Gawker Sci-fi i09 Blog Taps into the Power of Images

Gawker sci-fi blog i09 plans to post artwork from Framestore, an Academy Award winning visual effects and production company, beginning next month.

The images will correlate with i09’s concept art writing prompt section.

“Usually running on weekends, it’s one of the most popular features and a major traffic-driver for the site, wherein an image — think along the lines of an intergalactic voyage, alien or futuristic city — is posted and readers are invited to submit a short piece of fiction inspired by the artwork,” writes AdAge’s Rupal Parekh.

The two big objectives for the partnership, according to Parekh, are to boost engagement and bridge the gap between the artists and writers on the site. I09’s Editor in Chief Annalee Newitz told AdAge that content will come from these images.

“Our readers are fantastic writers, so we have high hopes,” she says. “Our fantasy is that we would get a story or images that could be turned into a movie.”

Since i09 caters to the art community, incorporating visuals stands to work in the blog’s favor when it comes to boosting readership. Sites with photos have 94 percent more pageviews, and as Content Marketing Institute’s Jodi Harris points out, images make the content more shareable.

“Images and video are important to blog posts and pages because they immediately draw in the reader’s attention and help break up the monotony of all that text,” Nikki of BlogWorld says.