Is blogging FINALLY dead in 2024?
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Every year people predict that blogging is dead. And every year those people are proved wrong. But is blogging FINALLY dead in 2024? I strongly disagree, and here’s why…
How are you feeling about the future of blogging right now?
There are an awful lot of people running round like headless chickens at the moment, predicting that blogging is doomed.
And there are some good reasons why you might think that…
- The rise of AI-assisted content writing tools
- The rise of AI-assisted search engines
- Recent Google updates which have hit many bloggers hard
- The rise of TikTok and short-form video
- The proposed changes to third party cookies
- The massive increase in competition in many blogging niches
Many people see these as insurmountable threats and conclude they might as well just throw in the towel right now.
But I strongly disagree, and here’s why…
- People will always have problems
- People will always look for solutions to their problems
- Most people want to get those solutions from real humans who are experts in their field, not some random bot that simply regurgitates what it has read
- And, while it’s true that sometimes people want a video answer to their problems, often they don’t – it’s super frustrating having to watch through 10 minutes of irrelevant chat, endless ads and random b-roll footage when all you want is a straight answer to your question!
However, what I do think is changing is the MODEL of blogging.
The problem with the old model…
I believe that the ‘get massive traffic from Google then monetize via ads and affiliates’ model that has worked so well for the last 5+ years has become a victim of its own success.
Because the SEO+Ads model has been such a wonderful semi-passive, potentially VERY lucrative business model, the blogging/SEO landscape has become a LOT more competitive over the last 5 years.
Suddenly to succeed you needed to be on your absolute A game: constantly feeding the content monster with masses of high quality, SEO friendly, cookie cutter blog posts; regularly updating your entire back catalogue; taking professional quality photographs; learning half a computer science degree in order to make your website lightning fast, yet somehow simultaneously making your website look highly polished and professional – all while landing high-quality dofollow backlinks from major publications and polishing your E-E-A-T halo.
As a result this SEO+Ads model has become MUCH LESS PASSIVE and MUCH LESS LUCRATIVE.
And the worst of it?
The SEO+Ads model of blogging is incredibly precarious.
Because some bigger, richer blogger who has a higher DA and a whole team to help them, can just cruise in and ‘steal’ your 20 best keywords… decimating your Google traffic and ad income virtually overnight.
And that’s before we even consider the looming dark clouds on the horizon, such as…
The proposed changes to 3rd party cookies…
Or the competition from TikTok…
Or how AI will affect search engine traffic…
Or what on earth Google has in store in the next algorithm update…
All this is enough to make many bloggers throw in the towel (or at least consider it), with cries of ‘I can’t do this anymore’ and ‘It’s too hard / too depressing / too time consuming / no fun anymore!’
If that’s you, I have good news…
Because I believe this ‘threat’ is also an big opportunity. It’s an opportunity to change and do things differently.
I believe future of blogging will be all about niching down even further, growing an email list of passionate fans and selling digital products.
In this EMAIL+DIGITAL PRODUCTS model – though SEO will have its place – you’ll be much less dependent on high volume, transactional Google traffic.
And it will be much more about being unique, standing out from the crowd and building a brand… less traffic, but higher value traffic… And I believe a much more passive business model, that will also bring the joy back into blogging.
Two options
Right now you have two options…
A) You can stick your head in the sand, cross your fingers, carry on doing what you are doing, and hope that I am wrong.
If that’s you, you need to read this >>> Who moved my cheese? 5 lessons for bloggers in 2024
B) You can stop seeing these problems as ‘threats’ and start seeing them as ‘opportunities’ – opportunities to build a better, more sustainable, more passive AND more enjoyable business… A business that is much less reliant on external companies and ‘borrowed’ traffic and much more focused on building a loyal fanbase and serving your audience by solving their problems… and solving those problems so well that your fan base is willing to pay good money those solutions.
If that’s what you want, read this >>> Blogging is changing. Here’s what you need to do to succeed at blogging in 2024 and beyond.
- 10 ways to increase your blogging income in 2024
- How to 10x your blogging income: step by step
- Why you should never build your business on rented land (and what to do instead!)
- 10 reasons why you should start selling digital products in 2024
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