Hi, it is Wynand….
…and apparently, I am doing online writing wrong.
According to some self-proclaimed gurus, I should focus on writing and distributing my content on social platforms.
Only on social platforms.
Blogging is dead.
Email is so last century.
It is the way, man…
I get the logic.
But the logic is also flawed.
Your attention is important to me, so allow me to try and explain the best (and condensed) I can.
As most other hacking culture logic goes, this logic is a cookie-cutter logic, a one-size-fits-all-all logic.
The assumption is that all of us who need our voices heard over the internet have the same goal. We want to stand out in the attention economy. And we want maximum exposure on our words in the hope that with volume you will fill whatever funnel you are trying to fill.
And let’s be honest here.
Very few (if any) online writers, or creatives do the work only for the sake of…well “only”. There is a purpose for a funnel to complete (hidden or visible)
Back to the logic part. In assuming that we all want the same outcome, these gurus will promote a system that worked for them (let’s also assume that these gurus truly used their system and promoted real results and honest value…shall we…).
And yes, in theory, this logic has merit.
With enough traffic, and enough eyes, on high-attention platforms, it might equate to the right metrics for success.
Now, what if you do not require, need, or want volume on your content? What if you require only a pocket full of the right people? What if you don’t even have a metric?
Read the questions again.
See, I mentioned here that this blog is aimed at my two boys. Sure not the 12 and 9-year-old version they are at the time of writing, but the men they will one day be. To have a better understanding of who their dad was, and how he perceived the world and life in general.
And although aimed at them (my proverbial avatar), it is also aimed at other curious seekers. Who does not have it all figured out. Who are open-minded to possibilities and highly skeptical towards what we are sold. To the curious dreamers, the misguided drivers, and the hopeful entrepreneurs who are still trying their best.
It is aimed at the almost-been, the almost-was, the wannabees. And not in a derogatory way. In truth, we are all wannabees in some way or shape.
We all wear masks.
Back to the topic. What if only 1% of the 0.0000001% of people on the internet read to this exact point?
Why is this a bad metric?
And before you blast me as an unknown in metrics, my day job is Digital Marketing. I know it is data-driven.
But data has no emotion.
It does not smile, cry, or feel.
It is just numbers, and percentages.
Data does not leave you with hope.
So then, what if by some miracle (yes I know SEO and know the probability that no one will ever read this blog post) someone starts reading my writing? And in another miracle it makes sense and in an even bigger miracle it talks to them…like really talks to them.
Is there a metric we can place on that type of connection?
Is there a volume we can place on it?
Nope and nope.
So, if you are my boys who I hopefully did not screw up to the point where you don’t want to read your dad’s words, or that one in a billion strangers who found this page and are still reading, I aim to find you.
You are my hidden funnel.
To connect with you through the written word.
We don’t have to agree.
But we can connect.
So sure, I might be the perfect candidate for “When you do online writing wrong”.
I might never reach a single person with this blog.
But I also might reach someone specific.
And that is today’s lesson boys. Everything is not always about conformity. Success is not always measured in metrics. And sometimes it is better and with greater purpose to swim upstream or to dare to be different.