Are you interested in building an online business around blogging or YouTube but don’t know which to pick? If yes, Then this is the post for you.
I’ll review the pros, cons, earning potential, monetizing methods, and everything else you need to know before picking one of the 2 methods.
I’ll also share with you what type of people benefit the most from each type of business.
Let’s get into it by starting with the pros and cons.
Blogging Pros
1. Long-term earnings (semi-passive income)
Unlike Instagram for example, where once you make a post it goes viral or disappears into “the ether” a blog post can bring in traffic for years.
This means everyone who arrives on these pages can be directed to your offers. 1 page can bring in money for years through search engine optimization. It’s one of the closest methods to earning passive income when done properly.
2. Diversity in monetizing methods
Aside from advertising, there are all types of methods to earn an income with blogging.
This is a huge pro because you can not only pick the monetizing method that fits you the most but you can also apply multiple methods to 1 page and increase your chance of earning money.
Later in this post, I’ll go a bit more in-depth into the different monetizing methods that can be used.
3. Flexible way of earning money
Blogging doesn’t come with an hourly wage. It is a performance-based hustle which means it’s up to you to decide how many hours you invest and when you work.
This gives you the freedom to decide how you want to fill up your schedule.
4. You can incorporate your interests
You can start a blog about anything and turn it into an income if done properly. This means you can start writing content about things you’re truly interested in.
Blogging Cons
1. Requires frontloading on work
Blogging is a long-term solution for earning money online. Those who expect to earn money in a few weeks might be better off looking for something else.
Usually, it takes a half year to get the ball rolling but once you start getting your initial success growth comes quickly when done correctly.
2. It can be highly competitive
Blogging can be considered a method that can provide you with a semi-passive income. This is why a lot of people are attracted to it.
Depending on the niche you’ll be competing with a lot of other bloggers to get “eyes” on your content.
This is why I recommend going for less competitive niches but even so, prepare to compete with other bloggers to get your content seen.
YouTube Pros
1. Long-term earnings (semi-passive income)
Just like with blogging 1 video can bring in traffic for a long time.
While it’ll not be relevant as long as a blog post that is ranked high in search engines YouTube video can function as an excellent long-term traffic source.
2. Diversity in monetizing methods
Not only blogging but also YouTube makes it possible to earn money in multiple ways.
While you can’t edit a video after it is uploaded to add more methods it’s still effective for those that don’t want to rely on just 1 monetization method.
3. Flexible way of earning money
YouTube also pays out based on performance often in the form of clicks. This means just like with blogging it doesn’t matter when or where you work as long as the results come in.
4. You can place links in the description
If you want to direct people to your website or anywhere else you can do that by placing links in the description of your video.
This might not seem like a big deal but there are a lot of other platforms that don’t allow you to insert links into your content, especially no affiliate links.
YouTube Cons
1. Requires more consistent content creation
Unlike a blog that you can edit to update with YouTube, you will have to create an entirely new video.
This is why you often see the same type of videos on a YouTube channel multiple times but it is a version updated every year.
2. Requires investing in sound and video equipment
Creating YouTube videos will require you to invest in some equipment.
Some people do it with their phones but most of the time they switch to actual audio and video equipment the moment they have the chance.
This can make it a bit more expensive on the front end than starting a blog.
3. Editing videos can be time-consuming
After creating the video your job as a YouTube isn’t done, you’ll also have to spend time editing the video to make it as engaging as possible.
Some videos can be edited in a matter of minutes while others can take several days. If you like editing this isn’t a con but it does require time to edit.
4. Lack of control over related videos
Once you have uploaded your video on YouTube, you’ll notice that other videos will be shown on the right of your video.
Unfortunately, you have no control over what is shown which means other people’s videos can be presented there and remove people from your channel.
Requirement for earning money on the YouTube platform
To start earning money on the platform you need to be part of the YouTube Partner Program. To become a member of the program you need to:
- Have 500 subscribers
- Publish Three videos publicly in the 90 days before applying
- Either have 3,000 watch hours in the past year or 3 million YouTube Shorts views in the past 90 days.
As a basic member, you won’t be able to earn money through Adsense but there are other methods you become eligible for to earn money.
Here are a few examples of the initial Partnership Program benefits:
- Channel memberships: You can offer premium content and member perks in exchange for a monthly fee.
- Super Chat and Super Stickers: Through these functions, fans can highlight their message within a live chat and use animated images.
- Super Thanks: This application gives people the ability to send money to you as a “thank you”.
To become eligible for earning money with YouTube Adsense there are some extra requirements.
- 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time in the 12 months before applying
- 1,000 subscribers with 10 million public YouTube Shorts views in the last 90 days
Requirements for earning money on blogging platforms
Blogging doesn’t have in-platform methods for earning money so there’s a bit more freedom with how you can earn money.
As long as you have website visitors and you offer products that they’re interested in you could even make money with just 1 click.
I do think having a substantial number of visitors is necessary. I remember earning my first few dollars with just 500 clicks per month.
While it might not be the main method blogs use to earn money they also can use AdSense just like YouTube.
To be approved for Google AdSense,
- your website must be six months old
- you have to have a minimum of 4,000 unique visits per month
YouTube Monetization methods
There are a lot of other methods aside from Adsense that you can use to earn revenue through YouTube. Here are a few examples you use such as:
- Sponsored videos
This is when companies pay you to mention them in your videos. These can be 1-time offers but there are YouTube channels that even have multiple year-long agreements to get compensated for mentions. - Affiliate Marketing
In affiliate marketing, you become an independent partner of companies that promote products in exchange for a commission. - Patreon
A website that offers a method for YouTubers to publish premium content that people can access through paying a monthly fee. - Online Courses
Direct your subscribers and viewers to courses you create that they can access through payment.
Blogging monetization methods
Just like with YouTube, there are many ways you can earn money with Blogging. Here’s a list of the most common methods used by bloggers.
- Sponsored posts
This works in the same way as Sponsored videos. Companies will pay you to mention them in your blog content. - Affiliate Marketing
Making product recommendations and referring people to the companies that offer those products in exchange for a commission. - Content Paywalls
Creating premium content that people can access in exchange for paying a fee. - Online Courses
Directing your blog visitors to your courses which they can access through payment. - Selling digital products
Offering your blog visitors products and services that they can pay for. - Guest posting
Earning money by writing for other websites.
Blogging earning potential
How much bloggers earn on average differs according to studies. Some bloggers earn between $0 and $50 at the lowest end, and at the highest end, it could be +$8000 per month.
It is safe to say, that blogging can earn you a full-time income when done properly.
It all comes down to how many visitors you can attract to your blog and if you can monetize that traffic.
YouTube earning potential
YouTube also has a high earning potential. The difference is that YouTube in-platform earnings are mostly based on the number of viewers you have rather than being a fixed amount of money every month.
Demand Sage made a great calculation on how much you can earn with the YouTube Partner program based on viewer numbers:
Number of views: 1,000 to 10,000
YouTube Partner Earning: $18 to $180
Other earnings: $50 to $500
Number of views: 10,000 to 100,000
YouTube Partner Earning: $180 to $1800
Other earnings: $500 to $5,000
Number of views 100,000 to 1,000,000
YouTube Partner Earning $1,800 to $18,000
Other earnings: $5,000 to $50,000
Who would benefit the most from using YouTube?
In theory, anyone is capable of benefiting from using YouTube to create a business but there are a few groups in particular who would benefit the most.
Here’s a list of those people:
- People who are naturally charismatic on the camera
- People who are aiming for fairly competitive niches
- People who sell products that need demonstrations to show value
Who would benefit the most from using Blogging?
The people that’d benefit from blogging the most are different from those that can benefit the most from YouTube.
Since it doesn’t require you to edit afterward and there’s no need to be in front of the camera it’d be the best option for these groups:
- People that don’t want to be in front of the camera
- People who like writing
- People who don’t like to spend time editing
Can your business revolve around a combination of YouTube and Blogging?
It is possible to use a combination of both. In most cases, if you’re capable of giving both the proper attention it’ll be more profitable than choosing 1 method.
YouTube and Blogging complement each other well. YouTube videos can boost the rankings of your blog content and blogging can increase the conversion of leads that came from YouTube.
In an ideal world, you’d take advantage of both opportunities.
Which method is more profitable?
In general, one isn’t more profitable than the other.
8.5 billion Google searches are performed per day and all these searches result in website visits while YouTube has approximately 122 million daily active users.
It’s better to ask yourself which of the 2 methods is likely to fit you more and what you see yourself doing in the long term.
That’s all for today!
If you have any experience with one of these methods or you’re feeling stuck when choosing one of the two I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
See you at my next post!
