Blogging vs Vlogging

** Guest post by: http://www.harryblogs.com/ - this blog is run by both Harry and his girlfriend Hannah, their blog is amazing and it is definitely worth checking out! Now on to their blog post...

Blogging and Vlogging… I’m sure we all know what these two things are right? For those of you simpletons who hadn’t already realised, this what you are reading right now… this is a blog. DUH!!

Whilst on the topic, let’s talk a bit about blogging. It is basically an online log where the author can write and post information on their experiences, thoughts and opinions to share with the world. Many of you may write your own blog like myself and if you do then good job and keep at it if it’s what you enjoy doing! The amazing thing about blogs is that they are extremely simple to set up and can be done with no cost whatsoever. Amazing eh?! Of course and as with anything in this money driven world, there may be some costs along the line (for example; if you want to purchase a custom domain such as .com or .co.uk) however by using platforms such as WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr it can all be started for free! And lets be honest... who doesn't like free stuff?

When deciding whether or not to start a blog you may find yourself wondering how the heck you are going to make your blog popular with such little equipment and zero experience. But the truth is, very little equipment is actually required to start a blog of your own. All you need is a laptop/computer and a solid internet connection and you are good to go! Once you have chosen your blogging platform and your blog topic (or niche as you may see it being referred to elsewhere) you can begin your blogging journey. If you can write well and convey your thoughts and experiences through words on your blog posts then blogging may be ideal for you. Maybe you didn’t get the A* grade’s in English Language that your Mummy and Daddy always pushed you towards, but in my honest opinion, I believe a lot of the skills are learned along the way! And once you build up your audience, you never know… maybe in a few years you will be making a living through your blog! (How? By using techniques such as affiliate marketing)

The downfalls. Other than the writing capabilities, you may find that blogging may just not be the right one for you. SEO (search engine optimization) is a complex system which involves using keywords and appropriate descriptions in the right places on your blog in order for it to show up on search engines. This will increase traffic. Why am I telling you this? Because when talking about websites or blogs, you will see this phrase ‘SEO’ everywhere. It is a hard skill to master but not to worry… I’ve not even got to as far as learning this yet.

Along with this, blogging may become very time consuming. Once you have built up an audience who enjoy reading your blog, they will want to come back and read new interesting posts on a regular basis. This means that writing posts for your blog and checking your blog will have to become a regular part of your daily routine. I can speak from experience in saying that blogging can take up some valuable time but if that’s what you enjoy doing then what’s the problem. After all, it’s much better than being sat in an office chair being nagged by your boss for falling asleep due to sleep deprivation and constant stress. You work under your own time schedule and there are no rules because you ARE the boss of your blog. Anyway… I think I’ve got the point across here.

Over to Vlogging now. This is a harder topic for me to talk about because I don’t actually vlog, however I can understand why others do and it is also something I can see myself venturing into in the future. So what exactly is the big difference? What is the big deal here? And the answer is in fact there is not much difference. Vlogging also involves sharing information and experiences, however Vloggers achieve this by posting video’s online rather than in a written format on a website. Setting up vlog’s and posting them to site’s such as YouTube can actually be very simple and a whole bunch of fun, providing you have the right equipment. In my opinion, I feel if you have the gift of being able to stand and talk to a camera without looking like a complete fool then Vlogging is definitely the route you should take. It allows you to connect with your audience on a much more personal level and the audience can get to know you as a person and may feel more obliged to subscribe and follow you. Many many YouTubers make a living from their thousands of views and what makes them so different to you?

But here is my problem… The equipment needed to produce a good Vlog nowadays and edit it on a level which is almost comparable with the videos being posted by popular Vloggers is expensive sh*t (excuse the language). I heard some youtubers are now posting videos in 4k quality. 4k… what even is that?!? A good quality camera is an essential for vlogging, come-on it’s no brain teaser. But the point is that cameras are not cheap tools and most people don’t have one lying around the house. Not to mention the microphone you will need to record your voice which also don’t come at a healthy price. I mean… if you want to sell your house and start Vlogging then be my guest. No seriously though… the equipment needed for Vlogging can be really costly and are not tools which many people already have, whereas I think we can all agree that a laptop is more commonly found in peoples households than a Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000. Wait don’t… I know what you’re thinking… HARRY for f*ck sake, my iPhone 4 came with a built in camera and microphone you stupid piece of sh*t. Well, iPhone’s and other cameras and microphones can be used to film Vlog’s but all I’m saying is that the quality may not catch many people’s eyes. But I guess we all have to start from somewhere ey. My advice for Vlogger’s would be to not try too hard to be funny and try and talk about topics people would be interested in viewing, such as; your unusual talent or the time you accidentally killed your brothers hamster.

Editing Vlog’s can also be very time consuming and many of you may struggle to find the confidence to stand in front of a camera and talk about your life. Don’t worry… I know the feeling.

Anyways… I’d just like to finish by saying there is no winner here. It just depends on what you are most suited to doing. All in all, I’d say if you are a confident and comical person then have a go at Vlogging, but if you are rather shy and would much prefer writing about your experiences and feel you are a gifted writer then try Blogging. After all, you can always change which method you use or even run a Blog alongside a Vlog to attract more viewers. The choice is your's but make sure whatever you do, you enjoy what you do!

Sorry for such a long post. Congrats if you made it all the way to here. And as always… thanks for reading & stay awesome guy's.

Harry!

Comments

  1. [ Smiles ] I will stick with blogging for now; when I get a good video camera, I would dabble with a bit of vlogging.

    On the bright side, some smartphones like the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 provides their owners with remarkable video quality.

    If you don't have one, you can borrow one from a friend; you can tell them, "This is for my new vlogging project!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. aha! so true because I do know a lot of youtubers who do use their iphones for vlogs or videos! however, vlogs are so much more time consuming too, and you have to have a good editing software for the video and have a good thumbnail too!! but yeah, I am totally with you!! I will stick with blogging too haha :)

      Delete
  2. I think blogging is better in my case. It will be near impossible to teach someone C++in a vlog!!
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