Blogging vs. Vlogging – What’s Better?

I’m a blogger in that I publish websites with text content.  Recently, I launched YouTube channels for a couple niche sites but those videos aren’t about any person but instead are tutorial-style videos.  I doubt these channels will ever become the focus of these sites. I’m doing these vids to grow the brand.

The closest to any vlogging I do is for the Fat Stacks video channel and I’m not so much into that.

I prefer blogging and publishing text content over video production.

What’s the difference between blogging and vlogging in a nutshell?

Vlogging is presenting informative content in a video form on a website/vlog.

Blogging is publishing written content on a website/blog. Technically, blogging is an umbrella term that could include incorporating video content but for the purposes of this article, I’ll restrict the differences to text vs. video content.

Between the two, there isn’t much of a difference as they involve sharing informational content. However, here is the difference: the medium.

Vlogging uses a video format that you share on a vlog. Most people probably think that YouTube is the only vlogging platform, but the fact is that there are several vlogging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Daily Motion, among others.

The term vlogging first became popular in 2004/5, notably when YouTube and other vlogging platforms emerged. These platforms’ birth revolutionized vlogging and shaped it into a career and an industry that employs social influencers. Below are some facts that prove to you vlogging has grown to a multi-million-dollar industry. Yes, you heard me right.

A quick fact check;

Blogging, on the other hand, is publishing written content on a blog. The content you’re reading right now is a blog post on a blog. Also, a blog can be an entire website or a blog page hosted on a website (as in the blog is a section of the site).

There are several reasons why a blog is essential to any brand. Below are some of the reasons.

  • The type of blog I publish and that’s the backbone of my business is a niche site.  It’s a growing collection of articles within a niche topic.
  • Blogs can also be used to attract new clients for your business, especially when ranks in Google and pulls in free traffic.
  • Blogs can also include a community-oriented aspect where you attract loyal readers.

How can you start Vlogging?

Starting a vlog is easy but challenging for those who expect everything to be smooth; there is more to it than meets the eye. People start vlogging channels, try things out but end up being inactive users, or worse, they never monetized their vlogs. Lucky for you, you have this blueprint. This guide will help you create a successful vlog and monetize it when you want.

Platform Options for Blogging and Vlogging

These days it’s so easy to launch a blog and/or a vlog.

Vlogging platform options

There are very many different video platforms where you can start your vlogging career. Below are examples of the most popular vlogging platforms;

YouTube

Having a userbase of 1.3 billion, this platform stands out, and with a good reason. This site claims that 100hours of vlogs are uploaded every minute; take advantage of this by considering publishing your vlogs on this platform. Creating your YouTube channel is free and straightforward. Check this guide to create a personal or business YouTube channel.

Most vloggers focus on growing a YouTube channel.

Tik Tok

Tik Tok is one heck of a viral platform. You can talk, dance, sing, do tricks… it’s a real mix.  However, your videos can be no longer than 60 seconds.  It’s becoming a viable video platform for building up a vlogging/influencer business.

Instagram

You can publish videos on Instagram as well.  Reach can be epic.  With a large following you have options to monetize.  Like Tik Tok videos can only be up to 60 seconds.

LinkedIn

If your niche is business-related, you can publish videos on LinkedIn as well.

Facebook

Facebook isn’t just a social media platform for your entertainment but can help you generate income through vlogs. This platform has 1.69 billion users worldwide who are likely to provide a large viewer base. Facebook guidelines are a bit tricky; you can check them here.

Your own website

You can restrict your videos to your own website.  Most vloggers don’t because they want to harness the reach and exposure of YouTube, FB and other social media channels, but it is an option.

Can you publish your videos on multiple platforms?

Yes, you can and some do.  You may need to edit videos to best accommodate each platform but it’s possible.  Longer videos tend to better on YouTube while IG and Tik Tok have length restrictions.  In this regard it may not be feasible to publish on all platforms.

Blogging platforms

WordPress: most use WordPress. I strongly recommend WP, specifically the self-hosted WordPress.

There are other platforms you can jump on such as Medium, WordPress.com but you don’t control your blog.  While you might enjoy extra exposure, you don’t control monetization or your content.

What makes more money, blogging or vlogging?

Both can make you a fortune.

Which means both can be great opportunities.

You should choose the option that you can do best.

I’m not great at making videos.  Maybe with lots of practice and money, I could improve but I prefer publishing the written word. I’ve built up a 6-figure per month doing so. I’ll stick with it for now.

Some folks are amazing at creating videos and then getting subscribers and views.

Here’s the general economic breakdown between blogging and vlogging:

Vlogging revenue with YouTube ads:

$1 to $5+ per 1,000 views.  Most fall within that range.  The more commercially viable the channel, the higher the revenue per 1,000 views.  For example, a channel for kids or that’s purely entertainment will earn much less per 1,000 views than say a channel on personal finance or about automobiles.

Also depending on your vlogging niche, if you have thousands to millions of subscribers, you can earn big bucks from lucrative sponsorship deals.  For example, if in the auto niche with your vlog, you can do a 30-second shout-out at the beginning/middle/end of videos.

Blogging revenue on a per basis earns far more.

With a decent ad provider (I use AdThrive), you can earn $10 to $40+ per 1,000 visitors.

But don’t let those numbers influence your decision too much.

If you’re pretty good at making videos and marketing them or setting them up for YouTube SEO, it can way easier to get 1,000 views.  In other words, videos can in the long run get a lot more views than a blog.  For example, there are many vlog channels getting 5 million views per month.  Not so with niche site blogs (obviously there are blogs that get 5 million visitors per month but that’s a top-tier blog traffic-wise).

Supercharge both with affiliate offers

Both vlogging and blogging offer affiliate marketing opportunities which can out-earn ads (depending on the niche) in both cases.

What earns the most?

It boils down to which model you can do best.  Big blog publishers prefer written websites; that’s their strength.  Big time vloggers would probably never consider switching to blogging.

But SELLING a blog vs. a vlog is a totally different situation (IMPORTANT)

Selling your YouTube channel is against YouTube’s terms of service.  Yes, it’s done. People buy and sell YouTube channels but it’s done privately.  I could not find a YouTube channel broker.  This makes it much, much harder to cash in your business.

Blogs that you control can be sold very easily. Blogs are bought and sold daily. There’s a huge market for it.  The payoff can be amazing.  I know because I’ve sold 7 niche sites. I’ll sell more.

So with a blog, not only do you enjoy the cash flow but you get a nice fat payout at the end.

I’m not saying you can’t sell your YouTube channel but as long as it’s against YouTube’s terms of service, it will be difficult to do so.

Blogs and vlogs are NOT mutually exclusive… in other words, you can do both for greater success

Some bloggers also vlog very successfully building up hugely successful blogs and vlogs.

Or put another way, some vloggers build up successful blogs.

You can do both. Some do.

You can work both platforms off one another.  For example, if you also have an email newsletter, you can use that to promote more videos which grows your channel. You use your channel to promote your email newsletter.  It can be a powerful combination.

Both blogging and vlogging won’t always work though

Take your entertainment vloggers such as Dude Perfect, Mr. Beast etc.  They make entertaining, viral videos.  That content doesn’t translate into the written word at all.  It only works in video.

That means both would be wasting their time putting much effort into a blog unless they wanted to also build up email subscribers.  My hunch is they focus solely on growing their YouTube subscribership.

On the other hand, a personal finance blogger can work wonders with a complementary blog and email.

I don’t focus on the Fat Stacks video channel because of lack of potential.  Fat Stacks niche is similar to personal finance (falling under the wealth or money umbrella).  I just don’t care all that much for making videos right now.  Perhaps down the road that will change.  I also focus most of my time on building niche blogs instead of Fat Stacks.

Risks for both vlogging and blogging

Both business models are not without risk.

Vlogging risks

No control: Vloggers rely on YouTube (or some other channel). They can lose their channel at any time.

SEO changes: Some vloggers focus on YouTube SEO.  SEO algos change all the time.  These vloggers are susceptible to YouTube SEO changes.

Blogging risks

SEO: Bloggers and niche site publishers who rely on SEO (most do) are always at risk for for losing traffic from SEO algo changes.

Artificial Intelligence: AI will potentially be able to produce written content more readily than video content.  Whether AI content actually takes over the Web is anyone’s guess down the road but for now it’s a real risk.  It may also be a big opportunity for bloggers who take advantage of this tech.  Also, bloggers who deve

Passive income potential between blogging and vlogging

This is a huge consideration when choosing between vlogging and blogging.

Vlogging for most is not passive.  Blogging by building up niche sites can be very passive.  That said, if as a blogger it’s your voice and your readers come to read you, that cannot become passive.

The passive potential should not be framed as a vlog vs. blog question.

Instead, passive potential is really the influencer vs. evergreen publisher comparison.

If you’re an influencer, as in you’re the voice/personality behind your online platform whether it’s a blog or a vlog, it can’t be passive.  You must produce.

If you publish evergreen content, whether articles or videos, it can be passive because you can hire it out.  My tutorial videos for my niche sites are hired out. They are not influencer or personality-driven.

This is a huge difference.

Does vlogging or blogging have the brightest future?

Again, both have a bright future. Both have risks. Both have huge growth potential.

It might appear video is taking over the Web but that’s not true.  Many folks visit websites and will continue doing so.

For example, I rarely watch videos. I’d much rather read a tutorial than watch a video.  I know many people are like me.

Video format for me is tedious and sucks up much more of my time than reading the content.   This is another reason I never got into videos all that much… I have a personal bias and preference for the written word.

The key is for you to choose a niche and format that plays to your strengths.

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