Are you considering starting your own YouTube-channel or niche website? And are you confused about the difference between a YouTuber and a Vlogger? Or the difference between a vlog and a blog?
Don’t worry. You’re not alone. With all the new possibilities that exist online, new terms spring up every other week. So what is a vlog?
In short, a vlog is a video blog where a person records and shares thoughts, opinions, or experiences either for entertainment, educational, personal, or monetary purposes. For most vloggers, YouTube is the preferred platform for communication. Due to technological advancements in recent years, live-vlogging or streaming has also become popular.
This is, of course, only scratching the surface. There are a lot of different types of vlogs.
And the borders between a blog, a vlog, and a YouTube-video are blurred, which can make it a bit confusing if you’re planning to build your own audience online.
Speaking of which, I’ll also post some links to some great resources like vlogging cameras and tips for starting your own vlog.
At the end of the article, I’ve picked ten vlogging ideas that are easy to get started with, even if you’re a beginner.
But more on that in a minute.
What is the difference between a blog and a vlog?
The difference between a blog and a vlog is the medium of choice. In its simplest form, a blog consists of text to convey the message, whereas a vlog consists of video.
In reality the two mediums have mixed together though.
Fx a blog post often has videos (or vlogs) embedded into the post together with images, infographics, hyperlinks, polls, recipes, sound bites, and more.
And a vlog can include text in the video itself, but also below the video, that contains extra information, and links to the vloggers website or blog.
Also, including a transcription of everything that’s said in the video and including it as subtitles or in the text box below the video is a great way to increase SEO. So adding a transcription to a video a valuable tool for many vloggers.
What does the word blog mean?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a blog is a “regular record of your thoughts, opinions, or experiences that you put on the internet for other people to read.” The meaning of the word blog is a weblog, i.e., a log of “links, commentary, and personal thoughts and essays” shared on the web.
The popularity of blogging has sprouted many subgenres, e.g. micro-blogging which became popular due to the rise of Twitter.
I’d argue that the difference between a traditional website – such as a company website or a newspaper or magazine – and a blog has become increasingly smaller in recent years.
Today, many companies use blogs as a strategic way to give the company a more personal profile and a way to attract new customers through helpful blog content.
Likewise, many traditional newspapers have adopted bloggers, which allows for personal opinion pieces to get more room in the public debate.
What does the word vlog mean?
Where ‘blog’ is a truncation of the word weblog, ‘vlog’ is a truncation of the words ‘video blog.’ In other words, the meaning or definition of the word ‘vlog’ is a ‘video blog.’
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a video log is “a record of your thoughts, opinions, or experiences that you film and publish on the internet.”
In essence, the content of a video vlog can be the same as a blog’s content. It’s just the medium that’s changed.
That being said, if you want to show off your gimbal skills or amazing B-roll, then vlogging will work better.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t still write about the gimbal you use and how to use it – or share still photos from your B-roll in a blog post too. This is called syndication…
Consider Vlogs and Blogs as two sides of the same coin
If you’re planning to start a blog, you should consider starting a vlog at the same time – and vice versa – to take advantage of the power of each platform.
The sum of having content on both platforms is bigger than each platform on its own. This is called content syndication.
Most content works on both platforms. And it is a good strategy to syndicate or reuse your content to match both platforms because some prefer to read, and some prefer to watch a video.
For instance, if you have written a blog post, consider making a video too. In the video, you can mention the most important points from the blog post. Then tell the viewers that they can read more about it in the blog post, like I did in this video:
That way you can create traffic on both your channels.
You can syndicate your content by making a podcast, by uploading a video separately to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., and taking photos and sharing them on Instagram or Pinterest.
You can also team up with other bloggers and vloggers to make shared content and guest posts to boost your rankings.
What’s the difference between a vlogger and a YouTuber?
Some YouTubers are vloggers, but not all vloggers are YouTubers. A vlogger is a person who creates vlogs. A YouTuber is a person who creates videos on YouTube.
You can create vlogs on any video platform. You can even host the videos yourself and share them on your blog (though I wouldn’t recommend this due to the insane amount of data in a video compared to a piece of text).
For most vloggers though, YouTube is the platform of choice, hence the confusion.
What topic should you pick for your vlog?
If you’re considering creating your own vlog, what topic should you pick?
My answer to this is simple: whatever interests you. Chances are that you’re more likely to succeed, if you pick a topic that you’re excited and knowledgeable (or willing to learn) about.
It doesn’t matter if you’re not an expert within your field. Audiences like to see a person grow. And you might get some great feedback along the way from more experienced people within your field. Ignore the trolls, and focus on constructive criticism instead.
Don’t worry if there are other blogs or vlogs out there who talk about the same topic. There’s only one of you, so your take on it will always be unique.
10 vlogging ideas to get you started
If you’re in doubt about what topic to pick, here are 10 ideas, together with a brief explanation, which are easy to get into even if you’re a beginner at vlogging:
- Food vlog
- Family vlog
- Travel vlog
- Beauty vlog
- Daily vlog
- Tech vlog
- Music vlog
- Educational vlog
- Health and Fitness vlog
- Gardening vlog
1. What is a food vlog?
A food vlog is basically a video where you talk about food. It can be everything from talking about ingredients to showing the readers how to cook a specific dish.
2. What is a family vlog?
A family vlog is more of a personal kind of vlog, where you share your family life with the viewers. Maybe your family has a special interest you’d like to share?
3. What is a travel vlog?
A travel vlog is a vlog where you share footage from your travels. This can be either simple b-roll montages of the beautiful places, you’ve visited, or you can talk about the interesting places and share historic facts or recommend good places to visit in a particular region or country.
4. What is a beauty vlog?
A beauty vlog is a vlog where you share beauty tips. This can be everything from how to apply make-up, what make-up to buy, or how to make a particular hairstyle. But you can also get into fashion and share everything from the latest trends or where to find classic haute couture for cheap online.
5. What is a daily vlog?
A daily vlog is like a daily window to your life. It’s like a video diary, but a diary that you share with your followers online. You can talk about what’s on your mind that particular day.
6. What is a tech vlog?
A tech vlog deals with everything tech-related. It can deal with a particular niche like vintage photography lenses, or it can be about the latest gadgets. It can be reviews, unboxing videos, videos showing how to use specific tech, and more. The possibilities are endless.
7. What is a music vlog?
A music vlog is a vlog about anything related to music. A popular choice is to make a vlog where you make covers songs from your favorite artists. It can also be more educational in nature. Fx you can make online piano lessons, or break down jazz solos from famous jazz players.
8. What is an educational vlog?
An educational vlog is a vlog that teaches someone something. It can be anything really – from building a house to kitesurf, speaking a new language, or playing the guitar. What’s your area of expertise? Everyone has something they can teach others. Share it!
9. What is a health and fitness vlog
Health and fitness vlogs focus on your health and body. You can talk about specific exercises, how you lost ten pounds, the origins of a particular martial art, protein shakes and bars, and so much more.
10. What is a gardening vlog?
A gardening vlog is a vlog about gardening. If you’ve just bought your first house with a garden it can be about what you learn about grass, flowers, soil, etc. You can also share gardening tips about plants, fruits, vegetables, watering, gardening tools, and so much more.
Further reading
I hope this was helpful if you’re interested in getting started with your own blog or vlog?
If you want to learn more, here are some great articles for you:
- 26 Successful YouTubers Speak Out: “What I Wish I’d Known Before Starting My YouTube Channel”
- The Essential Vlogging Gear Checklist for New Vloggers
- Best Budget-Friendly YouTube Vlogging Cameras With A Flip Screen
- 10 Indoor Lighting Secrets for At-Home Video Content
- Ultimate Guide To The Tools And Equipment Youtubers Use
If you got any questions, please share it the comment section below.
Until then, happy vlogging!
Author
-
by
-
