How Video Creators Make Money Before Getting Big On YouTube (TFC Newsletter #1 4-9-18)
How to make preYouTube money, the changing video landscape, why Buzzfeed is right to start asking for donations & more
Welcome to the 1st TFC Newsletter - a weekly roundup of the stories & developments, that are shaping & exploring the emerging landscape for creators & media brands
How to make a living before making it on YouTube
For years, YouTube has been THE place to build an audience and ultimately, a business for video creators, not only because of its 2bn monthly views, but also because they are the only main social platform that pays its creators directly.
It’s no secret that top creators make more than a healthy living through the platform, but where do the next-tier of video creators, or those just starting out make their money?
This story from the Atlantic explores how video creators with subscriber counts ranging from 1,000 to 80,000 are getting paid by partnering with up and coming video apps that are trying to grow themselves. While the terms of the arrangement can be short-lived and less than ideal at times, it is still more than what they would have made from YouTube, with a much greater chance of becoming a ‘top influencer’ on an emerging platform.
In an ecosystem that puts the faux effortlessness of being an influencer on a pedestal, it is a stark reminder of the hustle that comes part and parcel with building any business, including one based around content. The article also reinforces the fact that creators don’t need to have six figure subscriber or follower numbers, or be on the most popular platforms, in order to generate revenue.
The production of content is and will continue to be a sought after skill for the foreseeable future and that skill, combined with an engaged audience, can always be traded for money or other things of value. But now more than ever, it’s up to the creator to not just sit back and wait for ad campaigns and platform deals to fall on their lap, they must make an active effort to find out who their audience is valuable to.
FB Watch goes international, while IGTV is still finding its feet
Speaking of alternative video platforms, Facebook is continuing to work out ways of challenging YouTube’s dominance in digital video.
This past week saw Facebook Watch finally be made available internationally, over a year after launching it exclusively in the US. Watch is Facebook’s latest attempt to create a home for creators & premium entertainment like sports & live events. While reviews have been mixed, it has had some successes, with the standout being Jada Pinkett-Smith’s Red Table Talk - a Facebook Watch show whose first episode has over 28 million views.
Of course, this isn’t Facebook’s only attempt at digital video. While Facebook Watch differentiates by having interactive features like poll voting & has an ad break programme, which makes some creators six-figures monthly, the Facebook owned IGTV continues to find its feet, with creators experimenting as they struggle to figure out what works on the platform
While it is easy to dismiss FB Watch & IGTV, due to their inconsistent approach to monetisation, flaky algorithms & history of not treating publishers and creators well, as YouTube gets increasingly saturated, it should at least be a debate as to whether it is still the best place to start a video channel. As the previous story shows, there is value in being early to a space, if the creative is good enough. And if you can make it as an early video success on Facebook or Instagram, which have over 2bn & 1bn monthly users respectively, the pros will likely quickly out weigh the cons.
Buzzfeed now wants to take your donations & give you more product reviews
Once the darling of digital media, in recent years Buzzfeed has been figuring out different ways it can make more money & trim its costs. While the company spent parts of last year cutting staff & shuttering operations in selected countries, this year has seen them experiment with various business models across the board.
This past week, the viral publisher announced that it would be launching two new endeavours: adopting a donation/membership model for Buzzfeed News essentially copying The Guardian model, and launching a new reviews site, enabling it to build a meaningful revenue stream around product recommendations and affiliates.
This is a far cry from their previous model of simply understanding virality better than anyone else and doing native ads on social feeds. It is not that the company has stopped this approach; rather it has matured to understand that different types of content monetise best under different business models. While news content struggles to gain sponsored content or advertising deals because of its political nature, listicles, memes and other lifestyle/entertainment content have no such problem. And while a growing number of consumers may feel compelled to donate or buy news coverage, a much smaller number will be willing to pay for reviews to products.
The default assumption that advertising can pay for all content seems to be disappearing fast from most media publishers. And while they may be smaller and less sophisticated than most media companies, independent creators will do well to learn the same lesson. Creating massive audiences and having the pick of advertising deals is a luxury that is being given to few creators & media businesses. The rest of us have to find the combination of business models that work for us - including the almighty Buzzfeed.
Quick links
Media companies, both young and old, are finding success with adopting subscription models. Left leaning news media outlet The Young Turks now have 27,000 paying subscribers which makes up half of its revenue, while the Financial Times is coming up to reaching the one million subscriber milestone. Their successes haven’t come without challenges: The FT launched their digital paywall before it was cool, while TYT struggled to figure out the right pricing for its subscription. But in an environment where advertising revenue alone has become less sustainable for their type of media business, the struggles seems to have paid off.
Instagram has made verification simple. All you need to get the blue tick is go to Settings, then scroll down to and select Request Verification. Of course, IG will only be verifying the “authentic presence of a notable public figure, celebrity, global brand or entity”, so not everyone will be getting a blue tick, but at least it’s more transparent than Twitter, which disabled its application for verification months ago.
A fun example to further proof that anyone can be a creator & media business. This Buzzfeed article shines a light on the teachers that become Instagram Influencers on the side that in some cases, end up making four times their teaching salary from becoming a creator.
The Fluid Concept Membership - a consultancy subscription providing tailored advice for creators & modern media businesses of any size, every single week - will be starting 28th September. Sign up before the end of September to get this for just £4 a month for the next 12 month or £40 for the year