Quality is half of your score. If you score yourself generously, every number Maria shows you gets a little more wrong. Here's how the scale works, and how to keep it honest.
The scale
| Score | What it means |
|---|---|
| Below 0 | The post cost you trust. It can lose followers, whatever the likes say. |
| 1 to 4 | Rough. Fine to ship, but it won't travel far. |
| 5 | A solid post. The everyday standard. |
| 6 to 8 | Better than your usual. Saved, shared, remembered. |
| 9 and 10 | The posts you're known for. Rare by design. |
Higher quality reaches more people and turns more of them into followers and leads. It also takes longer to make.
When good enough is the smart choice
A 6 that ships this week beats an 8 that never does. Polish the posts that carry the most weight, like a case study or a long video. Let the quick opinion or the poll go out at a 5. Never ship below zero to hit a number.
Score the post, not the effort
A post that took four hours can be a 3. A post written in ten minutes after a client call can be an 8. Score what the reader gets.
Anchor to your own best
Pick your best post so far and call it your current 8. Score everything else against it. As you get better, your old 8s become 6s. That's the point.
Use the questions
- Would someone save this? That's at least a 6.
- Would someone send it to a colleague? That's at least a 7.
- Would someone remember it next month? That's an 8 or more.
- Did it make someone trust you less? That's below zero, whatever the likes say.
Score when you log, not after results
Score when you publish, before you see the numbers. If a post you scored 4 brings two leads, don't change the score. Look at why. Maybe your audience values a different kind of quality than you do. As Gary Vaynerchuk and Caleb Ralston both say, the audience decides what quality means.
Keep 9 and 10 rare
If one in ten posts is a 9, your scale has drifted. A 10 is the post you're known for. Most people have a handful in a career.