Have you ever made a You Tube video? How many hits does it have? How many subscribers do you have? In the earlier days of this social medium, they had an ‘Original Channel’ funding initiative. Hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it given to major media companies, were distributed to launch their own channels.
The first lesson is: This isn’t TV. Many channels, like Crash Course and SciShow, tried going that route, putting in lots of camera work, big sets and a large cast. Their results?backfired, and it could take years for their creators to earn that money back. The best channels, like SouceFed, were low budgeted, realistic, and took only a small number of people to produce.
Other lessons: You don’t need a lot of money to have a good You Tube video or channel. You don’t need a lot of good looking people either. Remember the top 10 video list I posted a couple of weeks ago? Most of these men and women can hardly pass as supermodels. But they said or did something that connected with Joe and Jane; that’s why they got so many hits. I think people are fed up with Wall St., Washington and Hollywood these days. So of course they’re going to gravitate to people who are closer to them. Which would you rather see: the rich get richer, the?pretty?get prettier, more?political fighting?or a homeless man who performs a kind deed get housing?
Now, You Tube advertisers are using much smaller grants, and those go to people who have experience making online videos. So it looks like they’re getting it. But are the video producers? Personally, I say start doing them yourself. With 2010s technology, it’s easier and cheaper to make an online video than ever before. If it’s good enough, it will get the attention it deserves and the money and ads will come. Will I be seeing your video one day?