If you are here I assume that you want to know the difference between blogging and vlogging.
You are at the right place: I have been blogging for a long time and I just started vlogging a few months ago!
A lot of people just like you are interested in vlogs and blogs. Some are even considering starting a vlog or a blog, but they do not know where to start.
So let’s see what are the differences between blogs and vlogs.
The data I found dates from 2019, but then there were 31 million channels on Youtube.
As a comparison, there were 600 million blogs.
First and foremost, let’s start with the definitions.
Blog and Vlog: Definitions
Blog: the word “blog” originally comes from the word “weblog,” which itself came from the term “online journal.” Blogs were originally created to talk about oneself, share opinions, and chat about different topics. The term was coined at the end of the 1990s, long before social media platforms like Facebook made their appearance.
The ancestor of blogging was the BBS. If you are under 30 years old you may never have heard of BBS, but basically they were an earlier version of blogs, when the internet was a wire connected to your phone line.
Vlog: the word “vlog” refers to a “video blog.” The term was coined around the time Facebook came into existence, that is in 2004-2005.
There are many differences between blogging and vlogging due to the nature of the mediums. Some differences between blogging and vlogging are more subtle, while some others are more obvious.
Traffic and popularity of blogs and vlogs
Blogs are still more popular than vlogs. This fact is true, even as we enter the 2020 decade. But somewhere along the way to 2030, this situation is likely to change.
More and more video content is being published every day and sooner or later, vlogging content on the internet will outnumber the amount of blog content on the internet.
Content formats vlog vs blog
The first difference between blogging and vlogging is the format.
Vlogging is done through videos. If you are younger, you may be more into Vlogs.
Blogging is done through writing (along with images, GIFs, tables, and even videos.) If you are a little bit older, you may be used to Blogs. I remember the ancestor of blogs: BBS. BBS were a type of billboard where users could post information back in the 1990s. Then came MySpace, then platforms like Facebook; the rest his history.
Both blogs and vlogs can talk about the same topics: lifestyle, sports, health, relationships, technology, music, products review, gaming, fitness, fashion, education, comedy, etc.
Pros of vlogging
As human beings, we acquire information and connect with other people via voice and our eyes. This makes vlogging a great medium to easily connect with people.
Vlogging is also great to build an audience. Anyone can watch videos on their computer at work or on their phone while commuting (or before going to bed.) It is a passive way to spend time too. And gosh, we are all good at it. How many times did you lose track of time while watching videos? Probably a lot more than you would like to admit!
Vlogging is an amazing way to connect with people, it’s almost like having a one-on-one discussion with millions of people.
So, a recap of the pros of vlogging:
- great way to connect deeply with the audience
- more leeway when creating content (topic does not have to be 100% optimized for SEO)
- almost addictive
- you can create a following of people relatively rapidly
- lots of funs vlogging, it is also a simple way to produce content
Pros of blogging
A lot of people like to read to acquire information, knowledge, skills or simply kill some time.
What is cool with blogging is that you can delivery one-time information to people (e.g., how to build a website) as much as you can build an audience of followers over the course of the years (e.g., my digital entrepreneur journey.)
Content is also easy to keep-updated, you can go back and see updates as time goes by.
Blogging also has another big advantage: readers can quickly speed read the page to see if the content matches what they were looking for.
Pros of blogging, recap:
- part of the blogging job can be outsourced (even the creative part)
- potential to have content indexed for many many years
- content can easily be updated even after launch
- different ways to build passive income with a blog
- easy for the visitors to have a quick glance at the whole content
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Cons of vlogging
There are a few cons of vlogging:
- content cannot be updated after being launched
- difficult to outsource the content creation part!
- requires mastering video and sound editing (good computer needed)
- need to have a good camera
- need to understand light and lighting techniques
- you have to master sound and sound editing
- requires a lot of self-confidence to get in front of a camera
- you lose a bit of privacy as people can recognize you on the street
Indeed, vlogging requires being comfortable in from of a camera; plus editing the video, publishing, responding to comments, etc.
Cons of blogging
There are a few barriers to entry when it comes to blogging:
- learning all the skills needed to create, manage and scale the blog
- need to write copywriting to write good content
- need to learn promotion on social media, drive engagement, how to build an audience
- requires a certain level of design
- master keywords research and the complicated topic of SEO
- it takes time to build an audience and get the content indexed in Google
- there is a lot of different skills that are needed to be a good blogger
Contrary to vlogging, blogging requires a bit more of an active effort to for both the creator and the reader or a blog post. Creating written content requires a certain amount of effort that includes research, writing, editing, correcting and publishing.
Types of content vlog vs blog
Another difference between vlogging and blogging is: the various types of content.
Vlogging is great to talk about your life, your hobbies and your opinions. A good example of this is lifestyle vlogging like XXXXXX. Yes you can teach people how to do stuff and deliver tutorials via vlogging, but in the end, if anything changes about the topic, the vlog becomes obsolete.
Vlogging has a personal touch as people see with their own eyes what you do. People watching you see how you dress, the environment you are in, and they also hear your voice, the tones you use, they feel your emotions, etc. Plus all the facial expressions and the general body language that you show without even realizing it. All those elements cannot be achieved through blogging.
Vlogging is fundamentally a more “human” medium.
Blogging on the other hand is great to deliver a vast array of information (e.g., tutorials, personal insights, fiction, academia, best of, how-to, what is, where, why, how, etc.) The information that you deliver via a blog that can easily be updated.
Blogging can also have a personal touch, but it can also be more commercial. A lot of people are monetizing their blogs to make money blogging. Some vloggers also make money, but I believe that there is a bigger amount of people making money with blogs than vlogs.
Creating or reading a blog requires more intellectual energy, but the returns can also be really good, especially if you monetize your blog to make money.
Blogging is fundamentally a more "information" driven medium.
Being a vlogger can be really cool as you can tell stories in a natural manner: with your voice, your body, the environment around you… and you can tell stories via your daily life. It is a good way to express yourself if you do not really enjoy sitting for hours to write.
Content length blog vs vlog
What I like about vlogging is that you can make great content very easily… and you can make a lot of it.
Why is that? Because on average people can type about 30-70 words/minute… but can speak up to 100-160 words/minute. That’s a lot more information flowing!
On top of that, we are all used to speak, but not all of us are used to write well. Not everybody masters grammar and spelling. Writing can indeed be compelling for some people.
On the other hand, some people may not be comfortable in front of a camera! The fear of being out there on the internet, on Youtube… scares some of the people away from vlogging!
And some people are just too private, too shy or too introvert. In their case, blogging may be a good solution.
Extroverts can consider vlogging and introverts could consider blogging. Makes sense?
Monetization strategies
Making money with a vlog is absolutely possible, but the difference is that vloggers need to connect with people, create rapport, build and audience and convert the audience. Trust building means that vloggers need to have basic interpersonal and sales skills to be able to convert an audience into buyers. Plus bringing a lot of value!
The monetization strategies for vloggers and bloggers are multiple:
- coaching
- consulting
- selling products (e.g., your own product or other’s product)
- courses
- eBooks
- online community
- affiliates marketing
- and the list goes on and on.
Blogging: how to make money
Blogging has probably more monetization strategies than vlogging due to the nature of the activity.
If a bloggers delivers information about a product for example, a commission can be earned when visitors to the blog click on the link to purchase the product. No relationship is required between the blogger and the visitor. The sale is easier.
How to make money with a blog:
- ads
- affiliates marketing
- Amazon affiliates
- courses
- eBooks
- coaching
- online community
- consulting
- sell a product or a service
- sponsorships
- software
We made a list of monetization ideas for your blog or website: 14 ideas to make money with a website or a blog.
Vlogging: how to make money
I will say this straight off the bat: I believe you have more chances making money with a blog, a website, a niche website, an affiliates blog... than with a vlog. Still, there are a lot of people who make huge amounts of money blogging, I just believe that they are the exception. A lot of people are called, but only a few end up winning.
At the bottom of this post I give you the opportunity to know how to build a website or blog, and monetize it.
In the case of blogging, a good strategy is to do your own product or service… and do a pre-launch warming campaign. Then offer the product or service for sale. Some vloggers sell courses, which is a good way to make money using a similar medium: visual content.
It goes without saying that this implies the vlogger built and audience and has the ability to convert the audience.
How to make money with a vlog:
- sponsorship
- collaboration
- book
- course
- community
- sell a product
- consulting
- coaching
- last but not least, Youtube ads!
Lots of vloggers make money online, but a lot are not making money either.
Audience engagement
One element we did not talk about yet: engagement.
This is my personal opinion, but I believe the chances to get the public’s engagement, in the form of likes and comments, is higher with vlogging. It is just the nature of the medium: videos engages us in a more emotional way than written content.
Not to say that blogging is not engaging, but the visual and auditive aspects of videos makes us more reactive in a certain sense. Something deeply ingrained in our DNA!
Blogging is also engaging, especially if you subscribed to a newsletter where the author sends you updates once in a while.
How to vlog and blog
Blogging can be done as part of a website. One of the most famous blogging and website platform is WordPress. We built tons of websites with WordPress and Divi. We host the website on SiteGround, which offers one-click WordPress installation (plus SiteGround is one of the fastest, if not the fastest, web hosting company for WordPress blogs.) If you are interested in knowing how you can build a beautiful blog with Divi, click here to see a tutorial.
When it comes to vlogs, there are plenty of platforms out there to vlog: Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, etc. You could also have a website or a blog where you display your vlog videos. A good example is people who have a Youtube channel and link to their website in the description. This is something we also do with one of our Youtube channel. We built a website with Divi (more info below,) hosted on SiteGround, and link to the website in the description of our Youtube videos.
Should I vlog or blog?
It depends on many things.
In my opinion, if you are younger and comfortable in front of a camera, maybe vlogging is a good idea. On the other hand, if you are older (like me haha,) and you like writing, blogging may be a better option. In the end, it depends on your personality, some young folks may prefer writing and vice versa.
At the same time, and this may look like a contradiction, I think that there is so much more potential for growth and filling the blank in the vlogging market. There is still plenty of space for people to jump in.
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