What is the Difference Between a Blog and a Vlog

Making digital content in 2022 is not only possible, but a totally lucrative career for creatives everywhere. If you have a unique lifestyle, area of expertise, or story to tell, creating a blog or vlog is a great idea. People all over the world tune into this type of digital content every day to learn about your topic and engage with you as an influencer.

But, what’s the difference between a blog and a vlog? And, how do you know which one is right for you, your audience, and your future earning potential? Today, we’re exploring all things related to running your own blog and vlog. By the end, you’ll have clarity on which avenue is best for you. 

What is the Difference Between a Blog and a Vlog

What is a Blog and How Does it Work

A blog is a website that is regularly updated with new pages of content centered on a specific niche. These pages or “posts” are usually written in an informal, conversational style and from the point of view of one person or a small group. The text is laced with hyperlinks, photos, graphics, and even videos.

Blogs are often highly personal, but they can also be primarily educational or instructional. Some of the most popular blogging topics are personal finance, fitness, food, and personal development. These blogs make money two ways. They either sell services or products. Or, they participate in brand collaborations or affiliate marketing platforms. 

Some websites have blogs as their primary focus, while other business blog to promote their main business. This is because websites that blog get up to 55% more visitors than those that don’t. And, of all internet users, 60% of those individuals read blogs regularly. With audiences this size and multiple monetization opportunities, it’s no wonder blogging has become a worthwhile career for millions! 

What is a Vlog and How Does it Work

Whereas blogs are in a text format, vlogs are live streams in video format. The word vlog naturally stands for video blog and has many similar qualities to a blog. Naturally, with the evolution of the internet, this phrase evolved to “vlog” for short. 

Vlogs center on an individual or group of people passionate about a specific niche. The vlogger records video commentary or instructional content about the topic and uploads it to a video platform like YouTube, Vimeo, or TikTok for the world to see! Like blog posts, vlogs are updated regularly and normally represent a larger brand the vlogger has created. 

The main ways vlogs make money is through ad space, platform monetization, sponsored videos, affiliate marketing, merchandise, and other products or services. And, vlogs are quite popular, since 72% of online blog readers would rather watch videos than read text. Additionally, 44% of all internet users admit to regularly consuming vlog content. So, vlogging can become just as lucrative as blogging, if not more so, depending on your niche and skills! 

Blog and Vlog Differences 

Now, we’re going to organize and discuss the differences between blogs and vlogs. This will help you determine what style of content creation is best for you and your brand. Here are the differences between a vlog and a blog:

Search Engine Optimization and Visibility 

The first way blogs and vlogs differ is in the way they gain visibility. A blog get’s its organic traffic through search engine optimization for Google, Bing, and other major internet portals. So, when a user searches for a topic on a search engine, it’ll connect your post to the user through your targeted keywords and other SEO strategies. 

Vlogs, though, have little text to connect with search engines in the same way. So, more often than not, vlogs gain viewership through optimization on their specific platform. Most commonly, vlogs are hosted on YouTube, so YouTube search engine optimization is necessary to gain viewers. This involves transcribing your content, having keyword-rich metadata, and more! 

Both take some work, but both vlogs and blogs can gain lots of organic traffic through search engine optimization. Often, the popularity of vlogging increases quicker since they’re hosted on a smaller platform with less competition than a blog. In fact, a video is 50 times more likely to gain organic traffic than a traditional blog. This means you’ll see video traffic right away and grow faster. But, with a good SEO strategy and the right niche, the number of visitors you see on your blog can be just as fruitful! 

User Preferences

So, we know there is a huge market of people looking for blog and vlog content online, but what is the preference? Video content is preferred by many. This is why those who blog add embedded videos into their posts. And, it’s why a lot of companies are moving to visual, video marketing, because 54% of people say they wish the brands they love made more video content. And, the bounce rate on videos is 34% lower than plain text. 

That being said, not every topic welcomes video content (more on that later). And, when an internet user is looking for quick answers or specific information, it’s tedious to navigate a video, whereas you can quickly scan a blog. So, in many cases, a blog with lots of visual elements can be just as attractive as a vlog!

Brand and Professionalism 

When developing a business or brand, blogging might prove to be the better option. If driving sales is your goal, understand that companies who blog have 434% more indexed pages than those who don’t. This means all those keyword rich blog posts are driving traffic to your branded website. Your visitors will read your content and purchase your products or services! 

Additionally, most blogs are hosted on their own domain. So, the website itself has your custom branding, web design, and messaging. This looks much more professional than a YouTube channel or TikTok profile, and will probably bring you more authority in your niche. 

Vlogs can also represent a brand and a high level of professionalism, but this takes money. A branded studio, custom music and animations, and high-quality equipment all takes capital. With enough time, manpower, and money, you can achieve the same level of professionalism with a vlog, but it’s harder to generate over a blog.  

Niche Options

There is a wide range of users on the internet, obviously. And, these groups of people all have different interests and lifestyles. Therefore, no matter your content, there’s a place for you online! This is great news, but you’ve got to go where your audience is. Some audiences heavily rely on video content, whereas others prefer the written word! 

Here are the top niches for blogs: 

• Food and Cooking
• Finances
• Fashion 
• Parenting
• Travel
• Health and Fitness
• Personal Development

And, here are the top niches for vlogs:

• Gadget & Technology
• Travel
• Product Reviews (or product unboxings)
• Life Hacks
• Food and Cooking
• Health and Fitness
• Make-Up 

As you can see, some ‌niches overlap, and some do not. This is largely because of the preferences of your audience. For instance, parents are often reading blogs while holding babies, in waiting rooms, or lounging while a kids’ movie plays on the TV. These busy parents may not have as many opportunities for long-form video content, which is why that niche is more successful on blogs. 

On the other hand, topics like make-up tutorials and life hacks are difficult to describe via text. So those audiences flock to visual platforms like YouTube. And, the cooking niche is somewhat divided, since recipes need to be available via text, but how-tos on cooking techniques are best shown via video. 

So, when you select your niche, explore the topic online. See where the audience is hanging out and pursue those avenues! This will help ensure your content reaches your future followers. 

Expense 

The next thing to consider is the cost of starting and maintaining your vlog or blog. Each one has its list of expenses, but both can be relatively low cost to start. How much you spend definitely depends on how big you want to go from the beginning. But, let’s consider a few expenses that come with starting a blog or vlog. For each, we’ll assume you already have an internet connection and a laptop.  

For a blog, you’ll need a brand kit, a web host, a domain name, email marketing software, a graphic design program, and a social media posting scheduler to start up. This will all run between $600 – $900. Then, you’ll have continued monthly cost for your domain, SEO services, advertising, and subscriptions. This adds up to around $200-$500 a month depending on your scale. 

For a vlog, you’ll have a few start-up costs as well. You’ll need a brand kit, camera, microphone, editing software, and other video production equipment. This will all cost around $500-$700. Then, for regular monthly costs, there’s not much! You’ll need an SEO tool, email marketing software, and a social media post scheduler. This means your monthly costs could be under $50! 

Running a vlog is slightly cheaper, especially if you consider the fact that you could just use your current phone or webcam and wait on the rest! Both can be cheap and even free, but a little investment will go a long way to rocketing your content to success. 

Monetization Options 

If you want to be a full time content creator, then monetization is vital! So, knowing how you can profit off your blog or vlog will be a big part of your decision. You can earn money on blogs and vlogs in lots of ways. Here’s a few:

Brand Collaboration

When a brand pays for a post or video, so you can promote their products or services, this is brand collaboration! You just reach out to brands in your niche and develop great content based on whatever they sell. 

This is a great way to make money for blogs or vlogs, and you don’t need many followers to do it! And, businesses now more than ever have brand collabs worked into their marketing budget, because it has a great ROI. This means brand collaborations are great for them and great for you! 

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is similar to brand collaborations, but instead of a company paying for a post or video, you instead get paid based on sales or clicks. You select a product from your affiliate program to promote, and you create whatever content you want. When people use the link from your description or blog post, you get commission. 

You have complete agency over what you promote and how you promote it. So, it’s a little different from brand collaborations, which can have a lot of requirements and guidelines. It can take more time to develop a steady income this way, though. So, prepare for a slow start with this route!

Selling Products and Services

Even if you’re a full-time blogger or vlogger and that is your focus, you can still make additional passive income. On your website, you can sell merchandise, helpful materials, consultations, extra content, courses—anything you can think of. These are equally lucrative whether you have a blog or vlog!

Though, vlogs are a little more likely to have merchandise and extra content, whereas blogs more often have workbooks, courses, and books that they sell on their site! Either way, monetizing through the sale of physical or digital goods is a great plan for generating passive income!

Ad Space

Gone are the days of website pop-ups and banners since almost 50% of internet users have ad blockers of some sort on their computers. And, those that don’t aren’t very persuaded by the spammy looking pop-ups. Therefore, affiliate marketing and brand collaborations have become the norm for digital marketing! This also means selling ad space on your blog might do more harm than good. 

A website full of floating targeted ads feels unprofessional and even risky. So, most bloggers opt for monetisation in other ways that won’t affect the user experience for their readers. Vloggers, though, are a different story. Instead of selling ad space through pop-ups and banners, hosting sites like YouTube place video commercials before, during, and after your video, depending on length and the viewer’s membership level. 

YouTube does this automatically once you opt in. So, as your views increase, YouTube itself pays you more! This is because your ad space is becoming more lucrative for the respective client, meaning you get more money for the space. YouTube’s monetization system is a huge upside to vlogging, because once you gain a good following, your videos make you money the moment they’re uploaded, whereas blogs take weeks or months to drum up consistent income. 

Available Platforms

There are a few platforms you can utilize for each type of content. If you create written content, the most popular platform is WordPress! It’s designed specifically for blogging, which means creating a professional website that is search engine optimized is super easy! 

You could also use Wix, HubSpot, or even a free platform like Blogger. Do your research to see what each one offers. Things like plugins and security are super important as your business grows. You don’t want to be stuck on a platform that doesn’t provide room for growth! 

Additionally, we advise against building your own website. User friendliness has a lot to do with SEO, so coding your own website, though an admirable feat, may not rank high on the search engine results pages. 

For vlogging, the traffic is very centralized to YouTube. Truly, if you’re looking to gain a quick following and tons of organic search traffic, YouTube is the way to go. Plus, monetizing your channel is super easy! 

That being said, TikTok’s short video vlog format is becoming increasingly popular. Though it hasn’t taken the top spot yet, it could very well be the main hub of vlogs in the future. Monetization on TikTok is a little trickier, and their algorithm is challenging and cryptic. But, if you can crack the code, there is a huge viewership on TikTok! 

You could also have your vlog hosted on Facebook, Instagram, and Vimeo. They all have long-form content options. And, Facebook and Instagram already host millions of people. So, it’s a great way to find followers fast! You’ll be on these platforms anyway, to deploy your marketing strategy. 

But, in the end, WordPress (and Tumblr) is best for blogs, while YouTube is best for vlogs! 

Content Consumption 

The way people engage with blogs and vlogs is totally different. For blogs, people tend to skim to find the information they need. They don’t sit and read the entire post, because normally they’ve got an objective. They want to learn or understand something and then jump into action. No time to waste!

Vlogs are completely the opposite. Most people consume vlogs in their entirety. This is partially due to the difficulties navigating a video to find the content you need. (Though YouTube has improved this recently.) And, it’s partially because people can listen or watch vlogs while doing other things like cleaning, working, or engaging in their hobbies. The ability to multi-task means your subscribers consume more hours of content. 

Many vlog followers will find their way through your entire video log in no time and keep up-to-date with every new post. Vlog watchers are usually completionists, who want to watch every “episode” of your content. Blog readers, on the other hand, cherry pick posts that specifically interest them. 

This is essential information to have when deciding if you will vlog or blog. If your content requires a user’s full attention, vlogging might be best. If you are thinking about shorter, concise content, blogging may be your avenue of choice. Consider what you’ll be posting and how your audience will consume the content before deciding to vlog or blog. 

Time Commitment

Blogging and vlogging are both time-consuming, but they’re not equal in commitment. High quality written content can be produced more quickly than video content. You can produce a well-researched, well-edited post in a few hours. You could even outsource this part of the process for ultra-fast results! 

Video content takes longer. How much longer really depends on the length of your videos and the amount of production needed. Video editing itself doesn’t have to take more than a couple of hours, but if you’re adding overlays, multiple shots, music, and other additions, one video could take a whole day to film, edit, and post! 

Beyond producing the content (written or visual) there are other blogging and vlogging duties that take time. There’s research, photography, graphic design, website management, social media management, follower responses, networking, and bookkeeping! Each one of these items will keep you busy, making blogging and vlogging full-time gigs. But, expect to put in a little overtime if you choose to vlog! 

Content Creation

Consider your role in a blog or vlog. When you’re blogging, you’re primarily a writer. So, if you love expressing yourself through the written word and don’t mind sitting at a computer to produce blog articles, social media posts, newsletters, and other written content, blogging would be perfect for you! The world wide web is ready to hear your voice. (Or, read it?) 

But, if content writing feels tedious to you, and you can never seem to escape writer’s block, vlogging might be a better choice. When you’re a vlogger, you’re a performer and presenter. You’re the face of your brand, and your voice will literally carry the show! If you’re a bit of an extrovert and love to perform, choose vlogging! The world will love your enthusiastic personality. 

Digital Marketing

Lastly, consider your digital marketing strategy for each. Since blogs gain organic traffic through big search engines like Google, reaching your target audience through social media is a vital piece of your blogging business. You’ll build a community, engage with your followers, and gain a larger scaled readership using your select social media platforms. 

Vlogs still require a social media presence, but if you’re vlogging on YouTube, it acts as a social platform itself! This means you can easily engage with your community and update your followers about new content right there on the app. 

Still, the marketing tools provided on YouTube or other video platforms won’t be enough to propel your vlog to its greatest potential. Find what social channels your followers are on, and post updates and content there. You could even take snippets of your videos and post them as teasers on your social accounts. 

In order to be successful on social media, you’ll need to post consistently with your branding in mind. To do that, we recommend a social media post scheduler like Planoly. (Though, there are others out there, too!) These will help you plan your content in advance and gain helpful insights about your social media presence. 

Vlogging and blogging are equally lucrative, so it’s up to you to decide what type of content would be best for your niche, your skills, and your passion! 

If you have a topic or lifestyle you want to share with the world, make your voice heard! Whether you choose to blog or vlog, know that it’ll take hard work to make a profit. But, with time, an excellent strategy, stellar content, and search engine optimization, you’ll see those followers and dollars coming in no time!

Once you get started, you’ll need more help. That’s why we have a blog totally dedicated to helping you along your blogging (or vlogging!) journey. We’re here to help you launch your blog into your big, beautiful business dreams by providing great content and the best SEO services on the market. Let’s do this thing together – check back each week for new content!