2. Is Blogging Dead?

Stephanie 0:00

Blogging has been around for a long time. It's been around for so long that people are starting to say that the days of blogging successfully are long gone. So is blogging dead? Let's talk about it.

Stephanie 0:15

Well, welcome to today's episode. You know, we're just gonna dive right into hot topics here on the podcast, because I'll tell you what, people have big feelings when it comes to the current state of blogging, and the future of blogging. So in this episode, we're going to talk about how blogging is not dead. Because it's not, it's just different. I'm also going to give you some proof of life to illustrate how blogging can still work for you. And then we'll talk about what you can expect, if you do try to blog in 2024.

Stephanie 0:59

So to start with, I actually think it's a valid point when people say that blogging is dead, because, frankly, the blogging that we remember from 10 years ago, that's long gone. So I'm talking about the days of blogspot, I don't know, if you had one of those blogs, where you would keep your friends and family updated on your life. You know, you could upload pictures and have a little travel log of your trips that you took recently. Blogs were so fun. And teachers were using them to they were sharing about the fun things that they were doing in their classrooms. Some teachers used it as a communication tool with parents. And then TPT sellers were also blogging, they would announce new products and they would share freebies, on their blogs, there were Linky parties, all sorts of things. And then we would just follow the blogs that interested us. I don't know about you. But I had like a whole bookmark list of the blogs that I would check in on a couple of times a week.

Stephanie 2:00

Now, after several years of blogs being super popular like this, social media came into play. And people started transitioning from updating people on their blog to just doing status updates on Facebook. And slowly but surely, the blogging as we remember, it became less and less prevalent. So then where did that leave blogging?

Stephanie 2:25

Well, now blogging is just regularly adding content to a website that people can find through Google, or Pinterest. But the nature of this content that we're adding to websites is different than it used to be. Because remember, social media has taken the place of all of those personal posts and anecdotes and travelogues. And now blog content is really reader focused. It is addressing problems and pain points that the reader is having. And when they turn to Google, they're asking questions, they're trying to solve problems for themselves. And so the website content that they're looking for, is focused more on them than on the person who has written the content.

Stephanie 3:13

But even though this way of blogging is a whole lot different than it used to be, it is still alive and well. And I'm going to give you a little bit of proof of life to illustrate this. So first, let's talk about the blog that I started many years ago, I mentioned it in episode one. But ever since I started my business working as a blogger and Pinterest manager for teacher sellers, my own blog has been very neglected. I joke that it's like the Bruno of my business, we just don't talk about it. I could probably count on one hand, the number of fresh posts that I've added to it in the past three to four years. But people are still finding and reading my blog posts. I know this because I continue to receive email subscribers, affiliate income, and then just other opportunities that I know are 100% due to those blog posts. What this tells me is that people are still looking for information online. And they're still clicking on blog posts to find answers to their questions.

Stephanie 4:23

So I know you might be thinking, well, yes, definitely. That's all well and good. But those old blog posts are well established in the algorithm. And that's why they're performing well. Like I see your point. But there are people who are actively blogging right now and they continue to see growth in their business from their blog. So let's just talk about one I'm going to share about one of my clients. Now I'll do this anonymously, of course, but I just thought it would be another good proof of life for blogging these days. So when I started working for this client she had one of those more traditional teacher blogs that I was mentioning earlier, she used her blog post to keep followers updated on giveaways, she would announce new products. And then she had these blog posts where she would walk you through a week in her classroom and the resources that she was using and the activities that they had done. And so her blog was getting some traffic from Google and Pinterest. But she knew that it could be doing better, she had started to research SEO, and was starting to try and shift her content to be more reader focused. And so then that's when we connected. I started working on her website, I cleaned up some of the older posts and made them more SEO friendly. And then I also started writing one fresh new blog posts per week. That was it. It was a very modest blogging strategy. But her website grew from 11,000 sessions per month. That's how many she was getting when I first started working with her to then 31,000 sessions per month, exactly two years later. So if blogging was dead, my clients new blog posts would not be bringing her an additional 20,000 website visits per month.

Stephanie 6:17

But I think the best part of my clients growth has been watching where her website visitors come from. So when I first started working with her, only 30% of her website, visitors were from organic search. So from the Google search results, but now 61% of her website sessions are from Google. Now, you might be wondering, well, why is that the best part of your clients website growth. Now I'm looking at it in terms of whether or not blogging is dead. And Google is at the heart of that conversation. And so to see that my client is increasing her organic search rankings, with just a realistic weekly blogging strategy. I just find that really encouraging for the future of blogging, and I hope that it's encouraging for you as well.

Stephanie 7:10

This doesn't mean that there are zero concerns about the future of blogging. There are some concerns out there, and they are valid. I mean, we have AI looming, we have Google and Pinterest ruling with an iron fist and their algorithms can be really challenging at times. So that's why it is important to have realistic expectations when it comes to blogging.

Stephanie 7:35

If you want to start a blog, or continue to blog for your teacher business, there are three things that I want you to expect from this process.

Stephanie 7:45

First, I want you to expect your growth to take time. Truly organic traffic takes time. When you blog, without the support of Facebook ads or promoted pins, it is going to take time for people to find you. But over time with patience, your effort will begin to pay off. Like I mentioned with my client, one post per week, brought her almost triple the website traffic. But it took two years to get there.

Stephanie 8:15

Second, I want you to expect ups and downs. Algorithms are constantly shifting and changing. And you should just plan on seeing peaks and valleys in your stats. But it's actually not just the algorithm that can cause ups and downs in your traffic. Because the teacher niche is very unique because it has such strong seasonality, you know back to school season, we have the spring slump in traffic. And so just like your TPT store has busy seasons, teacher blogs do as well.

Stephanie 8:50

Finally, I want you to expect a return on your investment. Because if you put in the effort to blog and create quality content for your website, you can expect to see a return on your investment. You'll have long form content that you can repurpose for social media or for email, you'll attract new subscribers to your email list, and most importantly, you'll have more traffic to your products.

Stephanie 9:18

Blogging is not dead. In fact, there's proof that it's alive and well. And it's still worth your time. But before you go, there's just one thing I'd love for you to do. Go and see for yourself that blogging isn't dead. So how are we going to do this? Well, you're just going to do a quick Google search. Since we're approaching the season, let's search for the term Back to School activities for ____. And so then you'll just fill in the blank with whatever grade level or subject area that's relevant to you. So it could be Back to School activities for kindergarten, Back to School activities for middle school for Spanish class, whatever it is, you get the idea. So go type that into the search bar, and once you have the search results in front of you, you'll probably see a few sponsored results near the top because you know, Google needs to earn those dollar bills. You'll also probably see some discussion forums, because that's hot on Google right now, too. And you'll also I'm sure, see some images and videos. So don't pay any attention to that. What I want you to look at are the actual websites that are included there on the first page of Google, I want you to notice that the vast majority are teacher blogs. If people didn't read blog posts anymore, they wouldn't be on page one of Google. I hope that this serves as the inspiration you need to either start or continue a blogging routine for your teacher business.