Friday, October 6, 2017

"Call To Action" or "Please 'Like Me!"

So, when did it become necessary to include a "call to action" at the end of an article or blog? I have a sneaking suspicion that quantity over quality has become the normal S.O.P. for the entertainment driven (and quasi-news) websites. Even worse are those blogs/articles/pieces that are so short and valueless that a "call to action" might even seem refreshing. I can't stand the Call to Action. It sounds as if the writer is begging to be liked, shared or blessed with a comment.

I mean, "Seriously?"
It seems as though, the more I read, the less information I am allowed to consume, and I believe it is largely due to shortened word counts and topically abbreviated subject matter. It's kinda' like panning for gold, only it's wading through a 1/2 page of pablum to get to the ever-dwindling nuggets of pure fact. More and more frequently my reading (information mining) is brought to a complete halt by the third or fourth paragraph with some lame closing summary intertwined in a Call To Action. "Awe jeeze! Come-on! Really? I wasted good reading time on this?"

Sure, that video thumbnail looks interesting and the real hooks still lie (sic) in the title and its "summarial accomplice", but speaking for myself, I would as much enjoy the story behind the video, as I would enjoy viewing it. That's where the disappointment starts. Two paragraphs of simplistic summary, and a third, full of: "hey! if you like this write a comment.." or "have you...?" "what do you think..?" and: "follow us/me/them/it.. on whatever...!" but not another thing about the image or video or image set. Sadly, most times that media was indeed worth watching... once you've successfully breached the wall of nonsense. I don't know about you but I like my digestables full of the things I want to learn.

(Oh look! There is a hidden call to action in that last paragraph! No, It's not where you think. Can you find it? Hint: it's subliminal)
(Holy crap! there's one just above this sentence too!)

Guy Has a Point...
Farhad Manjoo, in his June, 2013 post: "You Won't Finish This Article" points out that a large percentage of website visitors never scroll further than 65 percent down any given page unless the content is engaging enough for the reader to continue. Right there makes my point about how the articles' quality and relevant content is more important. Besides, if the reader thinks your work sucks, they will never reach your Call to Action anyway.

Yes. It is well understood that there is a ton of content to be written and as many writers competing for that work. I once punched a clock for a few weeks at a content mill and found out that much of what they were accepting from my fellow peanut-paid freelancers was pure re-hashing of common knowledge packaged a little tighter than the last time with some updated images and heavy use of plagiarism avoidance techniques. Happily for me, there were a few assignments that required far less contextual regurgitation and I enjoyed writing in/on or about new things.

Although I was still required to compose original and clever calls to action, it felt like I was hookin' for exposure. Burying it somewhere near the end of the piece wasn't so bad though, because a casual reader can be affected subliminally while engaged in the text. As a frequent reader myself, I would prefer to suffer through that tactic as long as the article or blog was provocative, entertaining or informative enough to win my comment.

Boiling it Down
If  the writer understands the power of his craft, he will put forth the effort needed to illicit conversation about the subject written. In other words, if you join a conversation with the intent to promote its continuing dialog and write accordingly, it is natural for the interested reader/listener to proffer their own knowledge or opinion, thus adding to the intellectual discourse. There would be no need for a call to action. The work presented will have been its own imperative.

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