Important Update: August 2022
Google has kicked the cookie apocalypse can down the road to 2024! We have another year to prepare! Wonderful news today about the upcoming cookie phaseout.
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Let’s talk something important today. I know a lot of chatter in the Facebook groups has been about the cookie / privacy issue coming up in 2023.
This is something I’ve been monitoring for quite some time and have been slowly taking action on my blog to counteract it.
I have never been a “the sky is falling” type of person. Rather, I like to think more along the lines of “the sky might fall, and if it does, I have a plan.” :=)
Call me a blogging prepper if you will! LOL
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE COOKIE APOCALYPSE
Eric Hochberger, CEO of Mediavine, did a great interview about this on the Niche Pursuits podcast a while back, and it’ll give you an overview of what’s next.
Fair warning, if memory serves me correctly, he predicted anywhere from a 30% to up to 60% decrease in ad revenue for publishers by sometime in 2023.
The beauty of it these upcoming changes are that we know a really good estimate of what to expect. Time to prepare is a beautiful thing!
Because we know that a 30-60% potential decrease in ad revenue is on the horizon….
Call me simplistic, but in my mind, if I am happy with my current revenue then my job before that decrease happens is to INCREASE my revenue enough to counteract the decrease.
Basically, I’d love to be whole revenue-wise when this is all said and done.
Two Steps I’m Taking to Minimize the Possible Impact of the Revenue Decrease
I’m not sitting still waiting for these cookie changes to impact me. I’m actively working to offset the potential decreases.
Here are the specific steps I’m taking right now:
1) RPM Enhancements
If you’ve been with me for a while, then you know that my main strategy is to bulk up the content that I know will do well.
I’m updating old posts and optimizing them for RPM by making small RPM tweaks over time to get each post earning as much as it can right now.
I documented this process in RPM Revamp. This is the main thing I’ve done to increase my ad revenue by over 50% since last year.
This means, for instance, that a month that used to earn $2,500 now earns nearly $4000.
So let’s say next year, that $4000 month is cut by 40%. Well, that would take my ad earnings back down around the amount that it was before. That’s the first goal.
My secondary goal with this strategy is to more than double my baseline so, if and when it falls, it may actually be higher than it was before.
That might not be considered WINNING, but it’s considered SURVIVING yet another blogging apocalypse and living to fight another day!
2) I’m considering more sponsored posts
Sponsored posts used to be a good source of revenue for my blog, but several years ago, I stepped away from them.
I didn’t like the pressure of meeting deadlines or the feeling of being rejected from opportunities for random criteria like being two years older than the maximum age of a campaign.
Apparently all moms qualified to write about mom life are under the age of 36! 😉
BUT, I realize that sponsored posts are an easy way for me to earn with my blog, considering the current size of my audience and mailing list.
Therefore, I’m doing a post here and there and keeping my eye out for more ways to re-enter the sponsored post realm in case I need some to fill in income gaps.
🌺 A NOTE OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Keep in mind that even though there are predictions of up to a 60% decrease in ad revenue, that doesn’t mean it is definitely going to happen to you.
You just have to remember it’s a possibility. Just see what you can do!
Being proactive is better than fretting and/or doing nothing!
I feel like I’ve seen many blogging apocalypses in my time as a blogger over the past 14 years. They were no fun, but I can confidently say I’m a better business person for it.
NONE of them have been the end of the blogging for me. All those crying blogging is dead have been singing the same tune for a very long time. They are simply incorrect.
What’s coming up in 2023 might push some people out of blogging. But if you are willing to keep trucking when times are bad, then I believe you will come up victorious.
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW
I’m trying to be practical about all of this, and I am planning on sticking this out. If you want to stick it out with me:
- Make sure to you are on my mailing list + also OPEN my emails so they keep getting delivered to you. Google is being a bit finicky lately for delivery & open rates. You are on my mailing list if you’ve ever subscribed to one of my freebies on Adventures in Blogging. I plan to continue sharing as many cookie apocalypse-thwarting tips as possible!
- Enroll in RPM Revamp if you are on a major blog ad network (Mediavine, AdThrive, or Ezoic) or plan to be in the near future. It is a small price to pay now for an action plan to help you ride out this cookie issue.
- If you don’t know SEO very well, you’ll want to take at least one big SEO course. Of course, I recommend Adventures in SEO because it contains all of my personal strategies. While RPM Revamp is great on its own, if you don’t know SEO concepts, then it’s only going to help you so much.
- If you want to move beyond simply writing for traffic & ad income, then you are ready for Money Making Blog Posts Masterclass. FYI – Please ignore the note about it being in Beta. It is a full complete course as-is. I just never did a real launch for it! (Hoping to do that this year, but honestly finding it hard to focus on WhatMommyDoes content AND launching courses!) MMBPM is all ready for you to take and implement, though! It’s basically a sister course to Adventures in SEO.
I hope to see you and one or more of these courses, and if you’re already in Adventures in SEO, then we can chat more about the cookie apocalypse in the Alumni group!
