Blogging has changed tremendously since I launched my first blog back in 2008. I won’t lie: things were a lot easier back then than they are now. But this doesn’t mean that blogging is no longer profitable or a great career choice as long as you do it right.
Yes, I think that blogging today is more difficult than ever. Many changes – most of them recent – have completely reshaped the blogging landscape and rewrote the rules. The main thins that have affected blogging lately are:
- Google core updates (read about one of my methods of trying to recover)
- The launch of AI
But while these are making everything harder, it doesn’t mean that those who yell that blogging is dead in 2024 are right. On the contrary – it’s still profitable and there are people making bucketloads of money from their websites.
One fact is true though: many people, be them professional bloggers earning a full-time income from their websites or just hobby writers, saw their blogs or even entire portfolios obliterated by Google’s latest algorithm changes.
This happened overnight – although in two sessions: one in September 2023 and the latest in March 2024. So, at the moment of writing, still fresh.
But at the same time, it’s not the first time that Google rewrote the rules of play. There are previous updates that have destroyed entire networks or super-huge websites that never managed to recover. But most people blogging today were not around. And even if they were – it’s never pleasant.
So why do I keep mentioning Google? Because it’s the biggest search engine in the world, with a market share of over 90% of global searches (check it out live here) and it is the main traffic generator for most blogs out there.
This means that when Google decides to change things around and stop bringing traffic to specific websites, the impact can be catastrophic. And we’ve had this event happen twice in the past seven months.
Hence the plethora of people screaming that blogging is dead starting 2024.
Blogging is not dead
Yes, blogging is alive and doing well for many. For many others, things are not looking good. Income generated by blogs has dropped by up to 90% to 100% in some cases, while many others (myself included) have also seen massive income drops. So, as I said already – things are definitely a LOT more difficult.
If you are a beginner considering to quit your job and launch a blog to make tons of money starting tomorrow – definitely DO NOT do it! At least not if you don’t have some money set aside and a great plan (more one this below).
Despite what some tried to convince you, blogging was never a “get rich quick” scheme. Even before March 2024, when things were a lot easier, you still had to put a lot of work in order to be successful.
Now, everything is a lot harder.
The biggest problem with blogging nowadays is that nobody really knows what Google wants. Nobody has recovered from the September 2023 Helpful Content Update (at least at the moment of writing), and many were also affected by the latest one, launched in March 2024.
And since Google is the main traffic source for most blogs out there, this has a massive impact over the business overall.
Google does have guidelines for those launching a website: they want helpful content, they have webmaster guidelines publicly available and tons of resources overall… but right now, a simple Google search will show a different reality.
Almost anything you search will return results dominated by big media companies, thin quality websites like Reddit or Quora (which can, it’s true, hold some real gems too!) and rarely smaller, independent blogs.
They are still there. They are still making money. Some. But it’s more difficult.
So if you are a complete beginner, somebody who just decided to try blogging for a living, it’s not going to be easy. To be frank, it’s very difficult right now even for the most experienced SEOs and bloggers out there!
This means that your timing, if you’re just planning to start a blog, could’ve been better.
But at the same time, there’s no better time than now. No need to cry over missed opportunities as that won’t help at all.
If you think that you have a good idea for a blog and genuinely believe that you can give people high-quality articles that they will find helpful, then your chances of succeeding are higher than most. But consider this: it might never work. And if it does, it will most likely not happen quickly.
Blogging is a slow-paced marathon
In order to launch and maintain a profitable blog in 2024 (and most likely beyond), you need to be prepared for it.
No, you can’t just plaster a website with automatically-generated AI articles and call it a day, seeing your bank account filled with money.
At the same time, you can’t just start writing about something you love, even if you’re a true expert and you truly have something new or interesting to say. Or at least not without a plan – and not if you want to turn this into a profitable endeavor.
In order to launch a profitable blog in 2024, you need to first make sure that you meet all the requirements below:
1. Be prepared to wait
Best case scenario, you will start making some nice money 6 months after launching your blog (and this with a lot of work). A more realistic wait period you should be ready for is 12 months.
So if you want to do something drastic like quitting your job to pursue a blogging career, make sure that you have money set aside to cover living expenses for at least 12 months.
2. Choose the right niche
With the changing landscape of blogging, I would not recommend anyone to start a blog or website about a topic they have no interest in. While this might’ve been possible in the past, it’s no longer the case.
You really need to know – or at least have genuine interest in – the topic of your blog. In other words, you shouldn’t start an auto blog if you know nothing about cars or if your knowledge is basic unless you do plan to become an expert in the field.
At the same time, some niches are very tough to get in. These are called YMYL niches (meaning “your money, your life”). As the name suggests, these are topics that could have a direct effect over your reader’s finances or life/health.
Unless you are a doctor (ideally specialized on your blog’s topic), don’t consider launching a health blog. Same goes with finance-related niches. While you might still find cracks even here… since you’re just starting, why make things more difficult?
Instead, launch a single blog on a topic that you are highly interested in – ideally an expert in the field, with plenty of experience. Make sure that there is enough to write about in your chosen niche: if you can only think about 10 topics to cover (even 100), it might be too little.
At the same time, don’t go for something overly generic. “Technology” is way too broad. Focusing on the audio aspect only will most likely be too broad. Get even more focused on headphones and speakers instead – or, even better, just one of the two.
3. Have a solid plan
Like it or not, if you’re a complete beginner – you need to do solid research in order to learn some of the basics of blogging.
You can try investing in a course right now (I have none to sell) – but most are outdated at the moment, following the recent Google updates. However, many of the basics in these courses are still valid: the foundation of genuine blogging is still standing.
So do your research online and find a solid course. Check out some YouTube videos from genuine people (most are there to sell their courses, though) and learn as much as you can.
Based on what you learn, come up with a plan for your blog: from the basics like setting it up (mainly choosing the best theme and hosting) to the topical map of your blog (the categories you will cover and, most importantly, the content you will produce) to the actual way of writing and creating articles.
4. Diversification is key
You will start to hear this more and more often now. If you don’t want to risk going through what so many of us went through when Google changed their algorithm, resulting in an overnight loss of most traffic, you should diversify early on.
This means focusing on getting traffic from other sources than Google. There are other search engines like Bing or DuckDuckGo, but you should realistically try to expand into other traffic generating means: Youtube and TikTok are great for most niches, Instagram and Pinterest can work really well for some particular ones, Facebook remains a great alternative too… and then you have all sorts of other platforms and social media to try and get traffic from: Linkedin, X, Reddit and other forums and so on.
Also, building an email list is a must nowadays. Get as many subscribers and treat them well: a diehard fanbase can be better than anything out there.
And this just scratches the surface… but the point of this article is not that of teaching you how to build a successful blog, but to discuss whether or not one can still be profitable.
It absolutely can and is. But don’t expect an easy ride. Don’t expect guaranteed success. Don’t expect lasting success. Still… don’t avoid it like the plague, since blogging is not dead yet.
I personally believe that traditional blogging, like it was done by most of us up to September 2023 is dead or very close to being dead. Blogging in general has changed and will change tremendously as user expectations change, the platforms that brought traffic to the blogs change and the technology itself changes.
I see traditional blogs like newspapers and magazines when the internet – and said blogs – were launched. In grave danger.
While many newspapers are still standing today, things are not as good as they were before the internet and most likely will never be the same. Traditional blogs are in a similar situation – but they will never completely die – at least not in decades, because many of us still have the habit of reading a blog, as many still prefer to read a newspaper.