What Makes for High Quality in Business Blogs?

Everyone seems to agree that providing high quality online content in the form of blogs matters. But just what makes for “high quality” when it comes to blogging for business?

“A good blog requires persistence and a high frequency,” says Marcus Taylor in socialmediatoday. “Those things aren’t created by tools,” he reminds us. “They’re created by you.  Your levels of energy, willpower, and determination are huge factors in the overall success of your blog.”

While Taylor promises “I won’t go all basketball coach on you,” he wants readers to bear in mind that “if you want to be a decent blogger, work on yourself, especially on learning effective copywriting skills.

Jay Sodemers of Forbes weighs in as well on the topic of quality. “High quality content is aesthetically attractive, easy to read, and suitable for scanning and skimming (which is how the majority of your website visitors will consume your content.”

Formatting is very, very important, Sodemers cautions. Optimal formatting, he explains, includes the appropriate use of:

• bolds and italics
• short, concise sentences and paragraphs
• bullet points and numbered lists
• appropriate use of white space
• headers and sub-headers to break up long chunks of text.And, Sodemer adds, “While it’s difficult for search engines to determine whether content provides value, it is, ultimately, the only thing that matters for human readers. Value can be derived in a number of different ways, but the most common include:
• Does this content solve a problem?
• Does it answer a question?
• Does it provide entertainment?
• Does it make people laugh?
• Does it provide unique, expert insight?As a corporate blogging trainer, what do I teach constitutes quality? All of the above, plus above-average commitment to the cause of getting the word out!.