---
title: "The ABCs of Thought Leadership: Is Your Thought Leadership Content Making the Grade?"
description: Good thought leadership provides value to the reader. How do you create high-value thought leadership? We have some ideas. Twenty-six of them, actually.
image: https://www.ideagrove.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Is%20your%20thought%20leadership%20content%20making%20the%20grade%3F.jpg?width=1631&quality=low
---

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# The ABCs of Thought Leadership: Is Your Thought Leadership Content Making the Grade?

![](https://www.ideagrove.com/hubfs/Employee%20Photos/Headshots/Jarrett-Rush.jpg)

[Jarrett Rush](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/author/jarrett-rush)

**Published:** April 7, 2021       **Updated:** September 1, 2022

![](https://www.ideagrove.com/hubfs/Idea_Grove_2023/Images/Blog/hour.svg) 1 min read

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![Is your thought leadership content making the grade?](https://www.ideagrove.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Is%20your%20thought%20leadership%20content%20making%20the%20grade%3F.jpg?width=1631&quality=low)

There was a [report about thought leadership](https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2019-11/US%202020%20Edelman-LinkedIn%20Thought%20Leadership%20Study.pdf) that came out last year. It provided a lot of interesting data, but there is one number that’s been stuck in my head since I read it.

Only 17 percent of decision-makers who read thought leadership consider it to be very good.

That’s it. Less than a quarter think what they are reading is of high quality. I spend a lot of time consuming [thought leadership](https://www.ideagrove.com/services/content-marketing). It’s part of the job, and I think I know why so much of it is considered poor. It’s because what people are trying to pass off as thought leadership isn’t really that at all. Most of it is poorly disguised product collateral, and readers are savvy enough to see the difference.

How do you create thought leadership that provides value to those reading it? We have some ideas. Twenty-six of them, actually.

Our ABCs of Thought Leadership will help you take a closer look at the thought leadership you’re creating (or the thought leadership you want to create) and determine if it actually lives up to the label.

You can either read it embedded below or click on it and read it a little larger in a new window. Either way, we think you’ll find it helpful.

[View Full Screen](https://www.ideagrove.com/the-abcs-of-thought-leadership-for-content-marketing)

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[![](https://www.ideagrove.com/hs-fs/hubfs/bored%20guy.jpg?width=352&name=bored%20guy.jpg) ](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/why-brain-dead-thought-leadership-is-worse-than-no-thought-leadership-at-all)

[Thought Leadership](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/topic/thought-leadership)

![](https://www.ideagrove.com/hubfs/Idea_Grove_2023/Images/General/hourglass.svg) 3 min read

##### [Why Brain-Dead Thought Leadership Is Worse Than No Thought Leadership at All](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/why-brain-dead-thought-leadership-is-worse-than-no-thought-leadership-at-all)

There's a question that newspaper editorial writers often ask each other during the...

[Read more **](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/why-brain-dead-thought-leadership-is-worse-than-no-thought-leadership-at-all)

[![](https://www.ideagrove.com/hs-fs/hubfs/pr%20editing.jpg?width=352&name=pr%20editing.jpg) ](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/bloated-language-can-sink-your-thought-leadership-content-heres-how-to-tighten-it)

[Thought Leadership](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/topic/thought-leadership)

![](https://www.ideagrove.com/hubfs/Idea_Grove_2023/Images/General/hourglass.svg) 5 min read

##### [Stop Using Business Jargon as a Fig Leaf for Your Thought Leadership Content](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/bloated-language-can-sink-your-thought-leadership-content-heres-how-to-tighten-it)

Few things drive me crazier than the jargon-loaded, meaningless, bloated language I see...

[Read more **](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/bloated-language-can-sink-your-thought-leadership-content-heres-how-to-tighten-it)

[![karen-maes-310484.jpg](https://www.ideagrove.com/hs-fs/hubfs/karen-maes-310484.jpg?width=352&name=karen-maes-310484.jpg) ](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/7-ways-generate-thought-leadership)

[Thought Leadership](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/topic/thought-leadership)

![](https://www.ideagrove.com/hubfs/Idea_Grove_2023/Images/General/hourglass.svg) 4 min read

##### [7 Ways to Generate Thought Leadership Your Industry Cares About](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/7-ways-generate-thought-leadership)

Here at Idea Grove we talk a lot about how our clients [use thought leadership](https://www.ideagrove.com/approach/thought-leadership) to drive...

[Read more **](https://www.ideagrove.com/blog/7-ways-generate-thought-leadership)

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