Maybe content writing such as blogging is something you consider doing all this time to build and engage with your audience.

But for some reason, you scrap the idea of doing content writing altogether.

You find the content writing activity a total waste of time when people these days prefer to consume content through podcasts, audiobooks, and videos.

What’s more, they can do something else too while consuming the content.

Considering how some of us have an endless list of to-do lists, it’s no wonder why they prefer to consume content this way.

So, I understand why you don’t want to pursue any form of content writing.

You don’t want the time you can use to write and publish your book to get wasted on a meaningless pursuit.

Well, here’s the truth about the written content.

It’s here to stay.

And it’s not going anywhere, not by a long shot.

Content writing is still going strong

Here’s the interesting takeaway from the survey conducted by the Content Marketing Institute regarding content marketing trends in 2024.

Yes, it’s true that many companies do have plenty of video content.

But written content still dominates their content creation, with 94% of the content they produce being short articles or posts and 71% being long articles or posts.

What’s even more interesting is that much of the written content such as ebooks, white papers, brochures, and research reports make up 59%, 49%, and 36% of the content they produce.

Sure, this type of written content makes up a small percentage of the written content they produce compared to articles or blog posts.

But the fact that these companies are focusing a lot on the written content just as much as the video content means that they see the value in the written content.

They wouldn’t do more written content if it doesn’t bring results.

Sure, videos seem to produce the best results, with 53% of them citing videos being content that produce the best results for them.

But other written content such as ebooks, white papers, short articles or posts, and research reports aren’t that far behind either, with 51% of them citing that thought leadership ebooks produce the best results for them.

Seeing how written content is the close contender to video content, it’s unlikely that these companies will abandon the written content ship altogether.

It’s not just for B2B companies

Think that only B2B companies favor written content?

Well, guess what?

Even YouTube content creators are also in favor of written content.

One of them that I can think of is Nina Ubhi, a professional makeup artist who is also a YouTube content creator.

Just like any other content creator, she’s also active on Instagram. But she also has an online publication called Confession of a Creative on Substack.

When you think of someone who is a content creator on YouTube, you probably don’t associate them with someone who is pursuing written content as another avenue.

If anything, they’re more likely to venture into something similar.

It’s because of this reason that I find Nina Ubhi’s venture into written content fascinating.

What makes her want to expand into the written content may have something to do with the written content being another form of expression for her.

But it’s not surprising at all it can be due to her wanting a better way to connect with her audience.

And having her own platform allows her to do just that.

You can connect with your audience through YouTube, Instagram, or whatever social media platform you can think of.

But the thing about these platforms is that you don’t know anything much about your audience other than their username.

And let’s not forget you have no way of contacting them if anything happens to YouTube, Instagram, or any other social media platform for that matter.

Whatever her reason for expanding into written content, it’s clear it’s a smart move on her side.

And it’s something that we all should have regardless of what kind of content you produce.

Where will the written content go from here onward?

Judging from the survey and the fact that the content creators are now expanding into the written content, it’s clear that the written content isn’t going away.

But if there’s one thing that will change, I will say it’ll be how we distribute the content.

Rather than posting the content on social media or publishing it on the blog so then the search engine will do its thing, we will have the same content delivered to the inbox instead.

If it sounds like something similar to an email newsletter, it sure is.

When I say the email newsletter, it doesn’t need to be the typical email newsletter where it has a compilation of your recently published posts and your email subscribers will click on any link that caught their fancy.

It can also be something like an email newsletter where the only thing you receive in your inbox is the latest post, nothing else.

What’s more, you will see the post in its entirety.

So, no more clicking on the link and redirecting you to the website whatsoever.

Think of it like something you see on Substack where you can read the post in its entirety straight from your inbox.

Sure, many email marketing platforms do provide this option where you can notify your email subscribers about your latest blog post right away after it gets published.

But with the rise of Substack, I won’t be surprised at all that it will become the preferred way to consume written content through email.

What the future will hold for written content

Like it or loathe it, the written content is here to stay.

The reason for that is simple – some people still prefer to read if they want to learn more about something.

Sure, they may come across the information briefly through a video or a podcast.

But if they want to take note of something they just discovered and they want to learn about it at their own pace?

They will come back to reading, of course.

There’s no better way to go about it.