Is YouTube better than blogging?

How to determine which way to go?

Videos are all in buzz nowadays.

There is a huge demand for video content to be filled in the digital landscape, and it’s getting filled.

I’ll help you decide whether you need to go with blogging or YouTube in your digital marketing career.

Quick decision

👍 What I like about blogging versus YouTube?

• Control: Full control over website design, monetization, and marketing strategies.
• Easy content creation: Writing is easier and can be assisted by AI for dictation and editing.
• Monetization options: Various strategies like contextual ads and affiliate marketing with greater flexibility.
• Low cost: Starting a blog typically requires only a domain name and hosting, around $70/year.
• Content updates: Ability to easily edit and update existing blog posts.

👍 What I like about YouTube versus blogging?

• Growth potential: Videos can gain views through recommendations and homepage features.
• Visual learning: Enhances comprehension through visual and auditory input.
• Easy consumption: Viewers can passively consume video content.
• Free hosting: YouTube stores and serves videos on their servers at no cost.
• Personal connection: Allows for showcasing personality and building audience rapport.

🤔 Verdict

Which one is the best?

It all depends on whether you’re more comfortable with written content or confident on camera, and also on the niche you’ve chosen.

For example, if video content is thriving in your niche, it’s better to go with it rather than swimming against the tide.

Conversely, if there’s a lack of written content on Google and a large audience seeking blog content, then blogging might be the way to go.

Either way, once you create one form of content, it’s quite easy to repurpose it from one format to another in the age of AI. If you’re still in doubt, keep reading.

What comes naturally to you?

Whether it’s blogging or video creation, one crucial skill that is very much needed is communication.

Blogging demands excellent written communication skills. Whereas, video creation requires verbal communication skills.

Among these, you need to ask which one comes naturally to you?

If your answer is both, then that’s great! But find your dominant one.

In my case, I consider myself a good communicator. I started my digital journey with blogging. I tend to create more high-quality content when I have ample time to sit, think and ink – which is in case of blogging.

In late 2019, I took this #100DayYouTubeChallenge where I challenged myself to create 1 video a day for 100 days. I did this because, although I am a good verbal communicator, when in front of the camera – my mind would go – “bla…blank”.

I get it, some people hate recording themselves and publishing on YouTube (shyness, privacy, or whatever the reason is). Some other people are extreme extroverts, they hate sitting at a place and typing in the content.

If it turns out that you are an influential or dominant personality, video creation may be well-suited for you.

In video marketing, camera presence and opening up and maintaining high energy levels are important. Do keep that in mind.

Content creation and delivery

When it comes to content creation, writing blog content is relatively easier. You just need to create an outline, and with the help of AI, you can dictate the content for each section, which speeds up the editing process.

On the other hand, video content requires more planning, recording, and editing. Even with a video editor, producing video content is time-consuming. However, it ultimately depends on what you’re comfortable with.

If you create a blog post first, you can use it as a script for your video, as you’ll already have a clear understanding of the topic.

Conversely, if you start with a video, you can easily convert it using various AI tools.

What does your target audience like?

If you are interested/expert in a specific niche, you need to ask yourself – “Does my audience like blog content or video content? If so, what percentage of them like text over video?”.

Both content formats offer unique benefits.

• Text content allows for self-paced consumption, promotes conceptual learning, and makes it easier to review and make connections. This is why many people prefer reading books over watching videos or listening to audiobooks.
• Video content, on the other hand, provides cognitive ease and offers experiential learning. It enhances comprehension through multi-sensory input, as supported by various research studies. Viewers can passively consume the content, which can be advantageous in certain situations.

Understanding your audience’s preferences is crucial in choosing the most effective format for your niche. By aligning your content type with your audience’s preferences, you can maximize engagement and impact.

One easy way to determine that is by just Googling some of the most popular keywords in your industry and see what type of results predominantly come up.

For instance, if you search for “cute cats” on Google, you’ll mostly find YouTube videos because people prefer watching videos over reading blog posts about cute cats.

But if you search for a keyword like “ChatGPT prompts for XYZ”, you’ll notice that blog posts appear more frequently. In this case, people prefer reading blog posts over watching YouTube videos.

👉 If the search results are full of videos, you’d be better off with videos in your niche. Because the search results often reflect the preferences of the audience of the niche.

How much time does it take to succeed?

In both blogging and video content, success hinges on publishing consistent, high-quality content.

It takes time for Google to trust your blog or YouTube channel. The key is supply and demand.

If you’re in a niche with high demand 📈 but low supply 📉, you can easily attract traffic.

While most blogging niches are saturated, if you find one with less competition, blogging is a good choice.

Conversely, video content can still gain views even in competitive niches, as much of the traffic comes from recommended videos or YouTube featuring your content on the homepage.

🔑 Before giving up on any of these platforms, you need to publish at least 100 pieces of high-quality unique content, that fulfills a big demand.

Effective keyword or topical research is very essential to come up with high-demand content ideas that you can easily rank for.

What level of control and customization you require?

Blogging offers more freedom and flexibility compared to YouTube. With a self-hosted WordPress site, you have complete control over monetization, design, marketing strategies, and split testing. Your website is truly your own.

YouTube, owned by Google, provides less control.

Content must adhere to community standards, which can be restrictive in some niches. YouTubers often feel vulnerable to platform changes, such as potential bans, affiliate link restrictions, or algorithm updates affecting video visibility.

It’s also more common for top YouTube creators to feel that they’re at the mercy of YouTube.

For example, what if someday in the future bans their channel? What if they ban affiliate links in their platform? Or continue hiding the descriptions in the name of SERP video overlays? Or encourage people to watch only a part of the video – thru suggested clips?

Which is easier to monetize?

In blogging, you can leverage many monetization options like contextual ads, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and many more. Blogging offers superior effectiveness and flexibility in these monetization strategies.

For example, when it comes to ad placements, there are virtually endless places and possibilities to experiment and see what works well for your audience.

One great benefit is that with blogging, you can monetize your popular blog posts by going back, editing them, and adding some CTAs.

In the case of YouTube, you can earn money from YouTube ads (only after your channel is quite popular), affiliate marketing, selling your own products/services, and also sponsored content. Other than Google AdSense, you can’t make use of any contextual ad networks with YouTube.

You don’t have that flexibility as you can’t replace your videos, and YouTube’s video editor is weak.

Which route is expensive?

If you are starting with either of these, you need to be well aware of the expenses to be incurred.

When you consider blogging, all you need is a domain name, hosting, and some premium plugins (optional). A domain name and hosting together would cost you around $70/year—that’s it.

In the case of YouTube, you don’t need to host your videos on your own. Your videos will be stored and served over YouTube’s own servers.

All you need is a smartphone with a good camera and a mic. You need to also have a good video editor app. But, in order to really grow your channel, down the line you need to invest in a professional camera, lighting, studio mics, and professional video editor software (like Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve).

I would say that the costs of both starting a blog and a YouTube channel are pretty much the same.

Verdict

I would say when you compare blogging and YouTube, there’s no clear winner. Because, the answer depends upon various variables like your niche, your strengths, and your audience requirements.

Both of these platforms have their own upsides and downsides.

If you have enough time and resources on your end, I would advise you to both leverage text and video content formats to attract a large number of audience to your funnel.

If you are a well-established blogger with a lot of blog posts, it’s time for you to start repurposing those blog posts to YouTube videos and embed them in your blog posts.

Or, you can even consider repurposing your videos to blog posts.

I would say, going an omnichannel approach is the key to success.