Q: Sell videos online and make money fast. Is this possible?
A: Sure! The numbers below prove that consumers are happy to pay for online video.
These numbers are based on data from our own customers and that of other video platform suppliers.
Online video consumption has grown exponentially this year. The consequences of the coronavirus have permanently changed consumers’ online behaviour. Online video has become part of everyday life.
If there is a time to start your own video on demand business, it is now. The AudiencePlayer team is ready to help you with that!
AudiencePlayer is a video monetisation platform. Owners of video content can build and launch a video streaming website and native apps for mobile and smart TV with AudiencePlayer.
In this blog we explain in 7 steps how to sell videos online and make money fast.
- Find your niche audience
- Make your content plan
- Determine your financial goals
- Create your online marketing plan
- Set up your video website
- It’s time to sell your videos online and make money
- Expand to branded native mobile apps and smart tv apps
Let’s quickly discuss the most important topics per point…
Find your niche audience
Before you start with your video streaming service, it is good to have, as clear as possible, a picture of your target audience. Does your target audience consist mainly of men, women or both, what are their interests, do they have hobbies, what are they like? We recommend that you create an extensive profile of your ideal customer.
Knowing this, it is smart to do online research into what is already being offered by others. For example, check out free video websites such as YouTube. Find out how you differ from others. If you have this clear, you can better determine what special added value you have to offer.
Also try to see if there are online marketing reports or numbers that indicate the size of your target audience. This will give you an idea of the size of your potential market and help you better set your financial goals.
Make your content plan
It is now time to determine exactly what content you want to offer. Try answering the following questions:
- What kind of videos do you want to offer? (training, entertainment, yoga, fitness etc.)
- How do you want to make your videos? With your mobile phone or do you need to buy some simple gear, like cameras or online editing software?
- Do you have any partners that you can publish videos from on your platform?? For example film distributors, brands or YouTubers.
- What kind of other content do you want to offer? Blogs, physical products, live events, eBooks, etc.
Determine your financial goals
Now that you have a good idea of what video content you will be offering and for whom, you have yet to determine for how much money you want to sell your online videos. It is smart to make a simple financial overview before you start. This overview gives you a better idea of the feasibility of your objectives. You can then determine how many paying users you need per month.
We recommend that you include the following points in your overview:
- Which payment model do you want to apply? Subscriptions, pay-per-view, a combination or even credits?
- How many paying users do you want to connect per month for the next 3-5 years??
- What are your fixed costs? Think of technology, personnel, etc.
- What are your variable costs? How does the growth of your online video service (viewing time and revenue) relate to your platform costs?
Create your online marketing plan
Based on your financial plan, you can now determine how much budget you want to spend on marketing. We believe that online marketing is the best way to get results quickly. Especially for companies that do not have a lot of time, budget or capacity, online marketing is a smart and powerful way to bring your video platform to the attention of your target group.
You can spend your budget on the following online marketing activities:
- Content marketing (blogs, vlogs)
- Social media marketing (YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook)
- Email marketing (MailChimp, ActiveCampaign)
- Search Engine Optimization
- Online networking
- Referrals
- Search Engine Advertisement
Set up your video website
You can now start setting up your online video streaming website. To set up your website, it is important that you have developed or have developed a brand name, logo, corporate identity. It is also practical to have a domain name and e-mail address reserved with a hosting company.
Once you are ready to start filling your video platform with content, it is important to consider your online sales strategy. Below are 4 important topics to keep in mind:
Tempt
Seduce your visitor to continue reading when he is on your website. You often do this with a catchy headline (possibly with background image or video) that immediately evokes the right emotion in your visitor. Any page elements you use should have the purpose of arousing or stimulating curiosity. They must confirm that your visitor has come to the right place.
A number of clearly unique selling points of your online video service can also lead a visitor to want to read the rest of your website.
Influence
Influence your visitor in their future purchase decision by building credibility and trust. For example, use testimonials from other customers. You can also do this by writing down experiences that show you are an authority in your field.
Recognition is also a powerful emotion to generate interest and confidence. For example, tell something about yourself or your company (storytelling) that is relevant to your visitor. Show that you know and understand the challenges your visitor faces and indicate that you are the solution for this.
Persuade
Convince your visitor to buy your videos. List all the benefits, unique selling points and show sneak previews of your videos. Make sure you don’t use too much (boring) content. Keep it simple and clear. Name something you can give to your customer, but possibly also what the customer will miss if he doesn’t make a purchase. Name pain points and fears.
Sell
Encourage your visitor to take action (call-to-action). Show product information such as an appealing title, short summary, images, trailers, free videos, price and an eye-catching button to your payment page. Give your visitor reasons to take immediate action and not postpone his purchase. You do this by adding urgency in the form of temporary bonuses and discounts.
In the end, remove the last possible objections for your visitor to buy your product. You can do this for example with a list of frequently asked questions. Make sure you always close every sales page of your website at the bottom with a call-to-action.
It’s time to sell your videos online and make money
It is important to go live with your online video streaming platform as soon as possible. Don’t try to be perfect, but be open to the feedback you will get from consumers. Based on this feedback, you can adjust and improve parts of your video service. Measuring is always knowing. Just like a plant, you will have to give an online video streaming service consistent attention. If you do that properly, it will start to grow on its own!
Expand to branded native mobile apps and smart tv apps
Once launched, you can decide to expand your video service to other channels, such as mobile apps and smart TV apps. This increases your reach and makes your video platform user-friendly for your customers. Consumers currently use an average of 4 devices connected to the internet. This will only increase in the future. So make sure your online video streaming platform is where your target audience is.
Do you have any questions regarding this article or are you eager to get started? Don’t hesitate to contact us.
