Blog vs. Instagram, a massive debate that’s been going on for years. In this article, I’ll discuss whether you should choose between blogging or starting an Instagram account.
Both options have pros, like making money and building a community, but they also come with cons, like being time-consuming to grow and algorithm changes.
I cannot convince you that either blogging or Instagram is better. Still, I’ll help you decide which platform you should choose through statistics, five questions to ask yourself, as well as a compromise you can make.
Let’s get straight into the question of Blog vs. Instagram: What platform should you choose?
Blogging vs Instagram
What is blogging?
Blogging is the form of writing and media that gets self-published online. To start a blog, you need to buy a domain (website name), web hosting and join a platform like WordPress. You can build the website however you’d like with a free or paid theme and start writing about whatever you’d like.
Basically, blogs are websites that have posts on them. “Striving Blogger” is my blog and domain name, and you’re reading one of my posts.
Blogging statistics (source OptinMonster):
- Each month, around 409 million users view more than 20 billion pages.
- 77% of internet users read blogs.
- There are more than 500 million blogs out of 1.7 billion websites.
- There are 63,000 Google searches every second.
What is Instagram?
Instagram is a free social media platform where users can upload photos, videos, stories and connect with friends. Starting an Instagram account is straightforward; all you need to do is enter a mobile number or email address, your full name, a username, and a password. It’s as simple as that.
Instagram is a lot easier to start with than a blog and is excellent for non-techy individuals.
Instagram statistics (source Hootsuite):
- 1+ billion people use Instagram every month.
- 500 million people use Stories every day.
- 1074 photos are uploaded every second.
- More than 50 billion photos have been uploaded to Instagram.
How much can bloggers make?
Bloggers can make anywhere from $0 to $1,000,000+ a month; it greatly depends on the niche and audience. Blogging is saturated and isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It’ll take months or even a year before you start seeing consistent traffic and income.
According to Income School’s research, the average EPMP (earnings per 1000 pageviews) for bloggers is $29.08. If a blogger is getting 100k pageviews a month, they’re likely to earn $2908 for that month.
Remember, this number is an average across all niches, and I’ve seen EPMP’s hit over $800 from bloggers like Adam Enfroy.
- Display advertising: Ads that are placed all around the blog. It’s a passive form of income, and bloggers can earn from $1 – $50 per 1000 pageviews.
- Affiliate marketing: When a user buys a product through a tracked (affiliate) link, a blogger will make a commission on the total purchase cost. These rates often vary from 5% – 50%, depending on the product or service.
- Digital products: Selling digital printables, photography and spreadsheets are an easy way bloggers can make a bit of extra income. These products range in price from $0.99 to $250+.
- Courses: If a blogger is seen as an ‘expert’ in a particular niche, then a course is a great income stream for them. Courses can be video or text-based and range in price from $9 – $1000.
- Sponsored posts: A business will pay bloggers to write about a specific service or product and promote it to their audience. The pay varies depending on page views and audience loyalty.
Recommended read: 17 Highest Paid Bloggers in 2021
How much can Instagrammers make?
Instagrammers can make anywhere from $0 to $500,000+ a month, depending on their followers and engagement rates. It’s a challenging social media platform to break into, but you can earn an incredible income depending on your number of followers once done.
According to Finance Buzz, brands will often pay $5 to $10 per thousand followers. This means that an influencer with 1 million followers could score $5,000 to $10,000 for a single post.
Instagrammers make money much different from bloggers, so it’s hard to compare followers to page views in terms of pay.
How Instagram influencers make money:
- Ads/sponsored posts: Work with brands to promote their products or services. Can make $5 – $10+ per 1000 followers.
- Digital products: Selling Lightroom presets, eBooks, photography, or video is another way to earn consistent income from your Instagram audience.
- Affiliate marketing: Earn money if someone purchases a product through a tracked (affiliate) link.
- Courses: A video or text-based course on a relevant topic in your niche can earn you excellent money. Courses range in price from $9 to over $200.
I’m mutuals with a person that has a following of over 300k, and they charge $3,000 – $5,000 per sponsored post.
Is a blog better than Instagram?
Considering they’re two entirely different platforms, it’s hard to conclude if a blog is better than Instagram.
On the one hand, blogging is great for expressing your ideas through writing, building your own website, and making consistent money. On the other, blogging is time-consuming, difficult to understand, and there’s no particular way to go viral (unlike Instagram).
Instagram is a fun way to share visual content, build up a following of like-minded people, and make money through sponsored posts and digital products. On the other hand, Instagram is also time-consuming, difficult to build a following, and can be mentally exhausting.
Again, I can’t convince you to choose a blog or Instagram; you have to make that decision for yourself. But, in this next section, I’ll ask you five questions to help you discover which platform you should prioritize.
Recommended read: How to start a profitable blog in 2021
5 Questions to Ask Yourself
1. What content do you love to create?
When deciding between these two platforms, you should first figure out what content you love to create.
Are you a person who loves writing? Or, do you love taking photos and being in front of the camera?
Do you want to build up followers and likes? Or build a community of like-minded individuals?
If you’re a good writer, then starting a blog may be the perfect platform for you.
Or, if you like more media-based content (photos and videos), then starting an Instagram business may just be an ideal route.
2. How much spare time do you have?
Do you have a lot of spare time? Or, barely spare time? This is a significant factor in deciding between Instagram and blogging.
If you only have a spare 30 minutes each day, then I’d highly recommend choosing Instagram.
Why you may ask?
Because blogging takes so much time! A solid blog post can take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours to write. This writing time doesn’t factor in keyword research, sourcing photos, or promoting the post.
Instagram is handy because you can take dozens of photos within a day and post them throughout the month. You could also do a photoshoot with five different outfits in an hour and have five posts ready. This doesn’t work the same for bloggers.
3. Do you have perseverance?
The third question of starting a blog vs. Instagram account is to ask yourself if you have the patience and determination to build on either platform.
I hate to break it to you, but building up a following in 2021 is tough. You have millions of people to compete with, and it’ll take a lot of time and hard work to get the ball rolling.
This translates to months without making a single dollar, all while spending hours each day building your online presence.
It often takes bloggers 18 – 24 months before they’re making a full-time income, and it can take influencers years to hit 100,000 followers or start making money.
So, do you have the perseverance required to build an audience of followers or page views?
4. What type of community do you want to build?
The Instagram community vs. the blogging community is entirely different.
With Instagram, you can easily connect with other people in your niche by liking or commenting on their photos, as well as sending them a quick DM. You can discover new accounts with a quick hashtag search as well.
With blogging, you can comment on posts or send an email, which they might never respond to. It’s not really the same, is it?
Blogging can feel very isolating, where you most likely won’t talk to anyone online for the first few months, or you won’t get feedback or comments on your new posts.
Instagram is the opposite. You can immerse yourself amongst like-minded people, get likes and comments on your new posts, and build genuine connections with others.
Suppose you’re looking for a community with instant gratification and the ability to message others easily. In that case, Instagram is the platform you should choose.
Or, if you don’t mind that you won’t have to reach out to others, blogging is the other option you should choose.
5. What makes you the happiest?
The last question of the debate between a blog vs. Instagram is what platform will make you the happiest. It’s always easy to follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing, but maybe just take a step back and figure out what feels right for you.
I remember starting an Instagram account for my photography and feeling drained. I hated the Instagram algorithm, the amount of time I spent on it with little return, and the race for followers.
So you know what I did? I stopped posting to it and started a blog instead. Four months later, I’m glad I prioritized blogging over Instagram.
So my last and most crucial piece of advice for you is to do whatever makes you the happiest.
Come to a compromise
If you’re still unsure if you should choose to start a blog or an Instagram account, the next best thing is to create both. You could start a blog in a specific niche (like travel, fashion, e.g.) and use your Instagram account to drive traffic directly to your blog.
This way, you’re not missing out on either platform, and you’re able to diversify your traffic and income streams. It’s also a great option because you get to experience both communities.
Conclusion
So there we have the debate over blog vs. Instagram, a question that many have asked.
Both platforms are great and have their own set of pros and cons; you just have to be the one to decide which platform is ideal for you.
I’ve personally chosen blogging as my central platform as it’s more consistent and doable for me. I also run an Instagram account, but it’s mainly to drive traffic to this blog.
Hopefully, this article has helped you decide between blogging or Instagram. Make sure to let me know in the comments below! 😃
Blog vs. Instagram: What platform do you primarily use in 2021?
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