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Where Have All the Writers Gone?

Back in the old print days, writers were highly trained and plentiful. They covered everything from big news, to entertainment, sports and local events. With the glorious entrance of the internet, and birth of the blog, it became more and more difficult to distinguish who was a 'real' writer, and who just wanted to be heard. With these blurring lines and the decline of print advertising, mass content found a new home.

Although there is a great deal of content out there, many companies have been neglecting their need for the basics. Explanatory sentences, introductory paragraphs and additional content pages have been lacking. On many sites, the absence of content makes it harder for clients to connect to the company, because they need to go to sites like Wikipedia for additional information. A bulleted list of services and solo headlines are not going to cut it anymore.

For example, assume I want to get my teeth whitened, and visited the website of a dentist who specialized in a new and quicker laser technology. All that is listed on his website is the name of the laser. I want to know how long it takes, whether there is tooth sensitivity, how long it lasts and how much it costs. I don't want to have to sift through the haystack to find out basic information this website should have. It is all about being customer-driven.

As an online culture seeded in 'knowing,' we appreciate a journalistic approach to web content. We want to know the who, what, where, why, how; and we would like it in a succinct grouping of words that are clear and understandable. We want organized, short paragraphs with proper spacing. We like reading blogs if they are well-written, and give us interesting take-aways.

What your company writes online could make a huge difference in the overall traffic to your website. Journalists may have been written off by the perpetually declining newspaper industry, but can be particularly useful in the vast sea of 'wannabe' bloggers.

The 'Chinese Wall' separating the desire to inform and the desire to persuade is crumbling more rapidly online than in print. This puts every company in the position to take hold of it and develop content, or let the opportunity slip through their fingers. This form of strategic advertising encompasses more than just viral e-mails and targeted placement. We are entering an age of advertorials, stealth user reviews, SEO copywriting and better online content.

This logical progression makes it even more important for your company to have more than just half-ass, thrown together blog posts, press releases and content pages. Your written content is part of your image, and even more online, part of your reputation. Spelling errors and ill-worded run on sentences will be judged along with the services you offer. We as users look for competency, and your content will tell us a great deal.

Blind Acre has seen the benefit of being able to provide our clients with quality content. If you are not a writer at heart, you can always hire us...or one of the thousands of laid-off journalists serving tables right now. Don't neglect your website.

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Where Have All the Writers Gone?

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