Yesterday I outlined the 5 magical secrets to making money via online video. I made it up while driving to NYC from my rural PA home, and used a forced “NALTS” acronym. It was the only way I’d remember it on stage at the Digital Content NewFront, and I still had to check my hat lid, where I had written them down as an emergency.
Hopefully the audience remembers these tips more than my pratfall, fart machine, and spinning beer caps.
You can also check out my free eBook (“How to Become Popular on YouTube Without Any Talent“).
- Nickle: Keep it cheap. The “one man band” will always do better than a crew. I couldn’t have quit my day job if I had to share my YouTube revenue with a writer, editor, producer, agent and actors. Just me, a camera, and unpaid “actors.”
- Amplify: There’s no online-video “prime time.” A homepage video on YouTube won’t guarantee an audience. You need to promote, collaborate, get involved with the community (the eBook gives you tips).
- Listen: It’s not distribution it’s dialogue. Listen, react, talk back. Don’t “Oprahize” YouTube and use online-video for trailers. Get on camera and interact with the audience. Do collaborations with other famous peeps.
- Theater: Go where the crowds are: Be in Regal not a tiny cinema. Fish where the fish are. YouTube. Use TubeMogul to post more broadly, but no f’ing microsites. As a marketer, I want my ad on the highway, not on some rest stop.
- Sponsor: Bring your own sponsor. The money on CPM buys isn’t as interesting. Build content that’s entertaining but targeted to a niche that advertisers want to reach (moms, cooks, fisherman, financial, whatever). You can’t get a sponsor easily unless you have an audience, and if you’d rather let someone else hunt for the sponsor than check out Hitviews (disclaimer: I am its chief strategical officer).
There. Now go get rich. But as a reminder, if you’re focused on making money I would advise writing blogs about mortgage or investing. It’s very hard still to profit via online video, whether you’re talented or not.
I’m clearly motivated by sources other than money. I’ll have to ask a therapist what those motivations are.
excellent post. You are my mentor on all things video..
Wonderful.
I shall take this advice to heart.
And then buy myself a jet ski or something.
Genius…simply GENIUS!!
the “L” should have been “Luck”, because you’ll need a lot of it to REALLY make money with online video.
Bravo!. So simple, yet so very on point. The N.A.L.T.S. acronym is the K.I.S.S. for online video marketing. 🙂
I don’t feel like doing none of that stuff.
Good to see someone’s sticking to the highway! I think being where people are rather than trying to entice them to where you want them to be is one of the biggest challenges for people who still think a corporate dot com equates to web presence. However, the difference between between you and me is I can’t point to 75,000,000 video views when I say it!
@7 quote of the day
your right about mortgages and investing, but I’ll save you a trip to the blogs, sell it all and buy diversified gold and other commodities, ut wait until China slows down from buying up the world first
For making it rich online, close enough anyway, I have a couple of collaborative ideas if anyone is interested, you know where to find me.
where do you start?
@ marquisdejolie – yea,i aint gonna do it neither! that’ll teach him!
I am so mad at you for doing the pratfall thing – don’t you ever LEARN? – and also for farting while the lady was trying to speak (click). On the other hand, these ARE sort of trademarks of yours. Can you get some new trademarks, please?
AND NOT SHOWING YOUR BUTTCRACK!
im interested to know more about this hitviews
what do u think u can do for travel content?
are u globalised, can u work with an Aussie?
@11 Steveo
Yeah. If he thinks he can lead ME to financial freedom on the internets, he’s got another think coming!!