One thing I’ve learned this week is that the world of writing is being rapidly transformed by the Internet. I remember in high school, and even in college, the ultimate dream of any writer was to land a good literary agent and strike a killer book deal. The next thing you know, you’re writing several novels a year and bringing in royalties hand over fist.
This is still a dream for many writers, but there’s a tremendous career opportunity being created by the explosion of the Internet. A writer who can adapt and understand how online publications can be successful will have a very bright future looking forward into the next couple of decades. Let me explain why.
The Explosion of the Net Leads to Dramatic Demand
It’s all about supply and demand. In the mid 1800’s, the imbalance of the cattle supply in the Western and Eastern U.S. led to an entire industry build around “driving” cattle from the southwest to the Northeast. Kansas became the central point of the country where cattle needed to go so that the trains could take them the rest of the way.
These cattle drives produced overwhelming demand for talented, tough and versatile cowboys. These were guys who worked on the ranch for many years, but had toughed up to the demands of outdoor living, and traveling through wilderness on horseback for long stretches at a time.
They made up a community of rough and sometimes troublesome men who were so good at what they did that the trail bosses fought over them and tried to offer the best pay and the best trail conditions to attract them.
The Online Cowboys of Today
Just like the economic and political conditions produced demand for cowboys, other situations throughout the history of the U.S. introduced tremendous demand for other services and skillsets. The businesses and companies that understood the need to transform with the times not only survived, but they flourished.
The railway created the “engineering” career track and technicians who could repair the steam engines or plan and lay out tracks and railways. The advent of commercial flight produced piloting and stewardess jobs, as well as aircraft mechanics and the entire aerospace industry.
I believe that the advent of the Internet is having a similar catalyst effect throughout our society today – the events are occurring so quickly around us that few people even realize what’s going on. But if you step back and simply observe the evolution of the Internet, most good businessmen and corporate leaders will recognize the tremendous opportunity this social evolution offers.
- The number of Internet users has grown from over 350,000,000 in 2000 up to over 1.3 billion in 2009. That’s an unbelievable growth of over 380%.
- Facebook, Twitter and other social networks are driving an even greater number of people to finally start using the Internet.
- This huge influx of new users are also discovering the convenience and value of shopping and doing business online.
- Emerging markets, such as India and China, are experiencing mind-boggling adoption rates of the Internet – and opening up online markets that simply never existed before.
For the entrepreneur that understands the potential of the conditions listed above, the sky is truly the limit. This isn’t the pie-in-the-sky promise that existed before the dot-com bust – these are market conditions that are poised to catapult brick-and-mortar companies, with assets and products to offer to the world, into the stratosphere.
The Opportunities for Online Writers
Almost every business that recognizes the potential outlined in the list above, also realizes that they are in the process of missing the boat. The business that can produce the most compelling content that attracts (and continues to attract) their market audience, will also develop a monopoly over that online niche.
The only way to establish yourself in that position is to develop that kind of content. The only way to develop that kind of content is to hire a writer who can capture the interest of that online audience and produce an emotional reaction to the written words. Suddenly, good writers are in tremendous demand. It’s one thing to create a winning website, but it’s another to offer high-quality and compelling content that attracts a crowd.
This is why, any writer looking to grow their career in this new emerging global market should learn how online writing works. This may or may not include SEO techniques, but it should include how an online article should be laid out, how the content should flow, and how the structure of the article should appear so that it’s easy to read for someone who is looking for information quickly (as most online users are).
I’d love to hear from any writers out there who are in any stage of career growth in this new online market. Let me know what new opportunities you’ve recognized thanks to the recent explosion of Internet usage throughout business and industry.
