“Blogging is dead.” I’ve heard this so many times over the years, but is it, really? Absolutely not. While blogging keeps evolving, you should know that what works nowadays may change in the future.
In this post, we are going to talk about the future of blogging, what it’s like to blog these days, and how to use the right blogging strategies that work in 2021.
Let’s start by taking a look at the current situation with blogging and I’ll be sharing real-life examples too.
Facts about Blogging in 2021
Did you ever ask yourself how many blogs are there?
According to GrowthBadger, there are over 600 million blogs at the moment. That’s a lot of blogs. In fact, you probably surf blogs on a daily basis without even knowing.
Let’s see an example. Let’s pretend you’re googling “Is blogging worth it?”. Most results found on the first page on Google are blogs. At the moment, the only website that wasn’t a blog was Quora. You can take a look for yourself.
Many people seem to think a blog is a personal blog/journal entry. The reality is that a blog can be a section coming from a big website like Buffer. For example, Buffer is a tool that allows you to schedule posts on social media. They also have a blog section in which they attempt to capture leads at different stages of their sales funnel. Smart, right?
Now the real question should be – are all blogs making money?
Many blogs are just hobbies. It takes time before you can monetize a blog, and while it’s possible, many people give up quickly.
This happens because people don’t realize the amount of work that goes behind blogging. They think they can do quick money when in reality, it can take months/years before you can start monetizing your blog. The thing is – without a clear monetization strategy, you won’t make money with your blog.
But don’t worry. In this post, we’ll talk about monetization too.
But before we start, let’s think about our usage of blogs.
Whether you’re using a voice assistant on your phone or simply searching on Google, you’re likely to consume blog content every day.
- When you’re wondering how to do a recipe, you’re probably reading a blog.
- When you’re traveling and you’re looking for things to do, you’re probably reading a blog.
- When you’re reading a review before making a purchase, you’re probably reading a blog.
- And so on…
Real-Life Example
My main blog A Broken Backpack was getting more than 60,000 views per month before Covid. Obviously, with covid, the situation has changed since people aren’t traveling as much.
At the time, this blog alone was making around $6,000 per month.
Obviously, some niches and some blogs can make a lot more and we’ll talk about it later on in this post.
The Future of Blogging
While there are more blogs appearing regularly, it’s hard to keep up with the latest trends. In the past years, we noticed that videos and vlogging seem to be popular especially amongst the younger generations.
While you can still blog, adding video content to your blog, or building a YouTube channel allows you to get more views and better ranks.
It’s simple. Creating video content is harder than writing a blog post. Not only do you need the right gear, but you need skills such as storytelling, filming, and editing, which means the competition is lower. Therefore, it’s easier to rank for video content than for blog content (of course, it still depends on your niche).
That said, a blogger that can do both videos and blogs will likely succeed. Need inspiration? Take a look at the best blogging alternatives.
What blogging strategies should you use in 2021?
If you want to build a profitable blog, make sure to take a look at the following blogging strategies. The first step is to start your blog the right way. Let’s see what this means.
How to start a blog the right way
First, you should know that starting a blog cost money. So, before you start investing money in a new project, you should have a clear strategy in mind.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to get started:
- What are you an expert in?
- How competitive is your niche?
- Can you create better content than the blogs in your niche?
- How can you monetize your content?
Once you have a clear idea of your niche, you can start with the following steps:
- Pick a domain.
- Buy a domain.
- Purchase a hosting plan.
- Install WordPress via your hosting dashboard.
- Purchase a theme.
- Create an SEO strategy.
- Start writing/publishing your content.
If you’re pretty new to blogging, here is some additional information to help you understand the elements above.
Choosing a domain is an important step often overlooked by new bloggers. We recommend you learn how to pick a blog name.
You could also purchase your domain with your hosting provider to avoid any complications. I personally use Bluehost to buy domains and hosting plans since I host all my websites under the same plan. You can also get a free CDN (content delivery network) with Cloudflare by picking the option in your Bluehost dashboard. Bluehost allows you to install WordPress in one click.
If you aren’t familiar with a theme, it’s basically a website template that allows you to create a beautiful design. I personally use Divi by Elegant Themes, which offers free templates, and drag and drop options.
Regarding SEO, you should learn how to optimize your content for search engines from the beginning. While looking at the competitiveness of your niche, doing keyword research is an important step. You can learn more about SEO inside our online course SEO from Scratch.
Finally, once you have a clear SEO strategy, you can start building up your content.
You can also read more about the best resources for blogging here to ensure you start your blogging journey the right way.
How to generate traffic to your blog
Once your blog is live, you got to find ways to generate traffic. Here are the top three ways to generate traffic. You should note that depending on your niche you could use different channels to get views.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- Pinterest (Visual search engine)
These three channels are my top traffic sources. Let’s see how they can help you get traffic to your blog.
SEO
My favorite way to generate traffic is by using SEO strategies. SEO is a technique that is used to optimize your content for search engines such as Google. It starts with keyword research. It’s quite a complex topic, but you can learn more by joining SEO from Scratch or by reading our SEO articles.
Another great way to find targeted traffic to your site is by creating pins and pinning them on Pinterest. Pinterest is another search engine that works with visuals. It’s great for visual niches such as cooking, interior design, crafting, DIY, travel, and more.
Facebook is a great way to generate traffic, but it does depend on the type of content. I found that content that includes opinions or personal pieces works better on Facebook. For example, content that triggers emotions work better on Facebook. Although it’s hard to predict and not a sustainable way to generate views, I prefer to dedicate my time to SEO and Pinterest.
How to make your blog stand out
Finally, with so many blogs out there, we recommend starting niche sites. A niche is basically a section within a market that has its own specifics.
Here are a few examples of niche sites:
- Vegan recipe and cooking blog
- Traveling with twins
- Gardening with kids
As you can see, by adding specifics, you’re niching your topic down, and while you may not have as much traffic, your traffic will be very specific. At the end of the day, traffic doesn’t really matter as long as the conversion is high.
The goal here is to become an expert within your niche. Think about all the potential angles, questions, and topics within your specific niche.
How can you monetize a blog in 2021
There are several ways to monetize a blog these days. My two favorite ways are affiliate marketing and displaying ads.
Obviously, there are other ways too. Let’s set the top ways to monetize your content.
- Affiliate marketing: You receive a commission when you promote a product. For example, let’s say you promote products on Amazon. When a user clicks on your affiliate link and purchases something on Amazon, you will receive a commission for the sale.
- Displaying ads: There are different ad networks to make money with display ads. I’m using Mediavine on my main site, but you could also consider using Ezoic, SheMedia, Thrive, or Adsence depending on the size of your traffic. Some of them have a minimum of pageviews/sessions to join their program.
- Sponsorship: You could also partner up with brands to advertise their products in exchange for money. They would pay you to create content to promote their brands.
- Sell your own products: Another great way to monetize your blog is by creating your own products (digital downloads, physical products, etc.). You can invite your audience to purchase your products.
Final Thoughts – Blogging is [NOT] dead
As you can see, blogging is not dead at all. There are still ways to compete in the blogging industry by being specific, having a clear strategy, and focusing on sustainable ways to generate traffic (like SEO).
I’ve been blogging since 2015, and I’m not planning on stopping anytime soon.
If you do decide to join the blogging train, make sure to develop a content strategy and follow the steps mentioned in this post. Implementing SEO strategies was the best thing I’ve ever done for my blog. You can do it too – join SEO from Scratch – an online course specifically designed for bloggers.
Still got questions? I got answers for you.
Frequently asked questions
Finally, let’s talk about these basic quick questions. I hope you’ll find the answers you’re looking for.
Do people still blog?
Yes. There are so many blogs out there, and people don’t realize it, but they consume blog content regularly. Blogging is wrongly associated with personal journals when it’s basically about providing information and solving people’s problems.
Do people still read blogs?
Yes. If you google something, you’re likely to pick a blog as a result. You’ll find blog sections on major websites and brands, and personal blogs.
Is it better to blog or vlog?
These days, video content is more popular than blog content. Although everyone has different tastes, and while the younger generations tend to pick Youtube over blogs, some of us still prefer to read content. Mixing both blogging and vlogging is, in my opinion, the way to go to build a successful brand.
If you’re wondering if it is better to start a blog or a YouTube channel, it depends on your skills too. If you’re willing to learn new skills, such as creating a compelling script, filming, and editing, you may want to create video content. Although, there’s a lot of work that goes with video making.
Don’t get me wrong, blogging is a lot of work too, but I find writing to be easier than video-making. So, that’s up to your skills and preferences.
How can I earn money from my blog?
You can earn money by displaying ads, recommending affiliate products, selling your own products, or partnering with brands.
How do beginner blogs make money?
At first, it may take a while before you can start monetizing your site. You must start by building up your audience. The same monetization strategies can be used at any stage, but some of them might be harder to do without a proper audience. For example, if you have an audience of 10 people, it may be harder to make money. But, if you have an audience of 10,000 people, your chances of making more sales increase.
In other words, the more you have traffic, the more you have chances to monetize with ads or sales.
