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The Future Of Blogging + An Action Plan [Ep. 96]

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*This episode looking at what the future of blogging might hold is sponsored by Travel Blog Prosperity, a membership community for bloggers wanting to grow their traffic, community & income

What does the future of blogging look like? Is it worth it to blog anymore after Google’s Core Updates and the growth of AI?

If you’re curious about these things, you’re in the right place, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast I’ll be sharing my thoughts on how to approach blogging moving forward to be successful.

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand:

  • How to shift the way you run your blog
  • 5-step action plan for creating a sustainable and profitable blogging business
  • Examples of blogs that have been able to see success beyond the Google Core Updates & AI
  • And more!

In short, if you’re wondering if blogging is still worth it or if you’re looking to learn a strategy for running a sustainable blogging business in a post-Helpful Content Update world, you won’t want to miss this.

The Future Of Blogging [Podcast Episode Audio]

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Create A Sustainable Blogging Business With These Helpful Tools

Legal Templates from Lisa Fraley. One important piece of running a blogging business is getting set up legally. Attorney and legal coach Lisa Fraley offers a vast library of legal templates for business owners—from website legal pages to client agreements to refund policies and beyond!

Teachable. This is my digital course and membership creation platform of choice. One neat feature is their AI Curriculum Generator, which can help you quickly create an outline for your online course and start building it out. Click to try it for free, and if you want advanced features use code JESSIEFESTA2023 for 1 free month of their Pro Plan.

ConvertKit. Most of your digital product marketing will likely be done via email, so it’s important to have a feature-rich and user-friendly email marketing platform—like ConvertKit. My affiliate link gets you a 30-day free trial—no credit card required! Alternatively, you can join their free plan here.

RightBlogger. This platform features an array of AI content creation tools and was created for bloggers by a successful blogger.

travel blogger sitting outside on her laptop researching what the future of blogging looks like

Profitable Blogging In A Post-Helpful Content Update World [Episode Transcript]

Many bloggers have been impacted by Google’s Core Updates.

And the question becomes: how do I update my content to rank again?

While it’s important to keep up with SEO best practices, I personally think we need to shift the way we approach blogging and really start thinking about our blogs as businesses and our content as a tool for growing the business (vs the blog content as the whole business itself).

But, how do you do this? That is exactly what we’ll go over below!

🎉 Also, don’t forget to grab access to my FREE Travel Blogger Resource Library! Get access to 55+ resources that can help turn your blog into a profitable business—including branding and business planning workbooks and, for paid ChatGPT users, a custom Digital Product Ideas For Travel Bloggers Generator!

Step #1) Consider who you help & how

I’ve talked about creating a mission before using the simple template “I help [group of people] do [how you help].”

And while it’s important to think about this mission when creating your content plan, you also want to use it to build out your entire business so that everything is aligned.

This includes your revenue streams—including the products you’ll sell. We’ll get to that one in a bit!

💡 Pro tip: You can also create a more impactful mission statement by building on the above template. For example, “I help [group of people] do [how you help] by [what you do] through [how you do it].”

defining a blog mission
Mission statement template. PS – Pin Me For Later!

Step #2) Build a brand

Pinpointing your mission is a part of this, but what you really want to do is create a brand that people actively look to for answers.

In my opinion, one of the best ways to do this is through creating helpful content.

I know we’re all sick of hearing that term, but it really should be the goal.

Instead of planning our content around easy keywords and then writing for robots, really think about the questions your specific audience has and answer them in a clear way across your digital touchpoints…

(…which, in my opinion, should be more than just your blog.)

💡 Pro tip: Try to stand out from other experts in your niche by offering unique information in unique ways and by finding gaps you can fill. What questions does your audience have that aren’t being answered or that aren’t being answered clearly?

Step #3) Create a community

Your brand is your identity and reputation that draws people to you. From there, you can use your audience’s shared interests, goals, and values to turn one-time visitors into engaged community members.

A few of my favorite ways to do this are building and nurturing an email list, hosting community events webinars and challenges, and growing and nurturing a Facebook group.

💡 Pro tip: No matter what strategies you choose, I highly recommend getting people onto your email list.

Not only do email lists have a high average ROI—$36 for every $1 spent, according to Constant Contact—but you own your list, which is incredibly valuable. Once people are on your list, you can let them know about free content, paid offers, community events, and more.

female blogger smiling and holding a laptop while walking through palm trees
Growing an email list will help your blogging business weather algorithm updates & AI advancements

Step #4) Implement revenue streams

In the past, the popular strategy was to create a niche site, optimize it for SEO, and let it coast on affiliate and ad income.

Now, if you want a sustainable and secure business, it’s important to go beyond that.

Personally, the main ways I make money include:

That last one is the one I really want to bring to your attention, as having products & services can help you have more control over your income.

With products, you don’t need a ton of traffic, you just need the right traffic. Plus, you can set up sales funnels or run ads directly to the product to increase your income.

💡 Pro tip: You want to create products that fulfill your mission and help your community. To help, here are 14 digital product ideas.

I also recently shared a video tutorial on how to launch a paid itinerary planning service:

Step #5) Promote your revenue streams

Yes, part of this is promoting your content; however, I recommend thinking of your content as a tool for growing your business (vs the business itself).

What is great about products is you don’t need to wait for traffic to come. Instead, you can use strategic partnerships and other strategies to make sales right away.

💡 Example: When NYC Photo Journeys (my photo tour company) was brand new and had no traffic, I built up an affiliate program, offered discounts to local hotels, and listed my services on tour aggregator sites like Viator and Expedia to make sales quickly.

Bonus tip for building a sustainable blogging business

Diversify your digital touchpoints.

For maximum traffic, implement additional strategies beyond SEO—like Pinterest, Flipboard, syndication collaborations, and creating strategic social media content.

Additionally, for maximum visibility, go beyond just posting on your blog.

To streamline things, you can repurpose or pull tips or clips from your long-form content to create shorter social media shares.

For instance, I’ll be repurposing this podcast episode into a YouTube video and an email.

Or, you can create videos that would pair well with your written content to help bring it to life, or can even use the blog post as the actual script.

female blogger sipping on a wraparound porch with a cup of coffee
Streamline your workflow to get more done and have more time to relax

Final thoughts on how to approach blogging in the future

While nobody knows what the next Google Core Update will bring, it’s a given that algorithms across all platforms will always be changing.

You want to build a sustainable business that is as algorithm-proof as possible, and, in my opinion, the above steps are a great way to do that. 💪

Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to really start thinking about your blog as a business—from creating a brand to launching your own products to diversifying your digital touchpoints.

Don’t forget: for a limited time, new Travel Blog Prosperity members can grab their first month for just $9 with code PODCAST.

If you forward me your receipt and say “Give me the bonus opportunities!” I’ll reply with a bonus list of 51 paid opportunities for bloggers.

Don’t forget to grab access to the free travel blogging resource library. There are a ton of resources in there on growing your community and increasing your blogging profits.

And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time businesses.

Happy blogging!

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Monetize Your Blog With These Helpful Past Episodes:

How To Create & Launch A Membership Program For Recurring Revenue

How To Plan & Host A Profitable Retreat

How To Start A Profitable Multi-Day Tour Company

How To Make Money Blogging In A Year Or Less

How To Sell A Blog For Profit

How To Monetize Your Blog From Day One

How To Make Money Travel Blogging With Online Courses

How To Create A Profit Plan For Your Travel Blog

Click here for all profitable blogging podcast episodes.

What do you think the future of blogging looks like? Is blogging still worth it?