To anyone who blogs regularly, the saying “Blogging Is Dead” might shock them a little. With that being said, it’s a thing some people believe. Some bloggers worry that blogging will become obsolete.

I will tell you my take on the “Blogging Is Dead” idea.

Blogging Is Still Hopping

Using my own blog as an example, it’s clearly not dead. As a smaller account who’s recently got back into blogging, I get anywhere from 50-250 views per day (Not big, but also not dead). My monthly views have been over 1K since last summer – and slowly growing. So, if you’re actively blogging and connecting with other bloggers, the viewership is there. There are thousands of blogs out there who visit WordPress every single day. Not to mention there’s people who actually blog for money – yes, they make an income from blogging. If it were that dead, no one would bother and it would become more like a Myspace archived site. It doesn’t seem to be anywhere near that point. 🙂

Blogging Has Evolved

When people think “Blogging Is Dead” they’re probably thinking of the original type of blogging. The old personal blogs that had a homey, almost scrapbook-ish vibe aren’t as popular today as they were in the 2000’s (Though bullet journaling has become hot in the last few years and it’s all about aesthetics). As someone who started a WordPress blog back in 2010, I can say it’s definitely changed – and for the better in many ways. Blogging is now more about content creation – you’re providing information or a service that people need or want. People’s attention spans are short – so successful blogs generally have headings and attractive pictures to keep people engaged. The self-hosted sites will often be more successful, because they look more like a website than a blog.

The personal blog isn’t what’s popular anymore (Some people still have one and I follow a few myself). It’s more about having a niche and combining the content on your blog with your other social media sites. Pretty much everyone who’s active on social media has their different accounts connected so that their viewers can have more diversity.

Think of how a big site like Instagram has changed. In the beginning, it had more of an indie/artsy feel. Then the whole Instagram model and “I’m successful” craze hit for a while. Now the app is back to people sharing more small moments from their life. Every app goes through changes. WordPress is no exception.

People Do Still Read Blogs

Again, probably a no-brainer for anyone who actively blogs, but it’s worth being said. Youtube is by far one of the most popular ways to gain information. I use it myself when I want to learn about certain things and I follow several lifestyle vlogs. It totally depends on the topic – some topics are better suited for blogs. A big portion of bloggers are writers – and their followers are usually writers, too. So it makes sense these types of people are more likely to read blogs about writing, publishing, how to run a successful blog, etc. as opposed to searching for videos on Youtube about those topics.

Lifestyle blogs seem to be pretty trendy on here, too. A lot of people will post their Youtube videos or podcasts right on their blog to give their readers an option of reading or watching. To be honest, I don’t follow bloggers who only post their Youtube videos though. I prefer content that is writing only. If I want Youtube, I’ll go to Youtube directly.

Blogging has become more streamlined and focused on the writer’s niche – be it photography, publishing, book marketing, lifestyle, mental health, arts, etc. So the format and look of people’s blogs is a lot different than how it was 10+ years ago.

Blogging Was Never That Popular For People Who Don’t Write

Blogging always has been a niche for people who consider themselves to be writers. Even back in the 2000’s, not everyone was blogging. None of my coworkers, friends, or family at that time had a blog. I think when people say “Blogging Is Dead” they’re, again, thinking of that time when blogging first boomed and they weren’t that interested in it to begin with. They’re imagining a little personal blog with no established vision or niche (Not that there’s anything wrong with that anyway). I feel most of the people who want the personal blog feel probably migrated over to sites like Tumblr.

Google Often Shows Blogs In The Search Results

Something else people often forget is that blogs are often shown in search results on Google when the search triggers one of the key words in the post. I’ve noticed some of my traffic comes from Google searches. There’s also been a few Internet studies and it showed a high % of people who use social media still visit blogs for information. They might not have blogs themselves, but they will still go to a blog if it contains information in their category of interest.

I hope you enjoyed this post today! May you have a wonderful year in blogging. Enjoy the rest of your day! 🙂