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TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG?

I purposely have this following the episode where I say if you’re in the online space you need to be better at writing. Because in some aspects, yes, I think blogging is dead, or is slowly dying. Perhaps it’s just a phase.

It’s not dead in A LOT of places, which is where I have decided to spend my time and shift my focus over the the last year or so.

I will say, I am not a wildly successful blogger. I enjoy writing and providing content for my audience, that’s why I do it. A goal of mine is to monetize my blog, as a lifestyle blog including personal content, travel, fitness, entrepreneurship and my fav brands/products.

With all of that background/disclaimer out of the way, let’s discuss if blogging is dead, and whether or not you should have one.

First off, if blogging is what you want your full time gig to be, you need to take Julie Solomon’s Pitch It Perfect course. I took it, it’s great. Also made clear to me that blogging is indeed a full time job, and it’s not my #1 passion even though I enjoy doing it.

So just keeping it real, if you want to be blogger, where your income is strictly from brand deals and sponsorships, then Julie Solomon is your guru. And welcome to a full time job.

As far as the Google algorithm and statistics go, yes, blogging is dying. I have several friends whose blog traffic has plummeted in the last year or so. We’re talking like 500% less daily traffic to their blog.

Now, that matters if you depend on SEO or search engine optimization for new leads to come to your blog. Which likely matters if you are indeed a full time blogger.

With that, I don’t have world wide or US stats on blog traffic across the board. I just know that something similar to the decrease in Instagram exposure seems to be happening to humans in the blogging world as well.

True for some, not true for others I’m sure.

That brings me to my thoughts on blogging and whether you should do it or not.

Just because Instagram views are down does not mean you stop posting all together or that your main squeeze humans are not interacting with your posts.

I believe the same is true for blogging.

I view blogging as a deeper dive into the topics I cover on IG, and with a wider span.

It’s also where my podcasts are hosted via show notes, so keep that in mind.

Via the blog and podcast, I can dive much deeper into program design, coaching, business, travel, personal experiences and my favorite brands and resources. And I can do it in a manner that is not annoying to those who don’t want to hear or read about those things.

A blog gives you a space to narrow your funnel from places like Instagram. It gets them off the social media platform and onto YOUR PLATFORM…onto your site. From there, hopefully they join a mailing list of some kind. This is like hitting the follow button on Instagram, or the subscribe button on YouTube or your podcast app.

Do you have to have a blog to build an email list or loyal audience?
No.
100% No.

But it’s a great place to serve your audience on a deeper level and expand your reach at the same time. If Instagram is your first step in the funnel, your blog would be the next.

So no, I don’t think blogging is DEAD. I think that’s a bit dramatic. But I think we have to shift with the times.

Again, I don’t have stats, but I imagine less people are cooking from home and more humans who may have cooked from home in the past are using things like Hello Fresh or other meal delivery services. So if you’re a food blogger, that may effect you.

For fitness, I used to LIVE on blogs like T Nation, Livestrong and 8 Weeks Out when I first started my career. But now I’ll be honest, I get most my knowledge and daily reading from Instagram. With swipe posts, doctors and small blogs in the captions, I can get most of what I’m looking for on a platform that I’m already on. And outside of that, I tend to just read research articles. So on the fitness side, personally, I blog less and podcast more.

But that doesn’t mean I stop blogging. When I asked my personal audience what they look for on blogs it was much more lifestyle centered; think travel, trust worthy brands, organization tactics, home design and decor, some recipes, and then just personal stories.

It’s no secret that people LOVE reading and hearing about people. We love stories we can connect to. And that’s why I keep blogging.

And it’s also why I resist the notion that blogging is dead.

Video is growing, yes.

Podcasting is blowing up, yes.

Both of these can be hosting and sometimes have to be hosted FROM A BLOG platform.

People will always want to hear from people and read about topics they care about. And I am here to provide that for MY PEOPLE.

Whether you should blog can be determined by a few things:
— if you want to write a book someday a blog can be an amazing way to practice + have writing somewhere that a publisher can view.
— you enjoy writing
— you have more to share that what can be viewed, communicated or put on another platform, like Instagram.
— if you want to represent multiple brands but not bombard your social media with sales all the damn time.

With that, if you want to go deeper with your community – blogs can be a great way to connect, communicate and educate.

And then it’s probs a no if you don’t want to do any of the above things. You certainly don’t need a blog to grow your biz or make money but it won’t hurt you either.

That’s my take. I still view and search for blogs, and I know my audience views mine. So we out here.

If you do blog, reuse content and be adaptable with the times. Remember this is coming from an amateur blogger who does not depend in anyway shape or form on her blog content to make sustainable income. Although I am working on that.

Review of the week is from KelLanFit and says,

“I love Annie’s podcast. I enjoy that she fully shows up as herself and internal dialogue that she experiences. The information and experiences she shares are top notch and keep me coming back. I also love that her podcasts are smaller so I can listen to them completely in one sitting and has an action item. She forever has a fan and friend in me. Keep up the amazing work and I’ll be back to listen next week. “

PS. Until I am back in real time recording podcasts, you need to check the show notes (here) to see if you were review-er of the week. And then keep an eye out to see if you were listener of the month as well. That will be in the show notes and Annie’s Weekly Wrap. You can subscribe to Annies weekly Wrap at anniemiller.co/news.

If you find value here, on The FitsPRO Podcast, then pretty please head over to iTunes, subscribe, rate and review the show. It means the world to me when you spread my message to more humans.

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