Should you start a blog OR should you start a YouTube channel?

Which has better money making potential?

I’m going to give you a look behind the curtain so that you can make the decision that’s best for your lifestyle and goals.

Personally, I started my first professional blog in 2012. I then started a podcast in 2015, on the same subject. Finally, I launched my YouTube channel in 2016.

You can see the progression below. The blog came first!

This blog focuses on crowdfunding, ecommerce, and online business. I’ve been writing on this topic for many years, and I’ve also created books and courses.

I was writing this blog for a few years, but then I decided I wanted to “level up” my game. I wanted to continue to challenge myself, and not just get comfortable with my success.

Shortly after coming to this decision, I launched the Crowdfunding Demystified podcast, which has been now downloaded more than 100,000 times.

This podcast has been received extremely well in my niche. It’s helped thousands and thousands of listeners.

At first, my initial podcasts sucked. They were horrible.

I sounded meek, shy, and very monotone.

But, I kept at it. Over time, just with blogging, I improved.

(Yup – I sucked at blog writing too).

Once I got to the point where I was pretty decent at the podcast, I asked myself… how can I grow EVEN further?

This is why I launched the YouTube channel!

The YouTube channel has attracted more than 3,500 subscribers. It’s now a regular way that people come across my work.

I’ve grown a ton as a result of launching this channel. My speaking has improved tenfold. My video quality has dramatically improved.

Again – it didn’t start there. If you go back in my archives, you’ll see how BAD my initial videos were.

Now, I’m working to grow my second YouTube channel (which is for readers of THIS blog).

On my new YouTube channel, I share online business tips, create vlogs, and do cool shit, like fly planes and drones.

I want to share this with you because it’s 100% possible for ANYONE out there to succeed with blogging OR YouTube.

You just have to follow a proven strategy and, if possible, seek out the assistance of mentors.

I’m going to go into the subtle differences between each medium so that you can decide which is best for YOU.

Blogging… what they won’t tell ya

Got that money on yo mind?

Okay, let’s talk income.

Incomeeeee!

When I went full-time as a blogger in 2014, I made $30k in profit that year. The next year, I earned just over $50k.

$50k was my goal all along. Why?

Well, I turned down a job to pursue my entrepreneurial ventures. I’d have been paid $50k per year.

So I was like… well… if I can make that much on MY OWN, then I clearly made the right choice.

That income was comprised of a few different revenue streams, including:

• Google Adsense Program
• Private Advertisements
• eBook Income
• Affiliate Marketing Income
• Some Services

It’s not like I just made of a ton of money from advertisements. I had other income streams as well. I was writing about 2-3 articles a week.

Most bloggers won’t tell you that you can’t make money just from blogging.

You have to do something else…

I share that and more in the video below.

The great thing about blogging is that my income potential is literally unlimited.

I am completely convinced that I’m going to be a millionaire some day. For now, I just make a healthy income and have a lot of freedom.

I’m so grateful that I can work from anywhere. I also love not having a boss.

Here are some of the massive benefits of becoming a full-time blogger:

• Get paid to write. If you love to write, this is heaven.
• Work from anywhere, anytime.
• No more commutes to work or distasteful bosses.
• The “cool factor” that comes with having an audience.
• Longterm financial freedom.
• Don’t have to be on camera or do public speaking (if you don’t want)

You can even hire freelancers to write articles for you, so that your time isn’t tied to blogging.

Pretty cool, huh?

These are some of the downsides:

• Unlikely to make a living off of just advertisements
• Need to learn the basics of this business
• Writing. Yes, you can outsource it, but it definitely helps if you can recognize good writing.
• It takes time. It took me a year to go full-time.

Ultimately, your success with blogging will depend on a few different factors. For the most part, you have control over all of these.

This means that you could really make this a career (if you want to). I’d recommend learning:

• SEO (Search engine optimization)
• Effective titling and structure of blog posts
• Copywriting. This is different from traditional writing.
• Email marketing

I will show you how to do all of these in the Lifestyle Business Accelerator.

If you’re still confused, here’s a simple test for deciding whether or not to become a blogger.

Ready?

Do you want to become a TEACHER or an ENTERTAINER?

If you want to produce emotionally engaging and entertaining content, I’d lean towards YouTube over blogging.

But, if you want to teach a subject or produce educational content, then I’d lean towards blogging.

Let’s talk a bit about YouTube and how it differs from blogging.

YouTube… should you start a channel?

YouTube is very different from blogging, for a few key reasons.

In order succeed with YouTube, you must:

• Have high quality video. I use the E0S 70D Camera.
• Learn to edit videos. I just use iMovie.
• Study YouTube SEO and suggested search algorithm.
• Create attractive titles and thumbnails.

Rather than mastering the craft of writing, you’re going to need to master public speaking video setup, and video editing.

If you want to be in the spotlight, then YouTube is awesome. But, for people who are camera shy, this might not be the best platform.

I put together a YouTube video for you revealing how I got my very first 100 subscribers for my side channel.

I think that the number one OVERLAP between blogging and YouTube is that with both mediums, you have to learn to market yourself. You need to learn how to drive traffic and as a result, subscriptions.

This is a tough question to answer, but in general, I think that if you’re looking to go the more “entertainment” route, then it’s an excellent idea to explore YouTube.

Soooooo what about income potential? How much am I making?

Usually, when we think of “YouTube money” we immediately think of advertisements. This is the WRONG way to think about making money online.

I’ll explain why this is a deadly mistake, but before I do, I know you’re wondering…

How much…

Do I make…

With ads…

At the time I’m writing this article, 2017 isn’t over yet. I’ll probably end up making about $1,000 for the year from just advertisements.

This is from a little over 200,000 views.

Meaning, if I wanted to earn $100k a year from YouTube advertisements, I’d need about 20 million annual views.

Sounds depressing, right?

WRONG!

I’ve made far more money from this channel than $1,000. You’re only getting a very surface level glimpse at the revenue.

I’ve also earned income from:

• Affiliate links
• Books
• Courses
• Promotional services

YouTube will do everything in their power to keep your subscribers on YouTube, because this is when THEY make good money.

If you want to succeed with YouTube, you need to become a student of online marketing and learn how to monetize traffic.

The bulk of the money being made on YouTube by educators, like myself, comes from the “back end.”

These are the behind the scenes process, email funnels, and webinars that I use to convert visitors, viewers, readers, and listeners into customers.

From this perspective, there is no income ceiling. I know of many multi-million dollar businesses that operate on YouTube and don’t have anywhere near 1 million subscribers.

The name of the game is not “how many views can you get,” but rather how savvy your sales and online marketing skills are.

Ironically, this is something I learned from making lots of mistakes and eventually cracking the code as to how bloggers make a career out of writing.