Everyone online seems to be asking the same question: Should I start a blog or a YouTube channel if I want to make money? I’ve seen this debate play out in comment sections, Facebook groups, and DMs for years and most of the answers you find leave out the part that actually matters.
After being online since 2014 building through self-publishing, blogging, digital products, and YouTube I want to give you my honest take. Not the hype version. The real version that comes from actually doing it.
And let me say this upfront: this is not about one platform being better than the other. It’s about which one builds income faster for the kind of business you want to run.
Before Anything Else: Get Clear on What You Want
I can give you all the strategy in the world, but if you don’t have clarity on what you actually want, you’re going to keep bouncing from thing to thing because someone online said so. Even this post take it with a grain of salt unless you already know that blogging or YouTube is something you genuinely want to build into your world.
There’s a difference between casually posting on YouTube and actually becoming someone who builds a YouTube channel as part of a long-term business ecosystem. Know which one you’re choosing.
Let’s Talk About Blogging And No, It’s Not Dead
I need to clear this up right now: blogging is not dead. It has never been dead. Go Google how to do literally anything right now. You’re going to get one of two things a YouTube video or a blog post. That’s it. The information doesn’t appear out of thin air. Someone wrote it.
News outlets, journalists, and online creators continue to thrive because people search for information every single day, and blog posts deliver it. The key is making sure your blog is searchable that it’s built around what people are actually looking for.
When I think about blogging, here’s what comes to mind: slow and steady income. Blogging is search-based. People find my articles while I’m living my life. One article can keep working for me years from now, compounding quietly in the background. That’s the energy that fits my business quiet, intentional, sustainable.
Blogging is also a natural home for:
- Affiliate links
- Links to your digital products and books
- Pinterest traffic that keeps driving readers to your content
- Building organic, long-term SEO authority
For my WordPress site at http://www.sharlritadeloatch.com, blogging is where I host my main long-form content. But I also write on Medium.com, which I love because it has built-in SEO meaning when someone searches for something, Medium articles genuinely show up in results. Medium is part of my repurposing ecosystem, and it even has an email subscription feature so readers can follow along automatically. My Medium articles are intentionally short no more than 300 words straight to the point, like a mini version of a longer idea.
I also use Substack as part of my writing ecosystem, though I’m still learning how well it indexes in search. What I do know is that I’ve personally found Medium articles through Google searches but haven’t come across Substack posts the same way. Both platforms can work just know what you’re using each one for.
Now Let’s Talk About YouTube
YouTube builds connection faster. When people can hear your voice, see how you think, and watch how you show up trust develops quickly. And trust speeds up income.
Even before monetization, being visible on YouTube means I’m still making sales. People find a video, connect with how I think, and then they’re in my ecosystem buying a digital product, grabbing a book, or signing up for a course. The visibility translates directly into movement in the business.
If blogging builds quiet authority, YouTube builds visible authority. And when you put those two things together? That’s where the real power is.
“YouTube is the spark. Blogging is the slow fire. Work those together and it can be magic.”
Which One Actually Builds Income Faster?
Here’s my honest answer after years of doing both:
YouTube builds income faster because people connect with you quicker. The trust factor accelerates.
Blogging builds income deeper because it compounds. One article keeps circulating, keeps ranking, keeps bringing people into your world long after you published it.
But here’s the thing most people won’t tell you: it was never really blogging versus YouTube. The real answer is how they work together.
My Actual Content Process: One Piece of Content, a Whole Ecosystem
Here’s how I keep my business simple and my content working hard without running me into the ground:
- I start with a YouTube video
- That video becomes a blog post (sometimes a week later I don’t do it all in one day)
- Then a Substack post
- Then a Medium article
- Then Pinterest pins pointing to the video and later to the blog post
One piece of content becomes a whole ecosystem. No matter where someone finds me Google, Pinterest, Medium, YouTube they end up connected to my world. That’s how quiet income works. That’s how you make money while you’re living your life.
I also keep a repurposing spreadsheet to track all of this because I’m not doing everything the same day. It helps me stay consistent without burning out. (If you want access to that system, it’s part of my YouTube membership.)
Don’t Sleep on Pinterest
Whether you start with blogging or YouTube, add Pinterest to the mix. Pinterest is not a social media platform it’s closer to a search engine where people go to discover ideas and find their next thing. When you create pins that lead to your blog posts or YouTube videos, you’re building another channel of organic, compounding traffic.
Pinterest is a slow burn, just like blogging. But it is so worth it. I know women whose entire business model is Pinterest and blogs — and as their monthly views grow (think 10k, 20k+), that’s when the money starts flowing consistently. The key is showing up consistently.
Every time I publish a video, I immediately create three Pinterest pins directing traffic to it. When the blog post goes up a week later, I create three more pins pointing to the article. The ecosystem keeps growing, layering, and working as long as I keep showing up.
So Which Should You Start With?
Here’s how I’d break it down:
Start with blogging if: You love writing, you’re not ready to be on camera yet, you prefer quiet traffic, and you want a slower-burn approach that compounds over time. Pair it with Pinterest from day one.
Start with YouTube if: You want faster visibility, faster trust, and faster movement in your business. You’re ready to show up on camera and build that visible authority.
The real answer: If YouTube is in the plan at all, I would make it the foundation because YouTube leads to everything else. If I’m doing YouTube, I will have a blog post. The video always comes first for me now.
No matter which platform you choose, know this: you are starting from scratch, and there is going to be a season of putting in the reps before things compound. That’s not a warning it’s just the process. Every platform has one. The goal is to love what you’re building enough to stay consistent through that season.
“I want a body of work. If in 2027 I decide I don’t want to show up online for a whole year, I’ll have such a deep body of work that it has no choice but to make me money.”
That’s the Quiet Money Operator mindset. Plant the seeds. Build the systems. Let the body of work do the work.
Let’s chat in the comments — are you starting with blogging or YouTube first? Which one resonates with you and the kind of business you’re building?
