This isn’t an article I wished to jot down… 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 tens of millions from search engine marketing declare it recreation over.
However right here’s what nobody is saying…
This isn’t nearly Google updates or AI. The best way individuals devour content material has basically modified, and blogs are not a part of the equation.
So the true 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 visitors, which could possibly be monetized by advertisements, 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 provided 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 And outdated search engine marketing methods stopped working in a single day.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… until 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 search engine marketing, content material websites, affiliate internet marketing, and running a blog as a enterprise mannequin.
In the event you’re presently a blogger and also you’ve been holding on optimistically dreaming of your 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 all the time wished to begin 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 larger than ever earlier than.
Be sure to 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 adjustments that hit all of sudden. In the event you’ve been questioning why blogs are shutting down and search engine marketing 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 unbiased web sites.
In the event you 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 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.
Bear in mind these visitors graphs of your favourite journey bloggers tanking? Effectively, 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 when you write one of the 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 suppose, “How can I exploit this to make higher content material?” They thought, “What number of AI-written posts can I publish per day?”
In consequence, 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 received 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 was 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 received 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 visitors again to them.
In the event you search “Greatest Locations to Go to in Thailand,” Google’s AI summarizes one of the best choices on the high 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 fully.
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 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 opinions and checked testimonials on social media
That is simply how individuals purchase now—we would like fast, visible, and trusted info from individuals we really observe and interact with.
You would possibly suppose that it is a direct results of individuals 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 taking place lengthy earlier than bloggers had instruments like ChatGPT and Claude.
Is search engine marketing Completely Lifeless?
Not fully—however for many unbiased bloggers, it would as properly be.
Large manufacturers with large budgets will nonetheless use search engine marketing. Despite the fact that ChatGPT just lately grew to become one of many high 10 web sites on the planet, presently at quantity 7, and is climbing rapidly, Google remains 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 struggle for these high spots.
However the days of recent bloggers rating with nice content material alone are gone. The struggle for search engine visibility is just too aggressive, and Google’s fixed algorithm adjustments make it unimaginable to depend on natural visitors.
So when you’re nonetheless making an attempt to develop what you are promoting by search engine marketing running a blog in 2025, you’re not simply competing with Google—you’re competing with how individuals really devour content material now.
In the event you’re writing search engine marketing weblog posts and making an attempt to rank in Google for key phrases…. Cease it.
In the event you’re performing some variation of that, like making an attempt to rank for Bing or ChatGPT… Cease it.
In the event you’re engaged on the technical search engine marketing 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 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 yr from advertisements and associates.
We’ve invested in search engine marketing 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 fully on Google search engine marketing, Associates, and Advertisements to pay us our wage. But it surely 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 put up 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.
Mainly, we had been making unimaginable cash, however we had no management over our visitors sources, or the earnings 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 the way to create an superior course, the way to promote a course, the way to create e mail gross sales automations and funnels, and mainly the way to earn cash promoting our personal merchandise by emails.
That a part of our enterprise was actually profitable and it received us to the place we are actually. However now, for the previous 2 years, as an alternative of counting on weblog visitors and search engine marketing 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 angle will probably be the only purpose you most likely 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 not a viable enterprise mannequin, however that doesn’t imply on-line enterprise is lifeless. In actual fact, there has by no means been a greater time to construct a worthwhile enterprise.
One of the best 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 marketing and Running a blog. We made tens of millions of {dollars} on that wave and on the time, we thought it was one of the best wave within the sea.
However whereas we had been cruising on that wave… a much bigger, extra lovely, and extra sustainable wave was constructing momentum behind our wave.
That wave was Social Media.
In enterprise, it’s a must to 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 rapidly.
Within the tech panorama, the search engine marketing 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 technology simply didn’t see it.
The Way forward for On-line Enterprise: Social Media, Digital Merchandise, and E 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 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 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-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 large audiences by short-form video.
2. Promote Your Personal Digital Product
Not like 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 may promote a $37 digital product and make actual cash immediately.
Individuals like Natalie from Boss Babe have revamped $100,000 monthly promoting a easy digital product. And we all know of a lady who revamped 1,000,000 {dollars} in a yr from her tiny viewers of lower than 3,000 individuals.
This simply wasn’t attainable with running a blog. There would possibly’ve been some off likelihood that you just received 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 search engine marketing, it could take months, usually years, earlier than they’d see any earnings.
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 E mail Advertising 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 true 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 become profitable 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 identify and e mail to get your tremendous useful 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 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 influence 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 once an unimaginable enterprise mannequin, however instances have modified. Google and AI have made it practically unimaginable 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 search engine marketing blogs had develop into 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 accessible 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 long run is short-form video. The long run is making a useful product. The long run is having an epic e mail listing that individuals 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 long run. 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, deal with short-form video, digital merchandise, and e mail advertising and marketing. That is the way you create an actual, future-proof enterprise.
In the event you’re able to cease losing time on outdated methods and begin constructing a worthwhile enterprise, seize our free coaching under that reveals precisely how we—and our shoppers—are doing it.
The largest on-line enterprise alternative we’ve ever seen is going on proper now. The one query is—are you going to take it?
