This isn’t an article I needed 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 latest months, we’ve seen main blogs shut down, course creators abandon ship, and even individuals who made tens of millions from web optimization declare it sport over.
However right here’s what nobody is saying…
This isn’t nearly Google updates or AI. The best way folks devour content material has basically 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 Prime Bloggers Are Strolling Away
For years, running a blog was an extremely profitable enterprise mannequin. Excessive-ranking weblog posts introduced in regular natural visitors, which might be monetized by advertisements, affiliate internet marketing, and digital merchandise.
However in 2023, that each one modified. A number 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.
Site visitors disappeared. Income plummeted. And outdated web optimization methods stopped working in a single day.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 1000’s of different clickbaity articles on the web proper now. I’m not going to inform you running a blog is lifeless, after which later on this put up say… except you do it the way in which I train in my programs.
No. I’m going to present you my actual, trustworthy tackle the state of web optimization, content material websites, affiliate internet marketing, and running a blog as a enterprise mannequin.
For those who’re presently a blogger and also you’ve been holding on optimistically dreaming of your visitors coming again, or if you happen to’re a model new blogger and also you’ve simply put a ton of labor into your new website… or if you happen to’ve all the time needed 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 really opens up the most important on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen.
And people who adapt now are going to win larger than ever earlier than.
Be sure you learn to the tip of this put up 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 individual 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 modifications that hit suddenly. For those who’ve been questioning why blogs are shutting down and web optimization methods are failing, listed below are the most important 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 implies fewer individuals are clicking over to precise blogs. On the similar time, they prioritized boards like Reddit and Quora over impartial web sites.
For those who seek for one thing like “Greatest Journey Credit score Playing cards,” you’re extra prone to see a Reddit thread or TripAdvisor put up 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 take care of 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 a substitute of rewarding high-quality weblog content material, Google handed the search outcomes over to boards.
Keep in mind these visitors graphs of your favourite journey bloggers tanking? Properly, Reddit’s 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 if you happen to write the very best put up on the web, you’re preventing 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 take advantage of this to make higher content material?” They thought, “What number of AI-written posts can I publish per day?”
In consequence, 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 obtained 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 details, 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 reveals 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 obtained 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 visitors again to them.
For those who search “Greatest 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 fully.
If UGC and AI spam had been the storm, Google’s AI-generated solutions had been the ultimate tsunami that worn out all the pieces left standing. It’s like taking part in a sport the place you do all of the work… and another person takes the trophy.
Right here’s the opposite brutal reality 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 put up?
You didn’t.
As a substitute, you most likely:
- Watched a YouTube evaluate
- Checked TikTok for fast professionals & cons
- Checked out Instagram reels for real-world examples
- Requested in a Fb or Reddit group for suggestions
- Learn Amazon critiques and checked testimonials on social media
That is simply how folks purchase now—we wish fast, visible, and trusted data from folks we really observe and have interaction with.
You may assume that this can be a direct results of folks 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 modification began taking place lengthy earlier than bloggers had instruments like ChatGPT and Claude.
Is web optimization Completely Useless?
Not fully—however for many impartial bloggers, it’d as nicely be.
Huge manufacturers with huge budgets will nonetheless use web optimization. Although ChatGPT not too long ago turned one of many high 10 web sites on the earth, presently at quantity 7, and is climbing shortly, Google continues to be the god of on-line visitors for now. It’s on the high of that listing, so huge corporations with some huge cash will nonetheless battle for these high spots.
However the days of latest bloggers rating with nice content material alone are gone. The battle for search engine visibility is simply too aggressive, and Google’s fixed algorithm modifications make it unattainable to depend on natural visitors.
So if you happen to’re nonetheless making an attempt to develop your online business by web optimization running a blog in 2025, you’re not simply competing with Google—you’re competing with how folks really devour content material now.
For those who’re writing web optimization weblog posts and making an attempt to rank in Google for key phrases…. Cease it.
For those who’re doing a little variation of that, like making an attempt to rank for Bing or ChatGPT… Cease it.
For those who’re engaged on the technical web optimization on your web site and making an attempt to optimize it. Cease it.
It’s an entire waste of time.
There are different issues try to be engaged on if you wish to construct a sustainable, future-proof enterprise, and we’ll get to {that a} bit later.
What Really Occurred to Our Running a blog Companies (And How We Pivoted)
We nonetheless make passive revenue from our web sites, however solely as a result of we’ve been round for a few years. We’ve 4 of them, and (fortunately) they’re nonetheless bringing in over six-figures a 12 months from advertisements and associates.
We’ve invested in web optimization and hyperlink constructing over time, and constructed up our viewers, which gave us some cushioning as all the pieces 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 utterly on Google web optimization, Associates, and Advertisements to pay us our wage. However it didn’t take lengthy to understand that Advertisements dropped as a lot as 50% seasonally or relying on the political state of affairs, and associates? Don’t even get me began…
I already wrote a put up on how Airbnb cancelled their associates program with out warning, costing us $100,000 per 12 months. And that was simply one among MANY occasions that occurred to us.
Principally, we had been making unimaginable cash, however we had no management over our visitors sources, or the revenue coming into our financial institution accounts.
That’s why we began specializing in constructing our e-mail listing (a 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 methods to create an superior course, methods to promote a course, methods to create e-mail gross sales automations and funnels, and mainly methods to earn cash promoting our personal merchandise by emails.
That a part of our enterprise was actually profitable and it obtained us to the place we at the moment are. However now, for the previous 2 years, as a substitute of counting on weblog visitors and web optimization to usher in 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 inform you that for one, you’re most likely 40+ like me, and two, that perspective will probably be the only motive 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 reality, there has by no means been a greater time to construct a worthwhile enterprise.
The easiest way 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 using this huge wave of web optimization and Running a blog. We made tens of millions 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 lovely, and extra sustainable wave was constructing momentum behind our wave.
That wave was Social Media.
In enterprise, you need to know when to get off the wave. As a result of if you happen to journey it too lengthy, it’ll crush you. And in companies that contain expertise, these waves can come extraordinarily shortly.
Within the tech panorama, the web optimization wave was like a large 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 era simply didn’t see it.
The Way forward for On-line Enterprise: Social Media, Digital Merchandise, and Electronic mail Advertising
If running a blog was the outdated wave, social media is the brand new one. And it’s the most important alternative for natural visitors and monetization we’ve ever seen.
This wave is the most important alternative we’ve ever seen within the on-line world:
- It’s the most important alternative to construct a large viewers without cost
- It’s the most important alternative for natural visitors
- And it’s by far the most important alternative to monetize and make tens of millions 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 a substitute of writing 3,000-word weblog posts, creators are constructing huge audiences by short-form video.
2. Promote Your Personal Digital Product
In contrast to running a blog, social media helps you to monetize quick—when you’ve got the suitable product. As a substitute of incomes $0.002 per customer by advertisements, you possibly can promote a $37 digital product and make actual cash immediately.
Folks like Natalie from Boss Babe have remodeled $100,000 monthly promoting a easy digital product. And we all know of a lady who remodeled 1,000,000 {dollars} in a 12 months from her tiny viewers of lower than 3,000 folks.
This simply wasn’t doable with running a blog. There may’ve been some off likelihood that you just obtained picked up by a giant 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 web optimization, it could take months, usually years, earlier than they’d see any revenue.
Even me. I constructed a fly fishing web site from $0 to $8,400 monthly 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 to Automate Gross sales
Your weblog needs to 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 possibly can construct an e-mail listing that nurtures leads and automates gross sales.
After all, you possibly can’t simply become profitable on social media by posting humorous cat movies. You create extremely focused content material that speaks to a particular particular person, helps them obtain a particular transformation, and that content material sends them to your e-mail listing the place they enter their title and e-mail to get your tremendous worthwhile freebie.
It’s from that freebie, and from the magic of e-mail advertising that you just’re in a position to promote your digital product to them and become profitable 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 folks, and it’s the primary steps in constructing an actual, loyal group.
The Future is Right here—And It’s Not Running a blog
Running a blog was an unimaginable enterprise mannequin, however occasions have modified. Google and AI have made it almost unattainable for brand spanking new bloggers to succeed the way in which we did years in the past.
However that doesn’t imply the chance is gone. It’s simply moved.
Writing web optimization blogs had grow to be monotonous and boring. Ask any profitable blogger, we had been uninterested in writing the ten greatest issues to do in Bangkok and the 15 greatest funds microwaves.
Do I miss the passive revenue from running a blog? Completely, however that very same passive revenue is on the market 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 utterly wipe you out in a single day? That’s simply not price it.
The long run is short-form video. The long run is making a worthwhile product. The long run is having an epic e-mail listing that folks love being subscribed to. The long run is being an actual human being, and actually connecting together with your viewers on-line.
That is the longer term. And the individuals who embrace this shift now are going to win huge.
If you wish to construct a enterprise that really works in 2025, concentrate on short-form video, digital merchandise, and e-mail advertising. That is the way you create an actual, future-proof enterprise.
For those who’re able to cease losing time on outdated methods and begin constructing a worthwhile enterprise, seize our free coaching beneath that reveals 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?
