Traditional blogs are dying. People don’t read blogs for entertainment anymore.
But most people read blog posts every day without noticing. I’d argue that people read blog posts more than ever before.
I mean, how many times do you read a how-to guide? That’s one example of a blog post.
Or how many times have you read product product reviews? Those are also blog posts.
People still read blogs. But the reading intent has changed.
Traditionally, people read blogs for entertainment. These days there’s TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and such.
These days, people read blogs to find solutions to their problems.
Let me show you what I mean and how to win big!
The Current State of Blogging
Blogging is still relevant and people read blogs—even without noticing.
But the landscape looks a bit different.
Back 10-20 years ago, having a blog was technical and an achievement in and of itself.
People used to read blogs for entertainment. Those online diaries were in high demand.
There was no TikTok and YouTube was just splashing into the scene.
In the 2000s and early 2010s, everyone had their favorite blogger.
Blogs basically were the “YouTube of the early 2000s”.
One could publish a very boring and random post like “My New Year’s Resolution” and it would actually get reads.
But long gone are those days.
Today, people don’t read blogs for entertainment.
If people want to entertain themselves, they’ll follow someone on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or other social platforms.
It’s more immersive to not just read but to see and hear people.
The rise of platforms like YouTube or TikTok has disrupted traditional personal blogs.
But that’s not the end of blogging. People still read blogs—to solve their problems.
A successful blog in the 2020s is more of a business than art.
When you Google something like “How to choose grip for a tennis racket”, you will find blog posts.
When you search for “Best PhotoShop Alternatives”, you get blog posts.
Blog posts are everywhere!
But here’s the thing. Blogs are vehicles for influencing purchase decisions, building brand awareness, and educating people.
Starting a personal blog about one’s everyday life is simply not going to work—unless you’re popular already.
Key Takeaway
– Blogs 20 years ago: Mostly for entertainment
– Blogs today: Drive leads, educate, inform, build brand awareness
But Why Do People Read Blogs Then?
Video content is ruling.
There are tons of informational how-to guides, review channels, and such.
So why would anyone read blogs anymore?
But as it turns out, people probably read blog posts even more than before.
Here’s what I mean.
#1 Depth of Content
Blogs allow writers to dive deep into topics and provide comprehensive information.
In most topics, you can find just a handful of short-form videos on platforms like TikTok or YouTube.
But for the same topics, you might find those super detailed and informative 5,000+ word posts that take a good 30-60 minutes to read.
Also, more often than not, people find it easier to write posts than to make videos.
So you simply find better results by reading blog posts than by watching videos.
#2 Reading Preference
Not everyone prefers video content—no matter how good it is.
Some people find it easier to understand information when they read it.
Additionally, reading allows for self-paced consumption, where readers can pause, reflect, and reread sections.
It can be a more relaxing experience to read a good old blog post rather than watching a fast-paced video.
#3 Less Intrusive
Reading a blog is quiet. No headset is needed!
Especially for people who aren’t used to wearing headsets in spaces with other people, it’s more convenient to read blogs.
Of course, for a younger generation, this can be hard to understand because everybody has their headsets and TikToks open all the time.
#4 Archival and Reference
Blogs serve as an excellent archive.
Those are easy to bookmark and convenient to come back at any time.
I’m not saying videos aren’t almost as easy to bookmark or rewatch, but it’s all about convenience.
For example, with blog posts, you can easily return to a specific section of a blog post and use bookmarks to open a post quietly at any time.
Especially on platforms like TikTok, it can be harder to find a specific video after watching.
#5 Accessibility
Text-based content feels more accessible for people with disabilities.
For example, those with hearing impairments might prefer reading over watching videos.
Of course, there are those subtitles.
But for some, videos might feel like they’re catered to people who can both see and hear.
#6 Credibility and Authority
Long-form written blog posts can establish the author’s credibility on a particular topic.
Detailed articles tend to feel more authoritative than short video clips with splashy effects and loud music.
#7 Flexibility in Presentation
A blog post is not just a wall of text these days.
Blogs can contain lots of visual elements, such as infographics, pictures, or even videos and animations.
Here’s an example of one of my blog posts.
As you can see, I try to illustrate or visualize every point I’m making.
Also, the author can always add some interaction to a blog post as well.
For example, a blog post about “How to lose weight” might have a calorie calculator one can play with.
This is not possible with YouTube or TikTok content.
At least at the time of writing those videos don’t offer any real interactions. (Not saying it wouldn’t be possible in the future, though.)
#8 Cost and Production
This is more of an answer to “why people write blog posts” rather than “why people read blog posts”.
But there’s an important catch. Producing high-quality videos is much harder than writing a quality post.
It only took me 3 months to have a blog post go viral on Medium.com.
But none of my videos have gone viral even after 6 months of publishing 3-4 videos a week.
Enough about myself.
The point is that there are more in-depth blog posts about different topics than videos.
Anyone can put together an impressive blog post with just a couple of hours of practice.
But to put together an epic video, it takes years to master everything that’s part of the process.
With video content, one has to:
- Be a good speaker
- Have a professional setup
- Have a good camera
- Have a good microphone
- Know how to edit
- Have thumbnail design skills
Not everyone has time, interest, or money to learn all these video-making skills.
But one can learn blogging in just a day and it’s also very very cheap.
#9 Out of Habit
As long as people use Google, there will be people reading blog posts.
Google and other search engines are so ingrained in our society that they’re not going away easily.
Even if better solutions existed, people would still use Google or other search engines to find information just out of habit.
So even if there were no reasons to read blogs anymore, people would still continue doing it for ages.
The Shift in Blogging Landscape
People read blogs to find solutions to their problems, such as “How to change the grip of a tennis racket easily”.
But that’s not all that has changed.
Blogs are also becoming more and more visual. Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to read a blog post that’s just a wall of text.
People are too busy and used to finding quick and visual solutions.
Readers need to see images, visualizations, infographics, or even embedded videos.
In this sense, blogging is less about writing and more about visual appearance.
Back in the day, one could just write a post about something random in 15 minutes.
These days it takes hours and hours to research, write, and visualize.
The more competing blogs appear, the worse it’s going to get.
But it’s still very much doable, though.
I run four profitable blogs at the time of writing. 🙂
The Role of Social Media Platforms
Social platforms are stealing the thunder of personal blogs.
But with the right strategy, blogs and social platforms can supplement one another and co-exist nicely.
#1 Blog Promotion
Social platforms are good places for promoting blogs.
For instance, one can use a YouTube video to promote a blog post.
One strategy is to create a short-form video and then tell the viewers to read a post to learn more.
🤔 I usually don’t do this, though.
Because Google ranks blogs automatically, one doesn’t need to promote on social media.
But with a significant following or a high-traffic strategy, leveraging social media can enhance a blog’s reach.
#2 Long-Form Content Isn’t Always Best
There’s a massive shift to short-form content.
People expect to find information quicker and quicker. This is why social platforms like TikTok shine.
Instead of reading a lengthy 10,000-word guide on “How to Lose Weight,” a 30-second clip can provide the same information in mere seconds.
But this of course boils down to personal preferences and schedules.
If one actually wants to learn something, then those super-detailed posts are actually good.
But if one’s just curious, a short-form video can be time well spent.
Also, in some topics, it might be an overkill to read a 60-minute post.
So there’s a place for TikTok and other short-form content.
But just as well there’s a need for those high-quality blog posts that take time to read.
The Future of Blogging
I think blogs have their place for the foreseeable future.
It’s going to take something absolutely crazy to replace blogs in the next couple of years.
But the ingredients for the end of blogging for sure are there. Think of AI and short-form content.
Let’s be a bit pessimistic for a second:
- Imagine if all of a sudden 95% of people wanted to consume short-form videos instead of blogs.
- And on top of that, let’s say Google could answer 99% of searches with AI instead of showing blog posts.
That would shrink the number of blog readers to 1/2,000th of what it used to be.
Of course, this kind of change doesn’t happen overnight and might not happen at all.
If you asked me, there’s always room for blogs.
Think about reviews, for example. Imagine AI writing a review of shoes. It would have to actually try those shoes first.
As long as AI is just something that doesn’t think or roam around the world, bloggers are safe.
Tips for Bloggers in the Current Landscape
If you want to start a blog or grow your existing one, remember this:
People read blogs only to solve problems. Not for entertainment.
This helps you focus on topics that actually bring traffic to blogs.
Also, another super important thing is to choose a niche carefully.
For instance, a blog could be in the tennis niche or in the fitness niche.
There are countless niches out there and I’ve written a separate guide on how to choose a good niche for your blog.
The reason why niche matters is because Google wants to see expertise these days.
A blog post that ranks #1 on Google is always from a website that has a ton of coverage related to that niche.
For example, if you wanted to rank for something like “Best Tennis Shoes”, you need to write the best post about that topic on the entire internet.
But this is not enough.
The number one site needs to be trusted by Google. In other words, it needs to have a ton of coverage related to the topic.
For example, let’s see how many blog posts the website that ranks #1 for “Best Tennis Shoes” has:
The number one site, perfect-tennis.com has more than 1,400 blog posts about tennis:
To outrank them in the search results, your post would need to be more detailed. And you’d probably need 1,000+ blog posts about tennis too.
After this, Google would trust your site enough.
For example, I wrote about 300 programming tutorials before I started earning from my first blog. It took about 1 year of full-time work.
There’s so much competition that it takes time to find success as a blogger. But it’s not difficult, it just takes a ton of time and patience.
Wrap Up
People still read blogs. But not for entertainment anymore.
Instead, blogs are good for education and influencing purchase decisions.
And that’s a wrap! Make sure to read my blog post about how to actually start a successful blog.
Thanks for reading. Happy blogging!