Does Blogging Have A Future In 2021 And Beyond?
By: Mike Allison
Tags: Freelancers, Writer, Blogging, Content Marketing, Freelance

If you are a freelancer, whether you’ve been doing it for some time or just starting, and you don’t have a blog yet, you’re going to find this post beneficial.

So, grab your favorite beverage, get comfy in your favorite chair, and enjoy the read.

The short answer to the question raised in the headline is, you’re reading this blog post. If blogging didn’t have a future, you wouldn’t be here, right?

I know blogging has a future in 2021 and beyond because I spend a lot of time reading blog posts on a wide variety of topics.

Before writing a post like this one, I spend a significant amount of time doing research. Most of that research takes me to other sites about content and digital marketing, and they all include blogs.

And I can say with complete conviction that all of the influential, expert bloggers I follow agree that blogging is not dead.

Gary V., Neil Patel, and Sir Richard Branson All Blog

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the most influential marketers in the world of social media, and he is the CEO of Vayner Media. Gary blogs.

Neil Patel is the founder of Crazy Egg, Kiss Metrics, Neil Patel Digital, Ubersuggest, Subscribers, and the Marketing School podcast. Neil blogs. I’d encourage you to read this post written by Neil, “A Blog Isn’t A Blog, It’s A Business.”

According to Neil, the main reasons for blogging are:

You control your destiny.

Ads are expensive.

Marketing is now an omnichannel approach.

As a freelancer, these are three practical reasons that you should be blogging, too.

And in this video, Neil dishes out some great advice on how to get the most from your blogging.

Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Records, Virgin Airways, Virgin Rail, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Media, and Virgin Galactic. Richard blogs. And despite being extremely busy, he writes his posts himself.

I could go on here, but I know you get the point. If such influential people are still blogging, it’s safe to say that blogging has a future in 2021 and beyond.

So, instead of asking, does blogging have a future in 2021 and beyond, let’s change the question to:

What Kind Of Blogging Has A Future In 2021 And Beyond?

That’s not the same question, and it requires us to look at blogging from a completely different angle.

It’s the kind of blogging that’s important, so for the rest of this post, we’re going to explore what you can do as a freelancer to help your blog stand out.

Let’s look at blogging from the following four perspectives: Quality, Relevance, Post length, and Consistency.

Quality

High-quality blogging always begins with a proposition that is of interest and value to your audience.

It is the WHY for writing the post. For example, for this blog post, I propose that blogging has a future in 2021 and beyond for freelancers.

Once you are clear on your proposition, you begin researching to support it. It must be of interest and value to your audience because you don’t want to waste time researching something if nobody is interested in it or going to benefit.

Your writing skills are also going to impact the quality of your blog posts. So, if you’re not a great writer at the moment, do not worry. The sooner you start blogging, the faster your writing will improve. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, so-to-speak.

But one of your objectives should be to make steady improvements in your writing style and skills. As with anything else you desire to become good at, you’ve got to start doing it to move forward. So, start blogging now.

Next, let’s move on to,

Relevance

Your proposition needs to be relevant to your audience. Your goal as a freelancer should be to create blog posts that are going to help your prospects and customers solve the problems that are most important to them so they can succeed.

To make sure that your posts meet these criteria, ask the following questions:

1) What are the three or four most pressing problems my audience is facing right now?

2) What questions is my audience asking that they don’t know the answers to yet?

3) What can I include in my blog post that my audience can immediately use in their lives or businesses to begin working at solving their problems?

Do a Google search to find out about the questions your audience is asking.

Below is an example of the results I got when I Googled the question, “does blogging have a future?” If you do a simple search like this you’ll end up with a lot of resources you can use for researching your proposition.

Interview people in your target audience. Let them know that you’re researching the problems and challenges that they are most concerned about so you can help them. Most people will be happy to give you 15 or 20 minutes to answer your questions.

Read other blogs related to the field you’re working in as a freelancer. You’ll gather a lot of information from your competitors and peers that will help you get the information you need.

Post length

Some bloggers say the post length doesn’t matter; it’s the quality of your writing and relevance to your audience that will improve your blog’s SEO and get you noticed.

It’s a lot quicker and easier to write short posts of a thousand words or less. But based on the research I’ve done, most experts who’ve built large audiences and are making significant amounts of money from their blogs say that ‘longer posts are best.’

According to Medium, the ideal length of a blog post is one that you can read in 7 minutes or about 1,600 words. Medium measures how long readers stick with an article, not the number of people who click on it, and they’ve found that reader interest significantly drops off past the 7-minute mark.

And if you’re a freelancer doing affiliate marketing, Miles Beckler shows you in this video how to determine the best length for your blog posts. In the sample he used for the video, the average first page had 2679 words.

Neil Patel’s research indicates that if you want your page to have the best chance of ranking in organic search, posts of 2,000 words plus are best.

While researching this post, I Googled “How Long Should Blog Posts Be?”

The page one results included posts by Hubspot, Hook Agency, Yoast, Neil Patel, Express Writers, Blog Tyrant, and Marketing Insider Group.

Here’s how they compared for word count:

Hubspot: 1,609 words

words Hook Agency: 3,008 words

words Yoast: 1,925 words

words Neil Patel: 3088 words

words Express Writers: 2,303 words

words Blog Tyrant: 1,605 words

words Marketing Insider Group: 1,357 words

That totals 14,895 words divided by seven posts for an average post length of 2,127 words.

Hubspot’s post has the first position in Google at 1,609 words, well below the average. But, Hubspot’s site also has a DA (domain authority) score of 92. That makes a significant difference.

In the end, you have to decide how long your posts should be, but it seems that a good average is between 1,500 and 2,500 words.

Consistency

The previous three factors are vital if you want to grow your audience, establish authority, and create valuable content that helps your readers solve their problems.

Remember, we’re talking about the future of your blog in 2021 and beyond.

If you’ve got the previous three factors down, but you are not consistently creating quality content that is relevant and helpful to your audience, the first three factors will not matter.

What does consistency mean related to blogging? It means creating and publishing high-quality content at least once-per-week, or more.

The Marketing Insider Group — in this article — states that “to rank well, you must publish posts often — at least two to four times a week.”

That’s a lot of work when you’re not used to regularly writing content. So here are a couple of options to get you started right now.

Option One

Start slowly by creating two pieces of quality content each month. Once you’ve got the handle on that, create three pieces and then four each month. Start with small steps and work your way up to the point where you can create two or three pieces of great content each week.

Option Two

Hire a professional writer to create content for your blog. Many established freelancers choose this option, as it allows them to work “on” their businesses instead of “in” their businesses. A skilled professional writer helps them reach more people and increases their sales and profits.

Summary

Instead of asking whether blogging has a future for freelancers in 2021 and beyond, we asked a better question. That question is: “what kind of blogging has a future for freelancers in 2021 and beyond?”

The answer includes four key factors:

Quality — this starts with your proposition. It also includes the quality of your writing.

— this starts with your proposition. It also includes the quality of your writing. Relevance — your posts must serve your audience. You need to address the problems they are facing and help them solve those problems. To know what the weightiest challenges your audience is facing requires research.

— your posts must serve your audience. You need to address the problems they are facing and help them solve those problems. To know what the weightiest challenges your audience is facing requires research. Post Length — the research I did on this factor reveals a good average is between 1,500 and 2,500 words of quality content.

the research I did on this factor reveals a good average is between 1,500 and 2,500 words of quality content. Consistency — start with creating one piece of high-quality content a couple of times each month. Once you’ve established that habit, increase your frequency until you can produce two to four blog posts each week. And if you have the financial means, it is always a good investment to hire a professional writer to help and support you.

I know that blogging has a future for you as a freelancer. I appreciate you taking the time to read this post, but it’s all for naught if you don’t take action.

I encourage you to do just that. Get your blog started today!