Starr Struck Turns 7! Plus, Is Blogging Dead?

As of today, I’ve been blogging here on this little page for 7 years. Seven. Whole. Years. That’s longer than I’ve lived in any one place since I was in high school, and definitely longer than I ever imagined I would be blogging. In fact, I’m actually pretty shocked that I’m still as dedicated to blogging now as I was 7 years ago--and even more surprised that at this point, I still don’t see any end in sight.

That being said, since I’ve celebrated SO many blogiversaries here over the years, I’ll save you the annual “what I’ve learned from blogging” or “how my life has changed since I started blogging” post and instead, use today’s blogging anniversary to share my thoughts on two questions that I’ve gotten a lot recently (and that have been hot discussion topics on the internet as of late):

1. Is blogging dead? Does anyone read blogs anymore?

Obviously I’m biased here, but I truly believe that blogging is alive and well (albeit changed). And from my blog’s statistics I can tell you that people definitely do still read blogs. Is my blog readership growing exponentially these days? No, it’s not. But is it declining? Nope, not at all.

In fact, even as I’ve decreased the frequency of my blog posts over the years—and especially as my posts have been less regular in the last year or so (during which I have also focused less on my blog than ever before), my readership has held steady. I would even argue that my “popular” posts are read WAY more now than they were a few years ago, simply because they are shared and seen so much more via social media.

Speaking of social media, I should mention that the rise in social media is one of the main reasons that people cite for why blogging is dying: Why would you go to someone’s personal blog to read about their life when you can just hop over to their Instagram feed to get a quick glimpse into their lives in real time?

Because a personal blog goes deeper than the highlight reel. There's more space to explain things and share the entire story. Blogs are more than inspirational quotes, perfectly styled lifestyle pictures, and 1-2 paragraphs of honesty or vulnerability every once in a while. I LOVE Instagram and I love social media and I think it has done amazing things for connecting us all, but I don't think it has erased the role that blogs play on the internet. 

In my experience, social media has changed the way that people read my blog and how they learn about my personal life (and lets be honest, where they go to see pics of my child + dog, haha), but I don’t think that this change has been a bad thing. In fact, it’s allowed me to focus less on updating my readers on my day-to-day life [on the blog] and instead, focus on sharing deeper experiences, more thoughtful pieces of writing, and recent creative projects, saving the snapshots, highlights, and silly posts for Instagram or Facebook.

The other big way that social media has changed my blog is that I am connecting with new readers all the time in a way that I couldn’t before. I can see my readers faces and families, learn more about them, and understand them in a way that I was not able to when I first began blogging, which is really refreshing and allows me to write for my audience in a more direct way.

Am I saying that all of the changes to the blogging world [caused by the rise of social media] have been good? No, I’m not saying that. I think it’s sad that people don’t subscribe to blogs as much anymore, or read them in the same way, or comment on posts all in one place. And I’d bet that the number of people who visit Starr Struck every day just to check-in (without being prompted by a social media link) has gone way down over the past 5 years or so...but at the same time, as those numbers have decreased, I know that the number of people who discover Starr Struck on social media--through a post that a friend shares or through a link that I post to Instagram or Facebook--has gone way up.

2. Is it worth starting a blog at this point?

I get this question from my clients all the time and it's a harder one for me to answer. I think it comes down to what you mean by “worth it.”

If by “worth it” you mean, what is the likelihood that you’ll make it “big” as a blogger and make money off of your blog, I’d say that that likelihood has gone way down, especially because brands are looking for much bigger bloggers and social media influencers to work with these days and it can take a looooong time to grow a blog that has a large enough audience to make money off of it.

But if by “worth it” you mean will you be able to find readers to share your writing and point of view with, I’d say YES, absolutely. If you have something to say and are passionate about saying it, you will find a small group of readers quickly and in fact, finding them has never been easier. All you have to do is write a post, give it a catchy title, and then share it to your existing social media accounts and you will have way more readers click through from your link now than you would have 7 years ago. 

Similarly, if you have a online business or product that you’re trying to sell online, blogging is still an amazing way to increase your google-ability or “digital footprint.” It’s still a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field. It’s still an impactful way to share your thoughts on a subject. And it’s a wonderful method for instructing and teaching from afar. 

So is it worth starting a blog now if you really want to and your goals are one of the reasons I've listed above? Yes, I think so. But if you're starting a blog now in the hopes that blogging will become a full-time job one day soon, I wouldn't quit your day job. 

Thus, as I said at the beginning of this post, I’m in it for the long haul and will keep blogging—in some shape or fashion—until blogs are extinct. I will probably continue to share more of my day-to-day experiences on social media (+ less on the blog) as time goes on, so I definitely recommend you follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram if that’s what you’re looking for, but if you’re still interested in my deeper thoughts on motherhood, yoga, health, body image, balance, entrepreneurship, creativity, and business, then you’re in the right place.

Thank you for being here with me and continuing to pop-in and read my writing for so many years now. Thank you for supporting me, sharing with me, and connecting with me since March of 2011.

I’ll be posting a short + sweet version of my Annual Reader Survey {with an accompanying giveaway, of course!} on Wednesday, so stay tuned for Part II of my Blogiversary celebration then...

Long live the blog!!!! ;)