Does Content Writing Have a Future in Today's World (2024)?

Table of contents

Challenging the Norm

“Blogging is dead – you should be focusing on a YouTube channel.”

“Nowadays, everyone is into videos. Creating and consuming content in video format has become the norm, and you should adapt to this trend.”

“Text-based content is outdated. You should be dancing on TikTok. Nobody likes to read anymore!!”

Here on this blog, I often share unusual, alternative ways of doing things. And what could be more appropriate to present these unconventional ideas than to deliver them in an equally unconventional way, just to challenge the norm?

So, in this post, I’ll share with you why I—and many others—prefer written content and why it will continue to have a place in our lives.

(In fact, I’m convinced that blogs and independent websites could be the future of the internet and even a solution to many of the problems we currently encounter on it.)

I’m putting together this post to organize my thoughts on content writing, reflect about what I do here, and explain why I prefer blogging over YouTube. But I also hope it will resonate with others who, like me, like to express themselves through the written word but are unsure if it’s still relevant in the current landscape.

After all, you have a message to share, and you want it to reach others without your preference for writing getting in the way.

So, does content writing have a future? Do people still read blogs? Are blogs still a thing? Without unnecessary pessimism or ungrounded optimism, let’s find out the truth.

Do People Still Read Anymore?

There’s no denying it—video content is currently the most widely produced and consumed format on the Internet. That’s a fact.

However, the number of people who consume and even prefer written content is larger than you might initially expect.

Even those who prefer to read are often surprised to discover that there is an alternate universe where people prefer to read rather than watch videos.

Remember, there are billions of people on the vast expanse of the internet, and not all of them share the same preferences as the majority.

A significant number of people regularly consume written content, and many even have a preference for this format. I’m one of them, and I’m certainly not alone in this preference.

I’m not saying that written content doesn’t have a small audience when compared to TikTok or YouTube videos, but it still attracts a sizable audience, making it worthwhile for those who enjoy creating written content.

The challenge lies in finding this audience and being discovered by them, as I will address later in this post.

But the thing is, there are plenty of people who read on the web and even prefer text-based content.

“Let’s Pivot to Video!”

Around 2015, media companies started reallocating resources from written content on their own websites to focus on creating video content on third-party platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat.

Of course, videos have been more popular than texts for a while now, much like TV has always been more popular than books.

I’m not disputing that fact.

What I’m emphasizing here is that the difference in popularity between videos and written content is a little less impressive than has been suggested.

It’s big, but it’s not that big.

Around 2015, statistics on the popularity and viewer retention of videos on Facebook were greatly exaggerated. “The false metrics that Facebook is being sued over masked a deeper dishonesty: that users actually wanted more video.” (Slate, The Big Lie Behind the “Pivot to Video”)

When publishers and website owners saw the supposedly massive video view counts, promoted by Facebook’s CEO to attract advertisers, many of them shifted their focus from written content to videos.

It turns out that these metrics were completely wrong and greatly overestimated (I’m not suggesting this was intentional), as reported by the Wall Street Journal and later acknowledged by Facebook.

But by the time this revelation came to light, the damage was already done.

Videos, Everywhere

One fine day, people excitedly clicked on their favorite blogs and websites, expecting to find some cool texts to read.

However, they were greeted with a disappointing sight—videos everywhere.

No texts. Just… videos.

“NOOOO!!” they cried out in tears. “This can’t be happening!”

People just wanted to read some texts. They longed for the simplicity of scrolling through words, absorbing information at their own pace, and appreciating the art of well-crafted sentences. HAHAHA

If you click on a headline and it turns out to be video-only, do you
— Lili Loofbourow (@Millicentsomer) October 17, 2018

“According to data from comScore, the publishers that pivoted to video this summer have seen at least a 60 percent drop in their traffic in August compared to the same period from a year ago.” (Better News, 2017) “Fox Sports just one of several notable sites to lose millions of page views after pivoting to video. […] Choosing video over the written word has meant a drop in audience for four major outlets.” (Awful Announcing)

So, with the growing dominance of video content, text-based content often receives less attention and investment. As a result, many people shift to consuming mostly videos, as it feels like the only option. This, in turn, creates the false impression that videos are even more popular than they actually are, causing text-based content to receive less investment and perpetuating a self-reinforcing cycle.

Even so, many people still read content on blogs and niche websites—but I believe the numbers could be higher if we returned to investing more in producing high-quality written content.

Do People Still Read Blogs?

Research suggests that about 77% of Internet users are into reading blogs.

However, I don’t know what type of content was categorized as a “blog” in these surveys—whether it refers to personal blogs or purely informative articles (modern blogging).

Anyway, the fact is that the research certainly indicates that a significant portion of people regularly consume written content, whether it’s blog posts or other types of text-based material.

With approximately 5.16 billion Internet users in 2023, having 77% of them engaged in reading content online means that a vast number of people still read regularly on the internet.

So, do people still read anymore? Absolutely.

People are Looking for Written Content

Consider this: When people go to Google, they’re specifically looking for text-based content. If they were after videos, they’d go to websites like YouTube or TikTok. On Google, however, they’re searching specifically for written content.

With around 3.5 billion clickable searches being made on Google every single day, it’s evident that there is a significant demand for text-based content on the internet.

It’s safe to say that people are looking for written content. There is audience for those who make texts—not only for those who make videos.

And that’s just on Google. There are other search engines where people also search for text-based content. Google might be the most popular, but it’s not the only one.

Those who don’t use Google, or prefer not to use it, are searching for text-based content on other search engines, such as Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Ecosia, Baidu, and others.

If you want to gauge the daily search volume on Google for topics you enjoy writing about, you can use a keyword overview tool, such as the one from Semrush.

Take this post’s topic as an example: By 11 am on December 13, 2023, there were 1.2K searches for the keyword “are blogs still a thing?” alone. And that’s just one keyword! There are others, like “is blogging still worth it,” “is blogging dead in 2023,” and more, that point to the same content.

What Do People Usually Search for on Google?

While my content is personal, it falls more into the ‘informative and educational’ category—the kind of material people usually search for on Google.

When someone uses a search engine like Google, they’re typically looking for informative content in text format. They want to learn about a specific topic, find a recipe, follow a how-to guide, and so on. Blogs have an ‘educational’ aspect, as I’ll address in another post.

Now, on YouTube or social media, most people are there usually for entertainment rather than to learn something new.

According to a HubSpot survey, “consumers primarily watch videos to ‘help me relax and unwind.’ Additionally, people cited ‘To laugh or be entertained’ as the second most common reason.”

Only 11.5% of respondents said they watch videos to learn something new.

When it comes to written content, I found in another survey that “61% of respondents said they were attracted to the last three blogs they read because they wanted to learn something, educate themselves, or answer questions unrelated to their career or schooling.” (HubSpot, October 02, 2023)

However, Google is not a platform dedicated exclusively to blogs. You can find everything there, even YouTube videos (especially these days). Unlike YouTube, Google doesn’t focus on just one format. It doesn’t organize content into channels or categories for you to follow, nor does it offer personalized recommendations in your feed.

Independent Websites

For me, the main reason texts attract a considerably smaller audience compared to videos is where they’re typically published.

Videos are typically published on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, where users can easily find content from various creators all in one place. Texts, however, are often published on independent websites, like this one, making them harder to discover.

Imagine if the videos we see on YouTube were scattered across individual websites, much like blogs are. Few would stumble upon them, and we might hear the same complaints about videos that we currently hear about blogs: “Videos are dying,” “Nobody watches videos anymore,” “I’m giving up on videos!”

Some video creators do publish videos on their own websites as well, but would they get the same views without directing their YouTube audience there? Certainly not. This doesn’t mean people don’t care about videos; it just shows that independent websites lack the reach of platforms like YouTube or TikTok.

The same holds true for text-based content.

It’s not that people don’t care about text; it’s that independent websites are simply harder to find, whether they feature written content or videos.

What’s more, YouTube holds a monopoly on video content that I think it’s highly unlikely any other video platform will be able to beat. While TikTok is popular, it doesn’t pose a real threat to YouTube’s dominance. YouTube remains the primary platform for video content, and if there’s an audience for videos, they’re on YouTube. As a result, video creators enjoy immense exposure, receiving significant views and followers.

When it comes to text-based content, however, things are different. Unlike YouTube, there isn’t a single, centralized platform for publishing written content. Instead, audiences are spread across multiple sites—Medium, Quora, Google, Substack, Reddit, Twitter (which now offers long-form content), and others. Building an audience on each of these platforms is much more challenging compared to YouTube, where the entire video-watching community is concentrated in one place.

The point is, the gap between the audience for text and video isn’t as overwhelming as it seems. Videos are easier to find because they’re on platforms that centralize content. In contrast, independent websites, where texts are typically published, are difficult to discover. Consequently, creators get only a few views, which makes them think that people don’t care about written content anymore (which is not true).

Do Zero-Click Google Searches Affect Bloggers?

How Many Google Searches End Without a Click?

Someone might say, “But only about 40% of the 8.5 billion daily Google searches result in clicks. Google often provides information directly on the results page, so users can find what they need without having to click on a website. This feature of Google will kill blogs.”

Well, it’s important to consider that most zero-click searches are for quick information, like weather updates, sports scores, currency conversions, and the like. Google itself confirms this.

You’ve probably conducted a zero-click search yourself. For example, if you search for ‘capital of Kazakhstan,’ Google instantly provides the answer—Astana—right on the results page. You get what you need and move on, adding to the zero-click statistics.”

Now, blogs were never intended to provide information like the weather, a restaurant’s address, a drugstore’s phone number, the dollar-to-yuan conversion rate, or a soccer match score. This isn’t the kind of content that blogs are meant to cover.

Given this, the fact that Google offers quick answers to these types of queries doesn’t impact blog traffic at all.

And many of the searches that don’t result in clicks are from people simply looking to confirm the correct spelling of a word. For instance, someone might search “is it responsibility or responsability?” Such a query isn’t likely to drive traffic to a blog.

The person behind the screen will skim through the search results, see ‘responsibility’ all over the place, assume it’s the correct spelling, and then return to their original task—another zero-click search.

These types of searches happen all the time. It’s no wonder that only about 40% of Google searches lead to clicks on blogs and websites.

Yet, despite the significant portion of searches not resulting in clicks, we’re still talking about around 40% of 8.5 billion daily searches—that’s around 3.5 billion daily searches specifically for text-based content.

My Type of Content

Later in this post, I’ll provide an answer to the search query “what is the origin of the term blog?” just to provide some context for one of the topics I want to discuss.

However, I am not writing this post specifically for those searching Google for the origin of the term “blog.” Google can provide a quick answer to that search query.

I’m putting together this post for those searching for things like “do people still read blogs?” “does content writing have a future?” or “is blogging dead?” These are the readers who are interested in whether it’s still worth starting or maintaining a blog in 2024. These are the ones who will actually click on posts and take the time to read them.

After all, no one searches “Do people still read blogs?” or “Does content writing have a future?” sees a simple “Yes” as the answer, and leaves satisfied. They want to hear from someone involved in blogging or online publishing. They want insights into the current blogging landscape, predictions for the future of blogging in the age of AI, and evidence like research, opinion polls, and testimonials.

Those looking for answers to this kind of search actually click on the posts and read the content. A Google Quick Answer Box is no substitute.

It’s Not My Audience

If someone visits my blog post just to find a single piece of information, they’re likely not really interested in the topics I discuss, nor are they inclined to subscribe or follow the ideias I share in this blog of mine.

Even if Google didn’t provide quick answers, this occasional reader would simply click on my post, search for the specific information they need, and then leave without even knowing what the post was primarily about.

Whether Google provides quick answers or not, the outcome is the same. So, does it matter if Google offers quick answers?

Not at all—it makes no difference to me.

But Anyway

My point is: The fact that Google offers quick answers to some searches doesn’t really affect blog or niche website traffic, simply because the content of a blog post is different from what appears in a Google quick answer box.

With 3.5 billion clickable searches daily for text-based content, there’s a considerable demand for written material on the web.

Will ChatGPT Replace Bloggers?

Chatbot-Generated Texts

Many internet users share a common perspective: “For a deep dive, I prefer written content; for a quick introduction or overview, video content works fine for me.“

When seeking a brief overview or basic, introductory information—like what AI often provides—people often turn to video content rather than text. However, even among these individuals, a significant number prefer not to watch videos. They’d prefer to read a quick summary or a bulleted list—like what AI often provides—rather than watch a video.

That’s why it’s common to see viewers posting summaries of video content in the comments, allowing others to save time by reading instead of watching. And people appreciate this, saying things like, “Thanks, man, you saved me a lot of time,” or “Thanks, now I don’t need to watch the video—you’re a hero!”

With the rise of chatbots, which deliver basic, introductory information similar to what’s found in videos or in the comments of videos, people who seek such content can now read it from chatbots. This eliminates the need to watch videos or rely on the goodwill of a benevolent soul who writes the content of the video in the comments.

When these users decide to take the next step and dig deeper into a topic, they will do what they have always done: they will search for long-form written material.

The thing is: Those who are only searching for introductory information are not typically the audience for bloggers—they are the audience for YouTubers. If these users switch to ChatGPT or similar tools, it won’t significantly impact text creators, simply because this audience wasn’t theirs to begin with.

In fact, it’s likely that those who could lose some traffic due to AI are video content creators, not bloggers.

Surprised? HAHAHA

Networking With Like-Minded People

The Internet has opened up incredible opportunities for people to connect with others who share similar passions, ideals, and interests. It allows for the discussion of ideas, the creation of projects, the formation of partnerships, and the making of friends who share common goals.

In real life, I often face criticism for having my own lifestyle and perspectives. On the internet I can publish my thoughts and ideas ~~and then face persecution online as well~~ and eventually find others who share my interests, hobbies, and passions.

When you only interact with people from your village, it can be challenging to find those who resonate with your thoughts and ideas. The internet, however, expands your reach, making it much easier to connect with people from all corners of the globe, increasing the likelihood of meeting other sensible, wise, and enlightened individuals. HAHAHA

At the very least, you’ll find some people who share your interests and activities, enabling you to form collaborations and create projects together.

Blogs have long served this purpose by creating communities and fostering interaction among bloggers and enthusiasts with shared goals. While AI can be a useful tool to enhance what people do in real life and share online, it is no substitute for the exchange of ideias and feedback between human beings that blogs provide.

Reading about other’s experiences, struggles, processes, successes, and failures offers unique and enriching insights. It shows how individuals with similar goals are shaping their projects and ideas in the real world. This type of content is irreplaceable by AI, as the human and personal element is vital to true blogging. It’s one of the core aspects of what makes a blog a blog.

So, will ChatGPT kill blogging? Only if what you do can be replaced by AI. Only if you’re interested in paraphrasing existing content, providing superficial information, or writing blogs that aren’t truly blogs.

Are Blogs Dead?

What Is the Concept of Blogging?

While there are many definitions, I’ll present and stick to the one that aligns with what people commonly recognize and consider to be a blog, regardless of how content creators define it.

So, what’s the popular definition of blog?

A blog is a virtual space—a website or part of a website—where someone documents their activities, life events, experiences and reflections. It’s a place to share passions, hobbies, and interests. Essentially, it’s a personal homepage, much like a profile on today’s social media.

This is the first thing that comes to mind when we think of a blog.

While what became established in popular understanding as being a blog was the result of a process, viewing it as a personal homepage is a good starting point. It captures the essence of what a blog is. This is the concept most people have of a blog.

Of course, blogs can cover a wide range of topics beyond personal stories. However, personal writing and content based on the author’s experiences and reflections are the heart of what makes a blog a blog. A blog post isn’t a purely informative, impersonal article or a magazine piece.

What Type of Blog Do I Have?

I think that my blog is an unintentional mix of modern and old-school blogging. I share informative and useful content—traits common in modern blogging—while also incorporating my personal experiences and insights, a characteristic more typical of old-school blogging.

I like to share helpful discoveries and ideas that can benefit my readers and improve their lives. For example, I once discovered that cooking with ethanol in a pressure stove is more economical than using a regular stove. I documented this in a blog post, detailing my experiments and offering practical tips based on my experience. That’s the kind of content I want to provide in my blog posts, and I encourage you to do the same by sharing content that helps others.

That’s the type of material I, you, and others prefer to read. To be honest, I wouldn’t want to read about someone’s trip to the salon—it would be torture for me. And most people would agree (which is a good thing!).

I also give more importance to SEO than a traditional, old-school blogger would. I try to improve my posts’ Google rankings by applying SEO techniques, but I don’t go as far as modern bloggers. Heavy optimization can make the text feel robotic and compromise the reading experience, which I want to avoid.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

I miss the old days of the Internet when a Google search led to discovering personal blogs and hidden gems instead of results manufactured by SEO marketers.
— sari azout (@sariazout) August 14, 2020

Google’s search algorithms tend to favor niche websites/modern blogs, while traditional, personal blogs often get buried in the back pages of search results, barely seeing the light of day.

As a result, when people search on Google, they’re more likely to find niche websites that publish purely informative content rather than the personal blogs they used to discover, which contributes to the perception that blogs are dead or no longer relevant.

I don’t think Google intentionally disregards personal blogs. It’s simply that the algorithm prioritizes content that aligns with the majority of search queries.

The reality is, most people aren’t actively searching for personal stories on Google.

Are Personal Blogs Still Popular in 2024?

Blogs once offered a personal online space where people could share their ideas, experiences, and even interesting stuff they found online. They featured comment sections for discussions and arranged posts so that the latest ones appeared at the top.

Doesn’t today’s social media seem quite similar?

Modern social media profiles share many characteristics with blogs and follow a similar concept. So, can we really say that personal blogs are dead?

Just because personal blogs are now often published on third-party platforms instead of dedicated websites doesn’t mean they no longer are personal blogs.

So, are personal blogs still popular in 2024? Absolutely. People continue to read and engage with them. The main difference is that nowadays, many personal bloggers use centralized platforms like Instagram rather than their own websites, and most people consume their stuff through these social media channels.

Is it better to have your own blog or write on Medium?

Publishing your blog posts on your own website has some advantages. Here are some reasons why I prefer to publish on this website of mine instead of platforms like Medium:

A lasting digital hub: Platforms come and go, but owning my blog means reliability, avoids the hassle of migrating subscribers, and creates a lasting digital hub for my content, unaffected by trends and hypes.
Full ownership: Publishing on third-party platforms exposes you to risks like content removal, random algorithm changes, demonetization, undeserved copyright strikes or bans. Hosting your content on your own website gives you greater security, control, and ownership over your material.
Monetization: For example, instead of traditional ads, I opt for privacy-focused ads that allow readers decide if they want to see them (push notifications) to support my content creation. So, having your own site gives you more control over how you monetize your content. You can implement affiliate links or sell products directly, without being restricted by third-party platforms.
Customization: While not the most crucial aspect, it’s still a notable advantage, anyway. Having my own website allows me to design my page the way I want, choosing layouts, colors, typography, etc.

However, if you have to build an audience quickly, it’s better to write by answering questions on Quora or write on other established third-party websites. These websites already have a built-in audience, whereas building your audience from scratch on a new website takes much longer.

Nicolas Cole, an experienced digital writer, advises against starting a blog if you just want to build a personal brand, establish yourself as an authentic voice in your industry, and share your thoughts, stories, and insights widely.

He does, however, point out three scenarios where having your own blog or website makes sense:

(1) If you want to build a company and brand, monetize through products, ads, courses, and/or services, and if your primary goal is revenue.
(2) If you’re a solopreneur using writing as a marketing tool for your business, focusing on providing informative answers related to your product or service.
(3) If you want to create an encyclopedia-like website, a highly informative resource on a specific topic. For example, on my other website, I publish detailed content on biblical prophecies, including historical sources that show their exact fulfillment. This kind of content is well-suited to having my own dedicated website.

I plan to offer my services through this website. Having my own site (and professional email, consequently) showcases professionalism and boosts credibility. I also plan to sell digital products and books through my blog in the future, free from the limitations or restrictions of third-party platforms.

Additionally, I want to use this blog to reunite and share deep, structured explanations about all my beliefs, such as why I believe in God and what our purpose in life is—topics that people often ask me about. By doing this, I can offer detailed answers all in one place. This blog gives me a central place to share my content.

So, these are some of the reasons why I have this blog/website of mine. As mentioned, having my own blog also gives me complete ownership over my material and allows me to customize and monetize it the way I want.

How to Create Your Own Blog

I’ll receive a small commission if you buy anything through my link, at no extra cost to you.

Domain and Hosting

So, if you realize that there is an audience for text creators and find that having your own blog aligns well with your goals, you’ll be pleased to know that creating your own website nowadays is easy and quick.

If I did it, you can too. HAHAHA

You can find plenty of information on the internet about how to create your own blog/website (which I highly recommend exploring), but here’s a quick summary of the things you’ll need to do:

Register a domain name
Host your website
Use the WordPress quick installer
Customize your blog

(1) Register a Domain Name. The first step is to buy your domain. This is a straightforward process—I remember I even did it on my mobile phone. While you can complete all the steps on mobile, customizing your site is more convenient on a computer.

In fact, if you follow the process I’ll outline in this section, you won’t even need to pay for the first year of your domain.

By the way, a domain is the address you type into your browser to access a website. For example, “gmail.com” is a domain.

Choose a domain name that represents your website’s purpose, is simple, memorable, and easy to understand.

Remember, you won’t be able to change the domain name later, so make sure to choose well (or you can buy another domain name).

(2) Host Your Website. Next, you’ll need to host your website. Hosting is a service that places your website on the internet, allowing people to access it by typing your domain into their browser’s address bar.

Where We Can Buy Domain and Hosting?

I use Hostinger, and it has worked very well for me. It’s a popular choice globally, highly recommended by many bloggers, and it even offers a free domain for the first year when you purchase their hosting.

On top of the free domain for the first year, Hostinger also provides a significant discount for your initial year.

This is a great advantage because it gives you time to learn how to use your website, gain experience with blogging, explore monetization options (if you want to), and decide whether you want to continue blogging or not.

Which Hosting Plan to Choose?

To get started with hosting, visit the Hostinger website through this link and click on “WordPress”.

Next, choose your plan.

For beginners, the most affordable plan includes everything you need to start blogging. This plan offers a free domain for the first year, the ability to host up to 100 websites, 100 professional email accounts, and many other features.

(Note: To receive the free domain, you must sign up for at least a one-year plan. I recommend avoiding the one-month plan as it is more expensive and doesn’t include the free domain.)

WordPress

(3) Simplified WordPress Setup. Unlike other hosting providers that often have a complex and time-consuming setup process for WordPress, Hostinger simplifies everything with its quick WordPress installer.

(4) Customize your Blog the Way You Want It. Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to customize your website and start publishing your content.

For more details, you can find additional information online. Search for tutorials that guide you through creating a website/blog with Hostinger.

Thanks for reading! 🙂

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Until next time, God willing.

Take care!

Does Content Writing Have a Future in Today’s World (2024)?