In my recent consulting with several comedians looking to build an online presence, I’ve heard three of them utter virtually the same exact line to me when talking about goals:
“I want to get a million views on YouTube.”
With all excitement in their eyes, hoping that I can unveil the magic bullet secret to achieving the success they’re shooting for, I gave them practically a 180 degree answer that throws them for a total loop:
“I don’t know about you, but my landlord doesn’t take YouTube hits for rent.”
Sure, it may make you feel all warm inside when your stupid video goes “viral” and amasses 600,000 views in a week. But that and a $1.50 buys you a cup of coffee.
Even if you’re not a comedian or not utilizing video, you can easily substitute website traffic in its place. Every time I hear people feverishly asking how to get more traffic, more eyeballs, more tweets, more Facebook likes, I put my head in my hands and give out a disgusted sigh. Why? Because unless you have a means to convert whatever you’re doing into money, then what does it matter?
Whenever I follow up this deer-in-the-headlights conversation with someone, it always comes back to one thing: a business model.
What exactly is your plan for earning income from people, not viewers?
Are you selling something directly? (a product, DVD, eBook, etc.)
Are you leveraging exposure for indirect income opportunities? (live performances, consulting gigs, etc.)
Inevitably, the conversation turns to the ad-based model of monetization. I don’t know how people estimate the income made on a typical CPM basis without having any experience with it, but all I know is that 99.9% of who I speak to grossly overestimate it – as if these viral video sensations are pulling in $10k a day from overlays, text link ads and so forth. I’ve been a YouTube partner and know others who are as well – and one single video with a million views will barely pay for a night’s dinner for two.
One comedian I’m friends with here in Louisville actually has a bunch of YouTube videos with a 6-7 figure viewership and consistently publishes content that hits 5 figures easily. And I find it completely ridiculous when he calls me up excited about the $9 he made today, $17 yesterday and $300 approximate expected earnings for the month. This is what I told him, pretty much:
“Dude, you got over a million individual people to watch you this month. Don’t you think 300 lousy bucks in return is total shit for that amount of exposure and attention? You get paid 5-10 times that for one 45 minute live performance in front of a hundred people – and you sell a DVD to 5% of them for $20 afterwards…”
“…now superimpose that to your YouTube channel. You perform at a comedy club knowing that some of the people there will buy your DVD, right? But imagine that instead of 200 people being there, you have a MILLION butts in those seats. How much money would you make off of DVD sales then? Probably so much that you’d be happy to do the gig itself for absolutely free. So why the hell are you getting so excited about making $300 after performing virtually in front of that many people?”
And that there is the point. There’s no purpose in generating traffic without the means of converting eyeballs into dollars.
Ad-based income streams usually need a lot of traffic for a good living.
Direct sales income need as much traffic as compared to your price point/markup.
Indirect income streams usually don’t need much traffic whatsoever.
Could your online presence be something you’re building up to monetize? Sure – but have a fucking plan. Your exact business model will determine how much traffic you’d need to reach your goals. You may find that a bajillion hits is unnecessary – and even if you get that much, remember that they alone don’t pay the bills.