The success rate of video monetization may be one of the lowest among all online business models. The extreme competition and lowball CPMs make it a tough nut to crack; most who try make very little and end up trying out different routes to Web riches before long.
If you’re convinced that you have the creativity to give video monetization a shot, there are a number of resources out there that can accelerate the learning process and give you a leg up on the competition. Below are 10 resources that are sure to educate and inspire.
Resource #1: YTalk
This forum is incredibly active and full of insights about more effectively using YouTube. The site is pretty broad in scope, including forums about video editing and a number of other production-related topics. There is a sub-forum specifically about YouTube monetization that can be a great place to ask and answer questions.
Resource #2: MonetizePros Video Monetization E-books
Our Web Monetization Handbook includes an entire e-book dedicated to video monetization. Included are a number of in-depth guides covering the various ways to monetize YouTube and other online video platforms. Two chapters of the Web Monetization Handbook are free; you’ll need to start a free trial to MonetizePros Premium to get full access.
In addition to the chapters of the Web Monetization Handbook, we have another entire e-book dedicated to effective video monetization: the Ultimate Guide to Making Money With YouTube. This feature includes a lengthly list of tools, YouTube success stories, and best practices for making and promoting videos.
Resource #3: Wideo
As the consumption of online video has grown, a number of resources to help create professional products have popped up. If you want to add some fancy animations to your videos but don’t have an unlimited budget, there are some Web-based tools that can are available at a much lower price point than hiring a professional firm.
Wideo has a pretty clean, intuitive user interface that allows even those with very limited creative capabilities to produce high quality animations. After a few tutorials and a review of the pre-loaded templates, you should be able to produce animated videos relatively quickly.
Resource #4: MonetizePros Video Tutorials
The MonetizePros Premium Video Library covers a number of topics, including display advertising, affiliate marketing, and more. We’ve also compiled two in-depth tutorials on the topic of video monetization in order to better explain some of the challenges and best practices: Profitable Video Monetization Strategies as well as Video Monetization Case Studies: 3 Real-World Successes.
We’ll be adding new tutorials on additional topics each week, so be sure to check back in here occasionally.
Resource #5:YouTube Trends
This official YouTube blog offers insights on what is popular on the video site based on internal analytics figures. If your video monetization strategy involves a YouTube channel (and we’re guessing it does), then you’ll obviously be interested in keeping an eye on what is popular from week to week.
Resource #6: YouTube Playbook
This official YouTube package has a number of resources for just about every aspect of video publishing and monetization. Most of the content here is relatively basic, but there are some more advanced topics as well.
Learning the YouTube Playbook is a great place to start for those who are new to video monetization. The different lessons are coded with the expected level of impact and the time required, which helps to pick areas of focus.
Resource #7: MonetizePros Video CPM Rate Guide
If you’re wondering how your current monetization efforts stack up to the industry averages and some specific data points out there, our detailed video CPM rate guide will be valuable. In addition to a discussion of the current state of the video ad industry, this page takes a look at some specific data points that will put your earnings in perspective.
The MonetizePros membership also gets you access to detailed CPM guides for traditional display, mobile, and email ads (as well as a number of other features).
Resource #8: Creator Academy
This is another official YouTube resource designed to help aspiring channel owners carve out a niche and start growing their reach. It’s structured as a series of video tutorials on a range of topics, with a final assessment at the end (if you’re curious about how much you know about YouTube best practices, try out the test).
Resource #9: SocialBlade
This site is the closest thing there is to an official scorekeeper in the world of video monetization. Social Blade tracks some of the largest YouTube channels in the world, and profiles noteworthy changes in the audience and pageviews. This site also features estimated earnings for thousands of sites.
SocialBlade is a great tool for competitive intelligence; it’s useful in finding out which channels are popular now and getting inspiration for videos or themes that may attract your desired audience.
Bottom Line
There are some great resources out there for getting up to speed on YouTube and other video platforms. Making more than a few dollars a month from videos is a major challenge, but a number of success stories have proven it possible. Whether you’re aiming to promote an existing business or make money directly through a platform like YouTube, the resources above can help out.