Blogging vs YouTube 2024: BUT Here’s Why You Should Do Both

You've probably been struggling with starting a blog or YouTube channel, but it's time to focus now.

There are tons of bloggers who state that they should only blog daily and Youtubers who say to start publishing videos ASAP.

But the whole blogging community is doing themselves a disservice by not putting their focus on their YouTube channel and vice versa.

So I've put together this article that discusses how you should use each platform to grow a highly profitable online business.

Yes, I'm doing both, and I create content on YouTube and run my very own successful blog. So you'll get successful blogging tips from me as well.

In this article, I will compare YouTube channels and Blogging across a range of criteria, including:

• The difference in startup costs
• Which one platform will earn you more money
• Which is easier to create content for
• The difference in traffic potential
• And more

So if you're stuck on whether you should start a blog or YouTube channel in 2024, this article is for you.

Let's get started.

Blogging Vs YouTube Overview

Let's go over a quick overview of YouTube Vs. Blogging and why they matter as a content creator.

Assuming you want to grow a personal brand or become a content creator, then you should start by understanding the key differences between the two platforms:

Now that you understand the critical differences between the two platforms (YouTube Vs. Blogging), it's time to use them to grow your online business.

What's The Difference Between Blogging And YouTube?

To start off, you need to understand that blogging and YouTube are closely related to search intent, but they are two different types of content.

This means that people use the two platforms differently and that you need to understand how this works to succeed with either one.

Startup Costs: YouTube vs Blogging 

There are very few startup costs when starting a YouTube channel.

All you need is a webcam, a microphone, and basic video editing knowledge, which you probably already have if you're reading this article.

Most phones nowadays offer a good camera that competes with most DSLR cameras, so there's no need to buy a separate one.

To be more professional, you can buy a high-resolution camera for around $700 and a Lavalier mic for $20. But other than that, there are no significant costs associated with starting a YouTube channel. 

Blogging, on the other hand, has slightly more startup costs. This is because you must pay for web hosting, which will cost around $100-$250 per year.

It would help if you also bought a domain name, costing you about $10-$15 per year. So, starting a blog will cost around $110-$265, slightly more than creating a YouTube channel. 

Now you can still buy blogging tools or marketing tools to help you grow your own blog and make better youtube videos, but they are not necessary to get started.

So, regarding startup costs, there is very little difference between starting a YouTube channel and starting a blog.

Still, you could leverage AI to make money on your blog and save on workflow costs.

Here's the complete pricing breakdown for both search engine platforms:

YouTube:

Blogging:

As you can see, there is minor difference in startup costs for both platforms.

The only major difference is that you must buy a domain name and web hosting for your blog, which will cost you around $110 annually.

Depending on your budget, you could also look into hiring a blog writing service that might cost you $250-$1000 per month. 

But other than that, there are no significant differences in startup costs. So, if you're on a budget, you can start with either platform without breaking the bank. 

Which One Makes Money Faster? Blogging Or YouTube?

I hear this common question from beginners who want to make money online fast and become content creators.

Should you learn search engine optimization and write a blog post that ranks on Google and gets millions of views over time, or should you make a YouTube video and hope it gets affiliate link clicks?

The answer to this question is that they both have the potential to make money. But YouTube is more likely to make you money faster than blogging.

This is because it's much easier to rank on YouTube when you publish video content on their platform.

You don't need viral videos since your YouTube content will appear at the top of the search results during the first 72 hours.

When this happens, your target audience will make a YouTube search for your specific video.

You can place affiliate links inside your YouTube description box and send people to digital products or services.

That's the huge difference between making money faster with YouTube. On the flip side, with blogging, you don't need to show your face or create video content (At least in the beginning)

But if you're in it for the long haul and want to build a sustainable online business, blogging is the way to go. I've been blogging for over two years, and here's a simple overview of consulting, YouTube, and blogging.

Why? Because a successful blog can make money passively through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and selling digital products or services.

With a YouTube channel, you technically do not have complete control of your audience since YouTube could shut down your channel at any time. 

This happened to many YouTubers in the past, so I think blogging is a much safer investment in the long term.

Let's see how you can make money faster with both platforms:

YouTube:

• YouTube growth happens much quicker
• Add product links immediately in your description and pinned comments
• Your videos can potentially rank on the first page of Google or YT search results FASTER
• You can make money passively with YouTube Adsense

Blogging:

• Creating content that ranks and makes money takes much longer
• You can make revenue through freelance writing and consulting
• Many bloggers make money fast by taking on sponsored posts
• You can make money through an Ad network like Google Adsense or Mediavine

SEO knowledge

Now, this is where blogging vs youtube gets interesting. Most people think you need to be a YouTuber to make it big on YouTube.

But that's not entirely true. I would argue that you need SEO knowledge and an understanding of CTR to dominate blogging and YouTube.

Why? Because if you can't rank your content on the first page of Google or YouTube, then you're not going to get any traffic or make any money. 

It's that simple.

You need to know how to do keyword research and write titles that rank on the first page of search engines. You also need to understand how the click-through rate works and how to optimize your video's thumbnails or blog post titles.

You can get basic SEO knowledge through free and paid digital marketing courses such as:

• SEMRush
• VidIQ

So, I will be honest, and I'm sure many other bloggers will agree. Most people who start a blog never make any money from it.

I'm unsure if this is because they give up too soon or if they don't put in the effort to learn SEO and grow their blog organically.

The ones who do make money blogging are the minority. These bloggers understand how SEO works and how to create blog content that ranks on the first page of Google. 

Now, I'm not saying you need to be an SEO expert to profit from a blog. But it helps if you understand the basics of SEO and how to write titles that rank well on Google.

As for YouTube, I would say that you need a pretty good understanding of SEO since ranking videos is getting harder and harder.

You must research keywords, write titles that get clicks, and optimize your video's thumbnail. If you can do all these things, you will be well on making money from YouTube. 

Here's my personal experience with SEO on both platforms.

It took about a year to see the most growth and finally have a profitable blog, but with YouTube, I started creating videos and making money through affiliate marketing.

It depended on how much traffic I needed, but it was more based on the target audience.

I still needed to do basic keyword research and see what people were searching for on YouTube, but I didn't need to spend as much time on SEO since my videos were ranking pretty well.

That's the biggest difference between YouTube and blogging on SEO.

Biggest Learning Curves

Let's get straight to the point on some things you will need to learn with blogging vs youtube.

What You Need To Know For Blogging

To be a successful blogger, you must learn SEO, copywriting, design, and outreach.

I'm saying this because most bloggers start out without any knowledge of these things. They start writing and hope that people will find their blog.

But you will need to learn the search intent behind why people even make a Google search in the first place. Then, you can start writing blog posts with AI.

Once you understand the difference between blog post outlines such as:

• How To's
• Product Reviews
• Listicles
• Case Studies

You then can start writing and ranking your content.

You must learn copywriting to keep people on your website and read your blog posts. 

The average person has an attention span of 8 seconds, so you need to make sure that your blog post titles, meta descriptions, and first sentence Hooks them in.

Use Jasper.ai or any AI writing assistant to help you with upping your writing skills.

You'll also want to learn how to run our self-hosted blog on a WordPress hosting platform like WPX.

What You Need To Know For YouTube

You don't need to be a great writer on YouTube, but you must be good at talking in front of the camera and keeping people's attention.

You must also learn basic video editing skills to edit your videos. I recommend using Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, or Filmora.

The video quality needs to be decent, but you'll want to ensure you have amazing audio quality. I use the Rode VideoMic Pro Plus and the Blue Yeti microphone.

You'll also need to learn how to rank your videos on YouTube and Google. This can be done by doing keyword research, using proper tags, creating transcripts of your videos, and optimizing your thumbnail image. 

Blogging Community Vs YouTube Community

YouTube and blogging communities offer very different experiences for their users. 

YouTube Community Overview

YouTube is a primarily visual platform, while blogging is predominantly text-based. As a result, the kinds of content that are popular on each platform differ somewhat.

However, both platforms offer users a friendly and resourceful community to explore. YouTube is a great place to find videos on almost any imaginable topic.

If you're looking for how-to videos, product reviews, or something entertaining, YouTube has it all. 

The YouTube community is also very friendly and helpful, with users often leaving comments and likes to show their support for creators. In addition, YouTube is an excellent resource for learning new skills or knowledge.

There are videos on almost everything, so you can almost certainly find what you're looking for.

Blogging Community Overview

Blogging is a little different from YouTube in that it's primarily text-based. However, blogs are exciting and engaging.

On the contrary, many bloggers put a lot of effort into making their posts exciting and enjoyable to read.

Additionally, the blogging community is amicable and supportive. Bloggers will support each other and give updates on any new algorithm updates.

How Much Money I Make As A YouTuber And Blogger

Many of you wonder how much money I make as a full-time blogger and YouTube creator.

I won't give you an exact number, but it's enough to live comfortably in California.

I make the majority of my income through Consulting and affiliate marketing. 

It does go over $10,000 per month, and I do want to share income reports in the future, but for now, I just wanted to give you an idea of how much money is possible to make.

Of course, this isn't to say everyone will make this much money. It took me two years of hard work to get to where I am today. 

Here's my breakdown through both platforms:

• YouTube Ad Networks
• Affiliate Marketing
• Free Courses
• CPA Deals

So if you're considering starting a YouTube channel or writing content through the WordPress platform. Start now.

Two Birds With One Stone Using Blog Posts

My favorite way to use both platforms is by using blog posts.

I'll create a blog post on my website, and then I'll create a video on YouTube to go along with it. This way I can kill two birds with one stone.

Not only will I have SEO-friendly content, but I can use it as a YouTube script. This helps me save time and produce content more efficiently.

Plus, I get the benefit of having my content seen by both audiences and sometimes rank both on Google searches.

Making money online doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, you can start earning passive income with just a few hours of work per week.

If you're consistent and patient, you can make a full-time income from both YouTube and blogging. 

FAQs

I'm sure some of you have the same question, so I wanted to answer them here.

Is Blogging More Profitable Then Having A YouTube Channel?

It depends on how you monetize your platform.

If you're only making money through YouTube ad revenue, then most likely, yes. However, using other methods, such as affiliate marketing or selling products, you'll see a quicker ROI with YouTube.

Blogging will take longer, but it's completely worth the investment.

Which Should You Start First? A Youtube Channel or Blog?

This depends on whether you feel comfortable writing or being on camera.

If you're more comfortable writing, then start a blog. If you're more comfortable being on camera, start a YouTube channel.

Of course, you can always do both.

Are Bloggers Still Even A Thing?

Yes, blogging is still a thing and will always be a thing.

More and more companies are looking to establish organic reach, and what better way to do that than through a blog that ranks number one on search engines?

Not to mention, Google and YouTube are owned by the same company, which makes sense to have both. This means that they're going to continue favoring blogs in their algorithm.

Can YouTube be used for blogging?

YouTube can be used for blogging in many ways. For starters, you can use YouTube user signals such as viewer engagement to gauge whether or not a particular topic is worth discussing further on your blog or YouTube channel.

You can also place affiliate links in the video descriptions that link back to relevant content on your blog.

Also, you can use YouTube videos to enhance the content of your blog posts by providing visual examples or demonstrations of topics that may be difficult to explain through text alone.

Ultimately, YouTube can be an effective tool for bloggers looking to create engaging and high-quality content.

Final Thoughts: YouTube Vs Blogging

Both blogging and being a YouTuber have their pros and cons.

It comes down to what you're more comfortable with and your goals.

Are you looking to build a personal brand? If so, then I recommend using both platforms.

I regret not creating a better content plan when I first started, and I would be much further along if I had just stopped worrying about what to begin with.

But what's great about starting today is that you can learn from my mistakes in blogging and YouTube.

So, if you're considering starting a YouTube channel or writing content through the WordPress platform, start now.