Is Blogging Still Worth it in 2023?
In the age of automation and AI, it can be tempting to overlook the value of traditional marketing strategies such as blogging. But is this really a wise move for indie startups to get into blogging in 2023? Despite the rapid evolution of the industry, blogging remains a powerful tool for generating traffic, establishing credibility, and building authority.
In this article, we’ll explore the reasons why blogging is still worth the effort and how to start.
Do People Still Blog Anymore?
In the 90s, a college student named Justin Hall created a website where he shared his family secrets and romantic relationships. He turned his diary into something that anyone could read and access online. The website link was www.links.net and it was probably the first blog ever.
With the birth of Blogger in 1999, any Internet user could create a blog in a much easier way, making this new platform very popular. With this popularity, in 2002, the phenomenon of blogging began to be studied and more technical aspects were considered. Such as the importance of a blogging community and the influence of bloggers on readers and society in general.
Today, the majority of Internet users who started as bloggers are probably social media influencers or YouTubers. But marketers have also embraced this extraordinary tool, using it to monetize content and position themselves as authority figures in their field. Also, to improve the organic positioning of brands and corporate websites in search engines (SEO), among other things.
Companies like Hubspot and Optinmonster confirm that blogging is still worth it. According to statistics, businesses that blog receive 97% more links to their websites. While companies that blog receive 55% more visitors than the ones that don’t.
And finally, marketers are 13 times more likely to generate positive ROI with blogs. That’s pretty compelling data that confirms the fact that blogging is still a thing!
Why Is Blogging a Good Idea?
According to entrepreneur Justin Ferriman, “it’s foolish not to have a blog.” Therefore, he also believes blogging is still worth it in 2023. His first startup began with a two-page website consisting of a home page and a blog. “The first year, I posted to my blog four days a week, all year long. Google loved it and traffic to the site increased,” he says.
“By the time I sold the business, it had over 1 million visitors a year, due in large part to the blog,” Justin adds. Now he’s doing the same thing for his new startup. It’s harder than it was 10 years ago, but he’s confident it’s a proven way to gain visibility.
While blogging is relevant and worth investing in, it’s crucial to take into account that it should only be one piece of your overall content strategy. Meaning, one that takes your brand goals and uses content as a primary means to achieve them.
Your goals might cover increasing brand awareness to driving more revenue. To achieve these, you should implement a strategy that focuses on SEO to increase website visibility.
#1: Helps you build an audience
By creating content around your target audience’s interests, you’ll bring more people into your blog, website, and community and start building your audience. This enables you to obtain more leads and nurture relationships with them, leading to higher conversion rates.
However, before creating content, you’ll need to define which topics are relevant to your audience. If you’re not sure what kind of content they want, start by asking them. You can do this through a survey in your online community or via social media.
#2: Gives you an authority in your industry
When setting up a blog for your brand, it’s important to share articles and unique content that’s interesting to your niche. Because while blogging is still profitable and worth the time and resources, the key is to write useful and high-quality content.
Sharing your knowledge on specific topics will make users see you as an authority figure in your niche without the need of sharing your personal or startup achievements. And as we mentioned earlier, you’ll need to know the interests and needs of your target audience to distribute valuable and relevant content.
#3: Good for SEO
All the optimization aside, the best way to rank on search engines is to create and curate high-quality content. But what content your ideal users may be looking for?
The process of keyword research and also looking at what your competitors are publishing may give you relevant inspiration. Focus on long-tail keywords! You might find them using Ahrefs or a similar tool.
However, there’s something important to keep in mind. More significant than filling your content with keywords is that the content matches users’ search intent. And provides them with real value.
#4: Allows you to identify the needs of your customers more effectively
While high-quality content is crucial, what we’re actually looking for when creating content is actually getting interaction! This is what will allow you to identify the real needs and pain points of your customers more effectively. Therefore, ask questions. Share your posts on as many relevant channels as possible. And get others to do the same!
#5: Increases brand visibility
In marketing, there are two main kinds of strategies. Firstly, there are the ones that seek to generate the desired action in the user (performance). Then there are the ones related to branding. These seek to promote positive associations towards the brand, aiming to build awareness, brand associations, loyalty, and perceived value.
Content creation and distribution are two key elements in the path to growing your audience. But also to increase your brand’s visibility. Content distribution is based on creating, publishing, and distributing content to a targeted audience. Therefore, a successful and overall content strategy should use blogs, social media, and communities as the primary means to achieve brand awareness goals.
How to Make Your Blog Profitable
If you are looking to make your blog content profitable, you have several alternatives. The first one is by finding ways to monetize your blog. Some of the most popular ways to make money from a blog are through affiliate marketing. This is a performance-based method of monetizing a blog where you place links to other products on your blog and earn commissions when readers make a purchase. There are also display ads, sponsor posts, and digital products.
These are all great ways to monetize your blog if you’re a content creator or marketer building your personal brand. However, if you’re seeking to make your startup’s blog profitable, you might need to look for other monetizing alternatives.
A good way is to promote subscriptions through your brand’s blog. Through blog posts, you can share with potential users a step-by-step guide on how to use your product. Or take the opportunity to share updates about the product’s features or your brand.
From offering exclusive content and access to proposing special discounts in exchange for their email. Blogging is one of the most effective methods to promote conversations. In addition, you will give them a reason to come back to your website by offering them exclusive content and offers.
You might not be able to see the direct link between promoting content on your brand’s blog and conversion in the short term. Just be patient. The profitability of blogging can often be seen over the long term and is usually part of a bigger content strategy, where other factors also come into play. Such as the stage the potential consumer is in when consuming the blog content and the effective distribution of the content on other platforms.
To conclude, blogging is worth the time and resources, as it’s an effective way to be seen, stand out, and achieve success in the digital world. Companies that have adopted blogging as part of their overall marketing strategy have seen great results — increased visibility, website traffic, and conversions. Start blogging, share useful and valuable content, and watch your business flourish.
