This isn’t an article I wished to write down… 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 recreation over.
However right here’s what nobody is saying…
This isn’t nearly Google updates or AI. The way in which folks eat content material has essentially modified, and blogs are now not a part of the equation.
So the actual query isn’t simply “Is running a blog nonetheless value 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 advertisements, internet online affiliate 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.
Site visitors disappeared. Income plummeted. And previous 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 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 publish say… except you do it the best way I train in my programs.
No. I’m going to offer you my actual, trustworthy tackle the state of web optimization, content material websites, internet online affiliate marketing, and running a blog as a enterprise mannequin.
In case you’re at present a blogger and also you’ve been holding on optimistically dreaming of your site visitors coming again, or in case you’re a model new blogger and also you’ve simply put a ton of labor into your new website… or in case you’ve all the time wished to start out a weblog however now I’m sitting right here and shitting everywhere in the total 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 largest on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen.
And people who adapt now are going to win greater than ever earlier than.
Be sure you learn to the top of this publish 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 all of sudden. In case you’ve been questioning why blogs are shutting down and web optimization methods are failing, listed here 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 persons are clicking over to precise blogs. On the similar time, they prioritized boards like Reddit and Quora over impartial web sites.
In case you seek for one thing like “Finest Journey Credit score Playing cards,” you’re extra prone to see a Reddit thread or TripAdvisor publish on the prime of search outcomes than a well-researched weblog article.
And this wasn’t an accident—Google struck a $60 million per yr 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.
Bear in mind these site visitors graphs of your favourite journey bloggers tanking? Effectively, 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 in case you write the perfect publish 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 suppose, “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?”
Consequently, search outcomes grew to become 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 fireplace.
And right here’s the issue… most bloggers didn’t use AI to enhance their content material, or to assist them analysis their info, or make their websites extra user-friendly—they used it to spam the online.
For the reason that launch and mainstream adaptation of ChatGPT, analysis exhibits that as many as 7.5 million weblog posts are being revealed each single day. The search outcomes have became 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 fireplace.
3. Google’s AI Solutions Took Over Search Outcomes
Google now generates AI solutions proper within the search outcomes—pulling info instantly from blogs with out sending any site visitors again to them.
In case you search “Finest Locations to Go to in Thailand,” Google’s AI summarizes the perfect choices on the prime of the web page. Customers get the knowledge 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 solely.
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 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 choice—whether or not it was for a visit, a brand new telephone, or a course—by studying a 3,000-word weblog publish?
You didn’t.
As an alternative, you in all probability:
- Watched a YouTube evaluation
- 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 evaluations and checked testimonials on social media
That is simply how folks purchase now—we wish fast, visible, and trusted info from folks we really comply with and interact with.
You would possibly suppose that this can be a direct results of folks dropping 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 web optimization Completely Lifeless?
Not solely—however for many impartial bloggers, it would as effectively be.
Large manufacturers with large budgets will nonetheless use web optimization. Regardless that ChatGPT lately grew to become one of many prime 10 web sites on this planet, at present at quantity 7, and is climbing shortly, Google remains to be the god of on-line site visitors for now. It’s on the prime of that listing, so large corporations with some huge cash will nonetheless battle for these prime spots.
However the days of latest bloggers rating with nice content material alone are gone. The battle for search engine visibility is just too aggressive, and Google’s fixed algorithm modifications make it not possible to depend on natural site visitors.
So in case you’re nonetheless making an attempt to develop your small business by web optimization running a blog in 2025, you’re not simply competing with Google—you’re competing with how folks really eat content material now.
In case you’re writing web optimization weblog posts and making an attempt to rank in Google for key phrases…. Cease it.
In case you’re performing some variation of that, like making an attempt to rank for Bing or ChatGPT… Cease it.
In case you’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 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 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. Now we have 4 of them, and (fortunately) they’re nonetheless bringing in over six-figures a yr from advertisements and associates.
We’ve invested in web optimization and hyperlink constructing through the years, 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 fully on Google web optimization, Associates, and Advertisements to pay us our wage. But it surely didn’t take lengthy to appreciate 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 publish on how Airbnb cancelled their associates program with out warning, costing us $100,000 per yr. And that was simply certainly one of MANY instances that occurred to us.
Principally, we had been making unimaginable cash, however we had no management over our site visitors sources, or the revenue coming into our financial institution accounts.
That’s why we began specializing in constructing our e mail listing (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 the best way to create an superior course, the best way to promote a course, the best way to create e mail gross sales automations and funnels, and mainly the best way 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 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 let you know that for one, you’re in all probability 40+ like me, and two, that angle will possible be the only purpose you in all probability gained’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. The truth is, 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 large 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 perfect 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 in case you experience 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 E-mail Advertising and marketing
If running a blog was the previous 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 a large viewers without spending a dime
- It’s the largest alternative for natural site visitors
- And it’s by far the largest alternative to monetize and make tens of millions of {dollars} from promoting digital merchandise
1. Construct an Viewers with Brief-Kind Video
Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts are the place persons 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 permits you to monetize quick—when you’ve got the proper product. As an alternative of incomes $0.002 per customer by advertisements, you may promote a $37 digital product and make actual cash immediately.
Folks like Natalie from Boss Babe have revamped $100,000 per 30 days promoting a easy digital product. And we all know of a girl who revamped 1,000,000 {dollars} in a yr from her tiny viewers of lower than 3,000 folks.
This simply wasn’t attainable with running a blog. There would possibly’ve been some off probability that you just 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 web optimization, it might take months, typically years, earlier than they’d see any revenue.
Even me. I constructed a fly fishing web site from $0 to $8,400 per 30 days in a single yr. However for the primary 6 months, it earned subsequent to nothing. And I knew what I used to be doing!
3. Use E-mail Advertising and marketing to Automate Gross sales
Your weblog ought to be an internet site—not a content material hub. It ought to:
- Construct authority
- Seize emails
- Promote your product
E-mail advertising and marketing is the place the actual cash occurs. By main social media followers to a freebie, you may construct an e mail listing that nurtures leads and automates gross sales.
In fact, you may’t simply earn a living 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 listing the place they enter their title and e mail to get your tremendous beneficial freebie.
It’s from that freebie, and from the magic of e mail advertising and marketing that you just’re capable of promote your digital product to them and earn a living 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 once an unimaginable enterprise mannequin, however instances have modified. Google and AI have made it practically not possible for brand spanking 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 web optimization blogs had turn out 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 price range 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 and marketing.
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 value it.
The longer term is short-form video. The longer term is making a beneficial product. The longer term is having an epic e mail listing 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 large.
If you wish to construct a enterprise that really works in 2025, give attention to short-form video, digital merchandise, and e mail advertising and marketing. That is the way you create an actual, future-proof enterprise.
In case 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 purchasers—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?