Blogging Q & A – Is it Dead? How Often Should You Blog? Do you have to? And More!

September 6, 2024

I know what you’re thinking, “But Monica, search is changing, right? So will blogging still work?”

True, back in April our Guest, SEO expert Nina Gibson, cautioned that search is changing but blogging is rolling with the punches. 75% of marketers believe that AI-enabled search engines will positively impact their blogs. (HubSpot State of Marketing Report, 2023).

So, blogging is far from dead. Blogging isn’t just about churning out boring AI generated paragraphs of text either; when done right blogging establishes expertise, drives traffic, and powers your marketing. 

In this post I’m breaking it down and covering the most common questions I hear about blogging like:

Blogging Q&A

Is blogging dead?

Nope. 

• Blogging shows you’re an expert which builds your brand.
• Each blog can increase web traffic and help you rank for words you wouldn’t otherwise.
• Not everyone wants to listen and watch…some people (me included) still want step by step instructions!
• It’s a great way to repurpose other content like newsletters, videos, or podcasts…yeah that’s what this is… and you’re not on the podcast are ya? Nope you found the blog. Just sayin’.

Do I have to blog?

No. 

But you do need to update your website regularly. Maybe you don’t publish a blog but you update your portfolio, share new testimonials, specials, events, answers to frequently asked questions, or anything else that might support what your audience needs to see to make a buying decision.

If you like writing and you’re trying to position yourself as an industry expert, then it would make sense for you to do it. But if you’re not a writer, you’ll still need some type of regular content so maybe an audio video podcast would be the right fit for you.

What can I expect from it?

It’s a marathon not a sprint. 

If you want immediate results, run ads. You can expect that if you publish regularly each post will generate some traffic to your site, some more than others, and over time you’ll see a steady flow of traffic leading to your site from organic search. 

What platform should I use for my blog?

WordPress. Duh. 

But no really, whatever you have that you can enable in your website will certainly work. But it should be IN your website and in a modular way that you can organize it with tags or categories. Otherwise it’s going to be a mess for people to find things and future you will not like you. You want it in your site because you want to keep all that SEO mojo together under the same roof. Under the same domain. 

If your content is evergreen you can publish less because your content remains relevant. So Google will keep driving traffic over time.

How old is your blog?

Blogs with over 100 posts can publish as little as one to two times per month. Newer blogs with less than 20-30 posts should post around 2 times per week. When we got started we published 14 articles a month, and yes, it worked…but it was time consuming. Now we do 1-2 a month. Because we have hundreds of published articles out there each driving a little bit of traffic.

How do I attract readers to my blog?

Let it fuel your marketing

Blogging, especially at first, isn’t the field of dreams. “Build it and they will come” happens later as Google begins indexing and serving your content. You can do your part to signal to Google that you have quality content by generating your own traffic. Let your blog fuel your marketing by repurposing your blog article and sharing it across all channels:

• Post on social media multiple times about each blog post using different images and messaging
• Send an email to your list encouraging people to read your content
• Repurpose your blog articles into downloadable guides, video, podcasts or more!
• Ask associates and partners to share your content or feature it in their social media or newsletters
• Add a QR code to printed newsletters or other materials about your posts
• Add a link to your latest episode at the bottom of all staff emails

Tell them what you did and why they needed it.

As you distribute your blog content across your marketing channels, always keep your audience and their needs in mind. Promote the content as a solution to a problem your audience is trying to solve. 

If the content solves multiple problems, that’s even better! Then you can make each post on social center around a different solution.

Do keyword research.

Plan your blog content around what people are actively searching for. Head out to Google Keyword Planner and search for common questions or key phrases you feel would lead people to purchase your product or service. Then incorporate those key phases into your post to ensure Google knows you’re addressing that query. 

How can I optimize my blog posts for search engines (SEO)?

Gather your ideas then head to a keyword research tool. 

I like Google Keyword Planner. It’s free and not too hard to use. Enter in words people would use to search to find what they’re looking for. 

I focus on finding phrases with 100-1,000 visits per month. And then craft a blog post around them. You don’t want super general keywords. They’re almost impossible to rank for. And the goal is to be found!

For example: I was planning my content out and saw I hadn’t done an episode on blogging in a while so I searched for blogging in Keyword Planner and two terms came up that sparked my interest:

1. how often should you blog – 210
2. is blogging dead – 320

And that my friends is what I’m writing about. You can do the same!

Once you have an idea of the words you’re going after:

You’ll use those words in your copy, headings, title and description of your post. It’s important to incorporate them and write in a way that’s easy to read using smaller words and short sentences and paragraphs. You can also break up text into groups of similar content and add headings so it’s easy to skim. And if it helps, invest in a plugin (our favorite plugin for this is Yoast SEO) to help optimize your content.

Choosing topics that don’t relate to your business.

Blogging about random crap that has nothing to do with your business can ultimately be harmful. Because then people will find your site for random crap that has nothing to do with your business and won’t find related content on your site.

Lazy Formatting

Not formatting your content so people leave because they have no interest in reading. People will not read a huge bulleted list. They’ll leave and that signals to Google that your content isn’t good and will be less likely to show it in search results.

How do I measure the success of my blog?

1. Organic website visitors
2. Emails on your list
3. Sales meetings
4. Closed business 
5. Money in the bank

How can I stay motivated and consistent with my blogging efforts?

1. Start with a goal per month then craft a content calendar. 
2. Block off time in your schedule to do the task.
3. Commit to doing it for a specific time period. I’d suggest one year. 
4. Review your results monthly to celebrate successes and see progress.

Should I monetize my blog, and if so, how?

To answer this question, I have a whole slew of questions for you:

• What are you after – business for your business or pennies from Google Ads? 
• Is an email address of a potential customer more valuable than what you might make in ad spend?
• If your goal is to promote your brand and win the trust of visitors, are you going to do that with ads flashing all over the place annoying the crap out of them?

If what you want is to build trust with your visitors and showcase your expertise, then don’t go all recipe blogger on your visitors. Show yourself as an expert, give people actual advice and examples that AI can’t. Then offer a valuable resource in return for an email address and follow up with people who download the resource.

What are some effective strategies for monetizing my blog beyond advertising?

• People will pay you to publish guest posts.
• You can sell merchandise related to your blog.
• Create affiliate links to sell products you mention and get a cut.
• Solicit sponsorships for articles.
• Review stuff for free.
• Swap blog spots with other bloggers for exposure.
• Offer your own downloadable resources in exchange for email addresses.
• Promote events or on-demand services.

If you don’t have a blog yet, then worrying about how to monetize it is putting the cart before the horse in my opinion. First you need to get people coming to the blog, then you have a viable asset to monetize. So maybe you should ask yourself WHO do you want to attract that you can sell things to in the future?

Think about Dude Perfect…they didn’t start by thinking “oh I want to monetize this.” That may have been a dream, but their real “why” was sharing trick shots on YouTube. Now they sell merch, get paid by YouTube, and have sponsorships paying for their episodes. Not to mention all the free stuff they get!

Closing

So, is blogging dead? Absolutely not. In fact, it’s more vital than ever for businesses and individuals looking to establish authority, drive traffic, and connect with their audience. Whether you’re a seasoned blogger or just starting out, the key is to stay consistent, provide value, and keep adapting to the ever-changing digital landscape. So, what are you waiting for? Start typing, and let your voice be heard!