The Future Of Blogging – Why You MUST Start A Blog Today!

FIRST THINGS FIRST!

There are over 1.9 billion websites on the internet today. And it’s estimated that over 600 million of them have blogs.

More than 2 billion blog posts were published worldwide in 2018. That’s 5,760,000 blog posts per day, and 4,000 blog posts per minute.

With this amount of data available to you, would you say that blogging is dying? Trust me, I won’t! Blogs are still relevant in 2023 and the future of blogging is bright.

Are you tired of hearing people say that blogging is dead? Well, I’m here to tell you that they couldn’t be more wrong! Despite the rise of social media platforms and video content, blogging is still alive and kicking.

In fact, the future of blogging is brighter than ever.

With so much noise and clutter on the internet, a well-written blog post can be a breath of fresh air.

Think yourself – whenever you have a question in mind, do you “Google” it or YouTube it? I’d go around Googling it. Google is the first thing that comes to your mind when you have a question. And Google is also where awesome blog posts are found.

So in this blog post, I’ll be putting the rumors to rest. Blogging isn’t dead, it’s just getting started!

I’ll talk about some important trends in the world of blogging and how you can exploit them as a blogger.

Is blogging still relevant in 2023

Yes, I know that visual content is gaining more and more popularity, and people are most engaged when they are watching a video. But that doesn’t mean that blogs are no longer relevant or the future of blogging is dead.

Time and time again, I have heard from big YouTubers that “Money lies on Google, and not on YouTube”. In fact, many renowned YouTubers were bloggers first and YouTubers then. Moreover, they use YouTube as a good way to attract traffic to their blogs (where all the money lies).

Entertaining content is an exception. It’s hard to make people laugh through written content.

• For Neil Patel, YouTube is just a source of traffic for his other ventures

• Ryan Robinson occasionally makes YouTube videos to drive traffic to his blog ryrob.com

• Ryan Biddulph, a renowned blogger, posts videos on YouTube to drive traffic to his blog where he sells online courses and e-books.

Likewise, I have a long list of bloggers that I follow on Twitter who are making good money from blogging.

So in no way, you can say that blogging is dead. It is still relevant in 2023 and will be for years to come.

Should you start a blog today?

If you ask me whether you should start a blog today, I’ll say, go for it!

Your next question might be – If there are 4000 blog posts being posted every minute globally, “how am I gonna stand out?”

Do not worry! 90% of bloggers who start a blog give up in the first 12 months of blogging. Blogging isn’t easy and it isn’t fast. It’s an ever-changing landscape and it takes a lot of work to be able to earn a single penny over what you have invested.

But, if you can manage to be patient and consistent with your work, you can achieve wonders.

With that being said, let’s move on to the future of blogging and some important trends that you can expect to see in 2023.

The future of blogging: 7 Important trends

1. The internet will become more crowded

According to Seed Scientific, the amount of data generated each day is expected to reach 463 exabytes globally by 2025.

The increase in data simply means more people on the internet.

As more and more people come online, the internet is becoming increasingly crowded. The sheer volume of content being produced each day is overwhelming, and it can be difficult for individuals and businesses alike to stand out in this digital landscape.

Social media platforms, blogs, online marketplaces, and other online destinations are all vying for our attention, making it a challenge to keep up.

What you can do?

As the internet continues to evolve, it’s more important than ever to create unique, high-quality content that resonates with your audience. With the right strategy and approach, it’s still possible to make a meaningful impact in the crowded online space through a blog.

2. People are hungry for passive income

What’s the best thing about blogging? Passive income!

If you are ready to put in years of work, then that dream of yours where you are “sitting on a beach chair in the Maldives while your blog earns you money” can come true.

People between the age of 18-35 are most interested in passive income. With the rise of the gig economy and the increasing availability of online business opportunities, many young people are looking for ways to generate online income without relying on traditional employment.

The best example is the author of this blog post – myself. I work with my dad in the family business but on the side, I decided to start a blog to earn a passive income.

Blogging is an amazing opportunity to earn a passive income.

What does that mean for you?

Here’s the deal. When I started blogging, I had no idea what to do! So naturally, I looked up to seasoned bloggers who were already established in the blogging industry.

I have followed and read almost every prominent blog out there that teaches how to blog. It might be a good idea to teach new bloggers how to blog. That’s what I do.

So if many people are looking for ways to earn passive income, what about you take the opportunity to do it yourself and teach them?

My site is hosted with Hostinger. How did I know about it? Through a blogger who recommended it and I’m sure he must have earned 60% of what I paid for the hosting (That’s affiliate marketing, in case you don’t know). That’s the power of blogging.

3. Educational content will dominate

As I said, teach what you know!

According to Google, “how-to” searches on their platform have increased by more than 140% over the past 13 years.

And, an Orbit Media survey found that “How-to articles” are the most published content format.

A company selling a SAAS product such as an SEO tool doesn’t just sell its tool to bloggers and content writers. Instead, it heavily focuses on teaching SEO to them.

The same applies to bloggers. Writing product reviews and comparisons isn’t enough.

Educational content provides value to your readers and helps establish yourself as an authority in your niche. It helps you attract and retain readers and even improve your SEO. How-to guides are loved by Googlers and Google shows them what they love.

So if you have a blog or are planning to start one, focus on creating educational content from day 1.

You will even realize that while you were busy educating your audience, you made a hefty affiliate commission without even trying to sell.

4. AI content is on the rise

Do you follow the war between Google’s Bard and Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT? I do.

It’s super interesting. Just recently, Google also announced that it won’t penalize AI-generated content. This was sure to come because how would people use Google’s Bard if Google penalizes content generated by it?

AI-generated content has been on the rise in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue in 2023 and beyond. With the help of AI tools, bloggers can create more engaging and personalized content for their audience.

AI will revolutionize the way we blog in the future.

For example, AI can be used to analyze the interests and behavior of blog readers, and generate content that is tailored to their preferences. AI can also be used to automate certain tasks, such as content curation, keyword research, and even content creation.

There are a lot of uses of AI – image generation, video generation, coding, or programming.

But one thing that AI is mostly used for is written content generation. And where is all the written content in the world? On blog posts, among other places!

As more and more people discovered the capabilities of AI content generation, many were encouraged to start their own blogs due to the speed at which AI can create content that sounds natural and human-like.

Matt Diggity, a highly successful blogger and content creator, managed to generate 50k+ monthly traffic in a matter of 11 months to a niche website with 100% AI content.

Overall, AI content is an exciting trend that is poised to shape the future of blogging. To be honest, I too sometimes use AI for generating hooking intros for my blog posts or when I’m stuck with my writing.

5. Rise of visual content

The rise of visual content has been a significant trend in recent years, driven in part by the increasing popularity of social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok.

Visual content, such as images, videos, and infographics, is more engaging and memorable than plain text alone and can help to communicate complex ideas more effectively.

As a result, bloggers and content creators have increasingly turned to visual content as a way to attract and retain audiences, increase engagement, and stand out in the crowd.

What you can do?

Use infographics in your blog posts. These are images that tend to explain a lengthy process in a single image.

The same study as above by Orbit Media also found that 37% of bloggers who were interviewed reported strong results from Infographics.

Apart from Infographics, also try to infuse videos in your blogging strategy. If you are a blogger teaching complex techniques such as SEO, it will help you a great deal if you were to make video content and include it in your blog posts.

People would love to watch a short snackable video rather than read a lot of text.

Here’s an added advantage of including video in your blog posts. Not a lot of bloggers and website owners upload or embed videos in their blog posts, which means that you have a bright chance of ranking in the Videos section of the Google search results, meaning more traffic.

6. SEO is getting tougher

Google, on average, introduces two core updates to its search rankings algorithm every year.

These core updates cause havoc in the search rankings of prominent websites. Some website owners have reported over 50% drop in search traffic over the course of 24 hours. That’s insane!

While some bloggers reported a hike in their organic traffic after a core algorithm update.

Google is weird and uncertain and it can make or break your blog within a matter of hours. So this ever-changing SEO landscape is a major determinant of how we blog in the future.

A recent major algorithm update was E-A-T (Expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness). Websites that were performing well took no time to lose their search traffic.

So it’s important in 2023 that you keep an eye out for such major updates and be in constant knowledge of the changes taking place in the SEO landscape. A constant audit of your blog’s content is a must.

Seasoned bloggers recommend that you audit and update your older blog posts every 6 months if you want that sweet organic traffic coming in!

What does it mean for new bloggers?

It sounds intimidating, right? But don’t worry, SEO doesn’t have to be as hard as it sounds. With the right tools and techniques, you can manage to get a sweet spot in the search rankings and earn handsome traffic from it.

Further, not all bloggers rely on SEO and backlinks for generating traffic. As the SEO landscape is getting tougher, newer and existing bloggers are turning to other forms of traffic such as social media, paid traffic, etc.

Two important sources of traffic are Pinterest and Twitter. Once you get familiar with how these platforms work, there’s no limit to the traffic you can generate for your blog. You can find a lot of guides and courses on YouTube and other platforms that teach you how you can leverage these platforms for your blog.

In fact, the majority of traffic to my own blog is generated from Twitter.

7. You need multiple sources of income

Gone are the days when the only way to earn money from a blog was Google Adsense’s ad revenue. Today, bloggers can monetize their blogs in a plethora of ways.

Some ways include:

• Affiliate marketing

• Selling online courses

• Selling physical products

• Selling e-books, etc.

Affiliate marketing is the most popular way to earn money from a blog post.

A study by Statista shows that the total global affiliate marketing spending was expected to reach $8.2 billion by the end of 2022. This shows massive growth, up from $5.4 billion in 2017.

Related: Is affiliate marketing still worth it in 2023?

E-books and online courses are gaining immense popularity, too. A blogger already has a lot of content on his/her website which makes it easy to combine all this content into one super e-book.

If you want to have a bright future in blogging, then you need to tweak your monetization strategies.

What does this mean for you?

When Google Adsense was the only way to monetize a blog, bloggers needed a huge amount of traffic because the CPC rate was too low.

But today, you don’t need hundreds of thousands of visitors to your website. Having a smaller but highly targeted audience that is very much interested in what you offer is the smart way.

Being active in communities and forums related to your niche will go a long way in generating targeted traffic to your blog. Further, make use of social media ads such as Facebook ads and Twitter ads to generate more traffic.

I also engage with a number of like-minded bloggers on Twitter. I share their blog posts, comment on them, and regularly interact with them. Most bloggers (80%) will return the favor giving you more exposure to a wider audience.

How you can run a successful blog in 2023

As you’ve seen, starting a blog today is surely rewarding as blogs are still relevant in 2023. But it takes a lot of work, patience, and perseverance to make your blog successful.

Here are some important things you should make sure to do. These are from my personal experience.

1. Don’t try to be a lone wolf

Blogging isn’t for you if you are planning to be a lone wolf. You need to be a part of a bigger tribe in order to thrive. When you have a new blog, you don’t have any authority or backlinks. This makes it hard to get any organic traffic in the first few months.

And the first few months are crucial. Most bloggers quit because they don’t see any results quickly. Blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme.

So what you should focus on is engaging and building meaningful relationships with fellow bloggers. I do this on Twitter, as I said. Most of the bloggers that I follow are welcoming buddies who are ready to help me climb the ladder for mutual gain.

Social media is a beginner blogger’s best friend.

2. Build an email list from day 1

It’s no secret that an email newsletter is by far the best way to promote your new content and increase blog traffic. I regret not starting an email list sooner.

Your email list subscribers are your most loyal audience. Nobody signs up for emails that they don’t wanna see.

2 out of every 3 marketers use email marketing to distribute content organically (source)

I use MailerLite for my email marketing campaigns. It has a free plan which provides almost everything a beginner blogger needs.

Join my email newsletter below to never miss any new blog posts like this one.

3. Cover your competitors’ best topics

As a blogger, you are always on the hunt for easy-to-rank-for keywords. I found most of such keywords through my competitors.

I use SEMrush for finding keywords my competitors rank for. Here’s how I do it. Check it out after you finish reading this article.

I also have a detailed keyword research guide after reading which, I promise you’ll find a lot of good keywords.

4. Be an authority in your niche

Have you heard of topical authority?

In the context of SEO, search engines like Google use topical authority to determine the relevance and quality of content on a specific topic. Websites or individuals with high topical authority on a subject are more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant queries.

What to do? List out all the possible topics in your niche and write down a blog post on each one of them. This tells Google that you are an expert on the topic and it ranks you higher in search results.

Koray Tugberk, an SEO specialist is known to have generated thousands of visitors to his websites in no time without doing any link-building; all through achieving topical authority.

5. Diversify your income

As mentioned above, Google Adsense isn’t the only way to monetize your blog these days. Try different things. Sell e-books based on your blog posts, create and sell online courses if you can, start a podcast on your blog, etc.

Unless your website has thousands of monthly visitors, just relying upon Google Adsense isn’t smart.

How to start a blog today

Now you know that the future of blogging is thriving. It is going to be more powerful than ever. If this doesn’t motivate you to start a blog today, then what does?

If you are ready to start a blog, refer to my ultimate guide to start a blog today!

Here’s a summary of the entire process:

• Pick a niche and your blog name

• Launch your blog online with web hosting and a domain name

• Design your blog with a content management system

• Write your first post

• Promote your blog – The most important step

• Make money with your wonderful blog

There are also some awesome tips for beginners at the end of the guide. Make sure to check it out.

FAQs on the future of blogging

Conclusion

In the end, it’s important to note that the problem usually isn’t with blogging itself, but rather with the blogger. Many people tend to give up after a few months of starting a new blog, especially if they don’t see results right away.

But don’t worry, building a successful blog in 2023 is definitely possible! By focusing on the long-term and staying up-to-date with the latest blogging and SEO trends, you can create a blog that not only provides value to your audience but also generates income for you.

Blogging is still alive and kicking in 2023 and will do for years to come.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the future of blogging. Do you have any predictions or questions? I’m all ears! Comment down right now!

If you found this post helpful, consider sharing it on social media and with people you think might benefit from it. Sharing it will make my countless hours more meaningful.

Also, make sure to subscribe to my email newsletter below. My newsletter subscribers are the first ones to get notified regarding new posts and clever tips from my personal experience as a blogger.