What Is the Future of Blogging?

Or: How to Blog Like a Human in a Sea of Sameness

There’s a certain vibe to blog content these days.

You click a post. The title promises 10 game-changing ways to unlock your potential. You start reading and think, Hmm, haven’t I read this exact sentence before… somewhere… or everywhere?

You scroll. It's paragraphs on paragraphs. No breaks. No visuals. No soul. Just vibes. Beige vibes.

Welcome to the era of AI-generated blog content.
It's fast. It's everywhere. And unfortunately, a lot of it feels like it was written by a sentient office printer with a caffeine dependency.

So... what is the future of blogging, then?

Is it just a content mill where AI does the heavy lifting and we all pretend we wrote it during a moment of creative genius?
Or can it be something more... something better?

Format It Like You Mean It

If there’s one thing that separates a blog people read from a blog people escape from, it’s how it looks.

• Headers? Essential.
• Short paragraphs? Thank you.
• Visuals? I could kiss you.

Let’s be honest: no one is reading your blog post like it’s a Jane Austen novel. They’re skimming it on their phone while waiting for the kettle to boil. You've got seconds to earn their eyeballs.

Design matters. Formatting matters. Readers aren’t just absorbing what you say — they’re also judging how much effort you’ve put in.

The Extra Mile – Personal Touches That Actually Work

Here’s the cold, unfiltered truth:

If your blog post doesn’t have a pulse, it’s already dead.

The future of blogging isn't just content. It’s connection. And connection comes from the bits that AI just isn’t built for (yet) — the weird stories, the bad jokes, the behind-the-scenes moments that make people go, “Ah, yes. A fellow disaster human. I trust you.”

Here’s how to inject some actual life into your content, no goat sacrifices required:

1. Add you to it

Your voice matters. Whether you’re dry, funny, thoughtful, chaotic, or all four before 10am...that tone is what makes your blog yours.

People want to hear you, not some templated corporate optimism from 2012.

Write like you're talking to a mate. Or your future self. Or that one client who always replies to emails with “per my last message.”

2. Use Personal Imagery

Stock photos are… fine. Like beige wallpaper is fine. Functional. Safe. Absolutely no one’s going to remember it.

But if you actually want your blog to stand out, show some personality.
Behind-the-scenes snaps. Scribbles. Doodles. Screenshots. Even your face mid-coffee-fuelled content sprint.

Case in point: this was me, literally in the middle of writing this blog post.

Yes, that’s a handwritten note. Yes, that’s my “please send snacks” smile.

It’s scrappy, it’s real, and it’s way more engaging than a perfectly lit stock photo of a man pretending to think deeply about KPIs.

And here’s another example. I recently co-produced a blog post for Coaching Focus Group, based on insights from executive coach Trayton Vance (who’s been coaching longer than most of us have had email). We wanted to explain five key ways coaching drives engagement — but in a way that actually sticks.

So I asked AI for a starting point to visualise it. What I got was... a PowerPoint’s third attempt at relevance. Useful? A bit. Inspiring? Not even close.

So I took that rough sketch and rebuilt it from scratch — aligned to the brand, with proper icons, spacing, hierarchy, the works. Because design matters. And let’s be honest: readers can smell laziness.

Here’s a side-by-side:

‍

✨ Left: What AI produced, which was actually pretty decent. (But completely off brand)
✨ Right: What I actually made, with a pulse and some proper spacing. (As well as being on brand with Coaching Focus Group

Bottom line? AI can hand you a skeleton. But it’s on you to give it a heartbeat — and maybe some half-decent typography.

3. Tell a Tiny Story

Want to sound like a real person? Tell a ridiculous little story. Could be one line. Could be a whole paragraph. Doesn’t matter — it just needs to feel lived-in.

Like this:

“I once binned an entire blog post because the headline sounded like something a TEDx speaker would yell at a group of hungover middle managers.”

Stupid? Yep.
Relatable? Absolutely.
Memorable? More than anything titled “Top 10 Tips for Personal Growth in 2025.”

You don’t need a grand epiphany. Just something honest...a project fail, a weird client moment! It's your story!

4. Use your actual voice

Not your “LinkedIn voice.” Not your “I read too many copywriting blogs” voice. Your voice.

Whether you’re sarcastic, straight-talking, obsessed with fonts, or prone to the occasional dramatic sigh… lean into it.

Even if it includes the word “pants.”
Especially if it includes the word “pants.”

Because here’s the reality... in a world where AI can mimic almost anything, your tone of voice is one of the last things that’s truly yours

Five Quick Ways to Blog Like a Human

Alright, so you’ve made it this far. You’ve dodged the beige vibes. You’ve committed to tone, structure, and showing your actual face. But let’s make it official.

Here are five very doable things you can apply right now to stop your blog from sounding like it was written in a rush by ChatGPT on 3% battery:

1. Stop writing like you're submitting a uni essay

You’re not being marked. You can have personality. You can break sentences up. You can even start with "And" (the grammar police won’t arrest you, I’ve checked).

2. Use formatting like a pro (or at least like someone who respects whitespace)

Subheadings. Bullet points. Short paragraphs. It’s not 2006 — people read blogs on phones now. Structure = survival.

3. Add one original visual

Just one. A sketch. A photo. A screenshot. Something that proves a human was involved in the making of this post. Bonus points if it’s slightly unpolished. Perfect is boring.

4. Say something real

A client win. A project fail. A thing that went sideways but made a great story. No one’s asking for your autobiography — but a little honesty goes a long way.

5. Read it out loud before you hit publish

If it sounds like something you'd never say out loud, delete it. Unless you are an AI-powered business coach, in which case... carry on, Clive.

So… What Is the Future of Blogging?

Honestly? It’s not complicated.

The future of blogging isn’t some secret sauce known only to tech bros and marketing wizards. It’s this:

👉 Stuff that feels like it came from an actual person.

The internet doesn’t need more recycled think-pieces about “nurturing synergy” or “leveraging verticals”. What it does need is blogs that make people feel something...even if it’s just, “oh thank god, this one doesn’t sound like a toaster wrote it.”

So yes, use AI if it helps. Let it get the ideas flowing, throw some structure together, suggest the odd headline. But don’t stop there. Go the extra mile:

• Add a bit of mess.
• Show your process.
• Tell the weird story.
• Use your voice, not your “personal brand” voice.
• And for the love of pixels, format it properly.

Because here’s the deal:
The future of blogging is human.
And as long as you’re willing to show up as one, you’re already ahead of the curve.

Now go write something that doesn’t make people want to Ctrl + W their browser. (P.s don't do try that right now......)