In 2013, you’ll need good writing more than ever

Ever since the advent of social media turned the Web from a one-way medium with website owners talking to passive audiences into a truly interactive, two-way conservation where audiences can talk back, the demands for higher quality internet content, especially writing, have increased.

Don’t sell me; talk to me

In the past, customers and other web visitors would settle for straight up pitches, advertising hype and other poor quality communication because, well, that’s all there was online.

But now, having gotten used to more soft-sell commercial communications where a pitch must be embedded in interesting or helpful information, audiences now expect to be treated with more and more respect.

According to Copyblogger, which has pronounced 2013 “The Year of the Online Writer,” content marketing is not a fad that’s going to pass. Instead, online marketers must get used to offering their audiences intelligent content or else risk falling behind.

And who creates this intelligent content? It’s not the engineering department, it’s not your salespeople and it’s not even the vice president for marketing.

It’s talented writers.

Talent in demand

Recent updates to Google’s search methodology have elevated the status of high quality content and also started to rank writers by influence. And that’s not all, says Copyblogger:

Now who creates the content, and who does the linking out matters – which is why Google wants to know who you are via your Google+ authorship profile. What’s been dubbed Author Rank has the potential to be the biggest algorithmic signal for SEO since the hyperlink itself.

The days of lame anonymous content are over. Even better, rock star writers with demonstrated success and strong social followings will command the highest compensation and equity positions.

This means that skilled web writers won’t be cheap in the future. And what that means for your business is that, if you need to rank well in Google searches, then it may be your best investment to engage an experienced web writer now, while you can still afford their rates.

Yes, if you know how to type, you can write your web copy yourself, meanwhile spending hundreds or thousands of dollars a month on Yellow Pages listings, newspaper ads and other old fashioned marketing strategies that may not be delivering results in today’s marketplace.

For that same budget, you could get yourself a writer who can help your website rise to page one in Google results, bringing you more web visitors and ultimately, more customers.