Start Writing
We live in an age where content is king. With the aim to provide as much value as possible from the medium in which we choose to post. There is so much content and noise out there as it stands, we constantly scroll through endless reams of audio, video and images. To get someones attention for more than 5 seconds is special.
What you need to aim for now, is to keep their attention.
At the time of writing this, the social media platform with the most user engagement is Instagram, and it’s only increasing. Images are more prevalent now than they ever have been. The ease and accessibility to find visually engaging images makes Instagram the ‘go-to’ for big brands and also, independent artists. It’s a great time to be a designers, photographer, painter, or any pursuit which creates visual work, as engagement with images has never been higher. This trend is set to continue.
That’s great and all, but what happens after you get the ‘likes’/’favourites’ on your images? Most likely nothing.
This is because the number one app concerning engagement, does not cater very well to links, ie. Linking to work/portfolio/external sites is quite awkward and clunky. So what can you do to not only get noticed, but also start to build an audience?
You need to start writing.
When you write and publish your wiring to your website, you are embedding these words and optimising on appearing higher in search engines. People aren’t searching with images online, they are searching with words.
Words are going to rank higher in search engines. Specific words, buzzwords, niche words, these are what people search for and this is what triggers Google, Bing etc. But that’s not to say that if you write a blog post containing a list of buzzwords you will rank higher in search engines. You have to provide value. People who have the same problem are searching for a solution and some insight into solving the problem, and people will return if you constantly solve problems and provide this sort of value.
You don’t have to be a Pulitzer prize-winning author and writer in order to write. Don’t use your brain as storage, get your ideas out. Even if you don’t know what to write about, start anyway, the more you write, the more you discover what you want to say. The more you write about that topic, the more refined it becomes, your writing always evolves.
Writing is a way of establishing yourself as a professional and an expert. If someone scrolls through your social media feed and discovers some logos you designed and wishes to pursue what they liked to your website, only to find a few images on your site with no description, no insight, or no story to them, people will be disappointed. There is nothing else to engage with, nothing to keep their attention.
Always ask yourself;
– What’s going to keep someone engaged on my website?
– Have I got enough content to keep someone on my website for 1 hour?
– What’s going to get them there?
Writing establishes your personality, views, values, and your goals and aspirations. It’s your very own digital voice, without being a voice. If you create a great piece of work, music, painting, photography, baking, DIY. People are going to want to know how you create your work, they want to know your process, walk-through, inspirations, how-to’s, tools etc. They will want to know you.
If you can provide these in a valuable way that people want. This is how you build an audience.
Dont wait to find out what you want to write. Don’t be afraid to share what you think is useless information, or something you think is too niche. The more niche the better. If you have solved/discovered/made something but think it is too niche, someone, somewhere, is have having the same problem and is going to want to hear about it.
Do yourself and favour. Start writing.
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