Are Producers Of Online Video Making Money? The majority of content creators we polled are monetizing their content, albeit infrequently and in varying ad formats. Recently, a journalist asked us what percentage of our users are actively monetizing their videos. Since we sell viewership analytics (rather than an advertising platform), we had no data to turn to. Instead, we sent a poll to our users to get a fuller picture of what is going on. Methodology An anonymous, nine-question survey was sent to 11,919 TubeMogul users, of which 1,114 completed it. A free T-Shirt was offered to anyone that filled out the survey. Some possible biases in the sample include the fact that more prominent users might be reluctant to share their ad revenue numbers (even though the results are anonymous), or be enticed by a free T-shirt. Also, some of those surveyed were confused about terms like "monetization" and "CPM," jargon that is more esoteric than we assumed. Results Are you currently monetizing any of your videos?
The results to the rest of the questions only apply to those that answered "yes." What is the average CPM of your monetized videos? • Average across all that answered: $12.39 Approximately what percentage of your videos are currently being monetized?
Of your videos currently being monetized, approximately what percentage are you monetizing yourself (as opposed to through a partner program like YouTube, Revver, Blip, etc.)?
Do you • • •
(or does your organization) sell your own ads into videos? YES: 31.3% NO: 68.8% NOTE: As a percentage of all surveyed, 20.4% are selling their own ads into videos.
Which ad formats do you utilize? Displayed in descending order of usage:
We also provided a space for users to share any "anecdotes, best practices or other tidbits on video monetization." Many answered with truisms, such as "content is king" or "sex sells." Here are some of the more interesting answers: • "Never produce anything with your own money, EVER! I think Scorsese said that." • "Analytics is VERY important in regards to monetizing your video and tweaking each variable." • "Product Placement and direct sponsorship sales are the greatest value for both buyer and seller. The CPM model needs to be revised for this medium." • "[The] best results I've had is wi[t]h buy-in from local and/or niche sponsors." • "Many people in the youtube community frowned when I used ads to collect a very small portion of revenue. I ended up stopping the ads because I wasn't making enough money. I have well over 3,000 subscribers and I should be able to make something. But, the fact is, is that ads are only useful on youtube if you have over 100,000 subs." Analysis/Conclusions Of users monetizing their content, two poles emerged: at one extreme, 47.4% of the total, are producers joining revenue-sharing programs on video sharing sites like YouTube and taking a rare sponsorship deal when and if they can get it; at the other are popular (professional?) producers of video selling their own, exclusive ads (23.4%). About 29.2% fall in the middle somewhere. The reported CPM varied widely, from pennies to over $100, averaging $12.39 across all surveyed. With 20.4% of all surveyed actively selling ads into their content, the picture looks hopeful. Worth pondering are the 48.4% surveyed that do not monetize their videos at all, despite ubiquitous revenue-sharing programs that are easy and costless to join. Many of these people commented that their videos are ads (i.e. movie previews or corporate-seeded viral videos), or they are putting out their content for fun (i.e. family videos). In terms of ad formats, overlays are the most popular, although this is probably because they are included as part of most video site partnership programs. Interestingly, the industry seems split between product placement (used by 29.4% of those surveyed), and
pre-roll and post-roll (at 31.2% and 34.8%, respectively). The product placement/brand integration enthusiasts were the most vocal in the comments section, however. Examples Of Various Ad Formats Pre-Roll: Moblogic.tv, CBS Interactive
Product Placement / Brand Integration: DadLabs.com, For Your Imagination
Works Cited: • SurveyMonkey. • TubeMogul's users.