If I Read Or Hear That Blogging Is Dead I Will Scream!

If I read or hear that blogging is dead again, I will scream, and that’s because it is so far from the truth. Well as far as I am concerned blogging is well and truly alive and kicking. It’s just changed and it’s evolving or in truth it has evolved. There is no doubt that the emergence of the social media influencer has changed the face of blogging and if you are a blogger of old like myself you need to move with the flow of how it’s changed and embrace the social media side of blogging and offer a full package of blog and social media to brands.

There are a number of reasons why I believe blogging is still going strong. The best example of this is myself. I have been blogging for five years and there is no doubt that 2019 was my best year financially by far. In fact it had been that good that I decided over the the couple of months leading up to Christmas that I would blog full-time. I had many collaborations for the festive period and it seemed a logical decision to concentrate on that rather than my usual job as a painter and decorator. I have now gone back to painting and decorating and I will balance both the jobs throughout the winter months.

Bloggers offer something that an influencer cannot ever do.When you do a blog post it will offer the brand an evergreen link to the product that will be more visible online. There are obvious benefits of this. Platforms such as Instagram are an instant hit to followers but it will disappear quicker than when it arrived and nobody I know scrolls through grids on Instagram to find a particular post. Of course the influencer doesn’t own the content either. Instagram has control over it, but anything on my blog I own 100%. It’s mine to do with as I please. Another noticeable thing is the amount of quality bloggers that I used to look forward to reading are no longer writing blog posts of any consequence which is a shame because it’s not quite the same looking at a picture with a 50 word post. This is where the blog post or the written word is in my opinion very important. A well researched post will always hold more appeal to me, than a bullet point post on Instagram.

This year has been a very important learning curve for me as a blogger. I have found there is definitely a place for the blogger in the influencer marketplace. I have just marketed myself in a different way than what I have done in previous years.

To secure work with PR’s and brands I offer a complete package which will include a blog post and supporting social media, but I don’t just limit myself to that type of collaboration. I’m happy to also do just social media posts on the likes of Instagram or Twitter, or add a video on IGTV or YouTube to give a brand maximum exposure. I’m very flexible with what the brands want and more importantly I’m flexible with the fees I charge. Nothing is set in stone when it comes to fees. Having this approach this year has massively paid off financially.

The world of online influencers comes in many different forms and there is without a doubt a place for all of us but you really do need to be flexible with your approach to brands. Your audience can now come from many different angles. The secret to me is to show the PR’s what you can offer brands and gain a maximum exposure for their brand.

Many people will throw all their eggs into one basket and that is absolutely fine if it works for them. For me I have built all of my channels up in numbers whether that be my blog or my social channels slowly but making sure I get the right level of interaction to be successful. This allows me to work with many more brands depending on what they want.

So please let’s stop saying that blogging is dead because it’s not and it’s far from it. It’s just evolved and changed and what we have to do is change with it as bloggers. Embrace the moment and stop moaning that social media is taking all our work because believe me that is not the case and this year has proved that beyond a doubt.

I think only in my own opinion that 2020 will see changes. PR’s and brands will start to look more closely at the interaction that bloggers and influencers receive via their blog or social channels. It’s not always a numbers game.

Do you think blogging is dead or still very much alive? I would love to hear in the comments below.