Spoiler alert: The short answer to that question is... No, however, in most people's cases, yes, it is too late to start a blog, and I'll explain why in this post.
When I started my blog back in 2010, I thought that I was turning up a little late at the party.
I got the idea to start a blog way back in 2008, in fact. But, I never got around to doing it until late 2010. On top of that, I was already running and managing a busy e-commerce business.
I also knew nothing about blogging. Or how to get started even, let alone build a business from it.
Recommended reading: How To Start A Blog From Scratch With Bluehost! 2021 Beginner's Guide.
So, I've now been blogging for over 10 years as of this August of 2020, and one question I hear a lot of people asking these days is this -
Is it too late to start blogging? Especially now we're almost in 2021.
There's a lot of mixed debate about starting a blog today, especially when many blogs already exist. The competition out there is tough.
How many blogs currently exist exactly?
According to MediaKix, there are an estimated 440 million blogs in existence across all the major blogging platforms.
Pretty crazy, right?
And how many blog posts do you think are created each day? To find out, check out WorldOMeters. The number is quite alarming.
So, in short, you're competing with tons of existing blogs, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of blog posts being produced every single day!
What is the point of creating another blog then? You might ask.
I'll tell you in a second.
Take a look at a half-dozen of the top bloggers out there. They're all trying to promote the benefits of starting a blog. They'll tell you it's never too late to start.
In reality, no, it's never too late. However, there are a few things that these blogging gurus and apparent experts won't tell you about getting started, and that is -
It's f**king hard.
The actual process of creating a WordPress blog is simple enough, but the process of blogging long-term is hard.
So darn hard in fact that 99% of blogs will most likely fail.
Getting traffic, is hard.
Growing an audience that cares about what you have to say is hard and takes time.
Earning an income from blogging is hard and takes time too.
And to top it all off?
If you're thinking about starting a blog in 2021 just to add to the noise, then you're too late for that party, I'm afraid.
There are plenty of blogs in circulation, all singing, and dancing to the same chorus. No one wants to read another mediocre "blogging tips" or "How to make money online" blog; trust me when I say this.
If you're thinking of starting a blog because you genuinely have something worthwhile to say, then you're never too late to start blogging.
You see, rarely blogging gurus and so-called blogging experts will write about the failures and hardship of blogging. Or how blogging can be tough and that your chances of real top-level success are slim.
Why is that?
Sadly, most bloggers who preach about blogging today want you to believe that blogging works, and that's it. Even if it's yet to work for them.
They'll tell you that you're making the best decision of your life and lead you down the road of buying a domain name, some web hosting, and a WordPress theme, all using their affiliate link, of course.
Trust me, once you've made the decision to start? You're on your own.
If you fail, then that's tough! That would be your problem, especially if you didn't read their disclaimers.
Now, I'm not saying that all blogs or bloggers in the "blogging realm" think or work this way.
There are plenty of credible blogs and bloggers that can teach you how to build and grow a successful blog. Here's a list of a few of them I would recommend following.
Recommended reading: How To Start A Blog From Scratch With Bluehost! 2021 Beginner's Guide.
Yes, absolutely, people still read blogs. However, blogging has to be diversified because people consume content in many different ways.
We live in a fast-paced world where mobile internet browsing for online content consumption dominates.
Blog articles no longer contain only text. Besides, no one can be bothered to read line after line of boring text; I don't care how great the content is.
There's much more of an art to crafting blog content today.
People love to -
If you're thinking about starting a blog, seriously thinking about it, you just need to bear in mind that this is 2020 and not 2010.
What's the point of adding another blog to the blogosphere if all you're going to do is rehash the crap that's already out there?
Instead, start a blog because you truly have something unique and valuable to share with the world at large.
Start a blog because you have something valuable to share with the world at large. Start a blog about a topic or subject that's not already been rehashed or written about over a million times already. More importantly, start a blog about something that will help you to stand out in the noisy crowd.
I would encourage you to remember that blogging is no longer an activity that only involves "writing"; it's about "creating." Harness the power of other content mediums and include them in your blog posts.
If you've read more than one post on this blog, you might have noticed that my posts will either have a podcast, a video, or an infographic attached to it.
You can't just sit behind your little laptop banging out 2,000-word blog posts thinking and hoping that everyone will read it. A few might, but the majority won't be even be bothered to read such lengthy posts.
You have to find other creative ways to repurpose and distribute that awesome content of yours. Videos and podcasts are the way forward.
And, by doing just that, you'll find that your blog will grow in popularity much faster.
If you're ready to start your blog, then check out the list of things you need to do to get started below. If you already have a blog, check out the following posts -
For this, I use and recommend SiteGround (Affiliate link) or Bluehost (Affiliate link).
If you're starting from complete scratch, Bluehost is a great place to start as they offer a free domain name for the first year.
I started my blog with Bluehost in 2010 before moving over to SiteGround, which I've been with since around 2015. They are undoubtedly one of the most robust and secure web hosting services on the web.
If you already have an existing blog and would like more information about other web-hosting providers and learn how to migrate to SiteGround, you can check out the following useful articles -
I've used many WordPress themes in my time, both free and premium. And out of those many themes, only a few stood out the most for me.
I would recommend checking out Thrive Themes or the Genesis (Affiliate link) theme framework. If you're looking to build a complete custom blog template from scratch, I'd recommend checking out Thrive Theme Builder (Affiliate link).
Both these companies create high-quality mobile responsive themes with web-standard code markup and Schema built-in. If you're wondering what theme template I'm using, it's custom-built using Oxygen Builder for WordPress.
For a brand new blog, I always recommend installing only the essential plugins, and then you can add more to increase functionality later on.
The plugins I would recommend installing are -
OK, so that is it; essentially, that's all you need to make a positive start on your blog.
If you would like a more thorough and detailed guide, I recommend checking out my free WordPress setup guide.
Remember, it's not too late to start a blog now or next year 2021 and beyond. But start a blog that matters and one that offers something completely unique, not one that looks and sounds the same as everyone else's.
So, now you know: It's too late if you want to start a "Me too" blog, but never too late if you want to start a "Unique blog" with "Memorable content." And please understand what I mean by a "me too" blog, which looks and sounds like every other blog in the blogosphere.
Psst, remember I'm here to help you any way I can, so don't be shy, leave me a comment below or send me an email, or check out my services page.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links to products or services that I use in my business and therefore recommend. This means if you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase of a product or service, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Please also note that clicking on an affiliate link means that your activity may be tracked, as affiliate links use cookies.
