Blogging - Is It For Me?

Jerrin Finney is the owner and author of blogs on The 1099 Life. Remember to always do your research and gather all the information necessary to make the best decision for yourself possible.

Blogging is dead! Didn't you get the funeral invitation? No? Neither did I. But just because you and I weren't at the funeral doesn't mean blogging is dead. The funeral could've happened without us, like so many others. But this may be getting a little too dark, yeah? Or maybe, just maybe... Blogging isn't dead.

Internet Rumors and the Supposed Blogging Apocalypse 

Is blogging as extinct as the dodo in 2024? This might as well be like asking if libraries have lost their relevance because we now have Kindle. Sure, the cyber world has gone through a metamorphosis, audiences are more eclectic, and the plethora of content we have today can make anyone’s head spin. But to stamp blogging as 'done and dusted' is akin to declaring paperback novels dead because audiobooks exist. The issue isn't with the platform but the content it hosts. If your blog is nothing more than a self-aggrandizing monologue or a regurgitated scoop on trending hashtags, well then, your blogging journey might be on the brink of a cliff. 

Added to that is the fact that there are just many more big fish in the sea, if you will. When more predators enter into an ecosystem, it threatens to destroy that ecosystem by eating up all of the prey. But I'm not a biologist or whatever. I'm a guy who writes blogs on the internet, so maybe I should stay in my lane. But my point is, when you lower the barrier to entry, then a lot of people will come flooding in - some talented and some not so much. And the level of talent you have to have to be successful is raised higher. What if you spent your time growing, adapting, and increasing your value to an audience? I bet you would have a better chance of getting that success you want. If you're looking for easy work, then get a 9 to 5 job. That way you know what you're going to do, when you're going to do it, how much you'll be paid, and so on. There is absolutely nothing wrong with honest work, including working a 9 to 5 job. But if you're tired of the 9 to 5 grind and want an easier job, I can't think of one. Freelancing sure isn't easier. It's not stable either. There's a steep learning curve. That's probably why a lot of people who become freelancers quit. Now, they quit for various reasons. One of those reasons may be because it's tougher than they thought. I obviously don't know as I haven't communicated with any other freelancers, but I do know it's a frustrating struggle.

I do know, however, that many people quit what's hard for what's easier. A lot of people find it easier and more stable to work for a company than to do freelance work. And they're not wrong from my experience. But I'm not going anywhere. Why? Because I always choose the hard path - even to my detriment. It's like a written part of me I try to override, but trying to override it just makes things so much worse. So I'm stuck, for now, choosing the difficult path. But it's all good. I'll survive. Probably. Maybe?

Anyway, writing blogs for your website isn't easy. Being a freelance writer isn't easy. But it sure isn't dead or extinct. It just means if you're going to enter into this niche, then you'd better toughen up. If we're being honest, technology is making it harder to find those easy-to-dominate niches. It may just be in your best interest to develop your talents and not worry about trying to find the easiest niches to be first in. Besides, being first in a niche doesn't matter any longer. Once people get word of it, they'll come in and do it better than you. There's not much you can do about it, either, especially if you're not willing to work hard to develop your skills and adapt as quickly as possible when necessary. So no, blogging isn't dead at all. It just isn't the same as it was back in the day because more people are here now. But in a globally connected world, there aren't many secrets left. So where are you going to go to be the biggest fish in your pond without learning how to thrive in an already crowded pond? What easy business are you going to start where you work less than the average forty hours for months, maybe years, with little to no pay in the hopes of earning that huge paycheck in the next three to five years? Good luck finding it.

Blogging Still Lives!

Blogging is still alive and kicking. Has it changed? Yes! Things tend to change as the years go by! That is to be expected. Will what worked in the early 2010s be as effective today? No! That was over ten years ago! A lot has changed. Just because the way we have to do things changes doesn't mean the thing is dead. Therefore, just because the way we have to blog now has changed doesn't mean it's dead or even oversaturated. I mean, it is oversaturated, but I say that's not your real problem. It's an adaptation problem. You're too rigid and unwilling to get uncomfortable so you can grow. I'm not talking about suffering for the sake of suffering or anything like that. What doesn't kill you doesn't make you stronger. It's just something that hasn't killed you. It doesn't mean you haven't grown weaker at some capacity because you've experienced the struggle.

But growth comes with a struggle. To build a stronger version of yourself, the weaker version has to struggle and break down a little. Gaining muscle mass involves resistance training that places tears in your muscles. Those tears will be replaced with new, stronger muscles with the proper nutrition and rest, of course. Your career is similar. It's a struggle to grow and learn how to navigate this new world of freelancing - at least it is for me. And yes, there's some growing pains involved. Just like with a new exercise program, you have to be careful with what you put your body through. You'll have to be careful what you put your career through as a freelancer as well. Maybe do some research and find quality information that you can use to help yourself grow.

The point is that you can't be mediocre. There are so many other options for your audience to go to besides you. You have to be more appealing to your audience than their alternatives - your competitors.

I'm not an expert on blogging. I won't sit here and pretend that I will. But I will say that if you're just using blogging to try to make money without any understanding of how it works or what your audience wants to read, then yes. You'll fail. People don't have time to fool with someone who doesn't have their best interest in mind. That means they won't be visiting your website if you don't provide them with what they need! Let's talk about some of the things you can do to build a blog with a following.

Blogging Is About Community

Blogging is about connecting to a community of like-minded people with similar goals. I'm not saying you have to create the most perfect, harmonious community around your blog. You should strive for that in my humble opinion. However, the thing I want you to focus on is connecting with other humans through your blog posts. Look, what you type has to resonate with someone. So that means you should write as though another human is going to read your post!

Who's going to read your post? Well, it's going to be public and on the internet. Who knows who'll read it? And who knows what those people will think after reading it? And who knows if those people will continue reading what you put out or supporting you by purchasing what you're selling? I wouldn't worry too much about that. When you're dealing with a lot of people, you're going to get ignored by most. Others will dislike you for one reason or another. A lot of times, it's their issue and not yours. If you're self-aware and conscious of your flaws and potential "anger triggers" - the irritating things you do that could potentially irritate someone else - then you have nothing much to worry about, especially if you're trying to reasonably be people-friendly.

Be Real With People

I'm an introvert. I'm more closed off and "secretive" when I do things. I put "secretive" in quotes because it's not more about me hiding things than me just doing what I like doing without socializing about it. For example, I love reading, but I don't like talking about reading. That's why I can't do a YouTube channel on reviewing books. I don't want to talk about how great a book is. I just want to read it and enjoy it. The same applies to almost anything else I do. I don't like talking. I like doing. I guess that best sums it up. But that can make me seem more closed off and "anti-social" I suppose. I'm not against socializing, though I think people socialize too much. Sometimes, people talk about things so much that they never actually get things done. And sometimes, I make people who feel like they do a lot but they haven't done much but talk about what they're doing a little irritated.

I don't go out of my way to make people mad. In my example, I'm specifically talking about people who claim they want some support but haven't done anything worth supporting. They talk about building a business and have been planning and talking about it for so long, they seem to think they have one. Then they get mad when their life isn't going the way they think it should and they play the "blame game" by saying things like they need more supportive people in their lives. Then, I say "Show me what I'm supporting first. Then I'll think about supporting you." They have nothing to show and get mad, even when I offer to support them by helping if they want it.

It's fine that they get mad at me. I'm not faulting them for that. How you feel is how you feel. My point is, that people are hard to figure out, myself included. And things aren't always what you think they are. You're just trying to fill in the blanks as you go along in life because there's so much you don't know. And one of the things you have to fill in the blanks on are people and their feelings. Being connected to a group of people or forming a community doesn't mean forming a fictional paradise with no confrontation or friction of any kind existing. That's impossible to do. Where there are people, there will be tension and friction. It may take a while to build up with some people, but the tension and friction will build up sooner or later. How does that tension and friction get handled? Well, that's a different story.

A.I. Doesn't Get It, Do You?

But when you're blogging, you want to keep in mind the different people you'll have to deal with. What are their concerns? What frictions or tensions would they have within the community that you can speak on? These are some things to think about when creating a blog post for your audiences. Remember, you're dealing with humans and not machines. Human emotions aren't as simple as we like to make them out to be. But we like dealing with simple things. It makes getting through life easier.

Just because we generalize or simplify things doesn't mean that's the way it is, though. Just keep in mind the complications and little frictions that can arise when building a community. And also remember that artificial intelligence, as it stands today in 2024, cannot understand human emotions as well as we can. So getting artificial intelligence to write for you while you lazily do nothing but post the blog won't help much. Sure, use artificial intelligence as a tool. Just don't lazily use it if you want to find success. I'm all for using artificial intelligence as a tool. It's not a magic genie, though.

And yes, I'm using A.I. to help me write this blog now. How much of this blog is written by A.I.? Well, it's not "written by" A.I. Otherwise, it would be some jibberish. I'm using A.I. as I use any other tool. I'm putting my own unique spin on the same words that have been written countless times. A.I. has no clue as to how I've arranged these words and how they'd resonate with an audience. But I do. Why? I mean, I know you know why, but I'm asking the question for you anyway. Since I asked it for you, I'll answer it for you. I'm human. And I know that's exactly what a non-human would say, so I concede. Not because I'm not a human, but because I don't know how to dig myself out of the hole I've already dug. And I suck at climbing. So I'll just hope you throw a rope down and let me out of this hole out of pity.

People make a big fuss about A.I. "stealing" work and how it's going to take over and a lot of other mass hysteria-inducing stuff to drive eyes to content. Now, there are valid concerns with A.I. It just gets covered up with all the other stuff that people throw out there just to get some clicks and views on their content. And when I look at that overhyped mess out there, all I say is, "Nobody's making that big of a deal over a pencil."

Look, A.I. is the new pencil. Did people go crazy over mechanical pencils when they were invented? Did the creators of wooden pencils get so threatened that they sued the people who made mechanical pencils for copyright infringement? Maybe that's something I should research later. Anyway, pencils and pens can plagiarize. They did it all the time when I was in high school. But pencils and pens also created beautiful works through words and art. But A.I. can't do anything for you on its own. It can collaborate with you and help your creativity shine.

But you know what can understand people? You! That's why you should work on improving your people skills so you can deliver the best you have to your potential audience.

Understand Your Audience

If you don't know who you're writing for, then people won't know if you're worth their time. Though I don't think oversaturation is as big of an issue as a lack of skills or an ability to connect with an audience, oversaturation of a market is problematic. It keeps people from being able to find what they're looking for, which means people have to ignore tons of things before they find that one right thing that they're searching for. If people get in the pattern of mostly rejecting what they see, then the first thing they're going to do, just out of pure instinct, is ignore your work.

This makes it much harder to get an audience's attention, yeah? So how do you make things easier for yourself? Understand as much as you can about the audience you are targeting. If you're writing a gardening blog for Millennials who've moved from the bustling city to the quiet rural life in the Southeastern part of the United States, then there are certain things you want to talk about and certain things you don't want to talk about. You wouldn't want to tell those Millennials who've moved to more rural areas about how great it is to live in the city. Chances are, they already know what they want to know about the city. They just want to leave it for a simpler, quieter life out in the country.

Learn some marketing skills. Better yet, learn some people skills. What resonates with people in your chosen niche? You don't have to worry about everyone. How do you connect with some of the most influential people in your niche? They already have an audience that trusts them. How do you win the influencer's trust so they can reach out to their audience? Work harder not smarter, right? So instead of trying to connect with millions of people on your own, connect with the influencers who already have millions of subscribers and followers who trust them.

Blogging's Evolving, Though

Yes. Things are changing rapidly, thanks to the digital tools we have today. And with more and more people on the internet, that means the way we used to do things are different. No, blogging hasn't died. But that old way of thinking about how to blog? Yeah, that's a freaking corpse still twitching after being dead for nearly ten years!

Look, just because you're holding an old way of doing things in an environment that's changed doesn't mean that everything else is the problem. You're the problem in this case. I'm not going to sugarcoat that. You think blogging's dead and gone because of video content? People only like TikTok and YouTube Shorts, so they don't have time to read any more? OK. Everyone has jumped on a shiny new trend. They don't have time for the old thing any more. They want to play with the new, shiny toy. And you know what? That's great! Innovation and change is wonderful.

But blogging is a medium of communication between people. I'm putting my brain's thoughts into words on the internet to be preserved for maybe longer than I'll live. Sure, the same thing is being done with video as well. It's being done with all content we put out there. Putting content on the internet is the equivalent of leaving a footprint behind that people can examine thousands of years from now, assuming humans don't go extinct or anything like that. And people may like letting videos play in the background as they idly scroll through social media or sit at home and do whatever, but that doesn't mean that we've all forgotten how to read. It also doesn't mean we won't read something if it's appealing enough.

Sure, reading is a tough skill. It's not popular. It's antiquated even. But there's a retro market for old records, old VHS tapes, old video games and so on. There's probably going to be a retro market for blogs as well if they do fall out of favor with the mainstream. So there's always going to be a way to make money from blogging as far as I can imagine it. I might as well go for it. But let's talk a little more about why blogging can still be a thing in 2024.

The Evolving World of Blogging 

Back in the day, a couple of witty articles would magnetize followers and rake in ad dollars faster than you could say 'Google AdSense'. But oh, how the turns have tabled in 2024! Now, blogging is not a walk in the park; it’s a marathon on a rocky mountain, uphill, both ways. Is it still a mountain if it's all uphill? I'm sure that goes against the laws of something or another. Anyway,  it's no longer enough to be a wordsmith - although you should still be a master of words in your style of voice. People aren't coming for your words. Words are everywhere. They're coming for the way you've arranged your words to resonate with them. Whether it be to hear juicy gossip or to learn something new, you need to strike the right balance of utilizing the right words and the right tone to keep your audience's attention. That matters a lot in 2024 as well.

It helps to be a digital alchemist, blending quality content, unique viewpoints, and a pinch of SEO magic to create gold. Or great content that people want to read. So, for those naysayers who lament that blogging is dead, I counter with this: It's not deceased! It’s just gone through a serious glow-up. Blogging isn't a forgotten relic; it's more like a shape-shifting superhero, continually transforming to keep up with the digital universe's ever-fluctuating demands. It’s still the same blogging we know and love - just with a fancier cape.

People who don't know what they're talking about or who can't back up what they say talk all the time on the internet. They talk all the time, period. But I'm here to tell you right now that anyone who says blogging is dead doesn't know what they're talking about. Now, you don't have to take my word for it. But I will say I know people who are making money from blogging - even in 2023-2024! And those who seem to find the success they desire tend to adapt, utilizing new technologies and platforms to drive traffic to their blogs. It's all about recognizing the changes that happen in the world and how to utilize the new tools to connect with new, younger audiences.

Does blogging wear a Fedora? Well, maybe it should because it's a gentleman! I mean, it's blogging. It's just a bunch of words somebody threw together on a screen and hopes other people will read. But, you know, that somehow relates to being a gentleman... Look, I'll make this work! Just follow along! You made it this far anyway. Might as well keep going.

Blogging, The Distinguished Gentleman of Digital Content 

Blogging is the digital world's equivalent of a well-aged scotch: rich, refined, and with enough character to hold its own at any gathering.  It's the class act that adds depth and nuance to the sometimes superficial party that is the internet. Sure, social media platforms may hog the limelight with their catchy snippets and trendy hashtags, but they're essentially the hors d'oeuvres. Blogs, on the other hand, are the hearty main course, providing a substantial feast of insights and analysis that X's (formerly known as Twitter) 280 characters can only aspire to. It's not about firing off quick witticisms; it's about crafting a space for meaningful discourse. And, in case you're wondering, engaging conversation is always in vogue, regardless of the digital era. So, while the format may have matured and the rules of engagement may have shifted, the essence of blogging - to share, to inform, to provoke thought - remains as vital as ever. In the grand ballroom of digital content, blogging is not the wallflower. It's the life of the party. 

Blogs are where we expand on our thoughts. We add to them in the same way a gentleman adds a Fedora to establish himself as a gentleman among gentlemen. Does he need the Fedora? No. Would some say it's too much? Of course. But it's that extra little touch that the casual, fun all the time social media platforms can't stand up to. Of course, there shouldn't be any competition with blogging and social media. They should compliment each other, helping to bring the audience in to products, services and content they'll want and love.

But blogging serves as a welcoming, kind gentleman to formally invite you into the community.

So no, blogging's not dead. It's still alive and kicking. It's a refined gentleman, putting on the best it has to attract quality customers to your products, services or content. If you don't want to utilize blogs, then fine. It may make more sense not to. But to say that blogging is dead because you don't want to use it? That's rude. How would you like it if people just assumed you were dead because they've never met or interacted with you and, as a result, have no use for you? That's pretty disrespectful to feel that way about a person, I would say. And though blogging doesn't have feelings, it would be foolish to throw away a potential tool that you could utilize because you just believe it's useless because some new shiny toy like A.I. or short-form video came along.

Jerrin Finney is the owner and author of blogs on The 1099 Life. Remember to always do your research and gather all the information necessary to make the best decision for yourself possible.