It’s the coming of the age of content marketing

Content Marketing Books

Time you hired that writer

Inbound Marketing Journalist Quote

But do people read on the web?

Jakob Nielsen - Since Users Don't Read

Jakob Nielsen’s claim is quite an old one, and Coleen Jones has made a counter argument that the study isn’t completely valid.

Whether you completely believe Nielsen or not, the claim certainly struck a chord with me, I rarely read web pages. Do we really have time?

I’ve been writing on the web for a while

James Carson at a Laptop

And I’m not so sure people read either

James Carson Confused

Often people react to headlines, but don’t digest and write comments

Mail Online Reader Comment

I think about 50% of my responses to comments usually involve something along the lines of: “Read the article, that’ll answer your comment.” Thanks to Buzzfeed – 21 Weirdly Angry Mail Online Commenters for the above. 

Or they don’t read very much at all

Google Analytics Average Time on Page

Ask yourself: when was the last time you read a blog to the end?

That's All Folks

Or an online newspaper article?

Newspaper Logos

Be honest…

Pinocchio

So do you really need that writer?

William Shakespeare

There’s a reason that these sites have become so popular

Buzzfeed and Oatmeal Logos

Because they’re quick to digest and you don’t have to read much

Digestive Biscuits

And they’re funny of course…

LOLcano

Not all of your content has to be funny, but will your audience read all of your writing?

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Are there better ways to reach them?

Snapseed, Instagram and Vine icons

There are an increasing array of great applications that can be used to create content. I highly recommend Snapseed for photography (yes, it’s better than Instagram), I also like sketching on an iPad with Sketchbook Pro, and there are enough others to justify several separate articles.

Check out the two below for more inspiration:

It’s easy to find a writer on the web

Copywriters on Google

Much harder to find a story teller who can move across media

The Monomyth

They’ll be worth their weight in…

Gold!!

So you won’t have so much…

TL DR

The web is becoming more visual

Pinterest

Time to think about that

The Thinker