Is blogging dying or am I just not good at it?

I started blogging and this website for a few reasons.

One was that it was cathartic. I write for a variety of clients and they all require different tones, writing styles and some even have really specific style guides. All of which is totally fine and, at times, kind of helpful. But it does feel a bit limiting and so, many moons ago, I started this site so I can unwind and say words like ‘bollocks’ and be sarcastic about things.

I also used it to publicise my books. (Please just have a look, they are awesome.) I have only written four and they are all really short but it seemed like a good way to publicise them. It kind of worked. A bit. I sold some books but I found that writing more sold more, thanks to Amazon’s algorithms. Writing this site sold a couple but not many.

The final reason was to show off my writing. But this kind of went against the whole cathartic thing, and isn’t really representative of my professional writing style. That is what www.jasonwardwriter.com is now for.

The upshot is that this site makes bugger all and I am happy with that. I thought about growing it into a global brand and making millions but then decided against it.

Is blogging dead?

I don’t think so. I used to do ok with Google ads but now everyone blocks them. I would curse people for doing this as it means I went from tens of pounds a month to pennies a month. But I’d be a tad hypocritical as I block ads too. It is a dying way of going about things.

Lots of people make cash through affiliate links but I have never really found success with that as you have to niche down. And personally, I find working purely in a specific niche to be a boring load of bollocks. (I don’t count science fiction in this, obviously.)

Blogging isn’t dead, but I guess it depends on what you count as blogging. These days, lots of people blog on sites that belong to other people. Myself included. I write a lot of my ‘interesting to me’ material on Medium for example. You can see my stuff here. It is fun, easy, and pays well. Last month I made $2700 from Medium which is more than I have made from this site, book sales included, over the last ten years.

Others are doing the same but it should be noted that only around 6% of people on Medium make more than $100 a month. I am not saying this to gloat, just to warn you. I write professionally – it is literally all I do – so I know how to construct articles, and make them interesting and readable. Obviously, ignore my cathartic ravings here.

However, a lot of people on Medium write the kind of inane stuff I write here – personal, cathartic and occasionally rant-like material. This is cool and I hope they enjoy it, but it doesn’t equal money. As I have learnt, literally to my cost, here at the glorious Word of Ward website.

Blogging isn’t dead, you just need to work out how to play it. You can write about personal stuff, things that interest or bother you with the odd rant, and publish that in a personal blog or on a site like Medium. It is just unlikely to make you a lot of cash unless you are a known wit or have a specific niche.

So I will keep writing and ranting here because it is a fun release from what I spend most of my day doing. Blogging isn’t dead but a lot of people are now doing it on sites owned and run by others. Either way, based on my experience, it isn’t the best way to make cash. But, as the title of this piece says, maybe I am just not very good at it.