Blogging is Still Very Big Business, With Colin Devroe
Colin Devroe has been a blogger since the 1990's. He currently runs Hubbub, a social sharing and website growth plugin for WordPress. He is passionate about helping bloggers succeed. And in 2025, that means owning your audience.
On this episode of the PublishPress Podcast, Colin shares his vast experience in the blogging industry. He talks about how social networks are swinging back towards with human curation with bloggers seeing a lot of success on platforms like Flipboard. And to really own your audience, you need them to follow you on a platform you control. That can be a newsletter, or a decentralized social platform, but you need a direct connection to your fans.
Table of Contents
Watch this episode
Listen to this episode
Show notes
Key links:
Colin's recommended links:
- Bartosz Ciechanowski – https://ciechanow.ski/archives/
- Julia Evans – https://jvns.ca
- Molly White – https://www.mollywhite.net
- Simon Collison – https://colly.com
- Simon Willison – https://simonwillison.net
Topics we covered in this episode:
- Blogging has evolved into a significant industry with professional media organizations.
- Successful blogs often have dedicated teams for content creation and management.
- Revenue for bloggers comes from diverse sources including ads, partnerships, and merchandise.
- Social media plays a crucial role in driving traffic to blogs.
- Flipboard offers a unique magazine-like experience for content sharing.
- Human curation on platforms like Flipboard enhances content visibility.
- The blogging landscape is more competitive than ever with numerous active blogs.
- Content diversification is key for successful bloggers to reach wider audiences.
- Instagram and other social platforms are vital for monetization opportunities.
- The future of blogging will continue to evolve with changing technology and audience preferences. Owning your audience is crucial for publishers.
- Newsletters are more valuable than social media followers.
- Decentralized platforms allow for audience portability.
- Personal websites serve as a space for experimentation and thought.
- The evolution of blogging reflects ongoing curiosity and optimism.
- Hubbub is focused on helping publishers grow their mailing lists.
- Social media changes constantly, requiring adaptability from publishers.
- Engagement through newsletters leads to more valuable relationships.
- The future of social media is leaning towards open protocols.
- Successful blogging is still thriving with dedicated publishers.
The PublishPress Podcast
On the PublishPress Podcast, we talk with people interested in WordPress publishing. You'll hear interviews with publishers who are using WordPress, and also people in the WordPress community.
- YouTube: Watch the episodes on YouTube.
- Spotify: Listen to the podcast on Spotify.
- iTunes: Listen to the podcast on Apple apps.
- Pocket Casts: Listen to the podcast on Pocket Casts.
- Amazon Music: Listen to the podcast on Amazon Music.
Thank you for having me on Steve. It was a pleasure to speak with you! Here are the blogs I mentioned at the end of the episode!
– Bartosz Ciechanowski – https://ciechanow.ski/archives/
– Julia Evans – https://jvns.ca
– Molly White – https://www.mollywhite.net
– Simon Collison – https://colly.com
– Simon Willison – https://simonwillison.net
Thanks so much, Colin. Those are 5 extraordinarily high-quality blogs.