This isn’t an article I wished to put in writing… however right here it goes.
Running a blog as a enterprise mannequin isn’t simply dying—it’s already lifeless.
In current months, we’ve seen main blogs shut down, course creators abandon ship, and even individuals who made thousands and thousands from search engine optimisation declare it recreation over.
However right here’s what nobody is saying…
This isn’t nearly Google updates or AI. The way in which individuals eat content material has essentially modified, and blogs are now not a part of the equation.
So the true query isn’t simply “Is running a blog nonetheless price it?” It’s “If running a blog is lifeless, what really works now?”
Let’s get into it.
Why Even High Bloggers Are Strolling Away
For years, running a blog was an extremely profitable enterprise mannequin. Excessive-ranking weblog posts introduced in regular natural site visitors, which may very well be monetized by adverts, online marketing, and digital merchandise.
However in 2023, that each one modified. A few of the greatest names in running a blog began pulling out. Even we had been supplied over half 1,000,000 {dollars} for our weblog—however we turned it down. After which, issues took a flip.
Visitors disappeared. Income plummeted. And outdated search engine optimisation methods stopped working in a single day.
So what occurred?
The Brutal Fact About Why Running a blog Tanked
This isn’t simply one other fluff story just like the hundreds of different clickbaity articles on the web proper now. I’m not going to let you know running a blog is lifeless, after which later on this submit say… until you do it the best way I educate in my programs.
No. I’m going to present you my actual, trustworthy tackle the state of search engine optimisation, content material websites, online marketing, and running a blog as a enterprise mannequin.
Should you’re presently a blogger and also you’ve been holding on optimistically dreaming of your site visitors coming again, or when you’re a model new blogger and also you’ve simply put a ton of labor into your new website… or when you’ve at all times wished to begin a weblog however now I’m sitting right here and shitting everywhere in the whole enterprise mannequin… don’t fear.
There IS a silver lining right here. It’s part of this story that nobody is speaking about… a shift that truly opens up the largest on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen.
And people who adapt now are going to win larger than ever earlier than.
Be sure to learn to the top of this submit as a result of I’m going to speak about precisely what that shift is and how one can leverage it to blow up your personal on-line enterprise.
So how did we get right here? Why has running a blog taken such a drastic downturn in such a short while? It wasn’t only one factor—it was an ideal storm of adjustments that hit all of sudden. Should you’ve been questioning why blogs are shutting down and search engine optimisation methods are failing, listed below are the largest culprits behind the collapse of running a blog as a enterprise mannequin.
1. Google Modified the Guidelines
Google rolled out AI-generated search outcomes, which suggests fewer individuals are clicking over to precise blogs. On the identical time, they prioritized boards like Reddit and Quora over unbiased web sites.
Should you seek for one thing like “Finest Journey Credit score Playing cards,” you’re extra more likely to see a Reddit thread or TripAdvisor submit on the high of search outcomes than a well-researched weblog article.
And this wasn’t an accident—Google struck a $60 million per 12 months cope with Reddit to make use of their boards to coach AI fashions. In return, Reddit’s content material will get precedence in search rankings, successfully pushing smaller blogs out of visibility.
This all began with the Useful Content material Replace in 2022, and continued with the Hidden Gems Replace within the fall of 2023. As an alternative of rewarding high-quality weblog content material, Google handed the search outcomes over to boards.
Keep in mind these site visitors graphs of your favourite journey bloggers tanking? Nicely, Reddit’s site visitors elevated by over 650%, hitting 1.3 billion in that very same timeframe. This was no mistake.
For small bloggers, that is devastating. Even when you write the very best submit on the web, you’re combating an uphill battle simply to get seen.
2. AI Flooded the Web with Junk Content material
When ChatGPT launched, bloggers didn’t assume, “How can I exploit this to make higher content material?” They thought, “What number of AI-written posts can I publish per day?”
Consequently, search outcomes turned flooded with generic, AI-generated content material. Google responded by rolling out updates that penalized AI-heavy web sites, however even high-quality blogs acquired caught within the hearth.
And right here’s the issue… most bloggers didn’t use AI to enhance their content material, or to assist them analysis their information, or make their websites extra user-friendly—they used it to spam the net.
For the reason that launch and mainstream adaptation of ChatGPT, analysis exhibits that as many as 7.5 million weblog posts are being printed each single day. The search outcomes have changed into a wasteland of soulless, regurgitated AI content material. Google knew this was an issue, so their response? Burn all of it down.
Sadly, that meant even high-quality blogs acquired caught within the hearth.
3. Google’s AI Solutions Took Over Search Outcomes
Google now generates AI solutions proper within the search outcomes—pulling data instantly from blogs with out sending any site visitors again to them.
Should you search “Finest Locations to Go to in Thailand,” Google’s AI summarizes the very best choices on the high of the web page. Customers get the data they want with out ever visiting a weblog.
For bloggers, this implies they’re not simply getting buried in search rankings—they’re getting erased from the equation totally.
If UGC and AI spam had been the storm, Google’s AI-generated solutions had been the ultimate tsunami that worn out every little thing left standing. It’s like enjoying a recreation the place you do all of the work… and another person takes the trophy.
Right here’s the opposite brutal fact nobody is speaking about—even when Google wasn’t killing blogs, shoppers already moved on.
Give it some thought. When was the final time you made a purchase order resolution—whether or not it was for a visit, a brand new telephone, or a course—by studying a 3,000-word weblog submit?
You didn’t.
As an alternative, you most likely:
- Watched a YouTube overview
- Checked TikTok for fast execs & cons
- Checked out Instagram reels for real-world examples
- Requested in a Fb or Reddit group for suggestions
- Learn Amazon opinions and checked testimonials on social media
That is simply how individuals purchase now—we wish fast, visible, and trusted data from individuals we really comply with and have interaction with.
You would possibly assume that this can be a direct results of individuals shedding belief in blogs as a result of so many are simply written with AI, however that’s not the case. The reality is, this variation began occurring lengthy earlier than bloggers had instruments like ChatGPT and Claude.
Is search engine optimisation Completely Useless?
Not totally—however for many unbiased bloggers, it would as properly be.
Large manufacturers with large budgets will nonetheless use search engine optimisation. Although ChatGPT lately turned one of many high 10 web sites on this planet, presently at quantity 7, and is climbing shortly, Google remains to be the god of on-line site visitors for now. It’s on the high of that checklist, so massive corporations with some huge cash will nonetheless combat for these high spots.
However the days of latest bloggers rating with nice content material alone are gone. The combat for search engine visibility is simply too aggressive, and Google’s fixed algorithm adjustments make it unattainable to depend on natural site visitors.
So when you’re nonetheless making an attempt to develop your enterprise by search engine optimisation running a blog in 2025, you’re not simply competing with Google—you’re competing with how individuals really eat content material now.
Should you’re writing search engine optimisation weblog posts and making an attempt to rank in Google for key phrases…. Cease it.
Should you’re doing a little variation of that, like making an attempt to rank for Bing or ChatGPT… Cease it.
Should you’re engaged on the technical search engine optimisation to your web site and making an attempt to optimize it. Cease it.
It’s a whole waste of time.
There are different issues you ought to be engaged on if you wish to construct a sustainable, future-proof enterprise, and we’ll get to {that a} bit later.
What Truly Occurred to Our Running a blog Companies (And How We Pivoted)
We nonetheless make passive earnings from our web sites, however solely as a result of we’ve been round for a few years. Now we have 4 of them, and (fortunately) they’re nonetheless bringing in over six-figures a 12 months from adverts and associates.
We’ve invested in search engine optimisation and hyperlink constructing over time, and constructed up our viewers, which gave us some cushioning as every little thing collapsed.
However we knew we would have liked to pivot years in the past. Greater than 7 years in the past, we realized that we had been placing WAY too many eggs within the running a blog basket.
We relied fully on Google search engine optimisation, Associates, and Advertisements to pay us our wage. However it didn’t take lengthy to comprehend that Advertisements dropped as a lot as 50% seasonally or relying on the political scenario, and associates? Don’t even get me began…
I already wrote a submit on how Airbnb cancelled their associates program with out warning, costing us $100,000 per 12 months. And that was simply one in every of MANY occasions that occurred to us.
Principally, we had been making unbelievable cash, however we had no management over our site visitors sources, or the earnings coming into our financial institution accounts.
That’s why we began specializing in constructing our e mail checklist (a site visitors supply that we OWN) and promoting our personal merchandise—one thing we had management over. This took me down a rabbit gap and years of analysis into studying easy methods to create an superior course, easy methods to promote a course, easy methods to create e mail gross sales automations and funnels, and principally easy methods to earn cash promoting our personal merchandise by emails.
That a part of our enterprise was actually profitable and it acquired us to the place we at the moment are. However now, for the previous 2 years, as a substitute of counting on weblog site visitors and search engine optimisation to herald leads, we’re doing it by social media.
Now earlier than you say what I used to say again then and be like “I hate social media”, let me let you know that for one, you’re most likely 40+ like me, and two, that angle will doubtless be the one purpose you most likely received’t have a profitable on-line enterprise in 5 years.
What This Means for the Way forward for On-line Enterprise
Running a blog is now not a viable enterprise mannequin, however that doesn’t imply on-line enterprise is lifeless. In truth, there has by no means been a greater time to construct a worthwhile enterprise.
One of the simplest ways I can clarify that is by a browsing analogy. No, I’m not a surfer, however simply bear with me for a minute…
We had been driving this large wave of search engine optimisation and Running a blog. We made thousands and thousands of {dollars} on that wave and on the time, we thought it was the very best wave within the sea.
However whereas we had been cruising on that wave… an even bigger, extra stunning, and extra sustainable wave was constructing momentum behind our wave.
That wave was Social Media.
In enterprise, you must know when to get off the wave. As a result of when you journey it too lengthy, it’ll crush you. And in companies that contain know-how, these waves can come extraordinarily shortly.
Within the tech panorama, the search engine optimisation wave was like an enormous tidal wave. It lasted SO lengthy, and we’re extremely grateful for that.
However now, the brand new wave is right here, and it’s been right here for a very long time, us older technology simply didn’t see it.
The Way forward for On-line Enterprise: Social Media, Digital Merchandise, and Electronic mail Advertising and marketing
If running a blog was the outdated wave, social media is the brand new one. And it’s the largest alternative for natural site visitors and monetization we’ve ever seen.
This wave is the largest alternative we’ve ever seen within the on-line world:
- It’s the largest alternative to construct an enormous viewers totally free
- It’s the largest alternative for natural site visitors
- And it’s by far the largest alternative to monetize and make thousands and thousands of {dollars} from promoting digital merchandise
1. Construct an Viewers with Brief-Type Video
Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts are the place individuals are consuming content material now. As an alternative of writing 3,000-word weblog posts, creators are constructing large audiences by short-form video.
2. Promote Your Personal Digital Product
Not like running a blog, social media allows you to monetize quick—when you have the proper product. As an alternative of incomes $0.002 per customer by adverts, you’ll be able to promote a $37 digital product and make actual cash immediately.
Folks like Natalie from Boss Babe have revamped $100,000 per thirty days promoting a easy digital product. And we all know of a girl who revamped 1,000,000 {dollars} in a 12 months from her tiny viewers of lower than 3,000 individuals.
This simply wasn’t doable with running a blog. There would possibly’ve been some off probability that you simply acquired picked up by an enormous TV community or one thing and also you went viral in a single day, however for 99.9% of bloggers who had been simply writing weblog posts for search engine optimisation, it will take months, typically years, earlier than they’d see any earnings.
Even me. I constructed a fly fishing web site from $0 to $8,400 per thirty days in a single 12 months. However for the primary 6 months, it earned subsequent to nothing. And I knew what I used to be doing!
3. Use Electronic mail Advertising and marketing to Automate Gross sales
Your weblog must be a web site—not a content material hub. It ought to:
- Construct authority
- Seize emails
- Promote your product
Electronic mail advertising is the place the true cash occurs. By main social media followers to a freebie, you’ll be able to construct an e mail checklist that nurtures leads and automates gross sales.
After all, you’ll be able to’t simply make cash on social media by posting humorous cat movies. You create extremely focused content material that speaks to a selected individual, helps them obtain a selected transformation, and that content material sends them to your e mail checklist the place they enter their title and e mail to get your tremendous useful freebie.
It’s from that freebie, and from the magic of e mail advertising that you simply’re in a position to promote your digital product to them and make cash on autopilot.
Look, making $17 on a $500 Airbnb reserving was nice, and incomes 0.002 cents per customer on our weblog was additionally cool, however there’s nothing like the sensation of waking up and seeing that somebody bought your $500 course or your $4,000 teaching program. It’s validation, it’s thrilling to have the ability to have a actual affect and assist individuals, and it’s the primary steps in constructing an actual, loyal neighborhood.
The Future is Right here—And It’s Not Running a blog
Running a blog was an unbelievable enterprise mannequin, however occasions have modified. Google and AI have made it practically unattainable for brand new bloggers to succeed the best way we did years in the past.
However that doesn’t imply the chance is gone. It’s simply moved.
Writing search engine optimisation blogs had grow to be monotonous and boring. Ask any profitable blogger, we had been bored with writing the ten greatest issues to do in Bangkok and the 15 greatest funds microwaves.
Do I miss the passive earnings from running a blog? Completely, however that very same passive earnings is offered with short-form video and nice e mail advertising.
Blogs take a TON of labor. So to do all that work simply to have a Google Algorithm replace or AI fully wipe you out in a single day? That’s simply not price it.
The longer term is short-form video. The longer term is making a useful product. The longer term is having an epic e mail checklist that folks love being subscribed to. The longer term is being an actual human being, and actually connecting along with your viewers on-line.
That is the longer term. And the individuals who embrace this shift now are going to win massive.
If you wish to construct a enterprise that truly works in 2025, deal with short-form video, digital merchandise, and e mail advertising. That is the way you create an actual, future-proof enterprise.
Should you’re able to cease losing time on outdated methods and begin constructing a worthwhile enterprise, seize our free coaching beneath that exhibits precisely how we—and our shoppers—are doing it.
The most important on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen is occurring proper now. The one query is—are you going to take it?
