wrote that you should blog like you’re telling your sister a story… i.e., natural, heart-felt conversation. And on that same token, you probably wouldn’t talk to your sister about things you don’t care about.

  21. Ela says:

    Argh–wp ate my comment! I just wanted to thank you for sharing these posts–so inspiring. Averie got me really thinking about this with a post last week and I just blogged about it– http://ulteriorharmony.blogspot.com/2011/09/here-comes-trouble-knowing-your.html –if you’re interested and have a minute. But you are a huge inspiration too. You and she are light years ahead of me but I’m hoping to do better this way too.
    love
    Ela

  22. Karen says:

    Great post Tina! I think these are great tips for all bloggers to remember. I know when I first started blogging I thought I had to churn out posts every day (even multiple times per day) in order to get my blog out there and recognized. I quickly learned hat quality of the posts is far superior to the number of posts. Thanks for the tips on maintaining quality content!

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