Big Money-Making Secret: Multiple Online Video Revenue Streams - Part 1

By Paul D Hamm

As a brand marketer or online content producer, it’s time to get serious about making money with online video. More and more consumers today use the web to “watch TV,” get informed, shop and connect with their friends and business colleagues. The question is, how to make money with your online video?

At Endavo Media we believe it’s not just about ads vs. subscription; it’s more about finding MULTIPLE ways to make money with your online video. The real secret to online video and social media success is generating multiple revenue streams.

So, here are just a few ways to make money with your online video destination or community:

1. Advertising – Great content doesn’t necessarily find an audience, typically the audience has to find it. At Endavo, we see successful web advertising strategies being deployed by large and small content producers alike. With the right Internet TV platform you get more advertising opportunities, and you can monetize online video with pre- and post-roll advertisements, overlay ads, banners associated with video ads and/or main content, site banners and total sponsorships. A big key here is to not just look at a singular advertising model. Find a platform that lets you mix it up to provide better overall user experience and increase impact by giving advertisers more options as to where and when their ads are displayed.
   
2. Sponsorship –In this model, the event sponsor pays a lump sum to have exclusive (or preferred) rights to all the advertising space on the community video destination site. Video advertising , branded entertainment, product placement in video, banner ads, web page branding, video player branding, content (even UGC) contests are ways to create a sponsored community that provides a great monetization model for the content/community owner, and is a powerful, targeted  advertising medium for an advertiser. 
   
3. Subscription – At Endavo we’re seeing subscription models being executed successfully for premium-quality live and on-demand content.  For high-quality content targeting a particular audience, such as American Powerboat TV, audiences are inclined to pay a reasonable fee to access exclusive premium content. The best subscription model strategy includes some amount of free content followed by professionally produced, exclusive content for subscribers.

Sure, the debate continues over whether the free content (supported by advertising) or paid content (subscription or pay-per-view) models will prevail—and Endavo will continue weighing in on that debate. Rupert Murdock’s strategy with the Wall Street Journal believes in subscription-based content, while Chad Hurley, YouTube co-founder, says even in times of economic downturns the advertising industry will continue pushing more and more dollars towards online video. But I really want to emphasize that content owners need to find multiple ways to make money with their online video destinations and communities.

In my next Endavo Media Blog post I’ll address pay-per-view, affiliate networks and paid syndication, while also sharing key success strategies for monetizing online video. Now go do more and make more!