Tuesday 21 May 2013

101 Ways To Make Money with YouTube & Web Videos PART 3

Wednesday 15 May 2013

101 Ways To Make Money with YouTube & Web Videos PART 2

Tools, Inspiration & Research

Before you jump into video production, you’d be wise to get acquainted with some of the cool tools and resources available to you:

Use Content ID To Protect Your Earnings. For those fortunate enough to make meaningful money from YouTube, it’s critical to protect your revenue stream by preventing others from essentially stealing your original content. Content ID is a free system that allows video owners to identify their original material, thereby capturing any earnings on such material that would otherwise be hijacked by copycats.
Become A Regular Reader Of YouTube Insight. YouTube’s Advertising Insight page is an analytics tool that allows content creators to get detailed information about their YouTube audience. That’s valuable information for anyone looking to make money off of YouTube.
Subscribe To YouTube Trends. If you want to make a sustainable living on YouTube (or just continue to generate some additional income), it’s important to stay current and always be coming up with new ideas. YouTube Trends is a great way to stay on top of current trends, and a great place for inspiration for that next big moneymaker.
Check Out The YouTube Playbook. Playbook is another official, free resource provided by YouTube. This one is designed to help partners grow their audience, complete with tips and best practices to help you reach the widest possible audience and maximize your earnings.
Get Familiar With YouTube Keyword Tool. This is another tool to help you figure out what interests the YouTube audience. Though it’s unlikely that the bulk of your viewers are coming from search volume within YouTube.com, it certainly doesn’t hurt to be aware of what current interests are.
Check In On the Official YouTube Blog. Checking in regularly on the official YouTube blog will keep you up to date on the latest trends and tools that can make your life easier and your monthly payment a bit bigger.
Get A Free YouTube Channel Report. SimplyMeasured offers a free report on your YouTube Channel, highlighting which videos are working (and why).
Bookmark YouTube Charts. The official statkeeper for YouTube, this site has information on what videos are popular now and what’s worked historically. (Fun fact: the most viewed videos of all time are Psy’s Gangnam Style, Justin Bieber’s Baby, and Jennifer Lopez’s On The Floor.)
Bookmark VidStatsX. This site aggregates a massive amount of data to show what’s popular on YouTube. In addition to the top channels and videos, there is significant granularity that allows users to see what’s popular now in specific categories.
Ask Questions At YTtalk. YTtalk.com is a massive online YouTube community, and can be a great resource for aspiring YouTubers searching for inspiration or just an answer to a quick question. The forums on this site are extremely active, and there’s a tremendous amount of great information shared by other YouTubers around the globe.

Monday 13 May 2013

101 Ways To Make Money with YouTube & Web Videos PART 1

101 Ways To Make Money with YouTube & Web Videos

May 7, 2013 by Michael J 0 Comments

Each year countless ambitious entrepreneurs set out to make a fortune through YouTube, with visions of massive followings, big paychecks, and a generally glorious career. Most of them, of course, fail to make millions monetizing their original video content–for a number of different of reasons. But there are countless YouTube success stories as well. Below, we provide 101 tips, tricks, inspirations, resources, and reading items for those looking to make a living (or at least some additional spending money) through YouTube or other online video sites. (By the way, sign up for the free MonetizePros newsletter for more features on video monetization.)

Ways To Make Money On YouTube

Become a YouTube Partner. The simplest and most common way to make money through YouTube involves partnering directly with YouTube and effectively splitting the money that is made off of ads. This includes both the ads that play during and before your videos, as well as the banner ads that are shown to the right of your video on YouTube.com. For a detailed breakdown of the various ad units, as well as where earnings for each are displayed, check outthis recent article from Chris Atkinson at ReelSEO. The biggest advantage of the YouTube Partner program is the convenience: it’s easy to get up and running and start earning some revenue. However, it’s going to be tough to get rich this way; only a very small portion of YouTube partners make the big bucks.
Sign up your own sponsors. There is, of course, another way to make money off of YouTube: cut out the middle man and sign up your own sponsors. If you’re able to build a substantial audience, you’ll have the ability to sign up sponsors for your programming who want to advertise their products and services to your target audience. There’s no simple formula for signing up sponsors for your program; it all depends on your audience, the number of potential sponsors, and their budgets. But if done correctly, this can be a very lucrative source of revenue for YouTube channels.
Promote your own merchandise. While many YouTubers focus on the “direct” monetization routs available, perhaps the biggest potential in video is in the opportunity to promote other products and services that are moneymakers for you. Giving away free video content can be a great way to make money–if you’re effectively promoting merchandise or services that your free users will pay for. If you have products or services to sell and a YouTube audience that would be interested in purchasing them, this might be your best monetization opportunity.
Go freemium style. YouTube can be a great way to generate leads for your paid services, and a “freemium” business model can be a great way to turn on the masses to your paid product. This concept is pretty simple; give away a bunch of content for free on YouTube, but hold back some of your best stuff behind a paywall on your own site. If you can get a big crowd to enjoy your free content, odds are that you’ll be able to get a portion of them to pay for your exclusive video as well. The Young Turks have implemented this model well; check out their channel for a good example of freemium.
Get an affiliate deal in place. If you don’t have a great premium product to sell, find someone who does–and cut yourself into their revenue stream. If you have a large and/or targeted audience, find a partner whose products you can promote in your videos and hash out a way that you can get credit for sending clients their way! Affiliate deals can be tough to monetize if there are no obvious partners for your channel, but there’s a huge opportunity here if you can effectively become a spokesman for another company in your videos.

Other Ways To Make Money Off Your Videos

Of course, YouTube isn’t the only source out there for monetizing your quality video content. Though it’s the most commonly used system (and for most people the best way to make money), there are some alternatives that may be better fits for some:

Become a “Motionmaker” at Dailymotion. DailyMotion has become a popular alternative you YouTube in recent years, and represents a way for video producers to cash in on popular submissions. The process is pretty simple; “Motionmakers” have the ability to upload their videos to Dailymotion and earn a portion of any advertising revenue generated.
Open up your Vimeo Tip Jar. Vimeo takes a different approach to monetizing videos. Instead of relying on ads, this site uses a “Tip Jar” model. That’s pretty much what is sounds like; viewers of Vimeo videos have the option to “Tip This Video,” which involves giving a tip of about $1 up to $500. Video producers get about 85% of all tips generated.
Work on hitting the Break.com home page. Break.com is a video sharing site that offers producers another unique way to make money. If your original video is featured on their homepage, they will pay you $400 to sell the video to them (or you can take $200 to license the video).
Sell access to your channel on Viddler. Viddler essentially allows video producers to sell access to their channels, either on a monthly or weekly basis. So if you have a product that you’re not interested in giving away for free, Viddler can be a useful solution to set up a paid content model.
Become a Blip.tv partner. Blip.tv is another video sharing site that allows video producers to monetize their content through advertisements. There are a number of ad options available, including preroll, overlay, postroll and even commerical breaks for series that qualify.

YouTube Success Stories

There are now countless examples of regular folks who have parlayed a clever or creative YouTube video into significant earnings. Below are a handful of videos that have made big bucks for their creators:

Natalie Tran. Aussie Natalie Tran was one of the first to hit it big on YouTube, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years through her “communitychannel” page (which has received over 450 million pageviews). Some of Tran’s biggest hits are videos are Cops (4.3 million views), Bad Loser (6.6 million), and How to fake a six pack (almost 35 million views). She has continued to attract millions of views since she broke through several years ago, and is now parlaying her YouTube stardom into a blossoming film career.
David After Dentist. Not surprisingly, cute kids can help a YouTube video tremendously. “David After Dentist,” a two minute video of a six-year old, post-teeth cleaning, has been viewed more than 100 million times. That hasreportedly translated into more than $100,000 in earnings for the parents–enough to pay for a college education on top of the dentist bill. David After Dentist proves that the best and most profitable YouTube videos are often completely unscripted and capture candid moments.
Philly D. Philip DeFranco, better known on YouTube as Philly D, has built several popular YouTube channels with millions of subscribers in total. The channel revolves around what Franco describes as “non news related things to yo face!” He also hosts the Philip DeFranco show Sunday through Thursday, where he talks about news and pop culture. By some estimates, Philly D earns close to $200,000 annually from his YouTube videos. Check out the ads running on his channel to get an idea for how this is possible.
The Young Turks. This political talk show, which started more than a decade ago and has evolved over the years, is another of the great YouTube success stories. The Young Turks have been extremely successful on YouTube through a very devoted fan base–towering high above many mainstream media outlets in terms of popularity. The Young Turks has become the largest online news show in the world, an impressive feat considering the lack of a traditional or mainstream brand.
Smosh. Smosh is the comedy duo of Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla (both of whom were born in 1987) who began to post their videos on YouTube in 2005 and have since grown to become the most popular YouTube channel out there. Smosh was acquired by Alloy Digital in July 2011. Terms weren’t disclosed, but odds are that Ian and Anthony made themselves a bit of walking around money in that deal.
Shaycarl. The story of how Shay Butler became a YouTube phenomenon is a strange one, complete with humble beginnings and a bit of good luck. From his birth in Utah to a Mormon mission in the West Indies to the day he discovered YouTube, Shay’s is an inspiring (and occasionally sad) story. Shay has parlayed comedy shorts into an online mini empire, in a journey that anyone looking to hit it big on YouTube can certainly admire.
Fred Figgelhorn. Fred is actually Lucas Cruikshank, who became a YouTube sensation as a teenager broadcasting from Nebraska. “Fred” describes himself as a “a really hyperactive, temper-throwing teenager who’s stuck in the mentality of a 6-year-old.” But that character has worked to the tune of a popular chennel and thousands in earnings.
Ryan Higa. This success story is another unlikely YouTube star: Ryan started uploading videos when he was a high schooler in Hawaii. Fast forward a few years and Ryan’s YouTube channel Nigahiga has some 7 million subscribers. When you have 30 minutes, take a listen to Ryan’s story in his own words, including a detailed discussion of his rise to YouTube stardom.
Annoying Orange. This channel is the brainchild of former MTV production assistant Dane Boedigheimer. Dane voices an orange who lives on a kitchen counter with other fruits and objects. The series became extremely popular on YouTube, and eventually spawned merchandise that’s been sold at JCPenney and other outlets. There has also been an Annoying Orange video game, which is available on iOS and Android devices.
Shane Dawson. Shane is a YouTuber who made his rise to celebrity after getting fired from a job at Jenny Craig for uploading a video of himself poledancing. Shane’s popular channel features a wide variety of content, including spoofs on music videos, celebrity impersonations, and comedy videos featuring recurring characters. Dawson’s first YouTube bits were videos that he and friends would turn in during high school instead of homework. He’s gone on to release several singles on iTunes.
Ray William Johnson. Ray’s big hit is the YouTube series Equals Three, which features him providing commentary on other viral videos. His channel has accumulated over 2.2 billion views and 7 million subscribers. RayWJ, as he’s known, reportedly takes home close to $1 million annuallyfrom his YouTube videos.
Epic Meal Time. Not all YouTube success stories are quirky teenage comics; Epic Meal Time is perhaps closer to the type of show you’d see on traditional cable television. The episodes are essentially “food porn” with each focusing on the preparation and consumption of a high calorie, meat-filled meal. This show is also unique in that it is monetized in multiple ways. In addition to traditional ads within videos, the creators sell a line of t-shirts and have also established referral programs with advertisers such as Netflix.
Jenna Marbles. Jenna Mourey, aka Jenna Marbles, has produced some of the most watched videos in the history of YouTube. A couple of her biggest hits have titles like “How To Trick People Into Thinking You’re Good Looking” and ”How To Avoid Talking To People You Don’t Want To Talk To.” Hear Jenna’s YouTube success story in her own words in this video, or read a unique profile of her popularity.
PewDiePie. Swedish gamer Felix Kjellberg is something of a cult phenomenon on YouTube; videos featuring him playing video and computer games (often screaming or crying along the way) get millions of views as soon as they’re put up. He’s managed to make a nice living out of horror game playthroughs, once again proving that there can be opportunities for success in unexpected niches (see a brief interview with Felix here).
werevertumorro. The most popular YouTube channel in Mexico, werevertumorro started as a joke but grew into a wildly popular show (a common component in many YouTube success stories). The episodes, which are generally about 10 minutes long, feature young guys talking about relationships, girls, and more.
RoosterTeeth. This channel started out as DrunkGamers.com, which featured a group of guys reviewing video games while drunk. It’s evolved quite a bit over the years to become one of the most popular YouTube channels with nearly 2 billion views and several million followers. RoosterTeeth hit it big with their Red vs. Blue sci-fi series, and they monetize their YouTube presence partially through DVD sales. Check out the official history of this group for the full story.

Part 2 coming later this week
Original article: http://monetizepros.com/blog/2013/101-ways-to-make-money-with-youtube-web-videos/

Wednesday 8 May 2013

How can songwriters make money on YouTube?

Songwriters may be missing out on online ad revenue they can rightly claim, including from user-generated content

Jenn Bostic’s song Jealous of the Angels has been covered in more than 400 user-generated videos online

In my last Plugged in blogpost I explored how record labels are making money from their official videos on YouTube and Vevo. So far, however, songwriters (including myself) have received next to no money from their collection societies, despite getting millions (in some cases hundreds of millions) of views. This is not only unfair, but unsustainable.

Collection societies such as BMI and ASCAP have blanket licences with Google-owned YouTube, which currently only pays royalties of about $40 per million streams, according to recent royalty statements. In the UK the PRS signed a deal with YouTube back in 2009 for a lump sum – a deal even the PRS would admit was really bad. A new licensing deal with the company is now being finalised, and sources close to the negotiations claim it will be better.

But songwriters may be missing out on YouTube ad revenue that they can rightly claim, including from user-generated content (UGC). BMI, ASCAP and PRS licences only cover performances – and YouTube videos that include music require a mechanical synch licence, as it "synchs" the music with visual media.

This licence is granted directly by songwriters and publishers. As they own the right to the actual composition they can also claim ad revenue from videos of YouTube users performing covers of their songs. Of course few people posting content on YouTube know they need such a licence – and those who do would most likely not know how to get in touch with the rights holder.

Hence, songwriters or their publishers have to "claim" their songs. Once they make the claim, they have to specify what type of ads they want served with the video. There are four types, all paying a different rate, and it's necessary to authorise each one. Ads that stream before the video (pre-rolls) pay more than the pop-up ones.

Different companies also pay differently, says Jay Frank, owner and chief executive of Nashville-based label/publisher DigSin. Ads for auto insurance – a highly competitive market – pay more than, for example, Procter and Gamble dishwashing detergent. "If you're clever enough to write a song about a car crash, and have a car insurance ad running with it, your rate may be five to seven times higher," Frank explains. "Tagging auto insurance will make you more than tagging Mumford & Sons, just because you sound like them."

"The real money to be made on YouTube, as far as I've seen, is when your song spreads among YouTube cover artists," says Frank. "Jenn Bostic's song Jealous of the Angels [published by DigSin] has been covered in more than 400 UGC videos online and we're collecting from most of those. If the person posting the cover doesn't type in that it's a Bostic cover, YouTube has no way of knowing. I have to discover it and go to them and lay the claim that it's my song."

Frank has recruited the services of InGrooves for audio fingerprinting. The company trawls YouTube to find copies of songs owned by Frank and his artists – and instead of taking the videos down, it adds advertising to them. At that point, if the person posting the video doesn't want the ads on it, they will have to take the video down.

Some publishers now even have a person who does nothing but pitch their songs to YouTube cover artists with large channels, says Frank. "If a song has 500,000 views it'll be a few hundred to a few thousand dollars that come into the pipeline," he explains.

Smaller publishers may not think it's worth scanning YouTube for covers, claiming their songs and adding ads to them if a video only has 5,000 views – but if you wait until it has a million hits you've already missed out on that ad revenue.

There are, however, still issues with the YouTube revenue share eco-system that need to be resolved, says music attorney Chris Castle. "If there is a 'dispute', then YouTube holds the money, then pays prospectively once the dispute is resolved. A dispute means that more than 100% of the song has been claimed by multiple parties, or that claims within the 100% are in conflict. Of course YouTube keeps monetising the songs during the dispute, as someone has claimed them."

This, he explains, creates a "black box" ("unattributable" revenue that remains with the company that collected it). "I have heard some estimates that the money in dispute is over $250m, but that's just an educated guess," he continues. "The easy solution to this is that YouTube requires disputes to be resolved outside of YouTube and continues paying claimants – after taking care that their initial claimants are likely correct."

Most songwriters are unaware that YouTube requires a mechanical synch licence, and may not even know if their publisher has signed a deal with the company covering the licence or not, on their behalf. YouTube requires publishers to sign non-disclosure agreements covering any deal they make with the company. Sources say these agreements are so tight that they're not allowed to reveal if they've even signed a deal.

There is potential for YouTube to come to a mutually beneficial understanding with the songwriting community, without it getting to the point of lawsuits, as in Germany. A first step would be the abolition of these prohibitive non-disclosure agreements. Without transparency, songwriters will conclude that the royalties they should've received remain in YouTube's black box.

Original article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jan/18/can-songwriters-make-money-youtube

Wednesday 1 May 2013

LEADERS CREATE BREAKTHROUGHS: THE THREE MANDATES OF LEADERSHIP

Leadership is about progress: it’s the ability to make things happen, maximize resources and inspire. It’s the capacity to create an environment in which people thrive and results are achieved. It’s the extraordinary quality that solves problems and gets things done.

Ultimately, leadership is a choice. It’s a standard, a way of living and a cultivated skill—one found in C-suite executives, managers and moms alike, all around the globe. Leadership is the ability to influence the thoughts, feelings, behaviors and actions of those you lead. There are three fundamental traits that create the capacity to lead:

1. See things as they are, not worse than they are.

Great leaders tell themselves the truth. Unlike most people, however, they don’t dwell on their problems—they face them. They have the courage to meet their challenges head on, knowing that if they fall, they will just pick themselves up, re-assess and move forward. They don’t act without fear, they act in spite of it, taking the necessary risks to break through.

2. But seeing things as they are is not enough.

See things better than they are. Leaders bring forth a vision beyond the moment. They create a movement that inspires those around them to roll up their sleeves and do what it takes to get the job done. Whereas managers direct activity, leaders define the future and make it real.

3. Make things the way you see them.

Transforming your vision into reality requires strategy: incremental changes that amount to radical results. It’s not about the resources
available to you; it’s about maximizing your resourcefulness—your will, energy, creativity, courage, faith and determination—to achieve your goals.

In times of crisis, leaders are created. It’s when things seem difficult or impossible that we are challenged to become even more. Whether it’s in your business, career or finances, or with your kids, spouse or your health, you already have the capacity to transform the quality of your life, and the lives of those you care about. That’s the true spirit of leadership.

Original article: http://training.tonyrobbins.com/2635/leaders-create-breakthroughs-the-three-mandates-of-leadership/#more-2635

Monday 29 April 2013

Is This The Secret To YouTube Success?

Great videos are key to popularity on YouTube but there’s another quality just as important: consistency.
Be consistent in the following 3 ways and you could see your audience growing in response.

Personal Brand
Keep the same style for all your graphics, fonts, colors, and identity. The more familiar viewers get with your look, the easier you’ll be able to build your YouTube recognition. Retaining the same style and feel throughout all your social media and related pages will separate you from the crowd of hundreds of thousands of content creators, and help you stay ahead of the game.

Episode Structure
Whether you’re doing reviews, uploading cooking lessons, or creating comedy sketches, give your audience the same episode format. Even something as simple as always showing an amazing shot of food during the first 10 seconds of a cooking video is a convention the audience will come to expect. The same structure every time helps your viewers know what’s going to happen next and when. Sticking to consistent content is also helpful. Don’t jump from topic to topic and instead keep to the focus your audience expects from you.

Upload Times
Are you going to upload your videos every Saturday at 5? The first day of every month? It’s your call, but provide a programming schedule and give the audience an opportunity to follow your next videos with a date and time. And, like your favourite TV show, a schedule will help your fans know when to tune in for your next video. An added bonus is that it will force you in the habit of making videos regularly.

Original article: http://viso.tv/is-this-the-secret-to-youtube-success/

Friday 26 April 2013

How To Make The Most Of Your Business’ YouTube Channel

YouTube is by far the most popular video sharing site online. 72 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute, there are more than 1 billion unique visitors to the site every month and they watch over 4 billion hours of content in that time. These astronomical engagement and audience figures make YouTube a must-use social media site for companies who want to promote themselves using visual media.
So, how do you make the most of your business’ YouTube channel? It is imperative, of course, that you get the videos right, but the rest of your channel needs to be maintained as well: before the videos, you need to create the right channel to represent your business; after the videos, you need to promote them online and monitor the success of your content. Here are a few hints and tips on how to make the most of your channel.

1. Before the Videos

If you are making videos for YouTube, you need the right equipment. Do you have a camera and editing software? Do you have sound recording equipment and employees who know how to handle it? Of course, depending on the quality of the videos you intend to create, you could always use a mobile phone with a good quality camera, a much cheaper and easier option.

So, you have the equipment, now you can start creating your channel. If your company is a large, umbrella corporation, you could have a number of different channels for different brands. For most companies, however, its advisable to just have one channel: think of it as a brand page, which everyone will associate with your company.

Name your channel after your brand, if you can, or as close to your brand name as possible. Use industry keywords in your about section and upload an interesting and original background. Make sure the theme of your channel connects with your business. Manage your tabs. Have your subscribe button and logo prominently placed, with subscriber and view counters in the corner. Don’t forget to put links to all your other websites and social media profiles at the top of the page.

Do you already have an archive of company videos from events or old advertisements? Don’t dump it all on your YouTube channel, select the videos that are relevant and interesting and post them in intervals.

2. The Videos

There are dozens of kinds of video that you can post on YouTube to promote your brand and increase engagement with the public online. Here are a few quick ideas: presentations of products, interviews with staff and experts, a tour of the office, a video explaining your product, a customer testimonial. Another good idea is livestreaming your events on YouTube, advertising them beforehand to ensure a large audience.
Title and tag your videos with relevant keywords. YouTube is a Google affiliate, so videos posted to the site appear high in relevant searches. YouTube itself has the second largest search engine on the web, after Google, so you need to ensure that you optimize your video descriptions with keywords so that they appear high in searches. Tags are especially important to get right, as they affect what videos get displayed in the “relevant videos” section.

YouTube videos can be as long as you want now, but it’s still best to edit your videos down – people have a short attention span on YouTube. Of course, if your video needs to be long, don’t worry: people will watch it if the content and is interesting enough to them.

YouTube allows you to choose between one of three screenshots from the video as the screenshot shown before it plays. choose wisely: the screenshot will effect how much engagement your videos get. Categorise your videos into specific playlists to make it easier for subscribers and visitors to navigate around the page.

3. Engagement

Do you want to allow comments on your videos? I’d advise against it: the majority of people who comment on YouTube are trolling. Of course, you can delete comments at any time, but there may be too many comments to manage.

Get people to engage by asking them to subscribe to your channel. Use annotations to promote engagement with your videos. For example, ask people to click on an annotation to view the product page of a product that appears in an advert you post on YouTube. make sure that your like, share and subscribe buttons are always prominently placed.

Embed your videos on your other social media sites and on your website. Create an introductory video talking about your company and embed it on the front page of your website, or create product videos and post them on your sales pages.

Use Google Analytics to measure the engagement of your videos. See what videos prove the most popular and with who, then optimise your channel and your videos to get the most interaction you can.

Original article: http://www.socialmediafrontiers.com/2013/04/how-to-make-most-of-your-business.html