Blogging vs YouTube vs Podcasting: Which One is Right For You?
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Long-form content is one of the best ways to establish your authority on a particular topic. It positions you as the expert and it goes a long way towards building trust with your website visitors and potential clients.
If you’re like most people, you probably think that your only option for long-form content is blogging. If you don’t like writing, this might seem terrifying and absolutely horrible.
If that’s the case, let me give you some good news. Long-form content doesn’t mean blogging only. It can also be done as podcast episodes or videos (YouTube or going live on your favorite platform).
And even if you’re aware of the fact that you could create a podcast or start your own YouTube channel, you might be wondering which of these content creation methods is the best.
That’s what I’ll be talking about in today’s blog post. We’ll go over how each content creation method works and go over the pros and cons of each. By the end of this article, you’ll have a better idea of what type of long-form content you should create.
Blogging: How It Works
Blogging refers to the process of writing long-form content, ideally on your website’s blog. However, some people choose to publish their blogs on places like Medium or Linkedin for better reach and visibility.
The logic behind this is sane: if you already have followers on LinkedIn, more people will see your post than on your brand new website. Same goes for Medium.
However, that does nothing for your website’s SEO rank.
So, my advice would be to always publish on your website first, then republish/repurpose those articles on places like LinkedIn and Medium.
You’ll still get the benefit of having more visibility but you’ll also get a backlink to your website which signals to Google and other search engines that your site is reputable and popular.
When you decide to start a blog on your website, the only thing you really need is dedicated time to research potential topics, outline them, draft them, and then edit them into its final form.
As far as frequency goes, a good majority of people I follow publish at least one blog post per week. However, I also follow some who publish twice or three times per week as well as those who publish once per month and still get great results from their content.
A few interesting blogging statistics to keep in mind:
76% of content marketers use blogging to generate leads
Bloggers who publish between two to six times per week are 50% more likely to report strong results
73% of people skim blog posts, while 27% read them entirely
Blogging has the easiest barrier to entry but can be intimidating if writing is not your strong suit.
What Do I Need to Start Blogging?
Blogging is usually the easiest and the least time consuming way of creating long-form content as you don’t need any special equipment for it, like you do with podcasting and video (more on that later).
All you really need is your computer and an Internet connection as well as time dedicated to research, writing, and promoting your blog posts.
How to Make Your Blog Posts Work Harder For You?
Once you start blogging, you obviously want your content to work harder for you. And the best way to do that is to repurpose your blog posts. There are several ways to do that:
You can pull smaller pieces of your blog posts and turn them into individual social media posts
You can create Instagram carousel posts which are great for sharing and saving
Create quote graphics that can be shared on social media
You can create several Pinterest pins with different designs that lead to the same piece of content
You can combine several blog pieces into a short eBook or even a mini-course
Pros and Cons of Blogging
One of the biggest pros of blogging is that the entry barrier is low. You don’t need any special equipment nor do you have to worry about the perfect environment for recording.
Another pro of blogging is that each new blog post is a new opportunity to add more relevant keywords to your website which helps boost your SEO rank. This leads to more organic traffic, more visitors, more leads, and ultimately more sales.
The third pro of blogging is that it can be a great way to add additional income to your business. A couple of ways include adding relevant affiliate links to your blog posts or writing sponsored content (when a company pays you to promote their product or service) that’s relevant to your industry.
You can also display ads on your blog but in all honesty, I wouldn’t recommend this if you have a business and you’re blogging with the purpose of attracting your ideal clients. You have no control over the ads that display so this can do more harm than good for your brand and reputation.
You can, instead, use your blog to naturally mention and link to your services or products which will result in more earned income than ads.
And as mentioned before, blogging is a great way to establish your expertise and build trust with your readers.
The downside of blogging is that it is somewhat time consuming and it does take time for your blog posts to start ranking on search engines. After all, there are a number of steps involved in bringing a quality blog post to life; from initial ideation and research all the way down to drafting and editing the post so it’s ready for publishing.
Another con to consider is that if writing doesn’t come naturally to you, it will probably take you a lot longer to put together a blog post than for someone who genuinely enjoys writing.
Podcasting: How It Works
Podcasting is, in a way, a much more intimate form of content than blogging. While blogging does go a long way towards establishing your credibility, remember that people still can’t see your face or hear your voice.
With a podcast, you’re directly in their ear, so to speak. They can hear your tone of voice, they can hear the inflections in your voice, you can convey humor, sarcasm, excitement, and other emotions more effectively than you can with writing.
There are also several ways to go about releasing your podcast episodes. Some people like to do it in seasons where you get new episodes for a length of time and then they take a longer break. It’s similar to how TV shows work.
Others like to publish a new episode weekly and some podcasters release several episodes per week.
You can also have solo episodes where it’s just you as well as guest episodes where you talk to other people in the same or similar industry as you.
Here are interesting podcast statistics to consider:
USA accounts for 47.9% of podcast listeners, followed by the United Kingdom with 6.3%, and Canada with 5.0%
72% of listeners who have listened to a podcast for four or more years have purchased a sponsored ad
81% of podcast listeners say they pay attention to podcast ads more than they do to radio, TV commercials, billboards, and even digital ads on social media
Podcasting is a more intimate way of creating content but you will need to invest more time and get yourself a high-quality microphone.
What Do I Need to Start Podcasting?
This is where podcasting gets a little trickier than blogging. You’ll still need your computer and an internet connection but you’ll also need a good, high-quality microphone and audio recording software.
Audio quality is super important when it comes to podcasts so you’ll need to keep your recording conditions in mind. Now that doesn’t mean that you need a dedicated studio room with sound proofing in your house.
You can invest in some soundproofing foam and add it to a few strategic places on the wall. I also know of a podcaster who records her episodes in a closet in her house because it gives her the best sound quality.
If you choose to have guests on your podcast, you’ll need a video conferencing tool like Zoom so you can record the interview with the other person.
You’ll also need to learn how to edit your podcast episodes but that is one task that you could outsource to someone on your team or a dedicated podcast editor.
How to Make Your Podcast Work Harder For You?
Your podcast episodes can be repurposed similarly to blog posts but with one added benefit — you can use the transcript of your podcast episode as a blog post for your blog.
Other than that, you can pull snippets from the transcript to share on social media, you can create shorter audio clips and publish them on Instagram as video content, you can create pins that lead to your podcast episodes as well as to blog posts created from those podcast episodes, and more.
Pros and Cons of Podcasting
As mentioned before, one of the biggest benefits of podcasting is that it can build trust with your audience slightly faster than just written content. It’s a more intimate experience, almost like you’re having a conversation over coffee.
Podcast episodes can also be consumed on the go which is why so many people enjoy listening to them as they can go about doing other things while the episode is playing.
And, of course, you can monetize your podcast similarly to how you can monetize a blog post. By adding affiliate links to your show notes or by adding sponsored ads.
The con of podcasting is that it is more time-consuming than writing. With a blog post, you can go from idea to draft to publish in one day.
With a podcast, you have to add the steps of recording the episode, editing it, and then publishing it on your podcast platform before you can publish it on your blog or website.
And then, you still need to edit the transcript to make it easier to read and digest for people who prefer to read rather than listen.
Plus, if you have guests, you’ll also need to coordinate recording times which can be difficult to pull off, especially if you have guests from all over the world who might not be in the same time zone for you.
Fun fact, I once stayed up until 2AM for a guest podcast interview because the host was located in Australia and it took us weeks to find a time that worked.
It might seem crazy but the podcast had an audience that was a perfect fit for my services and it did result in several clients hiring me. In the end, it was worth it to me to stay up that late and go forward with the interview.
YouTube/Video Content: How It Works
If podcasting is more intimate, then video definitely takes the cake in terms of establishing your authority, expertise, and trust building. Not only can people hear your voice but they can see you which means they can form a relationship with you faster than they could when relying solely on your blog posts.
Here are a few fun stats to keep in mind when it comes to video content (all of these come from HubSpot):
YouTube is the most widely used tool when it comes to video content and is used by 90% of marketers
89% of people who watch an explainer video were swayed to make a purchase (not just physical but also apps and software)
96% of marketers agree that video has helped increase user understanding of their offers (either products or services)
So, as you can see, the numbers don’t lie. Video content (long form video) can have a massive impact on your bottom line.
Typically, most people who use video focus on using YouTube. However, that doesn’t mean YouTube is your only option. You can also go live on your favorite platform which has even more benefits given that people can interact with you in real time.
Unless you’ve decided to become a professional YouTuber, most business owners who use video as their primary content typically produce one or two videos per week. And given what all is involved in video content creation, it’s not really surprising. Which brings me to the next point: what do you need to start creating video content?
Video is one of the most demanding content formats to create but the benefits far outweigh the negatives
What Do I Need to Start Creating Video Content
In terms of creating content, video is the most demanding. Good audio quality is still super important. In fact, I’ve heard from several people that audio quality is more important than your video quality.
Now, this sounds odd at first, sure.
But when you think about it for a second, it makes sense. If they can hear you but the video quality is not that great, chances are they’ll stick around — especially if your video content is more of a talking-head video.
But if they have trouble seeing AND hearing you, chances are they will move on to the next video in their queue before you’re done with your intro.
This is not to say that you don’t need to pay attention to your camera. But you also don’t need to invest heavily in the most expensive video camera out there. If you have a smartphone with a decent camera, that’s all you need to get started along with a good microphone.
Natural lighting (or good lighting) is also important as your videos will look more polished and professional.
You’ll also need to learn the basics of video editing and a decent video recording and editing software.
How to Make Your Video Content Work Harder For You?
If you ask me which type of content gives you the most bang for your buck, I’ll tell you that it’s video. You can repurpose it into short video clips, Reels, podcast episodes, blog posts, and the usual repurposing you’d normally do with a written piece of content.
You can also combine several of your videos into one long video that can be repurposed into compilations or mini courses of sorts that you can sell on your website.
Pros and Cons of Video Content
By now, we’ve established that video content is beneficial not only because it helps build your authority even faster but also because you can truly repurpose it in a multitude of ways.
You can monetize it by mentioning affiliate links, using YouTube monetization platform, as well as doing sponsored videos.
The biggest con of video content is that it is the most-time consuming type of content to create. Not only do you have to come up with content ideas but also find the time to record each video, edit it, and upload it to YouTube.
Plus, for some people showing up on camera can be quite intimidating and uncomfortable. But it does get easier the more you do it — ask me how I know. Also, while you’re here, did you know I have a YouTube channel where I share Squarespace, business, and design tips? If that’s your cup of tea, why not subscribe to my channel 😉?
If you use live video, then you need to make sure that your internet connection is stable enough and fast enough to ensure there is no stuttering and no buffering as this can get annoying for your audience.
Blogging vs Podcast vs Video: Which Content Type Is Right For You?
So now we’ve gone over each type of content and you should have a fairly good idea of what’s involved in the creation process for blogs, videos, and podcast episodes. But how do you decide which content type is right for you?
After all, there are proponents for each content type and every single one of them claims their preferred content type is the ultimate best.
Here are the only three things you should consider when it comes to which content type or format is right for you:
Your time
Your personal preference/personality
Your audience preferences
That’s it. That’s the whole secret. While stats I’ve cited above are certainly interesting, don’t let those stats be the only thing that sways you one way or the other.
If you’re pressed for time each week and you don’t feel like working on weekends, then podcasting or video content might not be the right choice for you.
If you absolutely hate writing, then blogging might not be the best choice for you. However, you can use Voice Typing in Google Docs or a tool like Otter to “speak” your blog post and have it automatically transcribed for you. That’s a great option if you’re not really digging the idea of podcasting.
It’s true that podcasting and video can help you establish trust and credibility a little faster but that doesn’t mean you’re doomed if you really want to write rather than show your face on camera.
Plus, if your audience doesn’t really listen to podcasts, then you won’t get good results with podcasting. The same applies for any other content format.
Ultimately, what matters most is to create content that your audience is interested in, in a format that they enjoy, and in the way that is most convenient for you.
You might have to do a little market research to figure out what your audience prefers but it is worth it as you will have direct insight into what works best for them.
Final Thoughts
And that wraps it up. Hopefully, by now you know what content type would be best for you. The only thing left to do now is to create an action plan and start putting your content out there.
Want to learn more about creating content that gets you clients on the regular? Check out my Win Clients With Content course.
It’s your step-by-step plan to find ideas that your ideal audience cares about, creating a realistic content creation schedule you can stick to, and making your content work harder for you — all without posting on social media 24/7.
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