Note from Raelyn: This is one of those angsty blog posts that I found in my drafts but never published… You know, when you’re all worked up and just have to rant and let it out. Full disclaimer, it doesn’t sound like my usual self (not as eloquent, nor as nice… lol), but I decided to post it today because it could give some of you a new perspective!
This morning I was listening to a podcast to get my daily dose of motivation.. and I heard something that I felt that I have to address right here, right now.
“Blogging is dead”.
And mind you, this wasn’t said by some nobody, it was said by an industry leader.
No, it isn’t. And in this article, I’ll tell you exactly why.
Is it harder to start a successful blog now? Yes.
Is it possible to start a successful online business without blogging? Yes.
Is blogging dead? NO.
It kind of reminds me of 2008, when people started crying out that email marketing is dead. 2018.. and it’s still going strong.
If I could get a penny for every time people said blogging/ email is dead, I’d be a millionaire by now.
The fundamentals of building an online business
Get people to know, like and trust you, and then make an offer.
And blogging will help with that, as long as your content is useful and people still read blogs.
Why people think blogging is dead
But first, let me try to understand why people are thinking that blogging is dead.
It’s “harder” to start a successful blog now
Over the years, the online scene has changed substantially. Once upon a time, all you had to do was throw up some content, click publish, and people will find your blog.
Now? It’s noisier. It ain’t so easy anymore. There are many more blogs out there.
You gotta promote and accumulate readership gradually, you can’t expect Google to give you thousands of visitors within months magically.
But again, who else is going to give you free traffic without you working hard for it?
The online blog scene is evolving to fit more people in it, it isn’t disappearing.
It’s harder to start a successful blog now.. if you stick to old ways.
The days of stuffing your blog with keywords to rank in Google is over. Say hello to the era of good quality content and traffic generation with social media networks.
Do SEO the right way: SEO Tips for Newbies: Ranking Your Blog Content
Webinars, live streaming, social media, video… there are other “more effective ways” of building an online business?
Alternatives are now available. They may or may not be fads – you wouldn’t know.
Awhile ago, Periscope was the hot bomb, but now FB has just released its live stream and it’s dying a slow death. Facebook? Getting taken over by Insta & Snapchat.
Things are always going to change, let’s deal with it.
Is Kindle dying? Nooo… People are still reading books. Maybe one day, Kindle will die. It doesn’t matter.
Why? Because words will always be around.
Anyway, back to these new methods. What’s to stop bloggers from using them too and leverage on these new methods as well?
Must writing an ebook and pasting a banner on our sidebars be the only way to do a product launch as a blogger? Heck no.
We can do our own product launches, have our own videos to complement our articles, create our own e-courses and sell with our own webinars too.
Here are some of my webinars where I give some of my best training for your perusal:
Haven’t launched your blog? My free webinar to help you start your blog the right way, find the right theme, install plugins, and more:
My free list building webinar on the 3 key blueprints that got me 40K email subscribers (and to over 10K customers now):
Guest posting is dying?
People are saying that guest posting is no longer as effective as it used to be, and people are paying less attention to your author bio link. Google is giving less credit to those links as well.
Their conclusion is that since guest posting is dying, this is evidence that blogging is dying too.
This is happening, I hypothesize, because guest posts, once a rare occurrence by someone with something great to say, are becoming an everyday common scene.
I mean, just look at The Huffington Post or Elite Daily.. they’re filled to the brim with guest posts.
Guest posting dying =/= blogging dying.
Blog articles are an avenue of providing value, and they still work like a charm. Just because guest posting as a way of getting traffic is becoming less effective, does not mean blogging is becoming less effective.
Do people still read blogs?
Aren’t you reading this now? 😛
Huffington Post: 110,000,000 unique visitors per month.
Business Insider: 25,500,000 unique visitors per month.
Mashable: 24,000,000 unique visitors per month.
People definitely still read blogs. Traffic is going up for some blogs, and down for others. The question is, is it going to be yours?
The question, of course, is whether people are reading blogs less.
Honestly, no one will know. But one thing is for sure:
People will always read articles, and people will always want good content. Words are powerful.
Note: The same can be said with much less certainty for Facebook (look at Friendster), webinars or whatever the best shiny big thing is. Just look at Twitter now, a big mess with stock prices going down like crazy.
Do you still read articles? Do you still have favorite bloggers?
I’m really not too sure what the fuss is about.
The pie *may* (we honestly have no concrete proof right here) be decreasing for blogs, but it is still so huge that anyone with the right strategies, good content and determination to promote their blogs the right way will succeed.
Being a blogger does not mean that the only thing you do is sit behind your table and write articles.
No!
Being a blogger today is using social media to drive traffic to your blog (using your amazeballs content as bait, of course).
Being a blogger today is creating a blog brand and high-quality content. Being a blogger today is launching your own e-courses to your own email lists.
The blog simply acts as an amazing traffic generating tool, a tried-and-tested platform that you own to connect with your community, and a way for you to give massive value to your audience.
Just because it takes more time to build a successful blog does not make blogging dead.
There I said it. People hate it because it takes time to blog, and hence they say that its dead.
Yeah, it takes time to write something of high quality out, but once you do, it can be used again and again and again to provide value and revenue for you.
You own blogs, you don’t own social media networks or Youtube.
Building your business on rented land is amazing and there is definitely nothing wrong with that. But it’s definitely recommended that you have a home base that is stable and owned by yourself.
Are you self-hosting your blog? If you’re not, you need to read these 2 posts ASAP:
- Blogging For Beginners: How to Start a Blog in 20 Minutes
- Can’t Decide What’s The Best Blogging Platform to Use? Answers here.
Blogs are evolving.
It is entirely possible to build profitable blogs, but in a different way. Your content has to be great. You will benefit greatly from creating a brand, rather than an information site.
You can use webinars to sell products to your blog readers.. live stream to connect to them better.. create a Facebook group to get your readers to know you better.
Blogging, in itself, remains an amazing way to communicate with your potential customers and to get them to know, like and trust you.
Get savvy with social media sites to share your blog content, and be available for your audience there.
Blogging is time-consuming, but evergreen.
The content you create will be up here forever, providing value again and again and giving value to new readers again and again.
A Facebook update ain’t evergreen, yo. Your product launch isn’t passive income…
It’s always easy to convert your blog posts into other formats, anyway.
One blog post = content for one live stream = content for one podcast = content for webinar. They aren’t mutually exclusive.
Blogging, as we knew it in 2008, is dying. But blogging as a form of communication? Alive as heck.
Blogging is my favorite way of giving and receiving value. I love reading good articles.
At times I hate watching videos because they are so time-consuming in nature. I do watch videos, but I love my blog posts too.
We can all have our cake and eat it, right? I can watch Youtube when I feel like it, log onto Facebook to chat with my friends, and read a blog when I want to.
Just starting out and looking to start your blog?
I have a step-by-step tutorial on how you can start a blog in 20 minutes here.
It’s been shared over 50,000 times and has helped thousands of new bloggers like you start successful blogs. It’s not that hard. You can do it!
There’s never a perfect time! So feel the fear and do it anyway. If you prefer a video step-by-step workshop to start your blog, you can sign up for my free blog starter workshop:
Free subscribers-only resource library
You may also like my free subscribers-only blog + biz library full of cheat sheets, checklists, printables, and workshops that will grow your blog + business:
I think you’re absolutely right: Blogging is not dead – it just got much harder. So how do we make things a little easier for one another? We help and support each other. Started by sharing your post. 🙂
Thank you, Claudia! I really appreciate it.