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Youtube’s rise to popularity in the past couple of years has seen more and more people joining the vlogging sphere. What exactly is the difference between a blog and a vlog, though? And as someone who’s looking to make money online, which is better?
Despite their glaring differences, blogs and vlogs have one similarity:
They are both a very effective way of generating the maximum amount of traffic to a website or to promote a business/ person.
Blog and vlog content creators can range from individuals to brands to companies. However, the way content is presented varies depending on the creator. Thus, it’s crucial to know which medium is best for you and your business because depending on your niche, one may not work as well as the other.
A vlog is similar to a blog, but in a video format. In 2018, 85% of all internet users in the United States watched online video content on any of their devices on a monthly basis, with 25-34 year olds dominating this statistic. Of this age group, males spent 40% more time watching videos on the internet than females, and these numbers will only continue to grow.
One of the main types of video content that is being used today are known as “review videos.” Companies send their products to popular vloggers who will then review said product. In the video, the vlogger will evaluate why a product (sometimes an event) is valuable, and persuade the viewer to buy it.
Other types of video content can be interviews, reviews, presentations, tutorials, testimonials, and advertisements.
Video content in general isn’t limited to entertainment purposes. This study shows that 54% of consumers prefer video content from a brand or business they support. Therefore, video content extends to brands as well.
It comes as no surprise that companies are starting to include video content as part of their digital marketing strategy. This report from 2019 shows that 87% of marketing professionals use video as a marketing tool. This means that most marketing professionals trust that video content can increase user engagement and improve brand trust.
YouTube dominates the vlogging industry. What started as a space for people to share videos for fun has turned into a global platform used to grow businesses.
YouTube currently has 2 billion monthly active users – worldwide. The only social media platform that sees more monthly active users (people who log in at least once a month) than YouTube is Facebook. That’s a HUGE number. With 2 billion users logging in to YouTube every month, there is, without a doubt, a market for digital marketers to tap into.
For the reasons outlined above, the information shared in the next few sections of this article will pertain to YouTube.
The success of your vlog depends on the amount of traffic you have. More traffic equals more monetization opportunities – but how does a vlogger monetize the traffic they are getting?
Don’t expect to make money immediately after posting your first video. For a channel to be eligible for monetization through the YouTube Partner Program, it must adhere to the following requirements:
Once all of these requirements are met, you’re eligible to apply for YouTube’s Partner Program with Google AdSense. Different from sponsorship relationships, this program allows creators to make money from the featured ads that are shown in their videos each time a viewer clicks one.
YouTube pays per 1000 views at a rate that’s usually between $0.10 to $0.30 per view. Google does take a cut from that revenue, though, so you can realistically expect to earn between $3 to $5 per thousand views. The money you earn from these views goes to the Google AdSense account linked to your YouTube channel.
Sponsorships are one of the most common ways to monetize a vlog channel. Sponsors are usually well-established brands or companies. This authority allows them to use YouTube as a platform to present themselves to a larger audience.
So how exactly does sponsorship work? A vlogger with a decently sized audience can approach potential sponsors and request support. Brands, in turn, might sponsor a single episode, support a whole or partial season, or compensate vloggers for published reviews of their products or services.
Working with a brand requires you to put together a comprehensive proposal that outlines who you are, what your vlog is about, why your expertise aligns with theirs, and some potential collaboration opportunities. Brands also usually have their own process as well for dealing with vloggers, so be open and see where it leads.
Vloggers often use their expertise to sell their own merchandise/products and/or services to support the costs of running the show. This unique approach helps expand the relationship between the vlogger and their audience, and allows the audience to take their appreciation beyond the channel itself.
Merchandise can be as simple as t-shirts, but do take the time to produce high-quality merchandise that represents your brand. Offering high-quality products with your branding also helps to build authority within a niche and with your audience.
If you opt to offer expert services, your time should be spent in the spirit of service. This means that your motivation should be to connect with your community and share valuable information that would help them solve an issue or curiosity. The more value you provide to your audience, the more trust you will build with them.
At the end of the day, remember this: the more trust and authority you build with your audience, the more likely they will be to fund your channel with their hard-earned money.
Crowd-funding has become an increasingly popular monetization method for content creators because of its accessibility and easy set up. It’s as simple as setting up a Patreon account – subscribers can donate once or on an ongoing basis, and their direct support is wonderful evidence that you’re contributing to their lives and goals!
Just remember to unapologetically charge what you’re worth. People will gladly contribute their hard-earned money to your channel as long as you truly provide value.
Vlogging is not as easy as recording videos on a cell phone and uploading them to social media (and shame on anyone who tries to convince you otherwise). Just like any other business venture, vlogging will require a little investment on the front end.
The first thing you need to organize if you’ve decided to become a vlogger is the capital to start a vlogging kit. Informative and high-quality videos require a mid-range video camera, tripod, and microphone (at minimum). While there is certainly more equipment that’s recommended for being a full-time vlogger, these are the essentials.
Another factor to consider when deciding between a blog and a vlog is video editing. Just like a blogger should know how to build a functional website, a vlogger should know how to properly edit videos. Video editing carries a steep learning curve – and it’s a time-consuming task that can get frustrating (especially for beginners).
If you don’t have experience in video editing, you could always hire a freelance video editor. However, that can be difficult to do if your vlog isn’t earning any revenue yet.
Apart from the initial investment for equipment and having to learn new skills, one of the biggest cons of being a vlogger is the courage to put your face in front of the camera. Every video you produce has the potential to go viral, and that’s an intimidating thing to think about.
In the early years of blogging, blogs were used as personal web logs or journals in which people shared information or opinions on a variety of topics. Today’s blog still serves the same purpose, except now it’s also fulfilling a business need.
In 2019, there were more than 600 million blogs, of which about 31.7 million were active. Okay – I know that’s a lot. With blogging statistics like these, there’s no doubt that fierce competition is present.
Content is king. This is proven by recent blogging statistics that shows “quality of content” to be rated as the most important success factor among bloggers.
Getting a blog on the radar means writing not just about compelling and interesting topics, but also SEO-centered content, which requires a strong understanding of your target audience and market and staying up-to-date with the latest market trends. Quality content goes beyond the basics (such as layout and formatting, visual appeal, and spelling and grammar).
Although high-quality isn’t always tied to the length of an article, long-form articles have always found more success than shorter ones. For example, content that reaches over 2000 words tends to get more top ten positions in Google’s results pages. Google favors content that’s top-notch, and that requires length.
Here’s how you can create high-quality content for your blog.
In case you didn’t know, blogs play a major role in the buying process of online consumers. 60% of consumers claim that blog posts are valuable in the early stages of their buying process. This means that you may want to adjust your content to be purely informative and educational in the early stages of a consumer’s buying process.
There are several monetization options when it comes to blogging and that is because you are the king of your own world.
Even though there are a plethora of ways to monetize a blog, there are a few that have proven their success over the years. These time-tested examples that I’m about to share are how most bloggers earn their six-digit incomes.
One way a blogger can monetize their site is by offering digital products.
Digital products include:
Which product to sell will greatly depend on your niche and skill set. If you believe your expertise in a particular topic is valuable and that you can organize your thoughts in a way that can be easily digested, then creating an online course would be a viable option for you.
If you’re more of a writer, then perhaps putting together an eBook should be at the top of your priority list.
In 2015, Mark Manson published a blog post titled The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck that went viral and gained millions of readers. As a result of this popularity, he landed a book deal with Harper Collins and went on to sell over 3,000,000 copies of his book with the same title in the US alone.
You don’t have to wait around for one of your blog posts to go viral to publish an eBook, though. Self-published books can be successful in their own way, and the most common place to find success with self-publishing is Amazon.
Affiliate marketing is actually an old marketing practice dressed-up for modern times. Website owners (aka, affiliates) market product publishers’ products on their sites and earn a commission for every successful sale they make.
It’s based on a revenue sharing model: if you have a product you’d like to sell more of, offer promoters a financial incentive (like a commission for every unit sold). Or, if you don’t have a product but want to make money, promote someone else’s product and grow an income from the commissions you earn as an affiliate marketer.
To learn how affiliate marketing really works, read this article that covers everything you need to know about affiliate marketing for beginners.
A common way bloggers make money is by placing ads directly on their website. The two most popular ad types are:
The go-to network for placing both these types of ads on websites is Google AdSense. Through Google AdSense, website owners don’t need to be in direct contact with advertisers; Google automatically determines which ad to display on the banner based on whatever is most relevant to the content.
These banners are most commonly seen on news outlet sites or recipe blogs, recognizable by the small “X” in the top-right corner. Here’s an example of one of these banners filled with an advertisement for Ritz crackers placed by Google:
Coaching requires no overhead costs (other than the costs of running your blog) and only demands your time, a great option for bloggers who haven’t seen a steady stream of traffic yet.
The life coaching industry produces a yearly revenue of $2 billion. It doesn’t matter when your blogging journey started or how much experience you’ve gained in that time – coaching can be quite lucrative if you have the right personality and skill set.
But it can be a tough road. Like most monetization ideas, the coaching path isn’t for everyone.
Clients are often unpredictable and there’s no “one formula fits all” solution. They will inevitably face challenges and expect you, as their coach, to help them manage those challenges. Some clients may believe that it’s your responsibility to react in a positive way and not become frustrated or give up. After all, isn’t that what they’re paying you for?
The main reason coaching in your industry is so lucrative is because people want to learn new skills or improve in certain areas. Coaching services are in-demand because of the dramatic results the process can bring. So if you’re confident in your client management skills, then coaching might be for you.
Assuming you already have a laptop and a stable internet connection, the only other expenses required to start a blog are hosting and a domain name. In this article, we outline exactly how much it costs to start a blog.
If you don’t own a laptop yet, but are planning to buy one, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a list of budget-friendly laptop options that are perfect for bloggers of every kind.
A laptop or PC is an essential tool for blogging, but there’s no need to break the bank. Whereas a vlogger might require an expensive and powerful laptop to edit videos, a blogger doesn’t need state-of-the-art equipment to write articles.
If writing isn’t your strength, there’s a large pool of freelance writers to choose from. This option should be reserved for those who are already earning revenue from their blog, though.
There is a learning curve to understanding how WordPress (today’s most popular CMS) works. WordPress is the platform where the content on your website is added and edited, and there’s a lot to understand about it. Don’t worry, though – once you get over this learning curve, you’ll be creating and adding content with ease.
Another aspect of blogging that’s important for every blogger to study and stay up-to-date with is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Some bloggers don’t even know the fundamentals of SEO and why it’s important to understand. Being familiar with the basics of SEO strategies and how it works could drive significant traffic to your blog posts.
After reading this article, you might be wondering which one is better between the two: a blog or a vlog?
Honestly? Both.
Each industry is lucrative in its own way. Choosing which path to take depends entirely on your skills and expertise. Do you love to write? Then blogging may be for you.
Perhaps you’re a confident person who’s comfortable showing their personality to the world. Would you mind speaking in front of a camera for the rest of your career? Vlogging is definitely for you, then.
While blogs are considered to be informative resources and vlogs are considered to be more engaging and entertaining, both platforms provide amazing opportunities to share your content and reach new audiences.
When in doubt, keep this tip in mind: it’s better to create a high-quality informative blog than a low-quality video.
I've been in internet marketing for over 10 years, and I've purchased dozens of illegitimate products for the sole purpose of evaluating them and exposing the truth about these products to anyone who's thinking about purchasing it. I never let money influence my rating of a product and your success/safety is my absolute highest priority. Don't want to buy a product? Register for one of my 100% free internet marketing training courses>>
