That’s right. If you’re making video for the web, you must retire the use of the label “filmmaker”. Hear me out.
What’s more valuable: your brand or your content? I say brand. In the context of web video, building equity in your brand starts with releasing video content for free and finding an audience allows you to eventually capitalize on that brand through a variety of different methods. It is close to impossible to squeeze money out of your video content online – and the producers who are successfully charging consumers for content are the producers with established brands that probably existed in the old media world, like television or film. We’ve had more than 50 years of free video content playing on the tube, it makes sense that consumers expect and to some degree almost have the right to demand free content. This is not a bad thing. In fact I think it’s quite exciting.
More often than not filmmakers and producers ask me how to monetize online video, or how did I make money off of OzGirl. I really think the broader strategy for online producers should be to build equity in their brand and capitalize on it through merchandising, tiered content, licensing, partnerships – the sky is the limit when it comes to what is traditionally known as “ancillary” revenue.
In this new digital landscape, ancillary is the new primary. The internet allows you to be really creative with how you go about making money. Video is an enormously powerful tool to pull an audience and engage consumers in a way that no other medium has the capacity to do (this is why the “audio visual” industry is so strong). We need to stop thinking of ourselves as filmmakers and think of ourselves as entrepreneurs. Video is simply the first block in the long term strategy to build a franchise and a brand. What comes next is up to you, and this is where we are afforded the ability to be truly creative. It could be something as simple as creating a Cafepress T-Shirt shop, or teaming up with a band to sell digital audio downloads with a revenue split. My advice to producers, or should I say online entrepreneurs, is to consider all of this from day 1. Capitalizing on your brand is not an afterthought, it should be part of your long term business strategy.
Web video must be seen as an entry point for consumers to engage with your brand, it is simply a promotional tool to sell t-shirts or MP3s. That’s not to say you can’t tell genuine stories through online video. On the contrary, in fact the more effective your storytelling, the higher your sales will be. There is some serious money to be made on the internet. I’ve stopped calling series like OzGirl web series, or shows. They are ventures and start ups and we, my friend, are entrepreneurs with a powerful platform and marketing tool: web video.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sadie Brown, Nicholas Carlton. Nicholas Carlton said: You are not a Filmmaker – http://bit.ly/8er3t [...]
[...] from a young guy I met at the SPAA Fringe Conference called Nick Carlton who has just posted this : You are not a filmmaker. Nick is one of Australia’s most successful online video entrepeneurs and at the age of 19 [...]
You have some excellent points here Nick, but I think your entry point may be slightly off, in my opinion. While I do agree that branding is extremely important, what is more important is how you begin to build that brand…and that is through your content. Having contact with as many shows as I have, I am often not recognized by my face but by the projects I have worked on. And the reason those particular projects stand out is because their content has inspired someone in some way. Lonelygirl15 was as popular as it was because of a girl named Bree who drew in a group of people who were passionately compelled to help her. The Guild touches a niche of people who were brought together by a common interest in gaming and then stayed because the story compelled them. Nick, you are probably often know as “the guy who created OzGirl”. And that’s not me knocking your talent or what you bring to the table…because I know you’ve got the whole package. But it is your ability to tell a story that got people to stand up and start taking notice. So in my humble opinion, content will always be king…and the brand is it’s queen.
I hope this starts a dialogue going, it’s a fascinating topic!
Hi Jenni,
I agree with what you’re saying. I think content is king and the creation of quality content is paramount to succeeding online, however I think in the long run and in the context of generating revenue, the [video] content should be there to serve the brand that you’re building.
Thanks for commenting
You’re right, quality storytelling is a requisite to get noticed (okay, maybe not – see Fred), but I think branding should be considered from the get go. The Guild has great branding and has created instant brand recognition around Felicia Day, this of course started with her having a great show but no doubt it has put her in a better position to capitalize on both her name and through the brand, ‘The Guild’.
What I’m saying is, in order to generate revenue we should shift our thinking away from how to make money DIRECTLY from video content (ie. selling episodes online), but how to make money from my BRAND that is built and grown from having FREE quality video content available (ie. The Guild, Ask a Ninja).
Nick
Good post
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by nickcarlton: You are not a Filmmaker – http://bit.ly/8er3t…
Nick,
I think you are indeed spot on with your approach and as I mentioned to you we have a lot to talk about. The reality is, that we are in a changing world with more fragmented target markets/audiences and more diverse media platforms that attempt to reach them. The grandmasters (networks) tackle as many platforms as they can grasp but have strategically ( or non-strategically) not capitalised on others to their full extent i.e. social media. Or they have attempted to execute on these new platforms using the same strategies that they have use for other marketing channels. It is impossible to be good at every things, especially when more and more niche approaches are being created every day (particularly by people who have yet to learn how to read).
Hence, there lies the opportunities for smaller entrepreneurs/ filmmakers to exploit. The distinction between a good brand and a good piece of content is almost arbitrary – if you are innovative, you have to try to find the market, or the market accidentally finds you. Either way it takes hard yakka, smarts and a bit of luck. Anyone that says otherwise, is probably full of ****.
I think this is my first blog-post ever, we will chat again about building empires. Thanks for the invite.