Blogging isn’t dead in 2020. It has just changed. The other day I thought about this and I thought I would write a blog post. Nowadays, it seems as if blogging is dead with the rise of YouTube. YouTube has taken over as the number one platform, and it has increasingly turned people into entrepreneurs and millionaires. Ever since the 2000’s, blogging is the number one medium to put yourself out there and since then they have been 600 million blogs.

Let that sink in for a minute. There are 600 million blogs. How is it possible that blogging isn’t dead? How is possible that anyone can make money from blogging? These are significant questions, but blogging isn’t how it was in the 2000’s. Over the last few years, it has developed. Dramatically.

Blogs still make money

It seems impossible that they are blogs that still make money. After all, with the increase in popularity with podcasts, YouTube, and Social media. It seems as if the era for money making blogs has passed us. This isn’t true. It is just that blogging has transformed in the last couple of years. Niches have either become broad or narrow. Video blogs have also become popular. But blogs still make a lot of money. The successful blogs listed below are examples of why blogging isn’t dead. All it takes are a few examples for inspiration to understand you have what it takes to have a successful blog. 

 Here are a few examples

1.  Kate Kordsmeier

Kate’s first blog was so successful, that she decided she wanted to start another blog on how to start making money blogging. Her first blog was a wellness blog called Root + Revel. Her second blog, Kate Kordsmeier brought in a whooping $117, 497 in January 2020. 

2. The Gentleman Racer

This is a popular blog in the automotive blogging niche. Michael Satterfield doesn’t show what his monthly income is. However, this blog is also a magazine that covers topics such as automotive, men’s apparel and travel. The blog’s popularity has allowed Michael to write for several publications and co-found different apparel companies. The Gentleman Racer has shaped the automotive blogging niche and has proven what is possible with blogging.

3. Simple Programmer

The best ideas come from people trying to solve problems. Simple Programmer started like that. John Sonmez noticed that people were offering complicated programming courses and wanted to change that. As a programmer, he was frustrated that other programmers were making the topics too complicated. He makes $400k per year. The overhead cost is relatively small. It took him 4 years for him to become a full-time blogger and he quit his job. He spent that time building the business up. 

4. Practical Wanderlust

Despite the travel niche’s reputation for being saturated, Lia and Jeremy Garcia managed to make money in one year and a half of blogging. They make between $250k and half a million per year. Lia and Jeremy had been traveling for sometime, they had saved money. When they moved back to the pricey Bay Area, they were ready to get back to their old life. Jeremy went back to being a high school teacher, but Lia was dragging her feet. She didn’t want to go back to her corporate job. Lia decided to change her job, she interviewed for an incredible company. They flew her out for the interview, but when they ghosted her, she saw it as a sign. It was then that she decided to go into blogging full-time. That it was when Practical Wanderlust was born.

5. French Together

Benjamin Houy started this blog after he was a teacher in Korea for seven months. It wasn’t his passion, but he saw it is as the logical next step and thus began the journey. Benjamin has always been passionate about languages. He has always loved the idea of language connecting people. He has learned several languages including German, Portuguese, Korean and Spanish. In 2019, he earned six figures from his blog. French Together is one of the most popular French learning blogs out there.

Blogging isn’t dead, it just is evolving

Blogging has been around since the 90s. It became popular in 2003 when WordPress was released. Mathew Charles Mullenweg wanted to create a way people could share their thoughts and thus, an idea was born. In the last few years, it has drastically changed. When it first started, it was words on a screen and that was enough. There were no videos or photos, just words. Over the years it changed. 

It isn’t enough for a blog to just have words. It has to be engaging. People need to be interested in reading more when they open a blog. A blog has to be more than a blog. A blog is now a small part of a business. When you look at some of the most successful blogs, they have YouTube Channels or podcasts.

Here’s a look at some things successful blogs do.

Produce multimedia content

Blogging isn’t dead, it has developed. One way it has done this is through multimedia content. Nowadays, it isn’t enough to have a blog and not have different multimedia content. This is one way new blogs can differentiate themselves by showing different aspects of their brand. 

Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income is an outstanding example, He has a Blog, Podcast, and YouTube channel. Each of these covers similar content, but the approach is different. In his blogs, he goes into more detail, on his Podcast he’s more direct, and on his YouTube channel, he shows his skills and gives people tutorials. Therefore, Pat Flynn has become a millionaire with his business.

The more variety of content there’s on your blog, the more people will stick around. 

 Also Related: Should you start a YouTube channel?

Build a email list

This is a crucial part of your business. The earlier you start, the better. Building an email list will help you remain connected with your audience, and that is important. Your audience needs to trust you, and the best way to do this is through an email list. This is how they will like, know, and trust you. To make money from blogging your audience needs to like who you are, know who you are, and trust you. Just like you wouldn’t buy a car from a sleazy salesman, the concept is the same here.

Often, we forget that. We don’t want to be the sleazy car salesman or the annoying door-to-door salesman. If we don’t like those kinds of people, our audience feels the same way. That’s why it’s important to build an email list because if someone is comfortable enough giving you their email address then they will open your emails. Not all the time, but this direct approach can help you in the long run. They will get an in-depth look at who you are as a person and why what you say matters.

Related: How to Build an email list on your blog?

Create and Sell products

There are a lot of ways bloggers earn money from sponsorship to commission from affiliate marketing. However, they earn most of their money from selling their products. You need to create products and sell them. You can create Ebooks, courses, templates, coaching programs, or sell services. However, the key to making more money without spending too much time is courses. 

That is how gurus like Lewis Howes, Marie Forleo, and Pat Flynn make their money. By creating and selling your products, you turn your blog into an online store. Remember, blogging isn’t dead and this a demonstration of how it isn’t. Bloggers create their products and sell them to make their blog profitable. 

Start your blog the right way

Blogging doesn’t cost a lot of money nowadays. You can start using a free platform, but unfortunately, it will be difficult to make money from it. You don’t need lots of money. Blogging is one of the most affordable ways to start a business. That is why blogging isn’t dead. Over the years, it has become more affordable to start a blog. You need to use WordPress.org and Bluehost so you start a blog the right way.

One way to make sure you stand out is by making your blog look different from your competitors. You need to figure out what your brand story will become. For example, Smart Passive Income is all about making smart decisions when making money online. Lewis Howes’s blog is all about success strategies that work. Marie Forleo is about approach-ability. Melyssa Griffin is youthful and fun. The colors you choose, your logo, your blog design, and your voice will show your customers who you are.

Driving traffic

The reason many people believe blogging is dead is that they discontinue blogs in the first year. Many people give up in the second year. Blogging like anything takes time, and it requires traffic. YouTube is a search engine, so it’s easier for your content to be found as long as you take the necessary steps to ensure it does. But what about blogs? The same applies, but you have to do two things to make sure they find your blog. 

Some strategies still work, others don’t work. As a first time blogger, guest blogging might be tricky because a lot of those blogs are particular. The best strategies that work are Facebook groups, SEO, Pinterest, and giveaways. Giveaways are one of the quickest and easiest ways to grow your blog. They are also fun to do if you know what you are doing. The best giveaway plugin is RafflePress. They also offer a free plugin if you don’t have money.

Related: How to run a blog giveaway?

Monetizing blog

The purpose of doing a blog is for you to make extra income on the side. Therefore, you need to monetize the blog. Another reason people believe blogging is dead is that they aren’t making money from it. The old ways of making money from blogging don’t make sense anymore. Years ago, Ad-sense was how people made money. This doesn’t even work for YouTube, and people assume it does. You would have to have lots of subscribers. Even then it doesn’t bring in a significant amount of money. I still want to prove to you that blogging isn’t dead and here are a few ways you can make money from your blog.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways to make money on a blog. It is when you promote another person’s product and when someone purchases the product using your link; you get a commission. This is an extremely beginner-friendly technique as you don’t have to create a product to sell. There are a lot of affiliate marketing sites you can join. ShareASale, Amazon Associates, and Commission Junkie. Another thing you could do is check if the people you follow have affiliate programs. Often, they will have an affiliate program you can join. 

Sell digital products

Every successful blogger makes money from creating and selling digital products. This is another reason blogging isn’t dead. It takes more work and time than the method listed above. But it isn’t as hard as it may seem. You can use a free tool like Canva to create workbooks, journals, planners, and Ebooks. After you create the product you save it as a PDF. You have two options to use Easy Digital Downloads or Cartflows. Both are free. You can use them to sell your product. But if you want to make more money, than creating courses is your next move. The significant thing about courses is you create them once and you keep selling them until you decide to shelf the product.

If you don’t want to sell individual products, you can use membership plugins such as MemberPress or Membermouse. A membership site is where users pay a monthly fee to access the content. Think subscription sites such as Netflix. The same thing applies here. I would recommend starting small because membership sites require a steep learning curve if you are an absolute beginner. 

As you can see blogging is far from being dead. These are the ways you start a profitable blog in 2020. If you start a blog the right way and you keep pushing yourself, you can make a considerable amount of money from your efforts and change people’s lives.

Want to start a side-hustle: How to start a side-hustle at home?

What is your main takeaway? Let me known in the comments section. 

                                                                     KEEP  PUSHING

                                                 VANESSA