Choosing the RIGHT platform is crucial if you aim to make money online or establish your business. Both blogging and vlogging have their pros and cons, and both can help generate online revenue. This article will guide you in deciding between blogging and vlogging if you’re still on the fence. Are you ready to dive in? Let’s get started with blog vs vlog!
Blog vs Vlog: Which Will Be More Successful in 2024?
| Criteria | Blog | Vlog |
| Price | $35.50 | $200 |
| Best for | An online journal or informational website displaying information. | Creating a video of yourself and producing video content. |
Blog Overview
You might be wondering, what exactly is a blog? Online journals or informational websites, such as blogs (sometimes termed “weblogs”), showcase articles and pages where users express their thoughts on various subjects.
Blogs are typically managed by an individual or a small team to establish a brand, increase traffic, and boost online revenue. Some blogs are created solely to voice opinions on unrelated topics for entertainment.
The most popular blogging platform of its time, Blogger, was established in 1999 and was eventually acquired by Google in 2003. Similarly, WordPress was founded in 2003 and has since become the world’s most popular CMS.
Blog Statistics
- WordPress powers 36% of all websites.
- Websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages.
- Businesses that blog see a 97% increase in inbound links.
- 77% of internet users regularly read blog articles.
Vlog Overview
So, what exactly is a vlog? A video blog, or vlog, primarily contains video content. The vlog posts integrate videos, text, and metadata, such as titles and meta-descriptions. Vlogging’s popularity skyrocketed in 2005, thanks to YouTube, the world’s most popular video-sharing site, which was also founded that year.
Vlog Statistics
- Video content is 50 times more likely to drive organic search traffic than plain text.
- 63% of people are more likely to purchase a product after watching a video about it.
- 86% of vlog content comes from YouTubers.
- 54% of customers want to see more video content from brands they support.
How to Start a Blog vs How to Start a Vlog?
Steps to Start Blogging
You can also use free blogging services such as Blogger, Typepad, and others to create a blog without spending any money.
If you wish to create a new blog, we recommend the WordPress.org platform because it allows you to create a self-hosted WordPress blog over which you have complete control (unlike the free blogging platforms).
WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world, holding a 61% market share of the CMS market.
It also comes packed with tons of plugins and themes to help you build your website from scratch. So, if you’re looking to learn how to start a WordPress blog, here’s a step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Register your desired domain name. To set up a WordPress site, you’ll need a domain name and web hosting. If you’re just starting out, I recommend Bluehost. With every new registration, you’ll get a free domain name!
Over 2 million websites use Bluehost, which is explicitly endorsed by WordPress itself.
Step 2: Go to the Bluehost page and select a hosting plan that fits your needs and budget. We suggest the “Choice Plus” package, which costs $5.45 per month and allows you to host an unlimited number of websites.
Step 3: It’s time to create a new domain at step 3. (Domain registration is free for the first year). For those who already own a domain, feel free to use it. Alternatively, you can delay domain creation for now and do it later.
Step 4: To move on to the next step, you’ll first need to create an account. You can also swiftly set up a Bluehost account by signing in with your Gmail address. Check your hosting package details and make your payment once finalized.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll receive an email from Bluehost with instructions on how to install WordPress on your site’s root directory or a subfolder using the Marketplace or My Sites options.
Register your desired domain name.
- Choose a hosting plan that fits your needs and budget.
- Create a new domain or use an existing one.
- Create a Bluehost account and check your hosting package details.
Steps to Start Vlogging
The most beautiful thing about Vlogging is that it’s free.
Yes, all you need to start a vlog is a YouTube channel linked to your Gmail address.
If you don’t have one already, sign up for Gmail today. It’s free.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to starting a YouTube vlog.
Step 1: Begin by creating your YouTube vlog channel. You can also use your Gmail login credentials to access your YouTube channel settings by signing in.
Step 2: To add or manage your YouTube channels, head to the “Add or manage your channels” page by clicking on the “Settings” button.
To proceed to the next step, simply click on it.
Step 3: Click on “Create a new channel” to move to step 3. You’ll need to set up a brand account.
It shouldn’t be the same name you used to create a Google account either.
In short, we STRONGLY recommend creating a brand account that mirrors your blog, website, app, or online business.
Step 4: After clicking the “Create” button in Step 4, you might be prompted to authenticate your account via SMS or voice call. If so, just enter the code you received from the option you chose.
You’ve finished the brand account verification process when done. You’ve successfully started a YouTube vlog and have been redirected to your channel’s dashboard.
Create your YouTube vlog channel using Gmail credentials.
- Add or manage your YouTube channels.
- Click “Create a new channel” and set up a brand account.
- Authenticate your account via SMS or voice call.
How to Make Money with Blog vs Vlog?
How to Make Money with Blogging?
Blogs have the advantage of allowing you to earn money in various ways. In fact, based on our experience, blogs convert much better than vlogging (video blogging).
People who read blogs are very likely to take action, for instance, by signing up for your email course or purchasing affiliate products after clicking on your links. They can also spread the word about your blog by sharing it with their friends.
That’s all there is to it. In 2021 and beyond, there will be far better methods to generate money from blogs than there are today.
Promote Affiliate Products: Use affiliate marketing to promote other people’s products and earn money in the process. Affiliate marketing is the best approach to start making money through blogging.
Here are some effective techniques to boost sales of affiliate products through blogging:
- To avoid promoting an affiliate product just because it generates higher fees, carefully select your affiliate items. For your affiliate articles to be effective, they must benefit your target audience. Therefore, identify the needs of your target market before making product choices. Hundreds of relevant affiliate articles in your niche can be found on platforms such as Amazon Associates, CJ, ClickBank, and eBay, among others.
- Opt for items with long-term payment guarantees. The Semrush affiliate program provides a recurring 40% commission on every successful sale produced through your affiliate links.
- Be open and honest. Building trust is crucial for affiliate marketing to succeed. Whenever possible, use social proof and income reports. Also, be truthful about your affiliate links so that your blog’s audience appreciates your transparency and is more likely to make a purchase via your affiliate links.
Sell Your Own Digital Products:
If you’re looking for an alternative to affiliate marketing, you can self-publish your digital products and earn passive income.
You can sell anything, including online courses, e-books, and software products. Just make sure to start with a modest audience and expand it as your business grows.
Offer Services:
If you want to quickly make money through blogging, offer services on your blog. In other words, what kind of services do you provide?
It depends on your skills, knowledge, and experience. You can offer a wide range of services, such as:
- Blog mentoring/consultation
- WordPress setup and maintenance (easy to learn and useful for beginners)
- Search engine optimization services
- Website design services
- Freelance writing services
You can also set up a portfolio website where you can post highly relevant content related to the services you offer on your blog. For instance, if you wish to offer “website design services”, you can create unique blog entries about website design to attract well-paying clients.
How to Make Money with Vlogging?
Just like blogging, there are numerous ways to monetize a vlogging business model. Yes, you can make money with your YouTube channel using Google AdSense, but that’s not the only way to monetize your channel.
So, let’s narrow down our discussion to the BEST methods to earn money with your video content.
Brand Sponsorships or Collaborations:
Partnering with other brands is a great method to monetize your YouTube channel. For lucrative deals with brands, you’ll need a larger subscriber count (at least 100,000 subscribers).
Besides brand collaborations, you can also consider sponsorships where most smaller channels receive free products in exchange for advertising.
If your channel has more than 100,000 subscribers, it’s easier to get paid sponsorships. Sponsors can then directly pay you to promote their items in your videos, either by mentioning or reviewing them.
Earn Money through Super Chat:
YouTube introduced Super Chat in 2017 to allow creators to monetize their videos when they go live. It turned out to be a profitable venture. Viewers can pay to have a comment pinned during a live stream using this service.
Viewers of your YouTube videos can pay to pin a chat message using the Superchat feature.
Superchat remains visible for a limited duration even if the chat continues and most messages scroll out of view (based on the amount your viewers pay you).
When using US dollars, you need to spend at least $5 for a one-minute message and up to $500 for a five-hour message.
Moreover, YouTube’s “Channel Memberships” feature allows creators to charge subscribers a monthly subscription fee to access their original video content. If you have a sizable subscriber base, you can earn a lot of money with your video content.
Sell Affiliate or Information Products:
Lastly, you can promote relevant affiliate items in your niche by selling their affiliate or information products.
Use your favorite products as inspiration for video tutorials or hands-on reviews on your channel. You can also sell information products such as e-books, subscriptions, and so on.
If you want to make a substantial amount of money with YouTube vlogging, you need to have a large audience (at least 100,000 subscribers), frequently publish high-quality videos, and be consistent.
Read Also: Affiliate Marketing: Is It the Future of Profitable Digital Ventures?
Pros and Cons of Blogging vs. Vlogging
Blogging:
Pros
- If you use a self-hosted platform like WordPress, you’ll have total control over your site (and no one can take away your blog or its content!).
- High-quality search engine visitors could be drawn if the terms you target are relevant.
- A blog or website allows you to sell almost anything.
- Having your own blog on a custom domain gives you a more established look (and you can use your website on business cards, emails, and everywhere).
- Unlike vlogging, where you need to create specific topics to succeed, you can blog about any topic or niche you like.
- There are numerous ways to profit from blogs (from affiliate marketing to offering blog services to selling your own products).
- A blog can help you become recognized as an expert in your field.
Cons
- It takes a lot of time to get visitors to a new blog, especially from search engines.
- To build a profitable blog long-term, you have to invest both time and money in many areas such as content, hosting, and SEO.
Vlogging:
Pros
- Creating a vlog on a platform like YouTube costs you nothing at all!
- As soon as you upload a video on YouTube, you start getting views.
- More time than ever is spent watching videos.
- For most, vlogging is a lot of fun for everyone.
- Vlogging on YouTube has the potential to generate a massive online audience.
- There are numerous ways to earn money from vlogs, including sponsorships, affiliate sales, selling your own stuff, YouTube ads, etc.
Cons
- Vlogs don’t work well in all niches.
- Even if you’re introverted or prefer to establish your brand anonymously, you’ll occasionally need to appear on camera.
- Vlogging requires a lot of dedication and time.
Conclusion
Debating between blogging and vlogging depends heavily on individual strengths, target audience preferences and content creation processes. Blogging offers total control, SEO advantages and rising trend of video consumption while vlogging can tap into visual appeal and the popularity of video consumption.
With 2024 fast approaching it’s essential that we consider technological developments, audience behavior trends and revenue opportunities before making our choice between pen or camera; quality, authenticity and consistency should always remain top priorities when selecting any medium as this will best align with goals for optimal revenue generation.
