Anything! You have no idea what will take off and what won't. There are some very stupid videos (we've all seen one) that have millions and millions of views. Their owners make lots of money because they uploaded them despite their poor quality or lame content.
There are certain kinds of videos that have a tendency to go viral. Pet videos and baby videos are commonly seen to go crazy. A slightly funny cat video might do far better than the most stunning plane crash footage.
Another type of video that can do quite well can be categorized as a "response" video. These videos are usually creative responses to, or parodies of, a popular viral video. Some good examples can be seen in the wake of "Gangnam Style". Response videos have explosive potential, but usually die off after an initial burst of interest.
The best thing you can do is just upload your video and give it a chance. It just might go nuts.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
How many views will my video get?
This is one question that doesn't really have an answer. There is no way to know how well your video will do. Some videos get millions of views within days. Most, however, get only a few thousand views a year. I can only speak from my experience and the experiences of those I know, but it is normal to get around 10 views a day from a new video unless you take steps to spread it (share it on facebook, post video responses, etc.). The most successful videos I have complete information on showed that they only had a trickle of views for about 4-8 months before BAM! they suddenly took off. This is a limited sample size though, so I don't pretend to be an expert. All I can say is don't be discouraged if your video doesn't take off immediately.
Another word of caution: once your video goes viral, don't be surprised if it has dramatic ups and downs. I have seen videos go from tens of thousands of views one day, to a few hundred the next. I have yet to figure out what causes such drops, but they can certainly be an unpleasant surprise.
Another word of caution: once your video goes viral, don't be surprised if it has dramatic ups and downs. I have seen videos go from tens of thousands of views one day, to a few hundred the next. I have yet to figure out what causes such drops, but they can certainly be an unpleasant surprise.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
What are True View in-stream ads? What type of ads should I put on my youtube videos?
Under the monetization tab of your uploaded video, you will see that there are a few different ads that can be displayed on your page. These ads behave differently, and you may have a preference for which type of ads you want to select. I personally like to have both overlay in-video ads and true-view in stream ads selected, although my opinion has been evolving over time. First lets talk about what the different ad types are:
Overlay in-video ads: These are the little banner ads that pop on the screen about 10 seconds into a youtube video that you x-out so that you can see the whole screen. Why might you like them? Advertisers will pay good money if someone clicks on one of these ads while watching your video, and this type of ad seems to be less annoying to viewers than the other ad types. The downside of this ad type is that people don't click on them very often.
True View in-stream ads: These are the little commercials that pop up before a video plays. Usually, they have an option to "skip ad" after a few seconds. If a person chooses to simply let the ad play, it counts as if they had clicked on the ad. You get paid for this. The "click through rate" or ratio of people clicking on True View ads is much higher than banner ads; usually about 5 times higher. However, while you will get more "clicks" from this type of ad, the clicks are worth less than banner ad clicks.
If you select both types of ads for your video, Google will decide which ad type will be more likely to yield revenue from each individual that views your video. They track viewers and decide whether they are more likely to be influenced by in stream ads or banner ads. This is why I personally like to have both ad types selected.
If you have a really short video (some of mine are 6 seconds) there starts to be some issues with the ads. Banner ads usually pop up after 6 seconds, so a viewer won't be exposed to the ad unless they rewatch your video (most people don't do this while surfing). Further, I haven't every seen True View ads used on my short videos. It may be that part of google's decision engine takes video length into account, or it may be just a coincidence. In any case, I highly recommend making your videos longer so that you don't have any problems. If it is a short clip, consider using windows movie maker to add a replay of your video (maybe slow motion?) to your clip so that it is longer.
Overlay in-video ads: These are the little banner ads that pop on the screen about 10 seconds into a youtube video that you x-out so that you can see the whole screen. Why might you like them? Advertisers will pay good money if someone clicks on one of these ads while watching your video, and this type of ad seems to be less annoying to viewers than the other ad types. The downside of this ad type is that people don't click on them very often.
True View in-stream ads: These are the little commercials that pop up before a video plays. Usually, they have an option to "skip ad" after a few seconds. If a person chooses to simply let the ad play, it counts as if they had clicked on the ad. You get paid for this. The "click through rate" or ratio of people clicking on True View ads is much higher than banner ads; usually about 5 times higher. However, while you will get more "clicks" from this type of ad, the clicks are worth less than banner ad clicks.
If you select both types of ads for your video, Google will decide which ad type will be more likely to yield revenue from each individual that views your video. They track viewers and decide whether they are more likely to be influenced by in stream ads or banner ads. This is why I personally like to have both ad types selected.
If you have a really short video (some of mine are 6 seconds) there starts to be some issues with the ads. Banner ads usually pop up after 6 seconds, so a viewer won't be exposed to the ad unless they rewatch your video (most people don't do this while surfing). Further, I haven't every seen True View ads used on my short videos. It may be that part of google's decision engine takes video length into account, or it may be just a coincidence. In any case, I highly recommend making your videos longer so that you don't have any problems. If it is a short clip, consider using windows movie maker to add a replay of your video (maybe slow motion?) to your clip so that it is longer.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
How do I get a sudden boost of views?
This one is easy. There is one almost foolproof way to get a boost of traffic to your video. The answer is: Video Responses.
By now you have noticed that you can post a comment to somebodies youtube video. You may also have started to get comments on your own video. Comments have their own benefit when it comes to generating traffic (a post for another day). There is a special kind of comment that will guarantee that your new video is seen by others.
Try this experiment:
1. Log into your youtube account
2. Find the video: Top 10 Funny Baby Videos! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWHpcKXt-qQ
3. Scroll down the page until you see the little white box where you could enter text to leave a comment.
4. Click inside the white box
5. Notice that a little blue link appears underneath the box. "create a video response". Click on this.
6. You will be taken to a page with a list of your youtube videos. Click on one.
7. Click "use the selected video"
8. You will be taken to a page that tells you that your response was successful.
9. Click "return to the original video"
10. Look right under the videos description. Wallah! Your video is now visible to the world on a high traffic page!
There are some guiding principles about video responses. Keeping these in mind will help you maximize this valuable tool.
-Most videos do not allow automatic video responses like this. Usually responses have to be pre-approved by the owner of the youtube video before they will work. I have only ever had 1 person actually manually approve my request to put up a response. Your best bet is to troll through youtube looking for videos that have video responses below them. If the average view count is really low on the two videos you see, it is a good bet that video automatically accepts video responses.
-As soon as two other people upload responses to that video, yours will be knocked off the page. This happens very quickly on popular videos. Your baby video response will disappear fast.
-Try to find videos that are actually related to yours. This means you will be targeting the right audience.
-Your video can only be posted as a response to ONE VIDEO AT A TIME. If you post your video to another page, it will be removed from the one it was previously on.
By now you have noticed that you can post a comment to somebodies youtube video. You may also have started to get comments on your own video. Comments have their own benefit when it comes to generating traffic (a post for another day). There is a special kind of comment that will guarantee that your new video is seen by others.
Try this experiment:
1. Log into your youtube account
2. Find the video: Top 10 Funny Baby Videos! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWHpcKXt-qQ
3. Scroll down the page until you see the little white box where you could enter text to leave a comment.
4. Click inside the white box
5. Notice that a little blue link appears underneath the box. "create a video response". Click on this.
6. You will be taken to a page with a list of your youtube videos. Click on one.
7. Click "use the selected video"
8. You will be taken to a page that tells you that your response was successful.
9. Click "return to the original video"
10. Look right under the videos description. Wallah! Your video is now visible to the world on a high traffic page!
There are some guiding principles about video responses. Keeping these in mind will help you maximize this valuable tool.
-Most videos do not allow automatic video responses like this. Usually responses have to be pre-approved by the owner of the youtube video before they will work. I have only ever had 1 person actually manually approve my request to put up a response. Your best bet is to troll through youtube looking for videos that have video responses below them. If the average view count is really low on the two videos you see, it is a good bet that video automatically accepts video responses.
-As soon as two other people upload responses to that video, yours will be knocked off the page. This happens very quickly on popular videos. Your baby video response will disappear fast.
-Try to find videos that are actually related to yours. This means you will be targeting the right audience.
-Your video can only be posted as a response to ONE VIDEO AT A TIME. If you post your video to another page, it will be removed from the one it was previously on.
When do I get paid by google?
Youtube has a threshold of 100$ before they will start giving you money. Payments are given through a program called Adsense. You will need to assosciate your youtube account with an adsense account to get paid. Usually will send you an invite to adsense once your video has generated enough views that you are making a few dollars a week. Even very successful videos usually do not get to that level for months (although, of course, there are always exceptions that explode in hours).
Once you have an adsense account, you can watch your money come in second by second in your "dashboard". I love checking my dashboard a few times a day to see how much money I've made so far.
If you don't make the 100$ threshold in any given month, that money will be rolled over to the next month. This rollover will continue until you get at least 100$ again. Adsense payments are given once a month.
Once you have an adsense account, you can watch your money come in second by second in your "dashboard". I love checking my dashboard a few times a day to see how much money I've made so far.
If you don't make the 100$ threshold in any given month, that money will be rolled over to the next month. This rollover will continue until you get at least 100$ again. Adsense payments are given once a month.
Choosing a Screenshot
Having a good screenshot is perhaps the most important way to get people to your video. A good screenshot draws people in, a bad one goes completely unnoticed.
Youtube will automatically select three screenshots from your video from which you can choose one to represent your video. However, because odds are slim that they will just happen to pick the best possible shot, you are also allowed to upload your own image. You can see these options as small images next to your video in your video editor.
I almost always use my own screenshot. Here is how I do it:
-I go through my video and find the most exciting and clear frame and I pause it.
-I then use the "print screen" feature to capture the image. How to do this varies among computer types.
-I paste the captured image into paint and then crop everything but the video screenshot out.
-Save the image.
-Upload the image to youtube by selecting the box next to your three pre-chosen screenshot options.
Youtube will automatically select three screenshots from your video from which you can choose one to represent your video. However, because odds are slim that they will just happen to pick the best possible shot, you are also allowed to upload your own image. You can see these options as small images next to your video in your video editor.
I almost always use my own screenshot. Here is how I do it:
-I go through my video and find the most exciting and clear frame and I pause it.
-I then use the "print screen" feature to capture the image. How to do this varies among computer types.
-I paste the captured image into paint and then crop everything but the video screenshot out.
-Save the image.
-Upload the image to youtube by selecting the box next to your three pre-chosen screenshot options.
Choosing a Title
Choosing the right title can be an easy way to get more views. The title is one of two things that people will usually see about your video, and it has to catch their interest and entice them to click. There are several well proven techniques for title selection:
-use UPPER CASE letters and punctuation to catch people's eye, but don't overdo it.
-make your title exciting ("Kid SMASHES Head!!" looks better than "kid hits his head")
-make your title unique (this helps people find your video again if they like it)
-recognize that only the first 5 or 6 words will be visible to most viewers
-avoid using profanity
-use UPPER CASE letters and punctuation to catch people's eye, but don't overdo it.
-make your title exciting ("Kid SMASHES Head!!" looks better than "kid hits his head")
-make your title unique (this helps people find your video again if they like it)
-recognize that only the first 5 or 6 words will be visible to most viewers
-avoid using profanity
How do I post a video on Youtube?
It's easy! And it can be done in a few minutes. Videos can be uploaded in a number of ways, but most basically:
1. Upload your video to your computer.
2. Create or sign into a youtube account (if you have any kind of google account, it can be linked to your new youtube account very easily). To create an account click the blue "sign in" button on the upper right hand corner of the youtube main page. Then click on the orange "create an account" button.
3. Once you are signed in, click "upload" at the top of any youtube page. Select your file, and youtube will take you to a very important page. Here you create your title, description, tags, screenshot, category, etc. Choosing the right words for each of these is very important, but you don't have to get it right the 1st time. You can go back into your video and edit them at any time. Click on the monetization tab while your video uploads, and make sure that you enable monetization. This will allow google to place ads on your video, which will be your source of income. More to follow on the types of monetization, but for now click both overlay in-video ads and truview in-stream ads.
4. Once you have entered your information, go to your video manager. This can be accessed by clicking on your profile name in the upper right hand corner and clicking "video manager". From your video manager you can access every video you have uploaded and see viewing statistics for them.
1. Upload your video to your computer.
2. Create or sign into a youtube account (if you have any kind of google account, it can be linked to your new youtube account very easily). To create an account click the blue "sign in" button on the upper right hand corner of the youtube main page. Then click on the orange "create an account" button.
3. Once you are signed in, click "upload" at the top of any youtube page. Select your file, and youtube will take you to a very important page. Here you create your title, description, tags, screenshot, category, etc. Choosing the right words for each of these is very important, but you don't have to get it right the 1st time. You can go back into your video and edit them at any time. Click on the monetization tab while your video uploads, and make sure that you enable monetization. This will allow google to place ads on your video, which will be your source of income. More to follow on the types of monetization, but for now click both overlay in-video ads and truview in-stream ads.
4. Once you have entered your information, go to your video manager. This can be accessed by clicking on your profile name in the upper right hand corner and clicking "video manager". From your video manager you can access every video you have uploaded and see viewing statistics for them.
How Much Money Can I Make on Youtube?
How much can you make? The amount depends on a number of important factors that we will talk about later, but having a goal of 1 dollar for every 2,000 views is about average. Technically, actual amounts cannot be revealed because youtube requires the signing of a "non disclosure" agreement before you can get paid. Estimating 1$ per 2,000 views can be found online by reading posts from individuals who break this agreement.
We'll talk later about what factors influence how much you can make.
My Youtube Credentials
What do I know about youtube? Why might my advice be worth anything? Fair questions, and it is likely that some of the advice I provide will be outdated or just plain wrong. But I do know the following: I have over 20 million views, and youtube has grown to become my primary source of income. A living can be made by creating viral videos.
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