Things To Do Before Starting Your First Video Site

Having a video site is an effective way to get monetization. So now that you have decided to build a video site, congratulations! You have taken a huge step forward in getting income from monetization.

But now what?

Creating a video site might be a daunting task. There are countless platforms available that you can choose from.

However, creating a new video site doesn’t have to be difficult.

We are here to help you start your first video site. Transforming your ‘know what?’ into “I’m clearly ready!’

We will guide you through some strategic and technical topics, such as content organization and platform selection.

In the end, you’ll be sure you can create a video site of your dreams.

So, let’s begin:

Step 1: Write down all the requirements and ideas for your video site

Of course, you don’t want to start a mess by taking action without full consideration. In creating a video site, avoiding this mess will save you a lot of time and effort.

Before deciding on a platform to develop on, visualize your project and take some time to determine what you need from your video site. You can even categorize the requirements into things that you need in the beginning and things that you need later.

Here are some ideas to consider at the very beginning before starting to develop your video site:

Design

Do you know any template to use or do you wish to customize it? Or do you prefer to build the site from scratch? How much authority do you wish to have over your design choices? During this process look at yourself to determine what you can do and what you can’t do. Which part of the design project that you want to do by yourself, by hiring a freelancer, or by solely relying on the platform feature?

Marketing and sales features

Some platforms offer marketing and sales features. It can be monetization, affiliates, discount codes, giveaways, and newsletters. Many people have misled that the more features that you have the better it will be. Which is not true. Every business might need different features. One feature can be suitable for a kind of business but might not be useful for different businesses.

Premium or free content

Since many video site publishers offer both free and paid material, make sure the platform you select allows you to easily place specific exclusive content.

Other content support

Having blog posts or other content on your video site is good for your marketing strategy and search engine optimization. But not all platforms support other content than videos. So make sure if the platform is possible to publish a blog and upload pictures. You can get a higher reach and impression by publishing various kinds of content.

Live streaming support

Will you be live-streaming any content? Make sure the platform you are considering makes it simple to support both free and premium streams.

Community features

Events, public and private chats, community challenges, user-generated videos, social profiles, and other community-focused tools enable you to interact with your members and expand your audience. 

TV & mobile app

Small publishers might not need it yet, but in the long run, TV and mobile apps give your business a genuinely polished appearance. It’s a good idea to have it ready when your audience has grown significantly.

And that’s pretty much it! We know that it sounds like a lot but it’s worth doing so up front. That’s because selecting the appropriate platform the first time is far simpler than switching platforms once your video site is published and running.

Step 2: Select the platform

It's time to choose the best platform for your requirements now that you've determined what matters to you. Although there are many platforms available, just a few of them are helpful for the video monetization market.

Set your must-have features

Take the list of features you made in step one and give them a rough ranking before you begin comparing them. For instance, while some platforms are more focused on live-streaming services, others could place a higher value on creative freedom.

Your decision over the platform to use to develop your video site will be guided by this priority list. As we'll discuss later, it might also affect how much you pay.

Here is an example of a prioritized features list; feel free to suit your project. Make it longer, shorter, simpler, or more complex.

1. Free and paid exclusive content including how easy it is to manage the swift of paid content become free or vice versa. 

2. Live-streaming

3. Blog/social posts

4. Community chat (public and private)

5. No-code app builder

Pricing

The cost of video platforms might vary. Depending on how many subscribers you have, how much video you keep, what services you may access, or a mix of all of them, you may find that you pay a monthly membership plus costs.

Once again, give priority to the features you will use immediately, but keep an eye out for ones you may desire later.

Check the design preview

A video site with a polished appearance has a higher chance of attracting new clients. Make sure the platform offers a good selection of templates. Don’t forget to ensure their previous works are professional by looking at their portfolios. 

Get a demo

The majority of the platforms provide free demos, so get in touch and ask a representative to show you the features you'll probably use.

If you have tried and considered some platforms, it’s time to make a decision. Although switching platforms in the future could be inconvenient, keep in mind that you are not permanently locked in. Now that you've done your homework, it's time to decide.

Now let’s start the most exciting part!

Step 3: Start building

The first thing you need to build is the homepage. One of the most crucial sections of your website is the homepage. It is worth to invest some effort in it.

The majority of video platform providers offer a wide range of themes, templates, and customization choices. You can choose the style that best suits your brand identity. For some people, starting from scratch can be overwhelming, you can always pick a template. But, whatever template you finally choose don’t forget to put these crucial elements on your homepage:

1. All of your branding elements

2. Engaging video thumbnail with engaging video description

3. The most viewed or liked videos

4. Users comments or customer testimonials

5. Benefits that users will have

6. Policies and legal aspects

7. Free trial or sign up button

Step 4: Content organization

Now that your homepage has been constructed, you may focus on your content pages, which are the foundation of your website.

Video production is another process, but we do totally understand that the video production process is not as easy as it seems. Depending on the type of your video site, some platforms, like Ampliffy, also offer video production services so that you don’t need to worry about preparing your content.

Organization is crucial for your content pages. It’s important to make the content navigation simple so that users can easily explore the videos, especially if you have hundreds or even thousands of them. You have spent so much effort to record high-quality videos, that it would be such a pity that users won’t find them because of poor content organization and navigation.

Step 5: Market your video site

You can start considering what you’ll need on your website to support your marketing strategy. 

For instance, would you use written content as a part of your marketing strategy? If yes, then a blog page must be developed. Ideally, a few posts should be ready before you publish the blog section.

What about deals? Limited-time promotions, free trials, and affiliated promotional codes are examples of deals that can support your marketing strategy.

Keep in mind that all marketing features are not necessary for every video site, but they can be highly beneficial if you want to grow your audience.

Step 6: Grow your community

Creating a strong brand and maintaining audience engagement may be achieved by creating a strong community. You can have a community feature on your video site, like a chat service or forum, if your provider offers that. But even if you only have a basic and simple video site without community features, you can always build your community on another platform, like social media or a mailing list.

Create your video site now with Ampliffy

Creating a video site for the first time can be daunting. But it doesn’t have to be hard if you plan it well and work with a reliable partner to provide a white-label video site with easy customization. By doing so, creating a video site can be less overwhelming.

So now, let’s be less overwhelmed and contact Ampliffy to schedule a demo of your white-label video site. We will provide you with the best features and solutions.

Things To Do Before Starting Your First Video Content

Making video content seems like a rewarding and enjoyable career choice. You create and generate money from videos about topics that interest you. But, it’s not that simple to become a video content creator.

Every successful video content creator has a difficult path filled with hardship and work. Prior to publishing your first video, you must make certain investments, execute certain procedures, and so on. It might be difficult to remain focused and organized in the process.

This article will give you a guide about things to do before starting your first video content.

Video Production Phase

It’s common knowledge that creating a video of good quality takes a lot of effort. However, it’s always possible to take the simple road and take the easy way with poor-quality video. But in the long term, that won’t elevate your video in the digital position, resulting in wasted time and effort. In the meanwhile, high-quality video material will rank in search engine results and attract viewers.

Finding your niche and content creation goal is the first step you need to take before starting video production.

1. Determine Your Goal and Niche

Identifying your specialty is the first stage in content creation. Decide which subjects you want to focus on in your videos. Choosing one can be challenging when dealing with a lot of chances and topics. Therefore, pick the one you know a lot about. It can have to do with your hobbies or areas of competence. For instance, if you are passionate about food creation or gastronomy, you can create content about cooking videos or restaurant reviews. This is a great method to draw in your target audience and maintain consistency.

After determining your specialty, decide your objectives.

What do you want to achieve with your video content? Do you wish to educate viewers about your expertise? Do you wish to share your stories? Or do you want to monetize it and get some income?

If you want to get your video monetized, it’s very important to make sure that your audience receives worthwhile content. If you don’t, you won’t be able to build a strong community, draw in a sizable audience, or make money from your video.

You can specialize in producing video ads for premium brands. Ampliffy will support you by facilitating distribution, connecting you with top-tier brands, and ensuring your work reaches the right audience. This way, you can grow your portfolio while collaborating with some of the best names in the industry.

2. Choose Your Style and Setup

You need to plan your setup and style before you start filming your first video. See which videos do well and get inspiration from well-known video creators.

The following are a few popular styles of video content:

Vlogs

You can share your thoughts or simply share your daily activities in these kinds of videos. You may place your camera on a tripod or carry it with you for a half-body selfie. You can even talk to the camera directly.

Screen

If you are doing any digital work or computer tutorial, you can record your screen and share it with your audience.

Skit/Parody Videos

It’s a unique approach to storytelling. You can use various shot types in order to create a unique watching experience. It requires a storyboard and a script. So, pay attention to the material and the main ideas.

All that matters in video content is maintaining the audience’s interest in your video. So, anything that isn’t necessary or enjoyable can always be removed using a video editor.

3. Use An Editor to Polish

For your first video, you’ll need a basic and user-friendly editor. The greatest place to start is with Canva, an online-based video editor with thousands of available templates. Or if you want to try an application-based editor, Adobe Premiere is a good tool for Windows or iMovie for Apple users. All of them are quite simple to use. At this stage, you won’t need the greatest software available. All you need to do is learn every aspect of video editing. When editing, always keep it simple. You don’t want to use too many images or graphic elements that will distract your audience’s attention from the main message. We know that it’s tempting to utilize every feature of the software, but always remember to keep it simple, natural, and consistent.

Publishing Phase

Now that you have a quality video ready, your work is not yet finished. You should verify a few things before posting your video to the video platform, like creating a thumbnail and writing a title and an optimized description.

4. Write a Catchy Title

It’s advisable to avoid a clickbait title, but you also don’t want to make it too generic or common. For example, if you want to upload a video titled “Cooking Breakfast”. It’s too generic and you will have a lot of competition and it will be quite challenging to stand out. However, your title will be more interesting and unique if you include a few details, like “How to Prepare Japanese Style Breakfast”.

Additionally, you should incorporate keywords in your title. If you want people to locate your videos, you should include relevant keywords in the title because search engines cannot watch videos and comprehend the video content.

5. Write a Full and Detailed Description

Write a synopsis of the video’s subject. A link to any resources referenced in your video, a link to your website or social media accounts, or credit links to any content you used should also be included. It’s important to remember that search engines prioritize keywords in the title, tags, and description. 

6. Add A Thumbnail

Your video’s click depends on the thumbnail. So, it made sense to try to create an interesting thumbnail. Try to keep your thumbnail consistent from the beginning. To much text on a thumbnail is also a common mistake made by newbie video content creators. So, make sure your thumbnail is simple with minimal one or two main messages.

Things To Do Before Starting Your First Video Ad

Video consumption has increased dramatically in recent years. As a result, digital video advertising has become the main emphasis of online marketing. Advertisers are now prepared to spend a lot more money on video advertisements. However, creating a video advertisement that will accomplish its goal is a difficult task. Because of that, we are here to offer some suggestions of things to do before starting your first video ad.

Set The Goals

What are the goals of your video ad? This is the thought that needs to be answered before setting up a video advertisement. For example, it is critical to differentiate between numerous advertisement objectives. Will the video advertisement seek to create awareness about the brand, promote lead generation, increase sales, or increase traffic for the site? Setting goals is good because you will deliver a message that is straight to the point and based on the goal set, you will have metrics in place to ascertain how successful the advertisement has been. For example, if your goal is brand awareness, you’ll focus on views and reach, whereas conversion campaigns will emphasize clicks and purchases. Having a clear goal from the outset ensures your video stays aligned with your broader marketing strategy.

Know Your Audience

Creating an appealing video ad begins with knowing the target audience or target market. Identify key attributes such as age, sex, geographical location, hobbies, and online activities. What do they find most appealing, and what solution or service can your business or product provide? The ad’s voice, tone, and overall appearance must be in line with the audience and the clients that are being served. For example, a younger audience may find a more amusing and colorful approach more effective, while corporate audiences would respond better to a video with professional tone. By knowing your audience, you can create a video that captures their attention and compels them to act.

Choose the Right Ad Format

There are several different types of video ads including instream, outstream, and mobile ads. There is a large number of opportunities, especially when dealing with reputable DSPs that have a good number of premium publishers and multiple options for video ad placement. Still, proper consideration should be given to the goals of the campaign.

As an illustration, non-skippable pre-roll advertisements are a classic example of ads that are effective in reaching and boosting brand exposure. While skippable instream video advertisements are more effective in generating leads. Besides, mobile ads are considerably significant and have the ability to reach more people.

Construct A Storyboard

The first impression left by the video advertisement plays an important role and is one of the most promising aspects of the entire ad. Users are presented with a skippable instream video advertisement on some platforms. It means that five seconds after the video ad starts playing, a skip ad button appears in these advertisements. This indicates that most viewers only view the first portion of the advertisement.

When constructing storyboards for video advertisements, there is a very basic rule concerning the first five seconds of the advertisement. In short, it must have a hook that draws the viewers’ attention, otherwise people will be bored. Below are suggestions of initial hooks that you may use on your video ad:

• A question

• A narrative story

• A problem’s introduction

• A bold surprising statement

Brands have indeed started to use video storytelling techniques as a part of their marketing strategies. The story can be best summed in the perspective of a mini-movie where there is a beginning stage, a middle stage addressing the main issue and an end stage with a conclusion making the ad more effective and appealing.

Highlighting the brand’s successes is also a fantastic part to be included in the storyboard. It will show consumers that your product or service is dependable. Including endorsements and positive customer feedback in your ad is one way to construct a storyboard. In this way, you are emphasizing brand values in your video ad.

Then, the last thing to be included in the storyboard is a CTA. Including a CTA is perhaps the most important element in any video marketing strategy because the majority of video ads aim to encourage viewers to take certain actions. The majority of CTAs appear at the very end of the ads. however, the ad format you select will determine the location. For instance, if your format is an instream video ad that can be skipped, it makes more sense to put the call to action at the beginning for more visibility.

Do A Top-Notch Video Production

A top-notch video production includes the ability to personalize the ad. With the use of advanced targeting tools, you can produce customized video content that fits the taste and online experiences of your audience. Retargeting based on past user activity, personalized recommendations, and dynamic content are a few examples of targeted top-notch video production

Use Professional Video Editing Tools

Professional video editing tools are essential for producing polished and visually appealing video ads. Tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve allow for advanced editing, color correction, sound design, and special effects. These tools can enhance the visual storytelling of your ad, making it more engaging and professional. Additionally, using templates, motion graphics, and transitions ensures a seamless viewing experience. For those new to video editing, beginner-friendly platforms like Canva Video or InVideo offer drag-and-drop functionalities that simplify the editing process while still delivering professional results.

Join Ampliffy to Promote Your Brand Video Ad

Since there are too many generic programmatic pre-roll advertisements on the market right now, I advise attempting Ampliffy's distinctive advertising solution as an alternative. Through our innovative video marketing ecosystem, which includes premium publisher partnerships and targeted distribution networks, we provide advertisers with customized ad placement strategies designed to reach the right audience at the right time.

You have the option of choosing our premium video placements or dynamic social media campaigns, depending on your brand’s needs and objectives.

All you need to do is pick a content topic that best fits the narrative of your brand and get in touch with us to use Ampliffy to market your brand.

Tips to Improve Your Video Analytics

Being an advertiser or creator these days involves more than just being creative.

The world of digital advertising is dynamic and competitive. Successful advertisers understand how to mine important indicators, analyze data, and take action based on their insights, which goes beyond just producing excellent video content. 

Why are metrics important for video ads?

Analytics provide information about the audience

We must know the audience’s preferences, dislikes, behaviors, ages, and locations. This data feedback is essential to better understanding the target audience and customizing video content.

Metrics give advertisers the ability to measure performance

Advertisers and creators can also measure video performance using video analytics. This includes information about general popularity, engagement, conversions, and other factors. Marketers can quantify and optimize ROI (return on investment) for their video content using this type of data. Additionally, they can optimize material and make better decisions regarding the next campaigns or video releases. 

Better results come from optimizing content and content strategy

You may understand better what videos are effective for your audience by learning about video metrics and using them to monitor your video success. After that, you can modify your material and decide on more calculated choices for your next video campaign.

Video analytics are all about knowing what your target audience wants and what kind of content works. You can enhance and optimize your videos in a variety of ways, including themes, titles, thumbnails, format, orientation, length, messaging, call to action, platform, and more, resulting in the most focused and efficient content. 

What you can learn from video analytics?

The first thing to do before creating your video content is determine your goals, define your niche, and conduct research on your target audience. You may aim to increase sales, raise awareness of a company, or simply grow your following in order to eventually make money off of your material. 

Make your videos and get them online

Start making and distributing your videos. Your target audience and objectives may influence the format and platforms you choose to begin with.

Examine the performance

You can start examining your stats as soon as your content becomes online. You should be able to determine popularity and interaction on practically any video site, however the metrics you have access to may differ. Find videos that do well and look for recurring themes in their subject matter, structure, or level of production. Additionally, keep in mind that what functions well on one platform might not function well on another, and vice versa. 

Improve your content

Apply the lessons you've learned to your next video you've found a few trends. Keep track of your learnings and record each improvement you make to your video performance. 

Stay consistent

As previously said, this testing process needs to be continuous.

What are the metrics in video content?

Every platform may have different analytics reporting, but let's begin with a summary of the most important video marketing KPIs.

Number of views

The number of views is the most fundamental video marketing metric. 

Video views are the total number of times your video has been viewed, even if not all the way through. On the majority of sites, you can also track channel views, which is the total amount of views for all of your posted videos.

Views are a quick and simple indicator of overall content performance because they show that your video is interesting enough for viewers to click “play.” Similar to this, channel views are a useful metric for comparing your entire content strategy. If you notice a significant increase or decrease in views, it’s worthwhile to look into it further.

Ideally, you may begin identifying and copying successful video tactics using views.

Watch Time

Another important metric for measuring the success of videos is the watch time. Watch time provides an answer to the questions, “How much time are viewers spending watching my content?” and “How many times was a video viewed”

Advertisers can calculate the average or total amount of video watch time.

• “Total watch time” describes how long a video has been viewed overall by all viewers.

• “Average watch time” is the total watch time divided by the number of views.

On a lot of platforms, you can also view the overall amount of time spent watching all of the videos that have been posted.

Similar to video views, video watch time can generally indicate the success of the content. Additionally, watch time metrics can indicate when you need to go deeper into your analytics tools.

Completion Rate

The completion rate indicates the number of people who watch your video all the way through. This is a parameter if your video is engaging from beginning to end.

Demographics

Demographic data is the statistics about your audience, such as age and location. Advertisers may better understand and connect with their target audience by using demographic metrics.

Gender, location, device type, and online time are largely standard across platforms. Advertisers may use this data to better target the correct viewers, create audience groups, and tailor content to increase interaction.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR, or click-through rate, is yet another crucial engagement indicator. The ratio of viewers who click on a video to those who view the video thumbnail is known as your video’s click-through rate or CTR. The ratio of viewers who click on a video link (such as a call-to-action button or hyperlink) to all viewers who see it is another way to define CTR.

Video Analytic Tool by Ampliffy Control Panel

Ampliffy Control Panel gives the creators and the advertisers an easy yet complete set of functionalities to measure, manage, and enhance their videos in a way that fits their audience better. Our analytics platform lets you look further into your audience and improve your strategies so that you meet your goals with your campaigns in a better way.

Ampliffy’s control panel features:

1. Daily Metrics Dashboard

In very simple words, a dashboard for this would ideally chart essential KPIs like views, watch time, engagement rates, and even CTR in discrete time intervals that are most appropriate. The dashboard provides a clear overview of your video performance at a glance, enabling immediate adjustments to optimize results.

2. Detailed Audience Insights

Ampliffy’s control panel offers detailed audience insight including age, gender, location and the device that they use. Get to know your audience better and comprehend their preferences to create better, more focused video ad campaign.

3. ROI Tracking

Assess the return on investment for your video content with in-depth financial metrics. Monitor conversion rates, ad revenue, and overall profitability tied to your video campaigns.