Is Blogging Dead in 2024?

Is blogging dead in 2024? Does anyone read blogs anymore? Can you still make money with a blog in 2024?                                                                          

If you are thinking about starting a blog or you are currently struggling to gain traction with your current blog then these questions have likely crossed your mind.  I have been blogging for over 9 years now and every year I take what I have observed & learned over the past year and give you my updated honest answers to these questions so that you can know once and for all if blogging is still worth it! 

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So is blogging dead?  Will blogs die in 2024?

The quick answer is No.  Blogging definitely isn’t dead, BUT (and this is a big but!) blogging without a clear, effective strategy definitely is dead!           

Anyone can start a blog in 2024.  It’s not hard to get started.  But getting people to actually find and read your blog posts in 2024 is much harder than it used to be.  Gone are the days of “Build it and they will come.” Just hitting publish on a blog post in 2024 is not going to get you many or honestly even one person to read it outside of your family or friends.

What’s your intention for blogging?

So first, before doing anything else, you need to get very clear on what your intention is for starting a blog.  If you just want to have a personal blog and you have no intentions of making money online then you can do whatever you want with it. 

Just keep in mind that if you want people out in the world to read it besides your mom or best friend, you will need some type of traffic strategy in place to get people to your site.                              

If your goal is to make an income online (even if not right now-but sometime in the future) and a blog is part of your strategy then keep reading because you absolutely need to hear what I am telling you today if you want any chance of being successful with this.  

In 2024 and beyond, if you want to make money with a blog you 100% need to approach your blog as a business.

This means having a blogging strategy in place and a plan for how you are going to monetize the free content you are putting out.       

A lot of bloggers create a blog in hopes of making money, but what often happens is that they put in hours and hours creating free content with nothing to show for it.  This is because they do not understand that blogging has changed so significantly over the years!   

Every successful business has to adapt to changes and if you want to have a profitable blogging business you will too!  This means that you will need to keep update to date with what is working right now and what does not work anymore if you want to start a blog that makes money

SO let’s discuss 7 things that are absolutely dead in 2024 and what you should be doing instead when it comes to blogging. 

7 things that are absolutely dead with blogging in 2024

1. Thinking that the ACT of blogging is what directly makes you money

Back in the early days of blogging (I’m talking years ago), there was a lot less blogging competition, getting traffic to your site was a lot easier. Putting display ads on your site and affiliate links here and there was a really good strategy to earn you a full-time income with a blog. 

You put out a blog post and had the ability to get very high volumes of traffic coming to your site on a daily basis which would lead to numerous clicks on ads and affiliate links – resulting in money in your pocket.                                                                                 

In 2024, putting out free content week after week with affiliate links or display ads alone may make you a tiny bit of money here and there, but unless you are getting 40-50,000+ page views a month (which is really difficult nowadays) you are not going to make much money simply by writing & publishing blog posts.              

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but I have worked with many students in my courses and many private coaching clients and I can tell you this is very rarely the case.  Be very wary of anyone telling you otherwise.                

In 2024 you need to understand that blogging in and of itself is NOT a profitable business model.  BUT what blogging does do is it attracts your ideal reader to you.  They find your free content and it’s what happens from there that determines your profits.

Now that you understand that blogging is a way to attract your ideal reader to you, it makes sense that the next thing that is dead with blogging in 2024 is…

2. Blogging without knowing who your ideal reader is and what their biggest pain point or problem is that they need help solving

Back in the day, you could set up your blog, document your daily adventures, your struggles- basically whatever you felt like sharing.  If you were entertaining enough, you could easily grow a following of devoted fans.

This type of blogging is officially dead in 2024 because for years now there has been a much easier and more popular way to be entertained which we all know is social media. 

The insane growth of social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and TikTok over the years has completely squashed the appeal of personal blogs.  People can now quickly and conveniently be entertained on social media platforms that are part of their daily life, so NO ONE is going to a blog to get the latest updates on your life. 

This isn’t to say that you can’t have a personal blog for your own enjoyment, but creating a blog about your own life and experiences won’t bring traffic to your site or put money in your pocket.  If you want to make money with a blog, your blog CANNOT be about you.

I know that sounds harsh but people are still trying to create a BUSINESS by blogging solely about themselves and their personal journey and this does not work anymore.

People now visit blogs for knowledge. They visit blogs to help them solve problems and to educate themselves further.  Sure, you want to share your story on your site but your website and content has to be about your ideal reader and what they want.  This ties in with the 3rd thing that is dead with blogging in 2024…

3. Blogging about anything and everything via a lifestyle blog.

Lifestyle blogs are HIGHLY unlikely to work for new bloggers who want to make an income online.          

Your blog needs to be a resource for a specific group of people looking for specific information if you want to gain a following.                                                      

This means that before you start creating ANY content, you need to be very clear on who your ideal reader is.  What do they specifically need help with?

For example, if your ideal reader is moms who are struggling with losing weight after having a baby, you have to put yourself in their shoes.  Where are they searching for information on this subject?   Likely search engines like Google, Pinterest, or YouTube, right?  What keywords are they typing in? 

Now imagine that a mom types in the keywords “How to lose baby weight after pregnancy” and finds two different blog posts discussing this.

Blog 1 has a few blog posts about losing baby weight, mixed in with blog posts about home decor, kid crafts, and raising teens.

Blog 2 focuses specifically on moms of babies & toddlers who are struggling to lose that stubborn baby weight, but have no idea where to start. It speaks to how to fit it into the season of life they are currently in with very young children.  On this blog, every blog post speaks to this person’s struggles.

Which of the following blogs do you think this mom would be more likely to come back to? Which will she provide her email address to for a freebie related to her struggle and eventually purchase a digital product, course, service, etc. from?    

Can you see how blog #2 is a better fit?        

It speaks directly to this person and only this person!  It immediately identifies her pain point and establishes a connection. The blogger understands them.  Since the site has only one focus, it immediately positions that blogger as a higher authority on the subject.

According to a Internet Live Stats 2022 study…

There are over 600 million blogs out of 1.9 billion websites in the world.  And more than 3 billion blog posts are published each year worldwide!!

That’s 8.28 million blog posts published per day, and 5,750 blog posts published each minute!!!

These stats are CLEAR evidence that if you want to stand out and be successful, you will need to pick a niche and really understand your ideal reader.

This means if you are passionate & knowledgeable on a subject like parenting and you want to start a blog on this topic, your gonna need to get a lot more specific than just raising kids right?                 

Do want to focus on breastfeeding for new moms? Raising children with ADHD? Single-parent parenting? Homeschooling on a budget?  

After choosing a topic, the next step is to do some market research to make sure there is a demand for your specific niche. If there is, then the step after that is reaching out to your ideal reader and doing more market research to understand what your ideal reader really needs and wants. 

This involves reaching out to people you know who fall into your ideal reader category, joining FB groups where your ideal reader is hanging out, and seeing the types of questions they are asking. Conducting a poll to see their biggest pain point and doing quick 15-minute zoom calls to learn more about what they need help with. 

If this all seems overwhelming and you need some help getting organized with this, check out my Blog to Business planner. This will help provide the focus and strategy you need to begin building your business the right way.   

4. Not beginning with the END in mind when starting a blog

Most people begin a blog and business the completely wrong way.  They start by creating content and then they eventually try to figure out what outcome their ideal reader is looking for. Then they offer a digital product, course, or service months or years later. 

This is completely backward and is where a lot of people go wrong! 

What’s the point of blogging week after week without an offer?  That’s not a business, that’s just working for free!                

The right way to create a blogging business is to start with the end in mind. 

What is the outcome your ideal reader is looking for?  How can you close the gap from where they are to where they want to be? 

I am not talking about the vehicle that will get them there whether it is through a course, coaching, etc. I am just talking about what is the outcome that they want.  What’s the end transformation they are searching for? 

There is a lot of strategy that goes into this that I don’t have time to get to in this post, but you need to understand that your content and freebie should be connected to get your ideal reader one step closer to their desired end outcome.   This leads into the 5th thing that is dead with blogging and that is..

.

5. Blogging with no way to reach your audience after they leave your site. 

Here’s a scary fact for you: 75% of your blog’s visitors will never return!

So, if you do not have a way to keep in touch with your reader after they consume your free content, it’s going to be really hard (if not impossible) to build a know, like, and trust relationship with them and help them solve their problem.

THE best way to keep in touch with your ideal reader in 2024 is still via email and building an email list. 

You need to offer an incentive for your reader to stay connected with you and the best way to do this is by providing a free gift aka a freebie of some type that will give them a quick win in exchange for their email address.                                                        

One thing that I still see people doing that makes me cringe is just having a little box on their site that says sign up for my “newsletter.” 

DO NOT DO THIS! 

This strategy died back in the beginning days of blogging.  No one wants another newsletter!  People’s inboxes are flooded with emails and so they are so much more selective about who they give their email address to. 

You will need to have an attractive offer that gets them one step closer to their desired outcome for them to hand over their email address to you. 

A freebie can be in the form of a cheat sheet, checklist, workbook, ebook, printable, etc., and can be easily made in a free program like Canva.

If you do not have an email service provider set up to collect email addresses, I highly recommend ConvertKit. ConvertKit is the best email marketing provider (in my opinion.)  It’s who I have used and loved for over 6 years now and they just made it even better by offer a, new amazing free plan! So make sure to check them out. 

And the last thing that is dead with blogging in 2024 is

6. Not incorporating video and/or audio content on your blog.

I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this, but it’s not going away.  Many people struggle with being seen, (I am an introvert so I get it!)  but if you want to be successful in 2023 and beyond you have to get on camera– especially if you are the face of your brand.  

When you are first starting, it is okay to start with just a blog, but within a few months, you should start incorporating other forms of content on your blog to stay competitive and profitable. 

In 2024 and beyond, people are consuming information in many different ways.  Some will still sit and read blog posts exclusively, but more and more people are choosing to learn through video, audio, or all three mediums.  Think of yourself and how you consume content. 

Video and even audio allow your audience to develop a know, like, and trust relationship with you much more quickly. This familiarity and trust are essential to build with your audience before they will want to spend any money with you.                                                                                        

This does not mean that you need to create new content for each medium.  You can repurpose a blog post and make it into a video or Youtube shorts. You can break up content and use it for several Tik Tok videos, create audio clips, or a podcast episode.  Pick one platform and get good at it. 

If you are better at speaking than writing, you can record your video or audio first and transcribe it for free with otter.ai and make it a blog post.  There are so many options.   

Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to blogging is it’s not quantity over quality anymore. 

In the early years of blogging, there was a lot less competition so the more you posted, the more traffic and visibility you received, the more ad and affiliate clicks, etc. This is no longer the case. 

It is so much better to create high quality longer, more in-depth blog posts consistently with an accompanying video or audio rather than to put out a bunch of shorter, less impactful blog posts more frequently. 

I teach my students to begin by adding pillar content to their blogs.  Pillar content (aka evergreen or cornerstone content ) is in-depth and very informative content that has a long lifespan and greatly serves your audience and yourself indefinitely. 

When you focus on these types of posts and pair them with a video, you will begin to gain traction. Since adding video to my in-depth blog posts, my reach and income have increased dramatically. 

People can get a sense of my personality via videos and they get a better sense of what my teaching style is like before they decide to invest in my website/blogging templates, courses, and/or private coaching with me. 

Recap: Is blogging dead in 2024 and beyond?

Blogging definitely isn’t dead.  It is very much alive IF you follow the right strategies and get rid of the ones that are no longer working. 

And yes you can absolutely still make an incredible income online with blogging as part of your strategy – if you treat it like the business it is and do it the right way. 

If you are ready to start and or grow your own blog and online business, make sure to check out all the ways I can help you grow smarter, strategically, and ultimately much faster below. 

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