This week, I had the educational experience of doing one of our ‘five minutes with...’ sponsored pieces as a video interview.
It was with Simon Elliott of crowdfindervideo and the finished version should see the light of day in early May. I learned a lot from the experience.
The interview addressed the question, ‘how can publishers make money from video?’
These are some of the points I picked up from the session:
- Every video needs a hook. Viewers make up their minds in a matter of seconds whether or not to bother watching, so you need to grab their attention immediately.
- Don’t forget the packaging! Many an exceptional video has failed to get the views it deserved because it wasn’t packaged properly. Every video needs a searchable headline and a clear and enticing thumbnail.
- Poor quality video won’t cut it. You might have a top-notch media brand with a loyal following, but don’t expect them to watch poorly produced video, because... they won’t.
- If you’re planning to ‘do video’ then plan to do it properly. Appoint someone who knows what they’re doing, give them the resources they need and develop processes.
- Don’t expect instant results. Keep turning up; you've got to give yourself long enough to learn and improve.
- Work out your monetisation strategy from the start. Don’t expect YouTube ads to make you anything more than beer money until you get a very large following. Sponsorship is usually the best route.
More top tips to follow, from Simon, when the video is published in May.
In the meantime, best wishes for a restful Easter weekend.
You can catch James Evelegh’s regular column in the InPubWeekly newsletter, which you can register to receive here.
