We live in a climate where entrepreneurs make a great amount of money by blogging or, for those with a penchant for the visual, vlogging. But with so many people taking to the Internet to make a living these days, the question is which avenue is more profitable and offers the most potential?
We’ll answer both these questions and more later in our Blogging vs. Vlogging showdown, but first, let’s go back to basics.
What is blogging and vlogging?
Blogging is the process of writing content and publishing it online via a blog or other website. Most bloggers have their own niche subject that speaks to a specific audience. Articles are generally composed of written words but may include photographs and other media. Monetization methods vary for a blog, common avenues are affiliate marketing and advertising.
Video blogging (or vlogging) is a way to turn written articles into a video format and publish them onto YouTube or a website. A typical vlog will feature the vlogger talking about, describing, or doing something they are interested in. Vlogging is monetized primarily through advertising.
Vlogging doesn’t mean just putting content on YouTube. Posting videos on Facebook, Instagram, or any other platform, is also vlogging and while monetizing such platforms is difficult, they do allow you to grow your audience.
Blogging vs. Vlogging in 2021: What are the differences?
Getting started in blogging and vlogging is relatively simple, but there are a few differences between the two. Let’s dig into the key areas.
Investment to set up
Both blogging and vlogging are relatively cheap to set up. Both require a small amount of equipment and may require upfront or subscription fees.
Blogging
For blogging, you’re going to need a website. While you can sign up for a free domain and hosting, they are often impossible to monetize and appear unprofessional. We recommend buying a catchy domain name and signing up for a professional hosting provider (preferably one that uses the super simple WordPress platform).
Domain names cost as little as a few dollars in the first year (with prices tending to rise a little thereafter), and hosting can be anywhere from ten bucks to an arm and a leg. Oh, and you’ll need a computer to write articles on.
Set up costs for blogging are quite small. Getting noticed online is a different story. Monetizing a blog requires traffic to your site. Generating traffic requires making people aware of what you do. While word of mouth can sometimes catch fire, more often than not, you are going to have to implement some form of marketing solution like PPC advertising, which can be incredibly costly.
Vlogging
For vlogging, set up costs can be even less than blogging. Anybody can start a vlog with a smartphone and an internet connection. Making videos is as simple as setting up your camera (phone), videoing yourself, and uploading it to YouTube (or Facebook, Tik Tok, etc.) You can, if you want, set up your own website to host your vlogs, but with so many profitable avenues already available, there is little need to do so.
Of course, if you want to go the professional route, you can buy dedicated video equipment and editing software, but for many, the phone they have in their pocket will be more than adequate to get started.
Monetizing your vlogs can be tricky if you don’t use YouTube, but if you do, Google AdSense is going to put ads on your videos anyway, so you might as well sign up for an account and earn away.
Blogging vs. Vlogging: Avenues for earning
The avenues you use to monetize both blogging and vlogging are surprisingly similar. Google AdSense is always a great place to start but be aware that you will need to have enough content and traffic worth their while before they approve a blog or YouTube channel. There are a host of other ad networks out there., but they can be more complicated to use and may generate less revenue.
If Google Adsense isn’t for you, then you can approach companies directly and ask if they’d like to advertise on your content. Many will, but negotiating a deal can be tricky and will require a bit of business acumen.
Affiliate marketing is also a great way to monetize blogging and vlogging content, with Amazon’s own program a great source of revenue for many. With affiliate marketing, you insert affiliate links into your content. Every time somebody clicks on the link and buys something, you get paid a commission.
Blogging vs. Vlogging: Getting noticed
Getting your online content noticed can be difficult. If you are a blogger with advertising on your website, getting enough traffic to make it worthwhile is never easy. As mentioned earlier, most bloggers will either generate word of mouth or advertise their content somehow.
But advertising is never cheap, and you need to weigh up the costs against the potential revenue generated. You could try manipulating SEO on your content to rank higher in search engines. Keep in mind your putting your site at risk of a manual penalty by Google by doing so.
The situation with Vlogging is completely different. Video is the king of online content these days, and everyone is looking for the next video to help go viral. Social media is a great way to get noticed when vlogging. And while it may not provide revenue, it does provide traffic, which can be diverted to places like YouTube, where monetization is easier.
Blogging vs. Vlogging: Which one is better in 2021?
At the end of the day it really just depends.
A mix of both article writing and video creation will ensure you’re readers are consuming your content in whatever way they find most convenient.
They say content is king for a reason.
The habits of online consumers have skewed towards video content. People no longer want to read for half an hour to watch a video giving them the same information in ten minutes. Look at the statistics about Youtube above. With an audience so big and a slice of $15 billion (and rising) up for grabs, vlogging has far more potential for budding entrepreneurs.
That’s not to say there isn’t still a place for blogs on the internet, because there certainly is. While video has gained in popularity, long-form text that someone can read through and learn from is still very useful for people.
With a blog, it can be hard to make a buck or two when starting. On the other hand, vlogging is easy to get into and, with the right content, you can make a vast amount of money incredibly quickly.
Whichever avenue you decide to go for, content is king. If you don’t have quality, then people will avoid you no matter what you do.
