Like I say, for anybody who writes for a living - bloggers, journalists, novelists and the rest - writers block is a familiar issue. After all, writing engaging and exciting content repeatedly, day after day, although fun, is extremely exhausting! But sometimes, the problem is little more profound and finding that inner motivation to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) is just so difficult.
You guys know how passionate about my blog I am - I’ve invested a lot of time and money into making my blog look exactly how I want it to look, and I’m constantly trying to brainstorm new ways to improve it. However, this recent stumbling block made it almost impossible to even think about it. I’ll be honest, for weeks I’ve been feeling really downbeat about the whole blogging thing and ultimately, I’ve felt seriously uninspired. The question ‘is blogging dead?’ is enough to make any bloggers eyes roll into the back of their head, but recently, I’ve been asking myself that very question.
So, is blogging dead? Is there any point in actually writing a blog post anymore? And how long will written content be relevant for? There are so many questions that nobody has a clear or definitive answer to, and for anybody that makes a living out of doing this - or even just does it as a hobby - those huge question marks can be incredibly demotivating.
I think the thing that I’ve been finding most difficult at the moment is the battle between Instagram and blogging. In many ways, blogging and posting on Instagram fall together hand in hand - Instagram is a great place to promote blog posts and to increase engagement etc. However, when you’re a blogger that spends hours and days planning, writing and perfecting blog posts, it can be really difficult to accept how much quicker the engagement and success of an Instagram post is.
This whole thing has left me wondering if Instagram is better than blogging? Right now, everybody seems to be cashing in on the Insta-fame, and when I say cashing in, I mean that quite literally. It’s hard to comprehend exactly how much money Instagram influencers are earning through simply sharing a picture on their Instagram feed - it’s wild! And whilst I genuinely do salute anybody that is fortunate enough to make a living from their social media account, equally, I struggle to see how this content is more valuable than an informative piece of long form copy.
And I know, that makes me sound really old and behind with the times - but I’m actually not! Just like every other 20-something living in 2019, I scroll through Instagram aimlessly and share pictures of cute latte art on my Instagram story, but I just can’t seem to grasp how this is more engaging than something that’s been countless hours and even days in the making.
I hoped I wasn’t alone in how I was feeling - and am feeling, really - about this whole thing, but it wasn’t until I did a few polls on my Insta story (ironically) that I discovered many bloggers feel exactly the same. In some cases, people were messaging me saying that PR agencies no longer even ask for blog stats or a full review in exchange for money or a freebie. Instead, they’d prefer the content to be shared on Instagram - even if only featured in a 24-hour Instagram story.
It’s just crazy!
For anybody that doesn’t know what I’m talking about and who isn’t trying to make a name for themselves in this industry, this may all sound a little alien and over dramatic, but the entire thing has made me question whether I should even bother posting on my blog anymore. Is written content still relevant? Or would people rather ogle a perfectly posed, flawlessly-filtered picture on the gram?
There’s an argument for both cases. No doubt, Instagram is certainly having a moment right now & for some influencers, the money to be made on Instagram is astronomical. With that said, I can’t help but think that Instagram has almost reached its peak. Accumulating followers isn’t as easy as it used to be and the influencer world in general is vastly oversaturated, so, whilst I do think that visual content is preferred right now, personally, I don’t believe there is quite as much of a long term future for platforms like Instagram.
Sometimes I do wonder if blogging and taking so much time to write detailed articles, reviews and so on, serves a purpose in the way that it used to - but then I remind myself that writing has been relevant since forever. The way we consume information has changed, for sure, but ultimately, written information is always going to be useful to people, and actually, reading is great, so it should be encouraged.
This post has been a bit of a waffle, really, but I just couldn’t ignore the ‘blogging is dead’ thing for any longer, and I wanted to find out what you guys thought about all of this, too. So, whether you’re a blogger or you prefer just to read/look at content online, I’d love to hear what you think. Has Instagram made written content & traditional blogging irrelevant? Or is there still hope for us writers? Drop a comment in the comments box below & let me know your thoughts!
Until next time lovelies!
Lots of love,
Grace x
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