As a professional writer, I think a lot about how the internet has affected writing. Not so much language-wise, but process-wise. I saw a great article the other day with tips on how to write a blog post in an hour. It got me thinking, why are we always in such a hurry? Shouldn’t we be worried about writing something meaningful, or artful, or even just good?
I think a lot of this has to do with content marketing. Companies know that they can’t just sell their products. They need to provide value for users and they do that by creating content. But since the content isn’t their main objective, it’s not going to be as thought out as if it were. And so we get one million “how to plant tomatoes” articles, all of which discuss the theories and philisophical aspects of tomato planting, without any step-by-step, actionable advice.
The truth is, the internet is focused on quantity. People want new information, the latest news, the most recent updates. If you don’t update your site multiple times a week, you’re probably losing out on the chance of recurring traffic. And since you always need to have something new, it means you can’t spend vast amounts of time on any individual piece.
So how do you balance time and quality? Do you strive to get blog posts, articles, or stories done in a certain amount of time? Maybe have a word count goal? Share your strategies in the comments.