There is no denying that people find tremendous value in the most dominant video hosting platform YouTube. Ever since its entry in 2005, YouTube has engaged in full blown confrontations with popular video hosting platforms such as Vimeo and budding platforms and eventually reduced most of them to pointless also-rans. Not astonishingly, many video hosting startups had an early exodus due to the sheer power of YouTube. In 2015, YouTubers were uploading nearly 500 hours of content every minute. Today, YouTube is hero-worshipped by its ever growing active billion users who upload more than 750 hours of content every minute. While these numbers are absolutely overwhelming, what’s surprising is the fact that YouTube is actually a platform meant for entertainment. That businesses do not rely much on YouTube remains a point to ponder. More often than not, businesses rely on YouTube alternatives.
Given the hype surrounding YouTube, often one doesn’t pay attention to its drawbacks. Let me not dodge the question- Are there any drawbacks? Of course, there are a few serious drawbacks.
Perception:
For all intents and purposes, YouTube is considered an entertainment platform. Many brand managers advice content marketers to remove old videos from YouTube as such videos might not convey the latest message. If brands rely only on YouTube for content marketing, brand dilution becomes a ground reality. The scope of YouTube for businesses is limited and overshooting the frontiers to execute video marketing strategy may have major implications.
Professionalism:
YouTube lacks seriousness because it is a video hosting platform meant for entertainment. Possibilities of embarrassment are very high. For instance, if you are playing a professional presentation before your potential investors and in the suggested videos, if your competitor’s presentation gets listed, it will be a scathing embarrassment. Just imagine if the “Watch Next” section suggests an NSFW video. I don’t think any of your investors will be open to any further rapprochement.
Advertisements:
Two threads – Perception and Professionalism are clear. Coming to advertisements, YouTube has made advertisements with timeline less than 30 seconds un-skippable. In other words, you should wait for a few precious seconds before switching to the next video. If you are presenting your 2-minute investor pitch before a panel of investors, how annoying can advertisements get? Not only do advertisements hinder business relationships but also ruin important business events.
YouTube is Public:
Yes, YouTube is public and literally, anybody can watch your videos. Moreover, YouTube doesn’t require its audiences to sign in so as to view the content. However, it is mandatory for users to sign in if the content is sensitive. If small kids watch objectionable material without parental guidance, who is to be blamed? If your venture is associated with adult products, complications are simply too many to be ignored.
Limited Customization:
As far as video player customizations are concerned, options are limited. You can choose a template design of your choice, but to say YouTube is rich in design is an absolute farce. Moreover, you cannot tweak the YouTube logo from its video player. This certainly asserts that custom branding prospects are missing in YouTube’s scheme of things.
Copyright Infringements:
Privacy invasion and copyright infringements are extremely common on YouTube.
In the light of all the disadvantages mentioned above, it is important to take a look at the following alternatives to YouTube:
Vimeo:
Vimeo is an alternative to YouTube and largely caters to artists. It reaches more than one hundred million audiences every month. While corporate promotional content is strictly forbidden for free accounts, premium account holders can do away with such restrictions. Vimeo is doing everything right to show its dominance and magnanimity in the community of artists. People who pursue a career in music, dance, cinematography, photography etc., can be labeled as artists. In other words, people who engage in creative work come under the broad umbrella of ‘artists’.
Vimeo has a lot of advantages. I would like to compare the bit-rates of YouTube and Vimeo. It is noteworthy to mention that Vimeo uses higher bit rate than YouTube. Vimeo is also known to support 4K quality videos and users have a choice of selecting their own thumbnails for their respective videos. Many competitors and leading platforms have extreme limitations when it comes to thumbnails.
Vimeo – Types of Accounts:
There are three types of accounts in Vimeo: Free, Plus and Pro. Free account holders are given 500MB disk storage per week. There is also a restriction on the number of videos that can be uploaded per day and the number stands at 10. Of course, users have enough access privileges to create a restricted number of channels and albums.
Plus account is a premium account and its features can be availed for $59.95 per year. Plus account holders are given 5GB disk storage per week. In other words, nearly 250GB disk storage per week is given to Plus account holders. Plus accounts have advanced analytics and support feature. Typically, conversions for videos uploaded through this type of account are higher and much better than those of free accounts.
Pro account is yet another premium account in Vimeo. It is costlier than a Plus account. At present, all the features of Pro account can be availed at $199 per year. Pro account holders each get disk storage of 20GB per week. Apart from super-fine advanced analytics and privacy settings, features such as VIP support and private links are also present. The logo of Vimeo video player can be tweaked and third party logo can be embedded.
Monetization:
Viewers can sit back and relax as all the three accounts have unlimited bandwidths with zero advertising. But that’s not the big story – the big question is How do video enthusiasts and entrepreneurs monetize this platform? Vimeo’s video on demand feature allows you to sell your videos or rent them out for premium prices. There are also provisions to generate coupon codes and bundle offers. There are several built-in options to enable file (audio and video) sharing as well.
Wistia:
Wistia is another video hosting alternative to YouTube. It provides a conducive environment to choose a custom color that matches your brand. Challenges such as hosting own video content and creating a custom player are often in an uneasy embrace with users. This is where Wistia comes as a messiah and addresses any immediate concerns. You can handle multiple professional projects in Wistia. For instance, you can create a project, name it as per your discretion and group all the videos together. There is also a provision to tweak privacy settings of the videos.
To handle multiple projects, create separate folders. You can upload videos either from Google Drive or Dropbox to the corresponding folders. As an alternative, you can use Wistia’s built-in drag and drop feature. It is advised to drag the videos in a sequential order. You are at liberty to tweak their settings and set captions. It makes perfect sense to capture email addresses of audiences. Wistia has a provision for this as well. Not only does Wistia allow you to capture email addresses of viewers but also enables you to embed a link which redirects viewers to your site.
Wistia is a platform for professional video marketers. Its advanced analytics is like no other. It’s much applauded Heat Maps tool throws glorious insights wherein graphics portray how much of every video was watched and which parts were perceived interesting by audiences. Of course, it also provides insights on which parts of the video were skipped and re-watched. This advanced analytics tool is extremely valuable when it comes to planning and scheduling future productions. If you are looking to build a solid video strategy, you should definitely visit Wistia’s blog and video library.
Wistia – Types of Plans:
Following four types of plans are available in Wistia:
Free: This plan entails storage space for only 5 videos. Advanced features are absent.
Basic: This plan is available for $25 per month and entails storage space for 25 videos. This plan comes with a white-label video player.
Advanced: This plan costs your $50 per month. This plan entails storage space for as many as 50 videos. All advanced features are present.
Pro: This is the costliest of all four plans. This plan entails storage space for 500 videos and it costs you $100 per month. Needless to say, all advanced features can be leveraged with zero restrictions.
Emerging and established enterprises usually have high storage space requirements. Hence, Wistia has dedicated enterprise plans starting from $300 per month. There is another pricing scheme based on the consumption of bandwidth.
As far as data usage is concerned, users are charged on a per GB basis. So how much do users of free, basic, advanced and pro pay? They pay 33 cents per GB. For enterprise plans, the payout per GB is much lower.
Monetization:
Monetization options in Wistia aren’t that attractive. Subscription based revenue model can be deployed besides Pay per View.
Vidyard:
Over the past few years, Vidyard has been portraying itself as the best YouTube alternative and rightly so. Primarily built for content marketers, Vidyard is in the books of freelancers, small, mid-size and large enterprises. It is supported on web-based platforms and other operating systems such as Mac, Linux and Windows. Known for its unparalleled security and peerless configuration, Vidyard has a comprehensive analytics software suite integrated into it. One important leg of Vidyard’s analytics software which requires a special mention is – Behavioral Analytics. This module analyzes the behavior of users and throws insights on the same. All the video content can be shared to multiple social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in just a couple of clicks. Not so long ago, Business2Community applauded Vidyard for its custom branded video player.
Graphical user interface or video interface offered by Vidyard is pleasantly simple and the number of Call-to-Action features is simply limitless. There are 10 website colors available. Vidyard is working on this specific area with an aim to provide multiple choices. Also, there is a provision to conduct AB testing. You can thus determine which thumbnail works wonders and which doesn’t. Other noteworthy features include adaptive streaming, content syndication, and HTML5 support.
Pricing:
Pricing is customized and to a very large extent depends on the requirements of users. More often than not, businesses and large firms neatly fit in Vidyard’s scheme of things.
Monetization:
If you are looking to spread awareness about your brand, Vidyard is definitely one of the best alternatives to Youtube. This might come as an unpleasant surprise but monetization options are almost nil. You cannot make sales based on Pay per View scheme. Also, there are no provisions to start a dedicated subscription-based revenue model. For marketing and sales efforts, Vidyard is the go-to platform. For monetization, Vidyard is simply not conducive.
Brightcove:
It is difficult to find a single phrase that explains the brilliance of Brightcove. This alternative of YouTube has been in the business since 2004. In other words, it is much older than YouTube and has been a leader in the enterprise video hosting market. Apart from providing rock solid hosting to fortune 10 companies, Brightcove has become dominant in high-end market as well. Brightcove supports the following two types of live streaming
Ad-free live streaming
Ad-supported live streaming
Vidyard lacks monetization features. On the other hand, Brightcove has a veritable array of monetization features. Brightcove is used not only by big enterprises but also by publishers and broadcasters. Its popularity among content marketers requires a special mention. Intent and focus of users vary and hence, Brightcove video solutions are compartmentalized into two broad categories: Media and Brands
This platform is devised to enhance the quality of playback experience. Known for its social sharing features which lead to better conversions and capture, Brightcove has an assortment of proven growth hacking features such as video library manager, hybrid digital TV, behavioral analytics, transcoder etc. This suite of video hosting solutions is supported on Android, iOS and web-based platforms.
Pricing:
Its pricing model is quote based. In other words, you are charged as per your requirement of features. And yes, talk to a representative of Brightcove for any doubts. Before opting for any package, use their 30-day free trial.
Monetization:
Brightcove supports a wide assortment of monetization solutions such as advertising, pay per view and video subscriptions. Thanks to advanced client interaction, sponsors keep hitting your venture. You can monetize your videos across various social networking platforms and embedded websites.
SproutVideo:
This professional video hosting solution offers a 14-day trial period. You can try their tons of features which facilitate lead generation and engagement tracking. Lead generation is accelerated through call-to-action buttons which elicit email-addresses of intended target audiences. Thanks to advanced analytics and heat maps, video engagement data, and data related to geo-tracking can be obtained. By the way, HTML5 video playback is supported. As far as privacy options are concerned, there are enough features. You can have all your videos password protected. Apart from public visibility mode, private visibility mode is also present. For each and every video, you are at liberty to set multiple logins. Be informed that videos are set to private by default. Other notable features include HD video support, custom video players, and a comprehensive API.
Pricing:
There are five different types of pricing plans:
Plan
Price
Bandwidth
Storage
Overage
Sprout
$25
150GB
100GB
$1 / GB
Sampling
$50
300GB
400GB
$0.80 / GB
Tree
$100
600GB
800GB
$0.60 / GB
Grove
$200
1200GB
1600GB
$0.40 / GB
Forest
$400
2400GB
3200GB
$0.20 / GB
Monetization:
This platform doesn’t have many enticing monetization features. However, this video hosting platform can be integrated with other e-commerce platforms and advertising networks.
All the aforementioned YouTube alternative sites are good. But however, none of the platforms is complete and perfect. For instance, monetization features in certain platforms are absent while in other platforms, disk storage costs and hosting costs are soaring and not affordable. And truth be told, your video hosting platform cannot be a crowd puller unless it looks like YouTube. Building sites like YouTube are possible only through turnkey video Content Management System (CMS).
StreamTube is a killer turnkey software aesthetically designed to build video streaming sites like YouTube. In other words, this CMS helps you build YouTube clone sites. This comes with a host of advantages i.e., you are the master of your site. You can deftly manage your own videos. Monetization channels such as advertisements, dynamic subscription plans, Pay per View, Pay per Video etc., can be implemented. To strengthen bonds with businesses, there are a plenty of growth hacking features as well. In all likelihood, you can savor the company of sponsors and make your venture simply stunning and stellar.
Other features such as advanced analytics, transcoding and customization are priceless and are very much inherently built-in. If your venture is strewn with obstacles, issues, and doubts, the support staff of StreamHash will address them immediately. They will bring a dose of assistance and warmth. Head on to StreamTube now to know more about this CMS features.
Let us know your thoughts by dropping a line or two in the comments section. We would love to hear from you. Subscribe to our newsletter and keep watching this space for insights on video hosting and YouTube alternative applications. Our best wishes are with you and your video hosting venture. Cheers!
Producing original and quality videos are expensive and time-consuming. Without the right video hosting strategy, it is not possible to get optimal results for all the effort put in creation. YouTube and Vimeo are popular options to share your video for your business on the internet. Here is why you shouldn’t do it.
You may reach a large audience instantly, but they are not your target audience.
Your business doesn’t receive any benefit when viewers share or embed your video.
Ads can appear anytime within your video – before, during, after – always without your permission. Ads displayed could also be for your competition and you have no control to remove it.
Having your own video hosting site like YouTube gives you complete control over your business. When you use video hosting for business, you can integrate videos with your website. It is also true that you can integrate your videos hosted on YouTube with your website using an embed code, but there are three major disadvantages to it.
Backlink to YouTube
When you embed your YouTube video on your website, and a viewer clicks on that link to view it, it links back to the YouTube site. So the viewers on your website are funneled back to YouTube domain. This ultimately means that maximum revenue generation for them and undercutting for your business.
Missed or no conversion
When people watch your business videos on YouTube, they generate revenue for YouTube and not for your business. This also means missing out on lead generation, minimal or no conversion on a third-party video hosting site.
No call-to-action option
YouTube allows for video description only while uploading a video. The sidebar of your business video will have related content, mostly from your competitors. You wouldn’t want a viewer to keep jumping over to other brands after looking at your video. Do you? But when you embed a video from a host on your website, it allows for tighter integration. Each of your videos can have a call-to-action in line with your business’ goals. Also, having your own video hosting server will ensure secure video hosting for your business.
Major benefits of a dedicated streaming video hosting service are:
Speed – By the use of Content delivery networks (CDN), you get global access rapidly.
Total control on customization – you can manage the configuration of the server and dictate how your server works to deliver optimal results for your business.
Power – many video streaming hosting service hosts provide encoding/transcoding services that utilize powerful servers for fast processing of your videos.
Security with private video hosting – no one else has access to your server except your company and the company that offers your dedicated server hosting and web hosting services.
Affordable – best video hosting service is made available at an affordable cost as video streaming business has become the main source of income for individuals and businesses alike.
Features provided by a video host:
Live streaming video uploading
Video portals
Monetization via subscriptions, pay-per-view model, and advertisements
White label solution for customized branding
Total control on your video hosting website
Integration with existing desktop, web and mobile apps as well as servers
Now that you know how “free” video hosting sites have been eating away your business which is why having your own video hosting site is important, here is how to choose a video hosting service.
Steps to choose the right video hosting service:
Step 1: Define objective:
Brainstorm goals and write them down. Split them into low priority and high priority categories to simplify the process of defining objectives. In the process, remove any unimportant items, and, identify between one and four main goals for your video content. Ultimately it is these goals that will help you determine your specific needs and will guide you to choose a video platform to host.
Step 2: Evaluate requirements:
Assess the requirements to meet the specified goals/objectives. For instance, if your objective is to reach out to larger audience constantly, looking out for a service with Tier 1 CDN is going to be helpful so you can utilize the fastest speed globally.
If you are looking to create content and earn money through subscriptions, you can opt for video streaming providers who offer Netflix clone scripts. With this, you can opt for multiple monetization options like pay-per-view and subscriptions.
If you are looking for a secure platform to communicate about business matters, you need a platform with access control.
This explains how important it is to define objectives because essentially everything is going to be working to fulfill those objectives.
Step 3: Deciding on the content:
What kind of videos will meet your business goals? Is it through training, product demonstrations, meetings, advertisements, educational, funny, sports, meetings, live sessions with customers or something else? Whatever the kind of content you want to play in your videos, the video host you choose should be able to enhance the quality of it. For instance, sports videos usually need controls for pause, rewind and slow-motion, whereas, music videos require retro, cutting edge and grunge. All the video hosting providers will not provide all the options. So you will need to look specifically for the ones that will work for the kind of content that you will produce.
Step 4: Live vs on-demand video hosting:
Businesses can make use of live streaming for the webinar, workshop, events, training sessions etc. live streaming increases engagement with the audience as you, as a business can directly communicate with the viewers. Not to mention the amount of public attention that will be drawn to your business by such live streams. When you have planned for the live sessions, you can share the details of it with your clients, customers and business partners. You could also publicly announce it on social media platforms to garner attention. After all, it is most easy to spread a word via social media these days than any other medium of communication. Based on your products, services, and marketing goals, you can also do live product launches, new product creations, behind the scenes, conduct sessions with product creators. Individuals selling services online can conduct online training sessions to bring in leads, and make a mark for themselves in their respective industry or field of training.
Video on demand (VOD) is a subscription-based video hosting business where users can pay for the content they want to watch, and do so at their convenience. VOD works well for the entertainment industry. Also, it is suitable when live broadcasting is not mandatory. Not to forget that VOD gives us exact statistics and numbers that are difficult to comprehend in live streaming.
Live streaming and video on demand both serve different purposes and a business will need to use both in order to meet its business objectives. VOD is where you implement the kind of content you have planned for execution, and live streaming will be more of interacting with your target audience. However, when it comes to certain industries like event management, music, it could be a wise blend of live and VOD where equal weightage is given to both. News broadcasting companies will also be using both live and VOD wherein live videos are broken down by the news bits and saved for watch later as VOD. However, most of the news channels are not subscription-based yet, though digital magazines and newspapers have. With everything going online, we could expect many other business verticals that are offline, to go online soon.
Getting your YouTube channel sponsored sometimes seems like an impossible goal. Sponsorships are the main source of income for video creators as they can be highly profitable. Besides helping you earn money, getting sponsored can also help you craft qualitative content for your audience. But how do you get YouTube sponsorship if you are just starting out? How much do creators get paid for sponsoring videos? If you’ve seen even small YouTube channels getting huge sponsorships and are wondering how to get sponsored on YouTube, worry no more. It’s decoded here in this article.
To get sponsored, you need to make sure your channel covers all aspects that the sponsors look for. Read on to know how to get your first sponsor and grow your channel big.
What are YouTube Sponsorships?
In simple words, YouTube sponsorships mean collaboration between YouTube creators and a brand where both of them reap benefits in the deal. YouTuber will get paid for sponsoring the brand and the brand gains more exposure by the promotions. For a YouTube sponsorship to be successful, both parties have to benefit from the collaboration. For example, if the audience of your channel is not relevant to a particular brand, it won’t see any value in collaborating with you. Relevance is the major aspect essential for YouTube sponsorship. There are more ways to earn YouTube sponsorships and are as follows.
Prerequisites before reaching out to sponsors:
Quality of Your Content
The most important aspect sponsors will pay attention to before collaborating with YouTubers is the content of the channel. To earn the interest of big sponsors, you need to have quality content uploaded to your channel that engages and entertains users. When you reach out to a brand for sponsorship, the first thing they will look for is relevancy and quality content in your channel so that they can assure that their promotion would also be qualitative. Contrary, if your content is not qualitative, it is a clear sign that your YouTube channel is not ready to receive sponsorships yet. Focus on creating quality content on your YouTube channel that will help and entertain your viewers.
Content quantity
Having just 5 to 6 contents in your channel won’t serve as a good portfolio to attract sponsors. To get a sponsorship, you need to have a good number of videos so that viewers get an idea of what’s going on in your channel. Having your old videos on your channel is actually a good way to show your audience how you evolved over time. It will help people to strengthen their perception of you as a hardworking and motivated creator which makes it easier to find sponsorships for your YouTube channel. Additionally, first-time viewers to your channel will want to browse through your content to decide if they want to subscribe to your channel.
Use Business e-mail on Your YouTube Channel
Even if you are starting out small, maintain a professional profile by adding a business email on your channel. Using a business e-mail address on your channel says you are open for business inquiries. Additionally, this is where you will find video comments, friend request notifications, and videos; not to forget the assault messages on your videos once you have gained a large following.
Refrain from Violating YouTube rules & Regulations
YouTube follows several policies and guidelines to maintain a safe and vibrant community. If you are a new YouTube creator, make sure that you start out by carefully reading through their policies and terms of service. If you violate the policies, there are chances of your channel getting removed or your account may be terminated as well. It is recommended reviewing the guidelines often as YouTube may revise it from time to time.
Unauthorized music, nude photos, and videos, excessive criticism of users drive away sponsors. Check the Resource section of YouTube for a link to their rules & regulations and make sure you stick to it.
Different types of YouTube sponsorships
YouTube business modelis an advertisement based model that allows you to earn a share of ad revenues. Sponsorships are another alternate way for video content creators to earn money. There are different types of YouTube sponsorships and are as follows.
Affiliate Sponsorships
Affiliate sponsorships are the easiest way to get sponsorships from brands, especially if your channel is small. You have to place the link given by brands in the description section of your videos and every time a sale is made through the link, you earn a commission.
Alternatively, the brand will also give a discount code that your subscribers can use when making a purchase. Depending on the number of sales generated by your channel, you get a specific amount of money. While affiliate sponsorships are the least profitable type of sponsorships, they are a great way to start with when you are just beginning with YouTube and has less viewership and subscribers.
Product Sponsorships
Another way to get YouTube sponsorships is to receive free products in exchange for promotion. Brands will send you products to do unboxing videos, reviews or tutorials about how to use the products. Though you won’t receive money, you will get free products which can be quite useful. Before reaching out to sponsors, you need to make sure that the products you are looking for sponsorship fit your channel and what you are trying to do with it. Your audience can get put off due to mismatch, and your sponsor will not get the kind of value they expect. Product sponsorship for small YouTubers could be a little difficult because the sponsor has to trust them to promote their product with the limited following they have. If you aim to get product sponsorships, get started with reviews and tutorial videos that are not sponsored. Once you build an audience centered on a particular type of products, the chances of brands involved in the same niche contacting you for sponsorship increases.
Paid sponsorships
Paid sponsorships are the most wanted type of sponsorships any YouTuber looks for as it gives you direct money. Sponsors pay an amount to advertise their business in your videos or to endorse their products by doing videos for their brand on their channel. Getting paid YouTube sponsorships can be tough if you have a small user base. To get paid sponsorships, you have to grow your channel and build a vast base of subscribers. You at least need to have 10k-100k subscribers for companies to approach you for sponsorships. While paid sponsorships come with all bells and whistles, one thing to keep in mind is that – they don’t come free. When a brand is paying you, they will have certain demands and will give instructions on how the videos should be.
When you are a small channel, start out by trying to get an affiliate and product sponsorships. From there, try creating a portfolio of collaboration which you can leverage later when you will start with paid sponsorships. Once your channel is big enough, you will start seeing sponsors approaching you for promotions.
How much you can earn from YouTube sponsorships?
Now that you know the different types of sponsorships, you might be wondering how much do brands pay for sponsorships and how much money you can make. To be honest, there is no exact answer to this question. The money you can earn from a sponsorship varies between $50 and a couple of thousand dollars. However, the money you make can vary and it depends on a variety of factors.
The number of subscribers and views
As said earlier, the bigger your channel is, the better the pay. This is because the bigger your channel and subscriber list are views will also increase and hence the chance of your channel generating sales goes higher as well. The number of views of the relevant videos also counts.
The value you can bring to the brand
While the number of subscribers and views matter, what really matters is the kind of value you can bring to the brand that sponsors you. Your subscribers must engage with the products you promote. You must be able to prove the number of sales generated in your previous collaborations to prove yourself. A successful sponsorship in the past serves as a living proof that you have the potential to take their sales to new heights.
Where you place the ads
As YouTube business model allows placing ads, it is easy to endorse a brand but the placement matters. Normally, YouTubers advertise sponsorships either at the beginning or at the end of their videos. The rates for each placement differs as well.
The type of promotion
You can promote the brand by mentioning it in your normal videos or do a tutorial on their products, do review videos, or actually do a video on their profile exclusively for them. Each type comes with a different time frame to create the videos and the effort also differs for each. Depending on the type of promotion you do and how you do it make up the price tag and each of them comes with a different price.
Resources needed for the promotion
If you are doing a tutorial video or a product review, you might need some resources and certain props. Maybe at times, you have to shoot videos in a particular environment. Depending on the complexity associated with videos according to the sponsor’s requirement, the pay will also increase.
How to get sponsors for your YouTube channel
Establish a relevant audience base
Only when you know your audience, you’ll know which types of brands are approachable for sponsorship. Knowing the age group of your audience, the fashion trends they follow, where they shop, which brands they love, and, what products they are interested in purchasing helps. Partnering with the brands that your audience can connect gives your sponsor great exposure, good reviews, and of course, purchases. For this, you are rewarded either with cash or products. A successful partnership means repeat partnership, which again brings in more money to the table.
Know What You Can Offer to your Sponsors
In-video shout-outs or mentions and product reviews are two ways to market your sponsor on your channel. When you approach any brand, they will want to know what you can offer them and how you will be marketing their brand. YouTubers usually set up several tiers of sponsorships, like, reviewing products in exchange to get those products for free from the brand. It is wise to not guarantee any positive review if the product doesn’t work the way it’s advertised. Another tie-up could be to exclusively give the exposure of their products on your videos and social media pages. Similarly, you can create different sponsorship plans at different price points that provide value, where every plan will have a different method of promotion.
Learn about sponsors
Once a brand approaches you or you choose a brand to approach, take your time to research on those brands. Your target can be both startups and top names as long as their products are relevant to promote to your customers. Also, ask the question like whether they are interested in widening their reach to other demographics as it will be useful while making a proposal for sponsorships.
Craft Quality Sponsorship Proposals
Most Youtubers get the sponsorship proposals wrong as they fail to establish a connection, don’t establish fit and relevant or get more self-centered. Make sure your proposal is properly structured and have the right information that helps the sponsors to make the right decision.
Majority of creators create a proposal template and use it for every proposal by just changing the name of the sponsors. This approach doesn’t work well. Make sure you draft a personalized proposal letter and this will get the attention of the sponsors you are planning to reach out. Your proposal letter should have your introduction, description of your content and how sponsoring your channel will benefit them. The more specific you are, the easier it is for them to know how much you can relate to their brand and what they can get from their partnership with you.
Different ways of reaching out to sponsors
Now that you knowHow To Get Sponsored On YouTube, it’s time to send YouTube sponsorship application to the sponsors on your list. There are several ways to reach out to sponsors.
Reach out directly
You can reach out to them through their website contact page or through social media. You can also use your personal connections with popular YouTubers to reach out to the brands.
Reach out through sponsorship platforms
There are several sponsorship marketplaces for YouTube creators like Famebit by Youtube and GrapeVine. They are marketplaces of affiliate and product sponsorships so it’s easy to make those first few connections. There is no harm for major content creators to make use of these sites as they are known to fetch good results.
However, such platforms come with some prerequisites that vary from platform to platform. Some websites require you to have a minimum of 5,000 or 10,000 subscribers to join the platform.
Build your channel and they will come
Quality content breeds traffic and traffic breeds attention from sponsors. Once you grow your channel really big and become a popular YouTube influencer, you will start receiving emails from brands expressing their interest in collaborating with you. If you wonder How To Get Sponsored On YouTube, a good channel with great content and a community is what attracts sponsors.
Important sponsorship tips for video content creators
Brand collaborations on YouTube aren’t easy. You might already know that even if you get sponsorships easily, presenting it to your community is not going to be that easy. At least initially. The most coveted thing on YouTube is a genuine fan who loves your work and religiously follows and share your videos. So here are some tips to get the sponsorships right.
Tell them how the sponsorship will benefit their brand. Highlight the relevance to make them understand you are a good fit for the collaboration.
Don’t sell yourself short just because you want a sponsorship immediately. Remember, you have a following and you create quality content. So you can partner with a brand to give them exposure to their audience.
Don’t give up if your first few proposals don’t get you a sponsorship. Keep creating awesome content for your channel that will increase your following. And the bigger the following, the easier it is to find sponsorships.
If you have had any successful partnership stories in the past, share it with the new brands.
Ensure that you remain authentic to the style that made you popular. Never try to deviate far from your core content as it won’t bring in the engagement you got in the past.
Conclusion
Hope this article gave you a clear idea on how to get sponsored on YouTube. Now you can work towards getting sponsorships and monetize your channel. When you get sponsorship, being open and honest about it will garner appreciation from your viewers and build your channel for transparency. In addition, try to be as honest as possible with your reviews and opinions about the products you endorse. Before jumping into getting sponsorships, focus on building a good amount of quality content on your channel. The key to getting sponsorships and collaborations is by keeping your audience happy.
Have you tried getting YouTube sponsorships or are you already working with top brands? If you have tips worth mentioning, feel free to share with us in the comment section. We love to hear your thoughts.
