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 web optimization declare it recreation 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 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 Prime 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 via adverts, affiliate internet marketing, and digital merchandise.
However in 2023, that every one modified. A few of the greatest names in running a blog began pulling out. Even we had been supplied over half one million {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 And outdated web optimization methods stopped working in a single day.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 Reality 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 submit say… except you do it the way in which I educate in my programs.
No. I’m going to present you my actual, sincere 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 site 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 wished to start out a weblog however now I’m sitting right here and shitting all around 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 largest on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen.
And those that adapt now are going to win greater than ever earlier than.
Be sure you learn to the tip 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 modifications that hit all of sudden. For those who’ve been questioning why blogs are shutting down and web optimization 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 implies fewer individuals are clicking over to precise blogs. On the identical 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 more likely to see a Reddit thread or TripAdvisor submit 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 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 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 if you happen to write the perfect 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 bought 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 details, or make their websites extra user-friendly—they used it to spam the online.
Because the 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 become 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 bought 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 straight from blogs with out sending any site visitors again to them.
For those who search “Greatest Locations to Go to in Thailand,” Google’s AI summarizes the perfect choices on the prime 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 completely.
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 taking part in 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 cellphone, or a course—by studying a 3,000-word weblog submit?
You didn’t.
As a substitute, you most likely:
- 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 would like fast, visible, and trusted info from folks we really comply with and interact with.
You may assume that it is 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 Lifeless?
Not completely—however for many impartial bloggers, it’d as nicely be.
Massive manufacturers with large budgets will nonetheless use web optimization. Although ChatGPT just lately turned one of many prime 10 web sites on the planet, presently at quantity 7, and is climbing shortly, Google continues to be the god of on-line site visitors for now. It’s on the prime of that checklist, so huge firms with some huge cash will nonetheless combat for these prime 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 modifications make it not possible to depend on natural site visitors.
So if you happen to’re nonetheless making an attempt to develop your online business via 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 performing some 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 to 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. Now we have 4 of them, and (fortunately) they’re nonetheless bringing in over six-figures a yr from adverts 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 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 utterly on Google web optimization, Associates, and Advertisements to pay us our wage. Nevertheless 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 yr. And that was simply one among MANY instances that occurred to us.
Mainly, 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 checklist (a site visitors supply that we OWN) and selling our own products—one thing we had management over. This took me down a rabbit gap and years of analysis into studying find out how to create an superior course, find out how to promote a course, find out how to create e mail gross sales automations and funnels, and mainly find out how to earn cash selling our own products via emails.
That a part of our enterprise was actually profitable and it bought us to the place we are actually. However now, for the previous 2 years, as a substitute of counting on weblog site visitors and web optimization to herald leads, we’re doing it through 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 doubtless be the one cause you most likely received’t have a successful online business in 5 years.
What This Means for the Way forward for On-line Enterprise
Running a blog is not a viable enterprise mannequin, however that doesn’t imply on-line enterprise is lifeless. Actually, there has by no means been a greater time to construct a worthwhile enterprise.
One of the simplest ways I can clarify that is via 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 web optimization and Running a blog. We made thousands and thousands 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… a much bigger, extra stunning, 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 experience 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 web optimization 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
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-Kind 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 large audiences via short-form video.
2. Promote Your Personal Digital Product
In contrast to running a blog, social media permits you to monetize quick—in case you have the fitting product. As a substitute of incomes $0.002 per customer via 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 monthly promoting a easy digital product. And we all know of a lady who revamped one million {dollars} in a yr from her tiny viewers of lower than 3,000 folks.
This simply wasn’t attainable with running a blog. There may’ve been some off likelihood that you just bought 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 will 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 monthly 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 Electronic mail Advertising to Automate Gross sales
Your weblog must be an internet site—not a content material hub. It ought to:
- Construct authority
- Seize emails
- Promote your product
Electronic mail advertising is the place the actual 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.
In fact, you’ll be able to’t simply generate income 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 beneficial 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 generate income 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 instances have modified. Google and AI have made it practically not possible for brand 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 bored with writing the ten finest issues to do in Bangkok and the 15 finest finances microwaves.
Do I miss the passive revenue from running a blog? Completely, however that very same passive revenue is out there 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 value it.
The long run is short-form video. The long run is making a beneficial product. The long run is having an epic e mail checklist 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, give attention to 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 training beneath that reveals precisely how we—and our purchasers—are doing it.
The most important on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen is going on proper now. The one query is—are you going to take it?
