Life 5 years ago Is Blogging a Dying Industry?
I was recently interviewed by Mini Magazine for an article “Is Blogging Dead?” and it inspired me to write a more lengthy answer here.
I started this blog over 7 years ago and 7 years ago I felt late to the party. It seemed like all of the “top bloggers” were already taking off so quickly. I was worried that my little blog wouldn’t succeed and was told many, many times back then that the industry was “oversaturated” and dying out.
It’s pretty crazy if you think about what would have happened if I had listened to everyone else.
You are never too late to start working on your dream. If blogging, writing, photography, accounting, or whatever it is that is pulling at your heart, is something that you cannot wait to get to work on every morning, then you should be doing it.
I understand that the question isn’t so much about the industry being oversaturated at this point. I think it’s pretty safe to say that it IS oversaturated. But what industry isn’t? I think the real concern is whether or not people are actually visiting blogs. Well, are you reading this post? {Yes you are, so thank you!} People still read blogs!
I do, however, think the word “blog” is becoming obsolete and I wish we could come up with a better term for it.
Bloggers aren’t just “blogging” now. We are running small business and we are entrepreneurs who are carving the entire way we think about advertising and media. Blogging are now designers, investors and playing bigger cards at the tables of advertising and investment opportunities.
I know a lot of “bloggers” who stopped updating their websites regularly and started to focus 100% on Instagram because that was, and is, where the main money is being spent.
But what are we going to do if Instagram goes away?
I don’t think it will really “go away, go away,” but what would these people do if something happened? What if it crashed {which it did for a day and every freaked out}. What happens when Instagram becomes not so important anymore and a new social media platform gets released and we aren’t able to monetize from it?
I think it’s safe to say that the only way blogging is a dying industry is if the internet dies too. Similar to the magazine industry, it might be slowing down a little bit, but there are still so many amazing publications that are valuable.
There are also a ton of blogs that are adapting to the changing times. Gone are the days of readers sitting at their desks looking at blogs. 60% of our readers are looking at the website on mobile which means we continue to make changes so that the website is easier and adapted to mobile devices.
I’m always trying to find ways to continue to stay inspired and motivated to keep my blog feeling up to date and inviting for people to return.
I’m not going to lie and say there aren’t days that I’ve thought about shutting it all down. It’s not been the easiest vertical of my business to keep the website feeling fresh and updated weekly with new posts, new items on the shop page and new content going up daily.
But in the end, it’s my blog that I own 100% in its entirety and it’s the thing I am most proud of that I’ve built from scratch.
What do you think about this hot topic? Leave a comment below!
0 Comments Join the Conversation