Do You Need Video Content To Make Money Online
Some Thoughts...
I’m working on this post from a surprisingly cute coffee shop in my grandma’s tiny town. There are two ladies socializing their 3 week babies in said shop and I’m freaking out a little bit-there are germs in here ladies. And where are their socks? Wouldn’t that be a great video to watch though? Video has seemed to have taken storm over the content creation space and how people are consuming content online. For the past couple of years I’ve thought about starting a YouTube Channel but have continued to struggle with building the amount of enthusiasm that I need to build a thoughtful and helpful channel for my viewers.
But video stays on my mind.
Angela Hollowell, creator of Please Hustle Responsibly has a video podcast. The video quality is fantastic. I know that right now I don’t have the capacity to focus on beautiful video design. If you’re struggling with whether or not you should add video into your brand-I have some thoughts on how to do that without losing your mind.
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Free Printables Workshop
Click here to watch Gold City Ventures free printables workshop. I’m not an expert in growing and developing a printables business. That’s why I reached out to Cody from Gold City Ventures to share his experience building his printables business.
Do You Need Video Content
Yes. If you’re wondering if you should start a video focused project-the answer is a little more nuanced. I do want to share why video has been on my mind for the past couple of years. In a recent Insivia article they noted the following:
82% of internet traffic will be driven by video consumption (this is insane to me)
55% of users will be viewing content on a daily basis
90% of marketers reported a positive experience using video as part of their marketing push.
I would also agree with the final statistical point from personal experience. I’ve also come to realize that there’s more than one way to add video to your brand. Last week I shared different strategies and tips for those of you trying to monetize your podcast. I didn’t really talk about video strategies in that newsletter. Here are some strategies that I’ve landed on.
5 Video Content Strategies Without YouTube
Design a Branded Livestream
Myself, Angela Hollowell of
and Corey Gumbs founder of host a bi-weekly branded livestream called “Shhh, We’re Talking.” This livestream has been a great way to collaborate with content creators that I think are absolutely wonderful and who I think compliment the strengths and weaknesses within my brand. There are several things that I love about this project:We’re optimizing a platform that is still in its growing stages.
Very few Black content creators seem to be running collaborative livestreams on the platform-We’re able to stand out.
Hosting a branded livestream is very straightforward. We show up every other week and hold a great conversation.
How we get people to watch and be engaged:
Design a graphic that advertises the upcoming livestream and what we’ll be talking about.
Encouraging people to follow or subscribe to the creator whose project resonates the most with everyone.
Ask attendees to remember to add a reminder to their calendar (Substack has added this as an option on the platform)
Become a Regular Guest
On someone else’s video podcast or regular show. I have a friend who was invited to be a regular expert for a regular segment for their local television station. Not only did this friend grow his visibility within their region, but they were also able to add an incredible credential to their resume. Guesting is a wonderful strategy because:
You just have to show up well-prepared and do a fantastic job during your segment.
Guesting is a great way to build authority and backlinks from another brand to your work.
No tech knowledge is needed!
There are a number of video podcasts and video forward opportunities to get in front of other people’s audiences.
Record Specially Designed Content
Are you heading to a conference or other unique event: EssenceFest, Cowboy Carter Tour, Podcast Movement Evolutions, Podcast Movement, FinCon, SXSW, etc. Produce a special broadcast that optimizes the energy around the event that you’re attending. You can optimize organic search during the event.
Create a project that you record and share months PRIOR to event that positions you as the expert on the event or the space. I’ve done this when I was actively blogging. Writing posts around what to expect at the event, how to prepare for an event and what to consider once you’re there.
Add video to Your Newsletter
There are a couple of ways you can do this. Depending on the newsletter platform you’re currently using.
Record direct into your newsletter
Pre-record a video and upload into your newsletter
Don’t Edit Your Videos
The most important thing that I’ve realized is to recognize that I have limited capacity to create. Understanding my capacity issues means that I choose to focus on the simplist way possible to get the work done. What does this look like?
Having an editorial calendar-I’m not winging it if I’m recording video. They need to make sense and fit a need.
Not editing my videos-I just don’t have the time right now to edit a video. The priority is to get them done. The focus is on thinking through getting the important components to a great video taken care of before hitting the record button. What are those components?
Content quality
Audio quality
Video recording quality
Staging of background
Optimize the videos for search-SEO is still your friend. Increasingly the question will creators should be thinking about is how to understand AI search results and the best way to get your content in front of that type of results engine. In addition to AI search results understanding how other search engines work: Pinterest, YouTube, Google, etc. is important for video discoverability.