Is AI killing blogs? As many of us bloggers and website owners have realized, AI is haphazardly killing blogs in the traditional sense. The last time I posted (over a year ago), I had a whole new focus for my media business. I was working on my second blog after ramping up Runstreet to successfully make more ad revenue. I was freelancing a lot, writing SEO content for other people’s sites and writing for my own sites. After a really rough 2020, where all my small business events were canceled, I had successfully pivoted. Or so I thought. Then, AI exploded onto the digital media landscape. But this tragedy ends in yet another pivot, and I am now happy to say I have a new direction.

Is AI Killing Blogs?

This is complicated. AI is killing blogs that were completely dependent on Google search traffic for ad revenue. More people are turning to AI search, which tops regular websites in search results. Now that Google has launched an AI search, you may have noticed that when you Google something, an AI-generated answer often comes up instead of the top websites or blogs. Without getting into too much technical detail, this has put millions of people who rely on digital media like blogs, online magazines, and websites in jeopardy. Search traffic has plummeted, and even worse, many of our sites have been used (without permission) to train AI and supply AI with the answers to queries (without crediting our sites).

This is unfortunate for me since I spent years working on my SEO writing skills and posting informative running and fitness articles on Runstreet to build up my audience. I finally reached 100K unique visitors per month and qualified for the top paying blog ad network, Raptive. This took years of work, especially since 2020 when I lost all my event income.

But alas, shortly after I got approved for Raptive ads, the digital explosion of AI came out, and my site stats went haywire. The tumultuous updates to Google’s search algorithm had my site traffic fluctuating widely, and I lost a lot of momentum.

Anyways, all this is to say that AI killing blogs and disrupting the digital world reminds me of when print journalism was jeopardized by online media. When I went into journalism, newspapers were having big layoffs and staff cuts as they tried to figure out how to survive dwindling subscribers and low ad revenues for print newspapers. But luckily print journalism transitioned into online journalism. With AI, it’s less clear what the path will be moving forward.

But I have been working on diversifying my blog revenue, ramping up the newsletter and sales of digital products like trianing plans. I do expect to survive as a media company, with some reworking and diversifying. Just as print journalism survived with a lot of pivoting, I think blogs can survive with some changes and diversifying of revenue.

Also, Raptive pays a great amount compared to other ad companies I tried, and they now offer affiliate programs to bloggers to supplement ad revenue. You can find out more about Raptive and apply to be a Raptive blogger here.

AI’s Affect on My Blogs

Due to AI overtaking the traditional search engine and not linking sites from which it pulls info, my sites have suffered. I am thankful I have had six months of income from my new ad network, but it has been precarious and unpredictable. After getting down about it, and seeing many other top bloggers in my ad network upset about it and suffering too, I realized I need a new, more sustainable plan for the future.

My Runstreet site continues to generate some ad revenue, and I have also started doing some events again, thankfully. And my Runstreet newsletter continues to flourish and grow, as do Runstreet events. So Runstreet Media as a brand will survive.

AI and My Freelance Writing

In addition to my blog issues from AI, my freelance writing work has slowed down on Fiverr. People now want lengthy, 2,000- to 3,000-word articles to try to keep up with the pace of the Internet being flooded with AI content and Google’s changing demands. And most people are not willing to pay much for freelance writing as they think they can use AI instead or send subpar AI-generated text and just have a writer edit it.

But luckily, I have some great long-term freelance clients and I also still do some freelance writing for Real Simple, which I enjoy and supplements my income.

Also, I have started offering some content strategy consulting services to help other small businesses expand their reach online.

Pivoting Again: A New Direction

And now for the good part - after years of being caught off-guard and putting all my eggs in one basket with my income or business, I am finally getting ahead of the changes in my industry and also diversifying my income. Luckily, after the disaster of 2020, I learned the dangers of being reliant on just one income source. Since then I have built up a mix of incomes from different sources.

Personal Finance - Who Knew?

I am open to new experiences, and a few months ago, I got a newsletter from someone I know who is a financial planner (Kristen Euretig, founder of Brooklyn Plans). She was hiring a financial planner for her women-centered financial planning business, and this piqued my interest. I had taken some basic financial planning courses during the pandemic and had the time to work on my own finances, and surprisingly enjoyed it.

I researched personal finance more, and at Kristen’s recommendation, I signed up for an AFCPE course. I learned so much about things I was interested in, such as budgeting, financial planning, retirement planning, and more. I was way more excited than I ever thought I’d be about finance. As a small business owner, a writer, and a woman, I had never had much exposure to financial concepts before, and I was amazed at how much less stressful life could be with some financial planning.

After completing my initial course, I decided to continue personal finance courses and am now working on my AFCPE (Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education) certification to become an accredited financial counselor. I am taking classes that will also count toward becoming a CFP (certified financial planner) if I want to go that route in the future.

What Lies Ahead

As the digital world continues to shift, I will keep growing Runstreet as a media brand and will continue to provide content strategy services to my small business clients. But I will also be taking my financial courses and pursuing a new field of study. I am excited because I love to learn and hope that someday all this material that is helping me in my financial life will be useful so I can help other small business owners and freelancers.

Also, I feel less stressed knowing I do not have to try to keep up with writing at the crazy fast pace of AI and the Internet or create content non-stop. While I still enjoy writing and blogging, I look forward to working for clients as a different kind of coach in the future as well - instead of fitness, in finance.🤓

Here’s to another pivot and continued learning. Have you made any career changes recently? Are you a freelancer? Comment below or follow me on social media to continue the conversation - I’m Marnie Kunz on LinkedIn.

Marnie Kunz is a writer and marketing professional based in Brooklyn, New York. She has a background in small business, journalism, and digital marketing, and is the founder of Runstreet and the Book of Dog.

AI Killing Blogs, My Media Journey, and New Direction