Are Old School Blogs Still Viable and Worth It in 2025?
Blogs are one of the oldest surviving elements of the ‘old’ internet era. In 2025, they still exist along with other survivors like forums and IRC chat rooms. There’s a sentiment sometimes that blogs have become a thing of the past.
However, as data shows, in some parts of the world, there’s been an increase in people reading blogs. Recent data from Statista notes that in the U.K., blog reading among young people increased from 16.1% in 2010 to 25.7% in 2022.
Be that as it may, it does feel like the only blogs that thrive are ones that are business and commercial in nature. So, does it make sense to make a blog in 2025? In this article, let’s find out what you’re going to have to deal with.
Defining Success in Blogging vs. Blogging as an Income Source
Blogging is in an interesting state right now. To this day, businesses still invest heavily in link-building campaigns that rely on blog posts to establish an online presence.
However, the number of non-commercial and personal blogs that find success seems to have dwindled from the 2000s. That’s where we’re at right now. It’s much easier to start your own blog in 2025.
In the old days, starting your website was relatively complex if you weren’t that tech-savvy. You had to either know how to code or pay a dedicated web designer to build a website for you. It was a drawn-out process that you only went into if you were dedicated to getting your content out there.
However, today, with AI website builders that can make full-fledged websites in minutes based on a few questions, it’s so much easier. Even kids and casual content creators can have their own blogs up and running in no time.
On the flip side, while you can effortlessly make a website for your blog today, it does feel a lot harder to succeed. On that note, it’s also important to really define what successful blogging means to you.
If it’s for community building, Hocoos points out that the number of comments and followers you gain is a good metric. However, if it’s for a magazine-styled blog, then the number of advertising spots sold would be the key metric. At the same time, some people just want a place to post content, read a few replies, and engage with a couple of people. Their definition of success will naturally look different.
Where blogging becomes a complex question is when you want to turn it into an income source. That brings us to AdSense.
Does AdSense Still Pay Well? What Other Sources of Income Exist?
AdSense is a free service by Google that allows you to run ads on your website and earn money from them. While it sounds great, the reality isn’t that simple. Business.com recently published an article highlighting the experience of Justin Cooke, the CMO of Empire Flippers and co-founder of WebStreet.
Cooke recounts the initial experience he had with running his own website in the first month, after spending $2,000, they only managed to get AdSense returns of $32.89. However, through a lot of experience and adjustments, they eventually got their revenue up to $20,000 a month.
AdSense still has the potential to generate income, but it no longer pays as well as it once did. Moreover, earnings have gotten a little more unpredictable these days. Recently, Google moved from CPC to CPM, and many people have reported seeing huge RPM earning drops in the 50%-70% range.
You’ll also have to contend with the fact that the profitable blogs are now in niches that you might have zero experience in. For example, crypto, finance, and legal.
Thankfully, there are new sources of monetization that didn’t exist before, and, in many cases, these can be more profitable than AdSense. According to Upwork, you can’t go wrong with offering sponsored content. They note that some influencers with 10,000 followers charge as much as $100 for a sponsored post.
Of course, it’s a little tricky to equate ‘followers’ with blog visitors, but you get the idea. There’s still a lot of money to be made if you have the ability to create content that gets popular.
Similarly, here are some options that might be more viable than AdSense in 2025:
Affiliate links
Selling ad space
Gated/Paywalled content
Merchandise
Selling link space within posts (Risky)
These are but a few options, but of course, all of this depends on your blog’s success. This brings us to our next point.
Finding an Audience of Readers in a Video-Loving World
It’s no secret that ever since short-form videos became popular, people have moved away from reading 1,500-word-long blog posts. On the one hand, you can’t blame them. Short-form videos are relatable and easy to engage with even when you’re tired from work.
However, that leaves bloggers in a tough situation. Are they supposed to abandon long-form articles altogether and switch to shorter, more concise posts? Or do they persist and hope that some people will still engage with their content?
This is where being an expert in a super-niche area might be the saving answer. It might be tough to find an audience if you’re going to target broad niches like “Cooking” or “Travel.” However, your traditional blog can still resonate with people if you super-specialize your content.
For instance, instead of broad cooking content, think: “Slow Cooking Tips With Dutch Ovens.” Maybe instead of broad travel content, consider: “Under $50/Day in Bali Travel Guide.” People who are interested in such content actually need detailed and specific posts, and you’ll likely have more success going this route.
To put things in perspective, you can still start a blog today but remember that you’ll have to take a narrow path to find success. You can still earn money, but keep your expectations in check, especially if relying only on income from Google AdSense. So, find a good niche, write great content, learn how to market organically, and you should see progress.
