The short answer is NO, blogging won’t be dead in 2026. In fact, it’s very clear to me that there is a long-form renaissance of sorts happening. There’s a reason why platforms such as Substack/Ghost are so popular. Not everything needs a quick answer. Some questions people are asking require thoughtful and nuanced responses. Blogging in 2026 isn’t the SEO approach from previous years. It’s almost like writing a letter to the people that are reading your words. I thought it would be interesting to talk about my approach to blogging and the specific project(s) that I plan on spending more time writing. I know that many creators are leaning into AI and think that AI will keep people from reading your words. I have a different take on how you should think about blogging in 2026 and why certain projects are a great fit for blogging in 2026.
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Show Notes
Like most people, I use different variations of AI during my work day. More often than not, my AI usage is connected to the tools that I use to produce my work. I’m not a creator who uses ChatGPT or Claude for ideation. I have an insane amount of ideas that I come up with on a regular basis so to use those tools for that would be overwhelming. Here are the projects that I plan on actively adding more blogging content to in 2026.
- Square State Colorado-This is my project all about the city of Denver and the state of Colorado. You’re probably thinking, why are you blogging more about Denver and Colorado. There seems to be plenty of people doing that. Are they Black? Have these people grown up in Colorado? Do they understand the politics of the state? I’ve consistently noticed HUGE gaps in the content that I find about Denver. And the content that I find on a regular basis is typically outdated, inaccurate and biased towards a lived experience that often leaves my and others experience of Denver out of the picture.
- Romance Pen Name-The pen name is a Black author who writes both African-American and Interracial Romances.
How Did I Decide to Blog More
For those two projects?
- Both projects have a high level of demand and interest-How do I know this? For the romance space, I just look at all of the Black BookTok and other spaces that are being built out to serve readers of African American and Interracial Romance. Often they will have different events and spaces to serve those readers needs.
- For Square State Specifically-There are so many changes that are happening daily that impacts the city and state. And these are changes that travel bloggers who don’t live in the city might not cover because they’re not from here or are unaware of…because they aren’t from here. Examples of changes:
- Businesses opening and closing
- Construction and its impact on spaces
- Regulations being passed or regulations that have ended
- Politics. Heavy sigh.
- National politics having an impact on a local level.
- When I focus on Square State-it makes money. The affiliates that I work with on that project do really well.
- The content is really easy for me to write and I really enjoy the topics. I don’t struggle to find content to write about or cover for those two projects.
- Story factors heavily in this type of content-This type of blogging provides the perfect opportunity to do the following:
- Hype up a local business or in the case of my romance brand-An author or story that I think more people should know about.
- Sharing conversations with residents of Denver, small business owners or authors of the romances that I’m super geeked out about.
Podcasting Factors in My Blogging Approach
This episode that you’re listening to is also technically a blog post. I have a website where I can share this type of content. There’s more than one way to design written content to be experienced in more than one way. I love the opportunity to speak with amazing, interesting people doing cool work.
Some Thoughts About AI
It’s here but it has incredibly limitations. The most important limitation to consider is that it needs data in order to generate its responses. That’s why so many tools are scrapping data. There are so many things that AI just can’t know or think about such as:
- The experience attendees had at a unique romance festival, what they ate and their favorite author experience.
- What it felt like to experience having a building torn down and what it’s like to see something new built up.
- What it’s like to grow up in a town with a specific lived identity and experience the city now.
- Responding to external changes that are impacting what you’re working on. Examples include: Anti-DEI sentiment and practices, different types of technology and how they influence work, weather and the experience of space. The list goes on.
I want my projects to be pulled up in Generative AI, ChatGPT and other types of search queries. But in order for that to happen, I have to publish a lot more frequently than I currently am. That said, no, blogging isn’t dead but anything that has a boring straightforward answer that can already be answered by AI-that’s not the type of content that you should be creating.
