Hey, have you heard? The web is mostly video already. What does that mean for us writers?
Cookbook author and writer Michael Ruhlman returned to blogging recently, after a couple of months off. In his post, he wondered if people still read food blogs.
It never occured to him that the big question might be about video, not text.
“Am I wrong in thinking that there are fewer [blogs] now and that people are spending their time reading more established sites such as Serious Eats, The Kitchn, and Food 52?” he asked.
Fortunately for him, Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes saw his question and answered it.
In the comments, here’s what Elise said about trends for food blogs, video, and social media:
“Hi Michael,
Here’s what you’ve missed:
1. 60% of blog reading is being done on a phone (why you need a mobile friendly site, and larger type), 20% on tablet, 20% on desktop.
2. 80% of digital advertising is going to Facebook, which is focused on promoting video.
3. For this reason everyone is making videos. Already 55% of all web traffic is video.
4. Readers don’t go directly to blogs anymore. They expect to find your work where they are, on social media—Instagram, FB. And if it’s interesting, they’ll click through.
5. People are building amazing followings solely through social media, with no blog at all, and are able to do quite well through sponsorship.
6. The younger generation seems to be hell bent on becoming Internet celebrities.”
(I’m pretty sure Elise and Michael got to know each other during a week-long food blogging workshop in Mexico, where we were all instructors.)
I feel fortunate to read Elise’s comments. I take her quite seriously. Elise has run a super-professional, super-successful blog for many years. Also now that her website has overlords, she has access to good trend data. Here are more statistics, for example, that show she’s right on about video: Cisco says 75 percent of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2020.
Now, some of these trends she mentioned are straightforward. Most of us have made our blogs phone-friendly, for example. I’m most concerned about video, and whether people still want to read online.
Let’s start with No. 3, where Elise says 55 percent of all web traffic is video. Historically, when blogs began in the early 2000s, they were only text. Then bloggers added photos. Then food bloggers had to get really good at photos. And now food bloggers are making videos and promoting them on social media.
Like Michael, I’m wondering if the old idea of writing a journal-like entry is becoming less important. It’s what Shauna Ahern meant when she said that “Blogs don’t matter anymore.” Recently Shauna shifted from telling personal stories to just getting down to business. And Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo said she blogs less frequently now and concentrates on her online audience. She’s been blogging for six years, and like Shauna, has accumulated a gigantic online following.
As a writer, I get nervous about the idea that writing online — good writing — doesn’t matter. It still does. Otherwise sites Eater and Serious Eats wouldn’t have long-form posts with well-researched pieces and essays. And a long blog post still resonates with readers. A single long blog post can still move readers to post tons of comments.
Maybe your blog posts don’t contain much writing. You still need to know how to hook readers with an irresistible title, and how to get them to read all the way through. Not to mention enticing people to read your post when you’re promoting it on social media.
Wait a minute. Did I just suggest that much of online writing is market-driven? I can’t deny it’s an element.
So, on this issue of video, I’m cheering myself up by deciding that most of this online video is porn, movies and TV shows. Maybe we don’t all have to rush out to create videos, since we’re not in this category.
Now on to Number 4. That’s Elise’s statement that people are more likely to read your blog when they click on your link in social media. They no longer go to the blog itself. I find this trend troubling. Does it mean fewer people want to subscribe to blogs? (Not that any bloggers want to admit that their subscription numbers are flat.)
What do you think of the list of trends?
- Do you still subscribe to blogs, or do you just click on them from social media?
- Are you making videos?
- Do you still make time to read blogs and stories by good storytellers and writers?
- Do you still think of yourself as an online writer?
(Image courtesy of 2nix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)
Call me old fashioned Dianne but for me good writing is what makes me read and subscribe to blogs. It was my writing that recently made an editor in London call me and ask me to collaborate in a book that will be published next year in the UK and US. She found my blog and liked what she read. Maybe videos will be the future but as I’ve always written for pleasure, I don’t feel the need to change and follow the trend. And yes I still find the time to read blogs, stories and books by people I admire and even look up to like you. I do consider myself an online writer and I find photography to be an important complement to my work.
Oh this makes me feel much better, Maria, especially how you think of yourself as a writer and don’t feel the need to change. Congratulations on your book collaboration!
The conundrum is deciding between two “why” reasons for doing what you do.
1. I have something to say, show, share
2. I wanna be popular and get free stuff and trips and make money
Yes, we are in a weird time where more food bloggers than ever want to make money from their blogs. This is a shift from bloggers who do so as a hobby. Being “popular” means book publishers and brands take you more seriously, so yes, this is what people want. It’s called “having a platform.” Sounds better, doesn’t it?
I agree that good writing will continue to be valued. I also think for bloggers it’s about going local, building your fan based in connected and genuine ways, the way many small independent book stores have been able to stay in business. Thanks for the post!
I agree that we have to build a fan base in connected and genuine ways, otherwise people can see right through our message. Writing from the heart helps with that. It’s particularly difficult to write sponsored posts in this manner, versus advertorial. Thanks, Leslie.
We have found at Joy of Baking that the combination of video and writing is significantly greater than the sum of the two parts. So there is a need for both together. People that watch a video also want to read about it and get the written recipe. People that read a post quickly realize that it would sure be great if they could watch someone do it because detailed instructions can be difficult to process. We have found the synergy between video and writing to be a powerful and unique combination and we will always do both.
The point that mobile is taking over is very true, but actually video can significantly help with that. As we all know mobile doesn’t monetize as well as desktop, but videos watched on mobile do just as well and sometimes better. So if in addition to site advertising you use your mobile site to push people to watch video, then your mobile site actually does monetize quite well.
I’m relieved to read that writing is an important part of video on your site, Rick.
Re mobile, I think you’re saying that mobile doesn’t monitize as well because the ads are pushed down to the bottom, right? So how does watching video on the phone bring in dollars?
Yes writing is not dead with video. But you really need both. Mobile doesn’t monetize as well because CPMs on mobile typically are much lower, mainly because iPhones don’t allow tracking so you don’t get the high paying re-targeted ads. Also you can’t have as many ads on a mobile site as you can have on desktop. When you watch a video on YouTube the creator gets 55% of the take when ads run. It doesn’t matter where they run so if your site pushes more views on YouTube you make more money.
Thanks for this explanation, Rick. It’s great to try to understand the business of video, but I’ve got a long way to go!
I never did video for my blog but I can say I get much more traffic on my blog when I post a link to the blog on facebook and instagram. Actually my sons ( younger gen) says that probably people do read blogs but they don’t bother to register to blogs anymore. That can be true, I have only 7 people following me and I got 1300 persons who came to read the blog last month. That said I am planning to add short video to my blog to show special cooking techniques
I love that you asked your son about it. You are certainly doing better by blasting a new post around social media versus trying to get people to sign up. The only problem is that the people who come are more anonymous — you don’t have a list. Good luck producing the short videos.