Is That A Fly In My Soup?

Or Maybe The Fly Is In The Ointment?

There's nothing like a good cliche to get started on a blog post, right?

Then again, I run the risk of turning half of you off by using one.

I'll take that chance. It's an old trick, but it just might work!

No, this isn't going to be a post full of dumb overused phrases. I don't think it will be, anyway.

I recently wrote a post here at WA about writing great headlines, and what should follow a great headline is great content.

It's a post about great content.

If you're like me, you're still chasing the "great content" finish line. There are those among us who consistently write great content in their posts. Me, I tend to get a little "informational" in my writing.

My main niche is the MMO niche, and I have a boot camp site promoting WA, just like a lot of you out there.

Vegas, Baby!

The MMO niche is so crowded, that some very successful affiliate marketers advise to avoid it and try some other niche, but the lure of someday making super affiliate status and getting invited to Vegas is too strong for me, so I hang in there.

I have no doubt that I'll get there someday. Maybe this year is the year!

What Constitutes Great Content?

Wow! "Constitutes" is a big word, and I seriously considered not using it, but I couldn't think of one that worked better. "What Makes Up Great Content" isn't bad, but it doesn't sound quite as good to me.

Maybe I should have put "What Is Great Content Made Of?"

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Great content.

I think great content is content that fits what the reader is looking for, and helps him or her solve whatever problem brought him or her to my blog in the first place.

It's also content that engages the reader and makes him (I'm going to stop writing "him or her" because it's too tedious and with so many genders around now...) want to read more and keeps him on my post rather than bouncing off in some other direction.

It's content that makes the reader want to find more of my posts and read them too.

And, it's content that makes the reader feel trust for the blogger.

There are probably a lot more characteristics of great content. Maybe you can list some for me with a comment on this post,

For Some Of Us, Writing Great Content Is Easier Than It Is For Others.

Whatever the reason, some of us struggle to write great posts for our blogs. Probably most of us fall into that category at some time or other.

It can get frustrating, even intimidating. It can make us want to commit the ultimate no-no, which is to give up.

We should never give up. Everybody says that even though there are those that do.

Here's a secret - the more content you write, the better you get at it. Keep doing it, and your content will eventually become great. You can become great at just about anything.

There are some good tools to help you, at least until you start to get better at writing. One of those tools is Grammarly.

It's an electronic proofreader, as you probably already know, and it's free, which you probably already know too.

If you have trouble spelling or are weak on grammar, you have free help available.

It won't fix bad content, though. Here's a screenshot of a comment from an article about Grammarly that I read recently, and for context, Stephen is commenting about Grammarly.

Pay attention to the second paragraph:

"Good writing is hard-earned." What a true statement!

"Practice makes perfect," is another cliche that applies here.

So, if the fly in your soup, or ointment, or whatever, is a weakness in creating great content, don't give up, or feel bad, or get frustrated. Life is too short for that.

Just get to work and improve yourself.

Your posts will improve. You can get the fly out. I know you can, and I know I can.

Am I right?

I'm Grant.