Is Blogging Still a Thing in 2021? [Can You Still Make Money Blogging?]

Just like you, I have been wondering lately…Is blogging still a thing? Many people ask me these questions about blogging all the time including…

• Can you still make money blogging? Is blogging dead?
• Is it even possible for a beginning blogger to make money?
• How long would it take for a beginning blogger to make any money?
• Is blogging still a viable option to make money working from home on the internet?
• Am I wasting my time even thinking about blogging? Is blogging still profitable?
• Can I make a full-time income blogging? Is blogging still worth it?

Blogging is still a thing based on research into income blogging reports found on the internet. These income reports are published by blog owners and are easily discovered with a simple Google search. Many blog owners are reporting income ranges of $1,000 a month to $45,000 a month or even more. Be aware though that the vast majority of bloggers make very little to no money each month from their blogging efforts.

Yes, Blogging is Still a Thing!

Is it Still Possible to Make Money Blogging?

These are all great questions that I think about on a regular basis even being in the blogging business for a long time.

While the answer seems to vary according to whom you ask the simple answer is (in my humble opinion), yes to all the above. It is VERY possible to still make money blogging in 2021.

How do I know? Well, one thing the internet gives you these days is the ability to find incredible amounts of information in a very short period of time. I simply typed into my favorite search engine the term, “blog income reports” and guess what? I got several very interesting returns!

Today it is a very popular thing for bloggers to post their income reports. At first glance looking these over I quickly discovered that many people are still making substantial amounts of money each month blogging.

That is the good news. The bad news is you will also find many bloggers making next to nothing after trying for a long period of time. This technique yourself and see what you find. Enjoy the hunt!

Yes, blogging is still worth it based on the research I did into income reports. And it can still be profitable after reviewing the data from those blog income reports.

Ok, so now that you know blogging is still a viable income source what next?

I assume you are here reading this because you have thoughts of working from home and making money using your computer right? And you have probably read stories about all these people making six figures a year blogging.

You have probably been bombarded with ads and seen LOTS of Youtube videos from blogging gurus that promise you if you simply buy their course you too can make thousands of dollars a month blogging.

I will repeat this later in this post but always remember this, there are no “magic secrets” AND everything you need to know to become great at blogging is available FREE on the internet.

Are The Blogging Gurus Telling You the Truth about Blogging?

Are the blogging gurus telling you the truth? Well, yes and no. As with most things in life you read or hear about there is some truth to it. BUT there are also some very stark truths they don’t tell you.

This is your lucky day because I am going to share with you the good and the bad of blogging. No filters. I am not trying to sell you a course. Just providing factual information based on decades of experience being in the making money online business.

I will also give you some insight and answer the million-dollar question on if you can actually make money doing it. Also, how realistic it may be to make a living blogging online and how long you should expect it to take.

What is a Blog?

Good question? Some people don’t even really know what a blog is even though they have heard about blogging on the internet.

Blog as Defined by Merriam-Webster

The noun Blog is simply a website where someone creates content on. Words, pictures, graphics, data, etc.

The verb Blog is to ‘write’ or create content on a blog website.

What is a Blog that can Make Money?

Let’s start this journey into finding out if blogging is “still a thing” (for you) by defining exactly what a blog is and what it isn’t when you are looking at it as a means to make an income online using your computer.

Blogs that Don’t Really Have a Chance of Making Money:

• You writing random thoughts each day on your blog
• You writing about random things you do each day on your blog
• You writing your opinion about current events on your blog
• You posting silly stories and pictures on your blog

You get the idea right? Sure, you may get lucky creating content from the list above but it is not likely you would ever make money doing. I would recommend not wasting your time but that is up to you.

Maybe you just want to blog for the fun of it and that is great too just not the purpose of this blog post.

If you want to create blog to make money you have to put some thought into it and focus on things that mean something to “other people” not just you. Here are some ideas to keep in mind.

Blogs that Probably DO Have a Chance of Making Money:

• You write about topics that people actually search the internet for
• You write about topics that solve a problem that others want to know about
• You write about topics that have broad appeal to many people
• You write about topics that people (other than you) are interested in
• You write about topics that teach someone ‘How to’ do something
• You write about topics that tell others something they don’t already know
• You write about topics that help someone make a decision in their life
• You write about topics that help someone improve their life

The Golden Rule of Blogging: Write something that is HELPFUL to others.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what general themes your blog could be about let’s take it a little more in-depth look concerning what is involved.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly about Blogging (Pros & Cons)

Blogging Pros

• Easy to start. Just need a blog website
• Low cost to start. You could probably start a blog for less than $50 (We will help you for free)
• No special skills needed. It is easy to set up a blog website
• You can work from home or anywhere as long as you have an internet connection
• You can do all the work yourself…if you can write
• Many different ways you can make money with a blog
• You are your own boss and set your own work hours and days
• You can build a worldwide audience of followers
• Most Bloggers Quit. If you don’t quit you can win

Blogging Cons

• Takes a lot of your time to create a blog of good quality
• There is no guarantee you will ever make money with your blog
• It can take 12 to 24 months to really know if your blog will make good money
• You MUST be a highly motivated and disciplined person to work on your own
• You MUST be able to learn to write well on a regular basis
• Google controls most of your search traffic. Google updates can hurt you without notice
• A good blog requires regular updating and adding new content. Forever
• Most bloggers will never make a full time income from doing it

Ok, now that you have some more information about blogging, you have read about the pros and cons and understand what you should write about what do you think? Are you still interested in starting a blog?

If your answer is, “No, probably not” that is great. Blogging is not for everyone that is certain.

BUT if your mind is racing more now than it was when you started reading this post about blogging then follow along for the next steps in your journey…Let us begin.

Simple Steps to Start a Blog (Start a Blog Checklist)

1. Write down “why” you want to start a blog. This is your mission statement. You only have to spend a few minutes doing this. It may sound silly but it will help so just do it.

An example may be something like, “I want to start a blog on landscape photography. I love cameras and taking pictures. I think many people don’t understand how wonderful of a hobby landscape photography really is.

I can help spread the word and get more people interested in taking great pictures. Because of my experience in landscape photography and my great enthusiasm for it I can provide unique insight and knowledge that others will find interesting and useful.”

Keep it short and simple but actually writing it down ON PAPER (not on the computer) will be like putting in the place the first cornerstones of a new home. This is the start of a solid foundation

2. You want to use what is called Niche Marketing. This is just the topic you will write about.

What is Niche Marketing?

Niche marketing is just choosing a well-defined segment of the population you want to aim your marketing at. WHO are you talking to.

In the example above, we picked landscape photography as our “niche” but there are thousands of possible niches you can pick from.

Some niches are better than others for making money with blogging but here are a few simple steps to follow on niche selection.

• Choose a niche that is “evergreen“. This just means something NOT seasonal. Sure, you can do well with seasonal niches but let’s wait until you get some traction blogging before picking one of those. Being able to reach people on a year-round basis greatly increases your chances of success over time.

• Choose a niche that, at least, somewhat interests you.
• You don’t have to be an expert on the topic.
• Researching and writing about something that interests you is MUCH easier!
• Remember, you will become an expert on the topic you end up choosing.
• Choose a niche you can be proud of. Not saying to share your niche with others but one day people you are close to will find out what you are doing. You don’t want to be a blogger in hiding.
• Choose a niche that has potential. Don’t be too narrow or too broad. A niche blog on the Chevy Nova car is too narrow of a scope. While a niche blog on just cars is probably too broad.
• Choose a niche that you DO have some competition. If no competition it is probably not a good choice.
• Choose a niche that has the ability to make money for you.
• Choose a niche that has a large audience of people that you can connect with.
• Choose a niche that has many different products that people usually buy at some point.
• Don’t start with a niche that is dominated by only very large players unless you are an expert.
• Don’t start with a niche that is controversial.

It really is not that hard to choose your first niche so don’t waste a lot of time on it. Do some basic research and follow your instincts. Below is a great way to decide on your niche in less than ten minutes.

If you need help finding a niche reach out to us. Go to our contact page and send off an email. We are happy to help.

Another great way to find a niche and learn about blogging in general is spend some time searching the internet and reading other popular blogs. See what is workging from them and learn. Don’t ever copy but you can use what you see others doing as a framework for your success.

There is nothing new anymore. Just take what you see and make it better!

Now that you have your “why” and your niche. What next?

Quick Start a Blog Checklist

Below is a brief checklist to start your blog website. We will link to more in-depth information on how to do each step but it gives you the idea of what to do next.

Download this Free Start a Blog Checklist here

1. Choose and register a domain name to purchase. Get a .com extension. Get this free with hosting here.

Why a .com extension? Because .com is the most recognized domain extension and people just view it as having higher authority because it has been around since the beginning of the internet.

It may not be easy finding a good domain name with a .com as almost all the good names are taken but put some time into this step. A good domain name should be as short as possible, your main keyword or name of your blog is in it, and do not use a hyphen in it.

2. Purchase Web Hosting for your domain.

Note: We recommend this company to start with and will install up your WordPress site for FREE if you sign up via this link – Go Here

Does it really matter which web hosting provider you use? Well, not totally but some do offer better customer support, ease of use, and performance so it is smart to pick a known good one.

3. Create an email for your blog at your new hosting (we will do this for you free).

Some people just use a gmail or Yahoo email for their blog. This is ok! There is even the added benefit of gmail having to deal with all the spam emails you will get instead of bogging down your website hosting with it. It is also really quick and easy to create a new gmail email.

The only negative is some people may view going this route as not as professional or legitimate since you don’t have a “company email“. Who cares. Either way is fine and each has some advantages and disadvantages. You won’t be doing much with email at the beginning anyway. Can change it later.

4. Install WordPress on your new web hosting platform. Sounds scary right! Actually, it is a very simple process done via your web hosting cpanel. As stated above we will even do this free for you if you sign up for hosting via our link. It costs you nothing and the price is the same either way.

Blogging Can Become Addicting

5. Set up Google Analytics for tracking your traffic.

Google Analytics is the gold standard for monitoring your website traffic. It can be a bit cumbersome to setup and figure out but it is important to be able to monitoring what is happening on your site.

Analytics will show you what posts on your site are getting traffic and how much. That is important so you can tailor future articles on what is actually getting people to your site. It will also show you what geographic location these people are coming from and how long they stay on your site.

6. Install your WordPress Theme.

Kadence and Astra are good free themes but there are others. The reason these two are tops picks is they are free and they are fast. Speed is an important ranking factor for Google so you don’t want a fancy theme that is slow.

You don’t need tons of cool features on your website. People are not going there to be impressed like they might with a traditional business. They are going to your blog website to read and learn so it needs to be easy and painless for them or you will lose them quickly.

WordPress PLUGINS: Yes, you will need some plugins. Some themes recommend or require you to install certain ones. Be careful NOT to install too many plugins though as it will slow your blog site down!

Some plugins really cause a problem so don’t go nuts installing lots of cool plugins. They will hurt you more than help in many cases.

What plugins should you install?

Get our Free list of WordPress plugins

you should install here.

7. Find some sites for free stock video and photos.

Why? Because you need pretty pictures for your posts and articles. People get bored very quickly just reading big blocks of text. They will simply stop reading and click off your website. You sure don’t want that after working so hard to get them there!

So mix it up by putting photos, graphics, charts, and video embeds between paragraphs. Websites like Pexels, Pixabay, and Unsplash are all good sources for free photos.

8. Sign up for a free Canva login. Canva is where you can create some awesome graphics.

I like Canva because it is easy to use and gives a wide range of templates to create super cool graphics from quickly. Anyone can do this. It only takes maybe 30 minutes to learn and become a graphics pro!

There are several other choices though like Pic Monkey, Pixlr, Crello, and Snappa to name a few. most all of them have free options and if you want more power pay for a premium plan. even then it is not much. Canva is only $9.95 per month for their pro version and it is powerful.

9. Create a list of topics you want to write about. Look here for tips & tricks on keywords.

Ok, this is a BIG one actually! Getting writer’s block is a BIG problem in this line of work. Having a pre-made list of possible topics helps you counteract and defeat writer’s block. Critical!

Always be jotting down a possible topic as soon as you think of it. If you don’t you WILL forget it! Put it on your master list. Do this many times each day.

Cool Tip! Go to popular youtube channels in your niche. Sort their videos by the “most popular” filter. Take note of the subjects of their most-watched videos. This is a good source for possible topics to write about.

10. Write and publish your first article!

Wow! Guess what you are now officially a blogger! Congratulations! Take a bow and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Celebrate the small wins each day as you progress through your blogging journey. It is important to do this because you will be your only cheerleader. Don’t expect others to congratulate you.

Now that you have your first blog post up guess what? It is time to do it again! And again, and again! Try as hard as possible to produce at least two blog posts a week. More if you can!

More Good content equals “winning” when it comes to blogging. Don’t just create trash and toss it up there though. It is better to be a little slower and create quality.

BUT you must take action on a regular basis to see any progress in blogging. Internet marketing genius, Neil Patel sums it up well by encouraging you to just get started. Put content out there and learn from the feedback you get.

We hope this article about “is blogging still a thing?” answers your question and gives you a solid foundation to base a decision on if you want to move forward. That was our goal and we hope it helped!

Good luck and stay happy!

Darby Hamilton

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