Monetizing on video content

[skipper]

I'm working on some video content I'm going to publish and I'm thinking of ways to monetize on it.
(I'm doing it for other reasons and monetizing would be just a bonus).

Content wise i'm working on video tutorial with exercises. It's a niche market and I'm one of the few with some experience in the specific tech, but many people will want to learn this tech in the years to come.

Some options of menetization I see:
1. publish on youtube and combine it with adsense

2. make a dedicated website (I'm leaning towards this option) and
- serve videos from youtube, still put adsense on top of it (does that work?)
- put other adds on the page
- add "donate" paypal button, people who donate get add-free content, maybe also bonus content
- problem 1: can I do it with youtube? I'd probably need another youtube account to streem add-free, but how can I limit it to be accessible only from my page
- problem 2: my target audience probably knows about adblock
- maybe also add forum make people return more often

3. Make some content free, but only provide full content for a fee (maybe even subscription based)

What would in your experience work best?

 

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[The-J]

This is a really vague question. Depending on the people you ask, you're going to come up with so many different answers.

The real question is: which will benefit my customers most? And that answer isn't always 'free'.

 

[Alana]

I had a couple-o-questions come to mind about your potential business before I even got to the three options for monetization you listed.
My first question would be: I’m assuming that while your skills are a rare commodity, you’re not the only one who has them. How are you going to attract people to learn from you when Joe-Smoe puts up a tutorial on YouTube for free?
What is it, besides the actual lessons themselves, are you selling? Is it the QUALITY of your teaching? For ex: does your content rise above the others because only you offer both videos and exercises? Are you an expert where Joe-Shmoe isn’t (people pay for real expert advice—believe me). Are you instead selling the CONVENIENCE of your teachings (ie: you’re offering a one-stop shop where students can get the entire start-to-finish lessons and not have to search around all over the place on YouTube for bits and pieces?)
If it’s a skill that will be highly sought out after ‘several years from now”…how are you going to convince your potential customers that it’s worth their money/time TODAY? (remember: the general population can’t think beyond what they are going to do next week…let alone a year from now…).

I realize this response doesn’t address you’re actual question, but I personally couldn’t give it a direct answer without knowing a bit more the overall picture.

 

[skipper]

Alana, you have valid points, but I'm beyond those. But just to satisfy your curiosity:
- I'm not the only one with the skills, but there really are just a few people on my level
- I'm in a rare position that puts me in the spotlight, and I intend to leverage that. I'm not joe-smoe, I'm actually a frequent speaker in technology events related to this niche
- so yes, my lessons are a bit unique due to my position and my past record
- there is quite high demand to acquire this knowledge, and those who need it need it fast to build their own business
- and yes, people would pay me good money to come to their company and teach them. So what I'm doing here is trying to scale, make the income passive, also market myself

The real question is: which will benefit my customers most? And that answer isn't always 'free'.

Thank you for reminding me I should not be thinking of "how to earn money", but how to solve needs. This is a good cue.
Of course, beating the value of getting all the content for free will require some more thinking and work; maybe some interactivity?

 

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[The-J]

Of course, beating the value of getting all the content for free will require some more thinking and work; maybe some interactivity?

You could offer better content, or offer content with more consistency.

I have my reservations against content-based businesses despite knowing that they often do extremely well (look at snowbank's business for proof of a small content-based business that makes good money). It's just that I myself am quite prolific at getting all the content I need for free and not feeling bad about it despite that it sometimes is stealing.

 

[skipper]

It's just that I myself am quite prolific at getting all the content I need for free and not feeling bad about it despite that it sometimes is stealing.

Indeed... that's why free model + ads + donations might work better.
It could be a simple "buy me a beer" button for paypal donation. it seems to work for this guy: KenRockwell.com: Photography, Cameras and Taking Better Pictures

 

[jon.a]

I would create a product...
Video
Audio
and/or EBook.

Reduce the YouTube videos a bit to tease to the product.
I would put the teasers on BOTH YouTube and a dedicated site, linking YouTube to the dedicated site.
If your "special skill" is valuable, people will pay for it.
Don't cheapen it with advertising or requests for donations.
If the niche leans towards it, add a forum or subscription after building a following.

 

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[skipper]

I would put the teasers on BOTH YouTube and a dedicated site, linking YouTube to the dedicated site.

Certainly feasible. In this case, I'm not sure how to handle technical part on the cheap.
If I only provide free videos on youtube and for-pay on my site, I need to stream the videos from my server, which could get expensive due to required storage and streaming bandwidth.

So what i'd need is a paywall for video content, some solutions are described here: http://www.reelseo.com/online-video-paywall-options/

Edit: it seems vimeo has paywall! http://venturebeat.com/2012/11/13/vimeo-shows-off-new-paywall-video-option/ Oh, on vimeo site they say it's going to be available in 2013, and for now they only mention movies :-/

 

[Alana]

Okay…so you’re the go to person for this skill…got it. That right there is half of the overall value of the product. The other half is that people need it. In my opinion, that is a recipe for success. I think you’re going to want to focus on building the brand (ie: you and the product) and having your own web page is far more official than only having videos on YouTube where the videos might get parked right next to a video of kittens playing with some yarn simply because the kittens name is similar to your business (I have a friend with a cat named Twitter…and yes, she puts up videos of her cat…*sigh*….pitty the person who tried teaching about how to set up a Twitter account…) . If folks’ first impression of your business is your well organized/displayed website (as oppose to just searching for it on YouTube) and THEN they are directed to go to the YouTube videos from there…I think that has better selling/branding potential

…just my thoughts…

 

[skipper]

I think you’re going to want to focus on building the brand (ie: you and the product) and having your own web page is far more official than only having videos on YouTube where the videos might get parked right next to a video of kittens playing with some yarn simply because the kittens name is similar to your business

All good points...

Looking for a good non-youtube solution (hey, have we just uncovered a new need?

 

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[jon.a]

I don't understand.
Do you think that is difficult to put video on you own website?

All good points...

Looking for a good non-youtube solution (hey, have we just uncovered a new need?

 

[skipper]

I don't understand.
Do you think that is difficult to put video on you own website?

Ahh, for a moment there i forgot about HTML5 and its embedded video player.

So just add a video in your content is indeed simple... still streaming could get expensive, as with most hosting plans you need to pay for certain amount of data transfer.

 

[skipper]

Here's a guy selling video lessons... it seems you buy and download the video Video Lessons
And he seems to be using this Build an Online Store That's Social Commerce Ready - Wazala which supports selling digital products.
Maybe not a bad concept.

I found more digital stores here: http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/tools/selling-digital-products/
This one also looks nice: http://sellfy.com/how-it-works

I need to think about the right target market. This service is the most valuable for businesses, to quickly enable their existing workforce in new technology. Quite high value, and cashing something like $1000 should not be a problem. Which potentially makes this a fastlane opportunity.

 

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[Si G]

You can upload your 'paid for' videos to YouTube as 'unlisted' rather than public. You could still embed these unlisted videos on your own site (behind some form of password protected members area) but you would save on hosting / bandwidth costs as they are hosted on YouTube.

Unlisted videos are not searchable on YouTube and will not show up in your YouTube channel.

Si

 

[DennisD]

There's a lot you can do here.

The way I see it: Ads are for chumps. They're a good starting point but there are always better ways to leverage your platform, even while still offering the video for free.

Israel Hyman of IzzyVideo offered EVERYTHING for free for a while, and then unexpectedly switched one day and put at least 2/3rds of the content behind a membership paywall. This gives you traction when first starting out (free) and the cash later. if your stuff is WORTH paying for you'll be fine.

Another way to go is put out everything for free and create 'advanced' tutorials that are downloadable (or mail-order) they they have to buy.

-When Andrew Kramer started VideoCopilot, he taught motion graphic for free for a very long time and eventually monetized by selling products. He first started with a compilation of all his tutorials on a single disk, then moved onto advanced tutorials. Now his products are less informational and more useful. Stock prematted elements, template projects, stock sound effects and such. Then stey started launching actual software/plugins (Twitch, Optical Flares, Element 3D)

-Aharon Rabinowitz became a big name in the video tutorial space(All Bets Are Off Productions) He's now the community director for Red Giant, but I know he monetized not just with ads, he actually built an entire business around his fanbase. He started selling premium tutorials, moved onto prekeyed greenscreen actors, and is now assisting in plugin and software development.

That's why I'm saying Ads are for chumps. You only get one call-to-action. Make it "follow me/Subscribe!". If you build a community and teach them useful stuff, they'll follow you around forever.. and be there for your advanced tutorials and products.

Let me know if you need anything else

Depending on exactly what you're doing I bet I can think of at least 30 different product ideas/business models to fit your situation