Why I Think Blogging Is Here To Stay

Is blogging dead? It’s a question I think about fairly often, especially as someone that’s been at this blogging thang for 7+ years.

Yes, the landscape of blogging has changed tremendously since I started Kayla in the City in 2011. “Influencers” weren’t a thing and instagram was this platform you used to make your photos look all hipster-y. A lot of the bloggers I loved and followed back then have shifted their focus to instagram or have maybe even ditched blogging all together.

Despite all of this I’m still a believer in the importance of blogging. Even though the landscape of social media and being an influencer is constantly changing I strongly believe blogging is here to stay and that it’s still worth it to start a blog if you want to build your own personal brand.

Why Blogging Is Here To Stay:

Blog posts have a longer lifespan.

Some of my most popular posts are ones I wrote years ago. Like this one about journaling or this one about that time I didn’t workout for 2 weeks. Thanks to Pinterest and Google these posts continue to drive a steady stream traffic to my website even though I wrote them a few years ago.

On instagram I feel like I’m constantly working to create new content in order to be seen. Dormant accounts don’t get noticed on the ‘gram. I love knowing that after putting in hard work to create the content I create, it will be seen for years to come. Not just for 24 or so hours in someone’s instagram feed.

If you’re a recipe creator and spent hours testing the most bombass vegan oatmeal raisin cookies, I’m going to guess that you want that content to live on longer than 24 hours. While that content will soon be buried on instagram, your sweet cookie recipe can still be found on your blog for years to come.

 

I am not relying on someone else’s algorithm.

I love instagram, don’t get me wrong, but I also know on instagram I am not in control of what content gets seen. Facebook is in control of instagram and they will do what they need to do in order to make money as a business. Including create an algorithm that we’ve all grown to hate. It’s just the reality of using someone else’s platform to share your content.

Yes, a lot of my traffic comes from Google searches which also relies on an algorithm. But once someone is on my blog I have the power to show them the content I want them to see. It’s a sigh of relief to also not have to worry about “peak posting times” or beating an algorithm.

 

I don’t know what the future of instagram is.

Remember a few weeks ago with Instagram had a mega glitch? As part of this glitch most of us lost a good chunk of our followers, I know I lost over 1000 followers. It got me thinking about what would happen if instagram just went away? Or totally changed their platform so I could no longer share content the way I currently do. Then what? Would I lose my entire brand that I’ve been building for all these years?

I’m curious what the future of instagram is. I remember in college when Twitter was my favorite platform. We’ve also all seen Millennials shift away from facebook. For all I know instagram could be next as more and more people get fed up with ads, bots and algorithms.

I don’t think websites as a whole are going anywhere. My prediction is that people will still be going on the internet to find interesting relevant information to them. And that’s where blogs come in — people are searching for the things you are talking about.

 

People still love reading blogs.

I don’t know about you, but I still love reading blogs. There’s something so much more satisfying about reading long-form content rather than a short blib on instagram. Like I wouldn’t be able to share something nearly as in depth as this blog post on instgram, it would just be overwhelming and not translate to the platform.

I know I am not alone in saying that I still love to read blogs — as I’m guessing you are with me seeing as you’ve somehow stumbled upon this blog and this blog post.

 

It’s building my footprint on the internet

Right now my business on the internet is blogging. I make money through sponsored posts and ads. But in the future I might start to dabble in other business endeavors [hint, hint, like social media and blog coaching… among other things. More on that below!]

I won’t have to start from scratch at that point. I’ve already built out this corner on the internet. If someone searches my name, they’ll see this here blog. I’ve already written a ton of blog posts related to that topic, blog posts that people are landing on every day.

Whether you want to be a social media coach, health coach, life coach, or something that doesn’t have “coach” in the title, building a blog is a helpful part of building your own brand. It gives people a taste of your personality, it gives people a helpful free resource, and it gets people interested in the work you do.

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Coming Soon!

Some of you already know this because I mentioned it on instagram but I’m working on an e-book all about the basics of blogging. I’m so freaking passionate about blogging and think everyone can benefit from starting a blog. I know for me it’s changed my life.

The e-book will walk you through:

• figuring out what it is you want to blog about
• starting a blog from scratch
• getting your blog up and running
• tips for finding the time to build you blog even when you work full-time
• finding your unique, authentic, voice as a blogger
• basic SEO for bloggers
• using google analytics as a blogger
• growing your blog and building your following
• making money as a blogger
• + more

Sign up below to be the first to know about when the e-book launches — you’ll also receive an early bird discount only available if you’re on the email list. And be sure to share with your friend that’s always talking about how badly they want to start a blog 😉

 

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