YouTube Monetizes Shorts 🔥

Ever made a TikTok or a Reel? Time to cash in!

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Vics Vibes
February 22, 2023

YouTube takes a big step in monetizing short-form content

There is no secret that there is a pretty serious competition going on between the social media giants, but it seems that attention is no longer the only desired outcome. Platforms must now attract creators to establish parts of their business model on these platforms. Instagram recently announced verified pages, access to customer service and guaranteed reach (for $15 a month), TikTok is looking to revamp its Brand/Creator hub & Amazon is making a bigger play to help creators monetize with its influencer programs. Well here recently, YouTube has announced its Shared Ad Revenue model as it pertains to YouTube Shorts, making a significant step towards uncapped earning potential for short-form content!

The Reality: Short-form content has emerged as the premier content style that the world is embracing. A short-form piece is typically less than 60 seconds, but based on the platform there can be arguments for 90 seconds or less than 3 mins. This style of content is often a reaction to other original content, a viral trend being remixed or a format that has proven to hold retention (GRWM, Day-in-the-Life, etc.)

The Problem: Although short-form content is often very engaging, it tends to also be extremely short clips. Not only short clips but also think about your scrolling experience. How many different industries does your timeline stretch across when you're scrolling? One second you're watching fitness videos, next you're listening to love advice & the next clip will be teaching you how to file your taxes. Basically, traditional advertisers don't have a clear path to their target market!

The Solution: YouTube has slightly modified its monetization model from long-form content and tailored it to the nature of a short-form ecosystem. Review this photo and some notes we left below to understand the approach.

In a nutshell, YouTube's "Shared Revenue" model involves 3 parties: YouTube, Creators & Advertisers. Advertisers will approach YouTube with their ads in hand and their advertising budget ($). YouTube will then take that money and distribute it in 2 ways, that is based on 2 main factors: 1.) Is the creator monetized & 2.) Did the creator use Licensed Music in their video?

If the creator is monetized, they will receive compensation based on the performance of their short no matter what. The only caveat to the payout system is if the creator decided to use licensed music or not within their Short. Shorts without licensed music will have 100% of the advertising money put into the Creator Pool. However, shorts that do contain licensed music, experience an additional revenue split between YouTube and the Creator Pool, as the owners of the music must be paid out as well. Finally, the Creator Pool will be distributed amongst all of the monetized creators.

And the answer is yes... even if you don't use licensed music you are being affected by the overall pool being smaller. That's just a part of the game!

Overall, this move shows how serious short-form content is going to continue to be, as well as how serious YouTube is taking the creator economy. With other features like tipping creators, purchasing paid subscriptions and buying products directly from a creator's videos.... YouTube is looking to take home the crown for creators! Want to get monetized, read here.

It is our pleasure to announce this week’s Digital Hustlers of the Week, Erin Winters (left) and Lou Young (right). These two are cultural leaders in their respective fields, generating tons of watch hours on a weekly basis!

So lets start with introducing Erin Winters, AKA Erin On Demand, the Brand Whisperer. She is what we would call a Queen of the Creator Economy! With her high-quality and consistent material, Erin has captivated over 500K creatives within her digital footprint. She has prepared and propelled the creativity of so many people who have been looking to transform from 'Creator to CEO'. Erin has found herself in front of the camera for quite a while now, working with National Geographic a few years back, before she realized she could perform the same roles on behalf of her own brand, and that's exactly what she did! With the support of her Mom as her bookkeeper and Husband Cameron as her Brand Developing Assistant (totally made up, he honestly just wears a lot of hats and is very supportive), she was able to dive all in on developing Erin on Demand as a brand!

She has since launched several products and curriculums, as well as shared the stage with Gary Vee! You may have seen her on a Nikon ad recently as she was selected as one of the premier ambassadors to bring the Z-30 to market! So go no further than The Brand Whisperer herself, if you're looking for clarity, motivation and some of the best creative business tips from someone who's showing up and getting done!

Now Lou Young on the other hand, is one of the funniest creators on the platform with rising popularity every day! Lou was initially a professional athlete, playing his collegiate ball at Georgia Tech and then transitioning to the NFL. After a few seasons with the Carolina Panthers, Lou began to lean into his comedic abilities and started making comedy skits on social media. He has now accumulated over 1,500,000 supporters within his digital footprint! He has gained massive traction as his impersonations of celebrities are so top-tier, they are to be mentioned along with the greats like Jaimee Foxx!

You can tune into Lou's long-form content on Youtube, where his true acting skills are extremely evident! He has created characters in Coach Shlouuu, Uncle Charlie, Charles (from BMF), and even Shleve Harvey, where he worked side by side with Steve Harvey on Family Feud! This past week we saw Coach Schlouuu and Uncle Charlie enjoy all-access passes to the 2023 Pro Bowl events where they had the time of their lives! Lou is a once-in-a-generation talent that has a very high trajectory set for his career, so make sure you tune in!

Be sure to follow and support this week's Digital Hustlers of the week! There is so much to learn from two leaders who have truly believed in their abilities and simply bet on themselves! Their on-camera abilities are displayed at an elite level, so much to learn from them both!

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Juice Funds creators are already seeing success, with earnings totaling $25 million+ since joining the program. So, why not throw your hat into the ring?

Atlanta Falcons open doors to the Ticketmaster Studio

The digital studio the Atlanta Falcons have created might shed light on where the future of professional sports teams is headed. Since the beginning of sports, the analysis has come from one of the major networks like Fox or ESPN, which they are then sharing with every other team in every other league. The Falcons have introduced a way to now take the messaging and exposure into their own hands by building their own studio to provide. I'm starting to think that YouTube sensation and former college athlete Deestroying may have shifted the entire trajectory of the marriage between sports and content creation.

"As demand for digital content continues to increase yar over year, this new facility is a stragic investment that now poistions the orranization for all current needs as well as future growth in content development and delivery." Falcons Staff Member.

Here are a few Wins I believe the Falcons walk into 2023 with:

  1. Having of the studio: Dedicated space to produce high-quality digital content minutes away from the practice facility is unmatched!

  2. Behind the Scenes: Deeper connection with the players, coaches and entire organization as a whole as we get more content of the day-to-day life

  3. Creator Opportunity: You have to know in order for this to be a success, our creative minds will need to fulfill the roles of running such a production studio like this

  4. Format Variation: They can now produce the traditional style studio analysis by Falcon's insiders, cinematic storytelling, touchscreens for in-game analysis, podcasts featuring coach/players/fans, multiple broadcast setups, flexibility for sit-down anchor interviews or a couch-setting for conversational interviews.

  5. Collaborations: The collaboration potential between players, coaches & important people from around the league is endless!

  6. Increased engagement with fans: The digital studio has allowed the Falcons to produce more engaging content for their fans, including behind-the-scenes videos, player features, and other unique content that helps build a stronger connection between the team and its fans.

As for creatives, the Atlanta Falcons Digital Studio represents an exciting opportunity to work in a state-of-the-art facility that is dedicated to producing high-quality digital content. As for the Falcons, I believe this will build the connection between the fan base and the organization exponentially. Let us know your thoughts on this new creative studio in Flowery Branch!

This new program will generate thousands for creators

By now you may have heard about Amazon's Influencer Program right? This program allows social media influencers to earn commissions by promoting Amazon products to their followers. But that's not all, Amazon is also providing educational resources and guides for its influencers on how to create compelling content and grow their brand presence on the platform. Remember we talked about YouTube making a big move... EVERYONE is making big moves toward creators!

The Creator University is Amazon's newest reveal, build in order to help provide educational resources, video tutorials and inspiration to help creators build a business through the Amazon platform. One of the key features of the program is the ability to earn commissions by sharing affiliate links. But what many don't know is that for an extended period of time, after someone clicks on your link initially, you will still be compensated even if they don't purchase the exact item you were suggesting.

That's right, if someone remembered to purchase a few items out of their cart after they clicked on your referral link, you will still be paid a commission for generating traffic to Amazon.

I wasn't even aware of the laundry list of coupon codes that are available every single day! You may have seen my purchase of a $234 vacuum cleaner for only $28 the same day I discovered this program! I only found this out by reading through the step-by-step guide provided by Amazon themselves! What I want to emphasize is the READING portion. If you've made it this far in the newsletter, you're already cut from a different cloth, but don't stop here. Taking the time to read through the operating agreement and how-to guides is what is going to give you the advantage over the rest of the market that doesn't know how to optimize the tools that are available!

I am personally going through the program myself, which is why I am inviting the Digitally Hustlin community along with me! We all know the power and reach of Amazon, it only makes sense as creators to benefit from the conglomerate they have already built! Let us know if you find anything we may need to educate the community on! So if you're a creator looking to take your career to the next level, check out Amazon's Influencer Program and the educational resources it provides. You never know where it might take you!

Digital Dimes

Digitally Hustlin does not own the rights to photos that have been used within this publication. Affiliate links have been placed within this publication as well. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.