Blogging: alive or dead?

The rumors about if blogging has actually died have been circling since forever. And since forever there are people who say that “it’s officially over”. Yet here we are, working, living and in fact much more alive than ever.

So, to answer the question: alive!

But then here is a real problem: how to step forward? How to keep growing?

Let’s take a look together!

1. Use More Platforms

The reality is, people aren’t stick to blogs quite like they used to. This could be due to any number of reasons, but the most important is that readers are spending their time elsewhere.

New social media like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and others have increased in popularity to the point where a user can spend time on one of those platforms, and see content from all of their favourite bloggers.

If you want your blog to grow in 2019, you need to choose at least one other platform for your content and go all in.

Which one to choose?

Does your site lend itself well to beautiful imagery and photos? Invest in Instagram.

Are you an aspiring videographer? YouTube it is.

Debating about a blog vs vlog content strategy? Check out this post.

Are you an expert on your subject and love a good heated discussion? Reddit is great for that.

In 2019, you can’t just expect people to easily find you the way they might have in the past. By devoting just as much time to at least one other medium, as you do your blog, you’ll see traffic, income, and loyalty increase in the process.

2. Invest in Video Content

The popularity of video content is blowing up constantly.

Why?

Well for one, it’s gotten so much easier to do over the last few years. Just look at Instagram Stories for instance. People have built entire brands simply around their daily stories. You might think video is for fame, subscribers, or traffic. Not exactly. Yes, if your videos are especially spectacular and you become famous, that of course would be financially rewarding as well, but the point is that it’s all about…trust. No matter how great your blog posts or emails are, it doesn’t really give users a sense of exactly who you are, what your personality is like, and frankly if they would like you. With video, there’s nothing to hide behind. You put yourself out there, for better or worse. Some people won’t resonate with your personality, obviously, as in real life, but what’s most important, is that others will.

It allows you to find your true fans, build trust with them, and give them another way to digest content from you.

3. Start Using Email Automation

The most effective medium we still have for actually building a real business around a blog is through an email list. That’s the best way to monetize a site, provide value that gets seen on a regular basis, and once again, is a great opportunity to build trust.

But here’s the thing with email these days.

It has come a long way. In the last three years, there have been a handful of new email companies that have come up, and are forcing all of the players to step up their games.

What does this mean? It means that email marketing companies are continuing to roll out advanced features that you should be taking advantage of. Automations and segmentation are the most significant ones.

Now, this gets into more advanced stuff – but if you want to keep up, I believe you’ll need to embrace this stuff.

Why?

Because your competition is.

So what’s an example of this?

Well let’s say that half your audience that are interested in a remote online business opportunities so that they can travel full time. While the other half just wants to spend more time with their family. You can then segment out these two types of people and send emails that, while having the same actionable content, use language that will appeal to each group.

One will have travel stories, hacks, and photos of exotic locations. While the other might focus on the day to day benefits of being able to work from home.

By embracing advanced email automations and segmentation, you’re able to give each of your subscriber’s more useful information for their life.

Yes, it’s a bit more work, but you’re going to be far better breaking up your readers into like minded segments so you can get really targeted in the emails you send and speak exactly to the stuff they are interested in. As a result, they will trust you

Wrapping it up

Easy to say, hard to do. But not in this case. All these advices are realistic and applicable. So stick to your guns and always improve.

Happy marketing!