Last Updated January 2022 by Crystallace

Blogging vs Youtube Which One Has More Potential in 2021?

Hey Girl! Welcome back so, a few days ago, I talked about goal-setting for bloggers in 2021. What to prioritize, what to let go of, all that good stuff. But, did it ever cross your mind that you should start a YouTube channel instead, rather than a blog?

Before you shift gears and start buying fancy equipment for your videos, let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of blogging vs YouTube.

Blogging vs Youtube: Pros and Cons

You may find some digital marketers say that blogging is dead. Meanwhile, YouTube creators complain that views don’t guarantee a good Return Of Investment (ROI). To get the best of both worlds, others opt to choose both, but managing two different platforms at the same time may not be best for someone who’s just starting out.

BTW, are you following me on socials? Let’s keep in touch! I’m on Pinterest, IG, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok

So, which one is it? 

It depends. 

At this point, there are several things that you should consider before starting a blog or a YouTube channel. 

1. Content Ownership

In terms of ownership, having a self-hosted WordPress website like mine, means you have absolute control over your content.

Plus, you can protect your blog legally which allows you to avoid content theft and other lawsuits. That is because every self-hosted blog has legal pages. These legal pages are: 

• Disclaimer
• Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy

If you’re wondering where you can get all these, I got you. In fact, you can have all these with my Blog Website Legal Bundle, a no-fuss editable templates that are easy to customize to fit your brand. 

Meanwhile, when you create content using a free platform like YouTube, you retain the ownership rights of the videos you upload. BUT, you are also giving limited license to YouTube. Below is an excerpt of their terms of use

License to YouTube

By providing Content to the Service, you grant to YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable license to use that Content (including to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, display and perform it) in connection with the Service and YouTube’s (and its successors’ and Affiliates’) business, including for the purpose of promoting and redistributing part or all of the Service.

So, it’s safe to say that it’s better to have your own platform to gain absolute control of your content, rather than use a free platform like YouTube. But then again, there are still factors that you need to consider, which we’ll talk about more in this post. 

2. Flexibility

A blog is more flexible than a YouTube channel in many ways. For YouTube, your content must be in video format, and that’s it.

On the other hand, a blog has more to offer. You can…

• Add eCommerce features to sell products or services
• Embed images from your Instagram and Pinterest accounts
• Offer a lead magnet to grow your email list
• Create a form to receive emails from your readers
• Collaborate with fellow bloggers for roundup posts

Therefore, a blog has more flexibility in terms of what form of content you want to create. This also means that you have greater chances at monetizing. 

3. Effort

A self-hosted blog requires maintenance. Some of which are domain name and web hosting renewal, update or change the WordPress theme as desired, update or delete old blog posts, check for broken links, and speed optimization. With a YouTube channel, you don’t have to worry about all these. YouTube has got you covered. In fact, all you have to do is update your channel banner and profile photo and you’re all set.

4. Competition

The competition is great both in blogging and on YouTube. Therefore, both will not be successful overnight, and you have to take care of search engine optimization.

5. Community

What definitely speaks for YouTube is the large community. There are just so many people who are registered there and are out and about every day. And YouTube also actively helps you to find subscribers, which you have to do yourself with a blog. Especially since the RSS feeds have never really caught on to the masses, and therefore you don’t really have many blog subscribers.

A newsletter can, of course, be an alternative here. Subscribing to a YouTube channel definitely ensures better user loyalty. However, at least in our experience, there are often more haters and trolls on YouTube, while we have no such problems in blogs.

6. Monetization

If you want your YouTube channel to be monetized through Google Adsense, you must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of views in the last 12 months. If you’re a celebrity, this is a very easy goal to reach. Otherwise, it may take months or years for you to hit this target. 

Meanwhile, a blog not only depends on ads in order to make money. You can write product reviews to sell affiliate products, write sponsored posts, create your own products, and others. 

These can also be possible if you have a YouTube channel. But you will be at the expense of your subscribers in order to make money. 

Check out my YouTube Channel Here!

7. Costs

It’s free to start a YouTube channel. But, having poor quality and shaky videos will not help you gain subscribers. Therefore, best that you save money and invest in a good camera, microphone, and studio lighting to improve your video quality.

Meanwhile, starting a blog will cost you a few dollars in your first year because you have to secure your domain name and web host. Aside from that, all you need is a trusty laptop or computer to launch your blogging business. 

So which one are you going with blogging vs youtube?

If you’ve reached this part of my blog, thank you and I hope you find this helpful in your journey towards becoming a full-time content creator. 

Meanwhile, in case you decide to start a blog, I suggest you head on to my previous blog post about my tips on how to find a profitable blog niche. 

Or if you’re going to a different route, starting a YouTube channel that is, I suggest you go ahead and subscribe to Cathrin Manning. I have seen her channel grow from 40k subs to 300k in 12 months. And if you’re looking for inspiration and her most recent video will definitely help you get started.

So, are you going to start a blog or a YouTube channel?

Let me know in the comments and don’t forget to Pin this post for later!