I think they require significantly different levels of resources... being a witness and tapping into the DHF fund really do require you to be very well known and trusted on the Hive blockchain, it's really hard for new people to get traction even if they have some really good ideas.

Earning by curation is much easier, but you really do need significant Hive Power to really earn this way.

Writing blog posts requires the fewest resources and popularity, and while being popular does help, there are services that specifically look for good posts created by people who don't regularly get a lot of votes.