Read this short interview to hear how Adam Linkenauger went from Olympic hopeful to moving back in with his parents, coming up with an idea for a business, only be told by a ‘friend’ that it was not going to work. Read on to see how his friend was way wrong!

Here’s why you should listen to Adam:

250,000+ FREE Leads from Youtube

Verified on Facebook which has served as leverage/credibility in the market.

1,000,000 Facebook Fans
180k YouTube subscribers
114,000 Google+ Followers
36k on Instagram

Hopes of scaling GetMoreViews quickly due to a goal of having two separate
7 figure companies by the end of 2015!

If you want to get YouTube and Facebook traffic then read this first!

Introducing Adam:

1. Tell us the story of how you became an online entrepreneur. How did you go from trainer offline to trainer online?

I built my first website at 16 years old. It was an online portal for local track and field teams in Roanoke, Virginia. It was a place to share pictures of events, discuss training tactics, and plan upcoming track meets.

The runner’s parents loved being able to see pictures that were actually taken on the track versus from the stands. We had over 100 athletes throughout the district taking pictures and uploading them to the portal.

This is where I found a real passion for building online communities.

“LinkTrack.com” (the portal) unfortunately faded once I went to Clemson University for high jumping. But, the desire to create a new online community was always in the back of my mind.

In fact, I put the wheels in motion for Freak Athletics in 2006 as I began writing my first training manual. I wanted to use that training to help athletes all over the world get better results. But, due to the time constraints of school and college track, I was unable to continue with the project.

After a successful high jumping career at Clemson (winning 7 ACC Championships :)) I decided to high jump professionally. I had reached qualifying height for the 2008 Summer Olympics and I was finishing my degree in Sport Management.

Training was going phenomenal, and I was poised to have a big meet at the Summer Olympic Trials. But, two weeks prior I strained my hamstring during a routine warm up.

My sponsors immediately fired me and my professional career was over.

That summer, while watching some of my friends compete in the Olympics, I interviews for a few college track and field positions.

I realized that wasn’t the career path I really wanted to take. My perception of coaching was laughs, success, and FUN. It’s what I had observed from my coaches over the years.

A cubicle, paper pushing, NCAA eligibility tests, and countless rules and infractions.

So, that summer I made a very ballsy/ DUMB decision to leave Clemson withOUT my degree, move back to Virginia, and give up on track and field all together.

I was back at my parents house, living in my old room, depressed, scared, and uncertain of whether running from what appeared to be the rest of my life was the right thing to do, or the worst decision of my life.

One night, I was thinking back to LinkTrack.com, and then Freak Athletics came to mind.

I remember getting out of bed with excitement thinking Freak Athletics was IT!

It was how I was going to live. Even if I just made enough to survive on, building a community around jumping higher was how I was going to do it.

And, it’s all I’ve done since that moment.

2. What’s a day in a life of Adam Linkenauger look like? (interest in diet, sleep, work hours, gym etc)

My typical day is not typical for most.

I actually sleep in until 10am typically, as I prefer the solitude of working late at night.

Once awake I’ll drink a protein shake and ride a stationary bike for roughly 30 minutes to an hour. No set time, just enough to “feel it”. I read marketing and business books on my Ipad while riding to pass time as well as educate myself without taking away “actionable” time from my day.

I’ll drive around 30 minutes to my office (when I’m at home in Roanoke). I’m also going to be working out of an office in Baltimore with Brian and Scott Moran (SamCart.com) and splitting the time between Baltimore and Roanoke.

Once I’m at the office, I’ll check emails and business KPIs before talking with Rocky Ullah, President of both Freak Athletics and GetMoreViews.

From roughly noon until 5 pm I work. Our team has an all hands on deck approach, therefore we all roll up our sleeves and get work done, no matter what the job entails.

Though we all have areas of work we specialize in, everyone in our office is capable of doing any other job necessary. That’s been BIG in our success.

After 5pm, I try to hit the gym to play basketball or shoot around, but admittedly, I put my job first – so a lot of time I skip the gym in order to keep working.

After the gym, I’ll grab a quick dinner at a local restaurant in Roanoke and head back to the office to work until around midnight.

My job is my absolute passion, and the process of growing businesses is what I truly love to do. So, although the hours sound long, it’s that way because there is nothing else I’d rather be doing.

When I get home I may watch something on Netflix if I’m not too tired, or read a bit more, but typically I go straight to bed to do it all again the next day!

3. 1 Million Facebook Fans or 180k YouTube Subscribers. If you had to delete one of your accounts, which would it be and why?

GREAT Question.

I’ll go with 180k subscribers on Youtube 100% of the time.

With Facebook continuing to throttle organic reach, those 1 million fans aren’t as valuable as they used to be. The ability to boost to the Fanpage yields solid ROI for us, but it’s not like the good old days where one post could bring us 1000+ leads.

I love Youtube because you actually get the opposite effect as any other social media platform. For example, a Facebook post may lose relevance in 24 hours. A tweet likely will lose relevance within an hour…

A Youtube video will generate MORE relevance over time, bringing you more leads, subscriber, and customers on autopilot.

We have 3-4 year old videos that are still bringing in 1000’s of leads a month to Freak Athletics. It’s truly incredible.

Youtube also allows clickable annotations, the ability to get paid for posting videos with in-stream advertising, and a ton of cool tools for branding.

It truly is a marketer’s dream when used effectively.

4. What kind of commitment is required to become successful with YouTube? (how often do I need to post, how long do the videos have to take etc)

It used to be HELL to maintain a Youtube channel. I use to have to post a video three times a week with slow dial up internet that would take hours a day per video!

Nowadays, you can actually upload all of your videos at the same time, and then schedule them.

This addition makes running a Youtube channel a BREEZE.

We have a “video day” where we shoot a month of Youtube content in under 2-3 hours.

Our videographer edits the clips and adds effects that night.

We will then upload, headline, describe, and tag all the videos the following day.

We dd our video annotations and BOOM… we are done for the month, and the videos will bring us leads for years to come!

5. If you could only make one video ever, to get you the most traffic possible (good quality traffic, not viral), what would that video look like?

I would make an extremely HIGH QUALITY (in content and appearance) addressing the BIGGEST pain point in your market.

If you could only shoot one video to get the most traffic possible, it would need to blow the socks off of anyone watching. Why? it’ll increase the average “Watch-Time” per viewer (how long a typical viewer watches this video).
With cold viewers (non-subscribers), you’ll want to immediately go into the content as soon as the video begins. Don’t do a 30 second introduction highlight film, or even a 15 second stinger for your logo.

That can all come later.

Instead, over deliver on CONTENT, and have direct Call To Actions to “Like, Comment, and SUBSCRIBE” to the channel.

6. We’ve had a lot of views on our videos but when I look up YouTube in analytics I get no traffic from them. What don’t we know that you have mastered?

I’d first check your Annotations to make sure they are “clickable” and that you linked them to an optin page.

I’d make sure these annotations appear at the beginning and end of every video on your account, and your offers are 100% congruent to the subject of your video!

For example, if you were creating videos to teach people how to become bloggers, you wouldn’t want to offer a free “Facebook fanpage blueprint”. Instead you’d want to offer something like “Blueprint: How I built my Blog to 1 Million viewers a month” (give them the END RESULT)!

I’d then recommend that moving forward, you should include a VERBAL and PHYSICAL Call To Action in each video you create. The call to action will point towards the annotation location and SAY “Click Here to get a Free (Whatever)”

7. What sells best often depends on where your visitors come from. What’s the ideal product to sell to YouTubers?

I love Youtube because your subscribers already trust you PRIOR to opting in. You can establish yourself as an authority before they ever hit your site.

In most business models using other forms of traffic, a squeeze page, or Ad is the first connection in business. That makes for a lot of “questions” in the mind of the lead.

“Is this guy legit?”
“Can he truly do what he says?”
“Am I going to get spammed?”

With Youtube, anyone who opts in to our mailing list and is offered a program has already seen PROOF, CREDIBILITY, TRUST, SOCIAL PROOF, and looked into our eyes and heard our voice.

This of course is all done through our videos.

Saying that, I recommend all sales materials, and product training to be video specific if and when possible.

There is a disconnect if your traffic comes from Youtube videos, but your first product is a pdf download.

I’d recommend sticking to video training whenever possible.

Saying that, from a product standpoint:

I often get the question: How much do you give for Free on Youtube vs paid within a product.

My answer to this is always…

I can show basketball moves, and drills for free FOREVER.. same with Youtube tips and tricks. People aren’t paying for that…

…people are paying for a trusted step by step PROCESS that they can follow to get results.
Simple as that.

Someone could hand me a lifetime of wood, hammers, and nails.. but I’ll never build a house until I have a step by step, easy to follow plan to do so.

8. People still are buying Facebook likes! Is it even possible to game social media in 2015, is it ever worth it?

I’m sure it’s possible to “game” Facebook in 2015… but you will LOSE. NO it’s not worth it. Facebook (and same with Google/Youtube) will ALWAYS win, and you WILL be punished.

Whether it comes in 2016..17… or 18. You will be punished, and it WILL destroy your business if you try to “pull one over” on these companies.

Facebook and Youtube offer us an INCREDIBLE sea of potential leads, clients, and customers, and all we have to do is provide quality content our market enjoys!

Stick to it, use ethical tactics, and good things will happen.

A good story here is when one of our competitors assumed all of our success HAD to be because of our large Facebook following. So they apparently paid for likes, and shot up 50-75,000 likes in a matter of days…

His page quickly became one of the top locations online for pornography links, knockoff shoes and handbags!

NOT good when your market is 13-16 year old basketball players.

Saying that, his page was either removed by him, or deleted by Facebook less than a year after this incident occurred.

9. You are an athlete first. How does that influence your business? Do athletes make better entrepreneurs?

My athletic background has taught be how to fail. I’ve failed more than anyone I know, young and old, and because of that experience of failure… I know how to succeed.

Athletes are great with leadership and dealing with adversity, as well as possessing the unique ability to have others put trust in them, and to put trust in others.

I do believe my athletic background plays a huge factor in the way I run my businesses.

10. The first time I met you, you were at a workshop, learning about business. How important has it been for your growth to invest in your education?

I will never go a day in business again without being in contact with a coach AND mastermind group. Education in this business is extremely important.

Saying that, I urge readers to limit education to 2-3 sources TOPS and take on the mentality of TRY first and ASK LATER.

I see people in mastermind groups asking TOO many questions… questions about their every move.

I understand they want to do everything correctly, but it’s important to spend most of your time IMPLEMENTING and acting without fear.

Failure is learned, it’s the best education you are ever given.

The post Get More Views – Adam Linkenauger Interview appeared first on How To Make Money Online.

Creating a quality video tutorial doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s actually possible to create an adequate tutorial in ten minutes, no video editing required.

I’ll teach you how to do that below, but I’ll also give more in-depth information for those who are re­ady to dig in and really create a top-caliber video. That means how to prepare for your video, tips on recording, getting your audio right, and how to best edit, upload, and publish your video online.

You can jump right to the beginning of the guide by clicking here or by using the table of contents above.

Example of a Video Tutorial

I made my first video tutorial a few weeks ago for PopUp Domination. I learned a lot through the process and it inspired me to write this post for you. You can watch that video tutorial here.

Expert Video Advice:

Throughout the article, I’ll be sharing exclusive advice from Gideon Shalwick of Rapid Video Blogging. He’s had huge success through video tutorials so I’m really happy to be including his insight in the article.

All of these Gideon Shalwick quotes are from Income Diary’s own book of interviews with top online entrepreneurs, Web Domination 20.

Now, onto the guide.

Before You Press Record

Know Your Stuff

The first step to making a good tutorial is to know all of the ins and the outs of the subject you’re teaching. Hopefully, you’re already an expert on the process you’re teaching. If not, you should probably run through it a few times to make yourself as knowledgeable as possible.

I also suggest looking around on forums and blogs to see what problems people are having commonly and the types of questions that they are asking.

Write a Bullet-Point Script

I don’t recommend writing out the entire script of your video, because it’s better to be in the moment and to sound natural (this is called an ‘extemporaneous’ delivery). But having a few key bullet-points in front of you on a piece of paper or electronic device can help make sure you don’t miss anything important and remind you what’s coming up next.

Create a Clean Environment

Keep in mind that if you’re recording your computer screen that may include recording your desktop background, programs you have running, browser windows you have open, your bookmarks, and more. Before you press record, make sure that your computer’s display looks professional and won’t show any overly personal information.

Choosing Video Recording ‘Screencasting’ Software

You can spend your time downloading and installing any number of free screencasting options. But I tried this and was met with unacceptably low-quality video. If you’re absolutely set on using free software, then the highest ranked free screencasting software (according to Wikipedia’s comparison) is VirtualDub.

But in my experience, you get what you pay for. If you want the cream of the crop, go with $299.00 USD Camtasia. Personally, I chose the $49.95 Snagit and I couldn’t be happier. It’s easy to use and it has all of the options that I wanted (plus a few more).

If you’re not ready to part with real money, both Camtasia and Snagit offer free trials. Download one for a month through the links above, make a few tutorials with it, and then you can decide whether or not to invest with a purchase.

Audio Recording

The Right Mic

With Snagit, you can record your voice through your computer’s microphone simultaneously. This is an easy way to do it, but the audio quality may be thin and full of static. If you speak loudly and clearly, your audio will likely be okay.

If you’re going to be doing this a lot, you’ll probably want to invest in a quality USB microphone, like the Yeti. Gideon offered us microphone advice for the professional:

“My microphone that I currently use with my Canon 60D is a wireless microphone from Sony, the UTX-B2. So that plugs into my camera and then I can have a very nice, little, wireless lapel mic on me when I record the videos. They’re a bit more expensive, $700 bucks or so.”

And the budget-conscious beginner:

“You don’t need to start with the UTX-B2. I actually used a $30 Audiotechnica microphone that I got from an electronics store. It provided near professional quality audio and the only drawback was that it was not wireless. It came with a four meter cord. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a great result.”

An Optimized Acoustic Environment

Turn off any fans, heaters, or other devices that produce ambient noise.

Also look out for flat, uncovered walls and hardwood floors that may create harsh, reverberant echoes. If the room that you’re in is producing too much reverb, you can cover the floors with rugs, the walls with blankets or paintings, and place pillows or comforters in the corners.

Or simply record in a different room with better acoustics.

The Sound of Silence

After you’ve finished recording your voice walking through the video, record about 30 seconds of dead silence. When you’re editing the video later, you may need to separate parts of the voiceover and you can use that “white noise” to fill in the gaps without the audio cutting out entirely and distracting the viewer.

Background Music

There’s a variety of sites online to find licensed music for free in the creative commons. I’ve had good luck with ccmixter.org and that’s what I used to find the background music for the PopUp Domination tutorial video.

If your voiceover is difficult to understand for any reason, then you may want to consider skipping the music altogether. In any case, keep the volume down so that it doesn’t distract from what really matters.

Cleaning Up Audio

Cleaning up noisy, static-filled audio is easier said than done. You can use advanced software like ProTools or capable freeware like Audacity, and they all have ‘noise reduction’ tools and equalization, but the truth is that it’s usually impossible to cut out static or noise without also cutting out important frequencies of the voice itself.

For that reason, I recommend most people just try to get the best audio quality to begin with and don’t count on any audio editing magic to bail you out.

Recording the Video Tutorial

If you know the process that you’re teaching and you’ve familiarized yourself with your screencasting software, recording the tutorial should be a piece of cake. Just press ‘Record’, then walk your viewers through the process.

Striking the Right Tone

It’s good if you can be personable and maybe crack a joke or two. Your personality can make your video stick out and encourage people to feel the type of personal connection with you that will get them to want to come back for more tutorials.

But if you’re taking a lot of time with your humor and theatrics you’re just going to frustrate your viewers. For a video tutorial, I would rather have someone be dry and to the point then overly colorful. Of course, the best option is to find the happy medium.

Recording a Video So You Don’t Have to Edit

When you click ‘Record’ with Snagit, they give you a three second countdown before it starts recording your screen. That’s enough time to switch windows to the screen you want to start the video with. In most cases, that can simply be the software or web page that you’re going to be instructing the viewer on.

If you want to get really fancy, you can design a special title screen to welcome your viewer and inform them about what you’ll be teaching. In that case, you can make that image your desktop background or have it up in a photo viewing program.

This is the welcome screen for the PopUp Domination video that I designed in Adobe Photoshop. I used graphic design that had already been made for PopUp Domination’s website in order to give it a professional, branded look.

If you like, you can make another such image for the conclusion of your video. With Snagit you can press Shift+F10 and exit the video promptly without any wasted seconds at the end.

Regardless of whether you use special screens for the beginning and ending of your video, if you go through the process clearly, quickly, and you don’t trip over your words too much, you can record a video that is completely functional without having to do any further editing.

If you want to add text or interactivity to the video, you can add those through YouTube annotations. I recently wrote a guide on how to use YouTube Annotations if you would like to learn more.

Nevertheless, if you want the highest quality of video tutorial, you’re probably going to want to do some basic editing.

Editing Your Video Tutorial

Choosing Your Software

As with screencasting, there are a bevy of video editing software available, both free and paid. In fact, most computers come with perfectly capable video editing software and many screencasting programs (such as Snagit and Screenflow) also feature video editors tailored to the needs of someone editing a video tutorial.

For WebDomination 20, Gideon Shalwick walked us through his process of selecting video editing software:

“I started with iMovie, worked my way through to Final Cut Express, and I ended up settling with ScreenFlow.

“Once I started using ScreenFlow, I thought, “Why bother with Final Cut?” ScreenFlow did everything that I wanted it to and it was much easier to use and gave me amazing results.

“Even to this day, if I want to get a video done really quickly, just something with simple cuts and very simple editing, I use ScreenFlow. Just record, get it on ScreenFlow, export, upload, done. It’s just so good.”

I use Adobe Premiere to edit my videos for work and you can get a free a trial of that through Adobe’s website. But generally the more advanced video editors have a higher learning curve and they won’t provide casual video editors with anything that they really need for most videos.

Edit to Save Your Viewer’s Time

One of the principle benefits of editing your video is using transitions to save your viewer’s time. If there’s a process that takes a while in the middle of your video (like a loading screen or an upload) then you can simply cut that part of the video. It’s also a good opportunity to fix slip-ups or pauses in your speech.

Adding Text to Guide Your Viewers

By going through the process and talking to your viewer, you can convey most all information necessary. But if you want to help the learning process further, adding text is a great way to add further clarification for your viewers.

I added text at the top and bottom of the PopUp Domination video tutorial with a template that I created in Adobe Photoshop. The text on the top tells is like a header, identifying the larger goal we’re accomplishing in the video. The text below identifies the individual step in the process that we’re currently completing in the video.

Branding and other design elements add to the professionalism of your video and help your viewer to remember your name. As you can see, I incorporated the PopUp Domination logo directly into the design of the text bars.

Outsourcing Editing

Hiring someone else to edit your videos for you can result in a more professional video and free your time up to focus on other activities. Gideon Shalwick put in his time editing videos himself but he explained to us that he now mostly outsources:

“Currently, I don’t do much editing myself anymore. My business has progressed so well now that I can afford to have a team of video editors to do all my editing for me. That’s really helped me take my business to heights that I couldn’t have even imagined. My videos look so much more professional now than I could have ever even tried to do on my own.”

If you decide to go this route, you can create the tutorial yourself and outsource the editing or you can hire the entire tutorial created, as Michael did when he recruited my video service.

Wrapping Up

Choosing a Video Service

There’s no shortage of ways to get your video online and for the most part they all work fine. But if you want your video tutorials to be found and viewed freely by as many people as possible, YouTube is the way to go. Gideon Shalwick explains:

“Really it’s all about traffic on YouTube. That is the short answer. Last time I checked, YouTube is the second biggest search engine, after Google. Three billion views a day is pretty impressive. Personally, I can’t really fathom the number three with nine zeros next to it. It’s just incredible.”

Uploading & Optimizing

There’s a host of things you can do to optimize your video so that it will show up in more sources. That’s not really the subject of this article so I’ll be brief.

The title is the most important part for SEO, but it’s also important to fill in the keywords and description area. You can use the list of bullet points you created earlier to fill in the description area in a breeze. Don’t forget to add a link to your website in the first couple lines of the description area so that people will be able to click on to your site.

Make an Accompanying Blog Post

If you really want to do it up, write a blog post that also walks through the process and embed the video at the top of it. Now you’ve created a complete educational resource that’s likely to be favored by Google’s search engine spiders.

That’s a Wrap!

You can rest easy knowing that every day someone, somewhere is learning thanks to the time you spent putting together a quality video tutorial. That’s a pretty cool feeling.

If you want to learn more about video, you can check out my articles on the top YouTube channels, profiles in viral video marketing, and my 21 ways to dominate YouTube.

Check out this website if you want to create great videos using Screenflow.

The post The Ultimate Guide to Making Online Video Tutorials appeared first on How To Make Money Online.

That’s how many people visit YouTube every month. The site’s extreme popularity is why we’ve highlighted YouTube in the past with posts like How to Go Viral on YouTube and The Top 10 YouTube Channels.

But we’ve never written about YouTube annotations – and how they can greatly improve your videos by adding an interactive element. This post is all about delving into interactivity on YouTube:  why to do it, how to do it, and what you’re capable of doing once you master it.

Why Make Your YouTube Videos Interactive?

More Views to More of Your Videos

The most basic reason of all — who doesn’t want more views?

YouTube annotations allow you to create links from one video to another or to a playlist. The right link will turn a one-time viewer into a serial viewer. And since YouTube allows you to make a link to your subscribe page right in the video, interactivity can boost your subscription rate as well.

Up-to-Date Messaging

After you publish a blog post, you can return to it and edit it whenever you want. A YouTube video isn’t so malleable:  once it’s up there, it’s up – and if you want to make substantial changes you’ll have to take it back down and re-upload it (losing all of your views and comments in the process).

That’s a problem because the world keeps spinning and so too will your message.

That’s where annotations come in. Since they’re tacked on after you’re video is uploaded, they’re easy to change in just a minute or two. That means you can keep your YouTube videos with whatever is new with you — whether that’s a list of upcoming events, your newest products, or your most recent blog posts.

A good YouTube video will continue to amass thousands of views for years and years after it’s posted. Design a video with YouTube interactivity in mind and it can still be working for you decades from now.

Easier to Navigate Videos

Have you ever been watching a tutorial video and had to skip around for minutes trying to find the one part you need to learn? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to skip right to the part you need?

With YouTube annotations, it’s possible. You can set up a series links in your video with titles referring to its different “chapters” — just like a table of contents. Your viewer will be able to read through the list, click on their desired chapter, and — poof — the video skips ahead to that exact location on the video.

Get Started with YouTube Interactivity in 3 Steps

(1) Access Your Video Manager

Log in to YouTube and click on the gray arrow next to your name in the upper right corner.

From there click on Video Manager in the ‘YouTube’ Column.

(2) Access Annotations Area

From the list of videos you’ve uploaded, select one to add interactivity and click on downward arrow next to edit. Select Annotations from the drop-down menu.

(3) Add Annotations to Your Video

Click on the Add Annotation button to the right of your video, then start working down the list. You’ll have the option to add text, adjust its placement within the video, and make it link to other pages or videos.

I’ll dive into these features in the next section.

Making and Adjusting YouTube Annotations

There are five types of YouTube annotations. In the example above, we’re using the Spotlight style of annotation. A spotlight is a just thin outline of a box, so they are useful when you want to use an existing part of the video and turn it into an interactive element. In this case, we’ve incorporated a short clip of another Income Diary video and put a spotlight around it’s edges, essentially turning the video clip into a link to the full video.

I’ve made an image with an example of the remaining four types of annotations:

Titles allow for the largest font size; the Speech Bubble creates a playful cartoon speech box; Notes make a simple, useful rectangle; and Labels look a lot like spotlights, but they reveal text when you hover over them with your mouse.

Adding Text and Color

Use the white box to write in the text you want to appear with the annotation. You have a choice between four font sizes (11, 13, 16, and 28) unless you’re using a Title (48, 72, and 100). If you increase the font size but you don’t notice a change on the video, then you likely need to make the annotation box bigger.

Text must be either white or black, but you have an assortment of 34 colors to choose from for your annotations — including transparent. Your first priority here should be clarity, so make sure that there is a high amount of contrast between the text and the background color. You may also want to consider using colors associated with your brand or using attention-grabbing colors (e.g. red, orange, yellow) when making a call-to-action.

You also have the choice between two styles, Normal and Impact. I prefer the simplicity of Normal.

Positioning Annotations

When you make a new annotation, it will appear over your video. You can adjust it’s position by placing your mouse over the middle of the annotation, clicking, and dragging. It’s usually a good idea to place annotations on the periphery of the screen so that they don’t distract from the video, but in some cases you may want the annotation to be the focal point – front and center.

You can adjust the size of an annotation by clicking and dragging any of the black rectangles that are on each corner. YouTube limits the size of the annotation so that it cannot take up more than 30% of the screen.

Annotations in Time
Once you’ve added your annotation, it will appear in the dark gray area underneath the video. By putting your mouse on either side of the annotation, you can extend it longer or make it shorter. By putting your mouse in the center of the annotation, you can move the whole thing forward and backward in time. You can also make these adjustment with the Start and End time fields to the right.

Choosing the right duration for your annotations is important. Too short and the viewer may not have time to read your message or click on your link. Too long and the annotation may distract from the video and overstay its welcome. Give your best guess at how long an annotation should stay up (probably about 5-7 seconds) and then watch the video from the beginning with the annotation. That will give you the best idea of whether or not you’ve chosen an appropriate length.

If you’re having trouble fine-tuning, you can use the magnify bar in the bottom right to get a closer look.

Turning Your Annotation into a Link

Here’s where we finally get to add interactivity:  YouTube allows annotations to link to other Videos, Playlists, Channels, Google+ Profiles/Pages, Subscribe Pages, and Fundraising Projects. 

Types of Interactive YouTube Links and their Uses

Videos

This allows you to link to any other video on YouTube. This is the type of link that we use in the example video (Will Smith Explains How to Bend the Universe). Use it to link to one more related videos.

Since you can start the linked video at a second-marker of your choosing, you can select very specific portions of videos or even link to different parts within the same video. That’s how you make a table of contents for your video:  a series of video links to different times in the same video.

Another use could be to allow the viewer to go back and re-watch a particularly tricky part of the video:  “That last part about SEO was pretty technical, so click the button in the bottom right to go back and hear it one more time.”

Subscribe Pages

This is one of the most powerful links, since every subscriber you get is another long-term viewer. When someone clicks on a subscribe link, it takes them to a special landing page for your channel with a big button saying ‘subscribe’.

I see no reason why you shouldn’t put a subscribe button in every video you post on YouTube. It’s as easy as putting a note in the bottom left corner that says ‘Subscribe’ in 13 pt text.

Channels

Your channel page is like the home page for your YouTube channel. This is a great stepping-stone for viewers who are interested in learning more about you and your videos but who might not yet be ready to subscribe.

Google+ Profiles/Pages

You can’t link a YouTube video to your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram — but you can link directly to your Google+ page. If you have an active YouTube channel and a social media presence, then this is an awesome opportunity to start building a relationship with your viewers.

Playlists

For audiences, a playlist can mean more entertainment/information queued up for them without them having to bother with browsing for the next one. For you and your videos, it can mean the difference between getting one view or ten views. If you have a series of videos that make sense being watched in a particular order, you make a playlist and put a link to it in each one of those videos.

Fundraising Projects

YouTube recently started allowing users to link to their fundraising projects on 18 approved websites, including Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. This makes YouTube a great place to promote your campaign

If you’re thinking about crowd funding, you can check out our Ultimate Guide to a Successful Kickstarter Campaign.

Can I Link from a YouTube Video to My Website?

This is the one interactive elements that my video clients ask for most — and the answer is yes:  but you must first link your website to your channel using YouTube’s Webmaster Tools.

Once this process is complete, your website is officially an Associated Website of your channel and can be linked to with annotations. For an in-depth tutorial, click here.

How to Design Your Video from the ground up for Interactivity

When I set out to make interactive videos for Income Diary, I made a special 1920 x 1080 px background in Photoshop comprised of branding elements taken straight from Income Diary’s site (above).

The focal point of the design is the spot in the center for a previous Income Diary video. When I finish each new video, I import the above template and the previous video file. Then I scale down the previous video so that it fits in the box and speed it up so that there’s more movement. After the video’s uploaded, it’s as easy as putting a spotlight around the miniature video and linking it up.

Another aspect of the above template is that there’s room in the bottom center for another annotation. That’s a prime spot for a note that says ‘Subscribe’.

How to Add Interactivity to an Already Uploaded YouTube Video

If you want to add interactivity to videos after the fact, don’t fret. You don’t need a fancy template and you don’t need to have planned anything in advance.

I recommend keeping it simple. Try putting a note in the bottom left that says, “Previous Video” and a note in the bottom right that says “Next Video”. Or simply put a note in the bottom center that says “Subscribe” and links to your subscription page.

In most cases, the bulk of the action will be in the center of the screen so it won’t be particularly distracting if there are notes discreetly placed at the bottom. Nevertheless, I don’t recommend putting these links up until the last 30 seconds or so of your video.

Conclusion

Do you have any questions about interactivity? I would be happy to answer them in the comment section.

Furthermore, if you have any insight into using YouTube annotations please share with our community below.

Finally, if you want to learn more about how to succeed on YouTube check out our 21 ways to Dominate YouTube.

The post Ultimate Guide to Making Your YouTube Videos Interactive appeared first on How To Make Money Online.

Each year, YouTube videos receive more than one trillion views.

Each month, YouTube is visited by over 800 million unique users.

Each day, 4 billion videos are viewed on YouTube.

And while 60 hours of video are uploaded every minute, there’s a select group of people uploading YouTube videos whose videos have risen above the rest. As they gain millions of subscribers, they also earn millions of dollars – all for maintaining a YouTube channel.

Below, I’ve listed the top 10 YouTube channels based on the number subscribers, as of November 2, 2012. I’ve also done gone into depth, to explain why these YouTuber’s have become so popular and the techniques that they’ve used to make money and get rich with their YouTube videos.

#10 FPSRussia

Subscribers: 2,818,054

Total Video Views:  484,011,920

Top Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOoUVeyaY_8&feature=plcp

Description:

Kyle Myers started FPSRussia on April 19, 2010 and has already posted 100 videos – about one every nine days. The videos feature Myers demonstrating a wide range of firearms and explosives on his family farm in Georgia.

To keep things interesting, Myers assumes the name Dimitri Potapoff  and a heavy Russian accent. He’ll shoot at some interesting targets like zombie mannequins, “watermelon people”, and images of Justin Bieber.

How FPSRussia Gets Views:

FPSRussia excels largely because it has a clearly defined niche (people who like “GUNS & EXPLOSIVES”) and it’s simply the best channel for those people on YouTube. Myers is knowledgeable about his weapons and has a seemingly endless supply of things that go “boom” (e.g. automatic shotguns, sniper rifles, and even a full-sized tank).

The videos feature impressive production quality and a sleek, five second animated introduction with theme music.

FPSRussia has also collaborated with other popular YouTube channels in order to share audiences and gain more subscribers. The most notable example is this June 19, 2011 video with Epic Meal Time which has garnered over 6 million views and features Myers “tenderizing” a piece of meat with his pistol.

Monetization Techniques:

FPSRussia is likely earning over $100,000 per year just from views. But Myers has also achieved a secondary revenue stream by selling custom apparel on Spreadshirt. To raise awareness about the shirts and hoodies, Myers wears his shirts in the videos.

#9 Epic Meal Time

Subscribers:  2,838,463

Total Video Views:  468,697,450

Top Video:  http://youtu.be/m9FRSghXhDM

Description:

Hailing from Canada, Epic Meal Time has been delivering a weekly dose of bacon since September 2010. Each show features host Harley Mortenstein and friends cooking ridiculous meals with fast food, liquor, and – yes – heaps of bacon.

Their absurd concoctions include “Fast Food Lasagna”, “Candy Pizza”, and “Meat Cereal.” Watching them create and consume these monstrosities is pretty hilarious as long as you can stomach loads of grease, cheese, and calories.

How Epic Meal Time gets Views:

Something as audacious as Epic Meal Time is capable of generating a big viral buzz. After its initial surge, major press attention followed. The Winnipeg Free Press, CBS News, and The Huffington Post all spotlighted EMT shortly after the YouTube channel was started.

Media attention culminated when Epic Meal Time was interviewed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 17, 2011. For the show, they created a variation on a shepherd’s pie that was shaped like a car. They also performed a live show at Comic Con 2011.

Web interest for Epic Meal Time has fallen significantly in the last year, which may suggest that the Internet has a limited appetite for epic meals.

Monetization Techniques:

Epic Meal Time takes a gluttonous approach to monetization. They’ve got a line of branded t-shirts, an Epic Meal Time video game app, and they delve into affiliate marketing on their website. A television show and a cookbook are in the works too.

Co-creators Harley Mortenstein and Sterling Toth have both quit their day jobs to focus on Epic Meal Time full time.

#8 ShaneDawsonTV

Subscribers:  2,965,422

Total Video Views:  760,321,374

Top Video:  http://youtu.be/_NLXlZivlyA

Description:

Shane Dawson got his start on YouTube in high school, when he and his friends would turn in videos instead of traditional homework assignments. Since starting the channel in March 2008, Shane has uploaded 215 videos (about one every eight days). In 2010, Shane was recognized by Forbes as the 25^th most famous web celebrity.

Now 24, Shane primarily produces YouTube comedy sketches starring him as a colorful cast of off-color characters, including Shanaynay, Ned the Nerd, S. Deezy, and Aunt Hilda. He also spoofs popular music videos and television shows.

How Shane Dawson TV gets Views:

YouTube is most popular with kids, teenagers, and young people – and that’s exactly the niche that Shane Dawson TV fits into. Many of Shane’s videos piggyback on the popularity of trending keywords for youth, like “Justin Bieber”, “Taylor Swift”, “Overly Attached Girlfriend”, and “Slender Man”.

He’s also a frequent collaborator with other YouTube personalities.

Monetization Techniques:

Like many of the YouTubers on this list, Shane has started a couple of companion channels (“My 2^nd Channel” and “My iPhone Channel”) to broaden his influence and total number of views.

Shane also sells t-shirts through Spreadshirt and he sells original music through Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes.

#7 RihannaVEVO

Subscribers:  3,040,564

Total Video Views: 2,893,039,285

Top Video:  http://youtu.be/U0CGsw6h60k

Description:

VEVO is an online music syndication platform featuring music by three of the “big four” major record labels:  Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and EMI. Rihanna is a Barbadian R&B singer who’s signed with Def Jam (owned by Universal) and she happens to be the most subscribed VEVO artist on YouTube and the only one in YouTube’s top ten.

The RihannaVEVO channel features Rihanna’s songs, music videos, “lyric videos” (songs accompanies by animated lyrics), remixes, and behind the scenes Rihanna footage.

How RihannaVEVO gets Views:

Rihanna first rose to fame in 2005 the release of her debut album Music of the Sun. She’s a Grammy-winner and a perennial chart-topper worldwide. RihannaVEVO is viewed and subscribed so much because Rihanna has an active community of fans who love her music and want to listen on YouTube.

There are some benefits to being part of the VEVO network and Rihanna’s new music videos will occasionally be promoted on the channels of other popular, related artists.

Monetization Techniques:

With nine videos over 100 million views, Rihanna’s videos average many more views than any other channel on this list. Rihanna has earned VEVO millions of dollars in advertising revenue.

The channel also directs people buy Rihanna’s upcoming album Unapologetic online and sign up for Rihanna’s email list.

#6 collegehumor

Subscribers:  3,054,617

Total Video Views:  1,506,092,196

Top Video:  http://youtu.be/evDAi77IDhY

Description:

CollegeHumor is a comedy website that was launched in 1999 and today attracts more than 15 million monthly unique visitors.

While the website features content from all over the web, including videos, CollegeHumor started a YouTube channel for all their original video content. There’s a lot of it:  their NYC-based team has churned out over 1,000 videos.

The videos span everything from one-off sketches to animated videos to series like “Jake and Amir” and “Hardly Working.”

How CollegeHumor gets Views:

CollegeHumor’s YouTube channel started out with a built in audience, platform, and staff of video creators thanks to the success of CollegeHumor.com.

Their racy content has also given them a leg up with traffic. Looking through CollegeHumor’s top 30 videos (all of which have at least 5 million views) a theme emerges:  15 of the videos have sexually suggestive titles or post images.

Sex sells – particularly with CollegeHumor’s primary audience of “childless, moderately educated men under the age of 35 who browse from school and home” (from Alexa).

Monetization Techniques:

CollegeHumor has made close to $1.5 million from advertising on YouTube alone.  But they’re making additional money by premiering all of their videos on their own site one month before releasing them to the masses on YouTube. That means they get 100% of the revenue from advertising and more control over the user experience.

Like most on this list, they’re in the t-shirt business too. But they’ve taken it one stop further and actually partnered with an online clothing website, BustedTees.

#5 freddiew

Subscribers:  3,717,393

Total Video Views:  733,286,546

Top Video:  http://youtu.be/CyCyzB0CedM

Description:

With a degree from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, Freddie Wong is the most technically savvy video producer on this list. Since February 2006, he’s uploaded 142 videos to his YouTube channel freddiew.

The action-packed special effects here are just a hair below Hollywood standards, but the videos are mostly meant to be funny. Many are spoofs or “real life” versions of popular videogames like Portal, Mario Kart, and SkyRim.

How Freddiew gets Views:

Freddie’s videos have featured the biggest YouTubers around, including Smosh, Ray William Johnson, and Harley Mortenstein from Epic Meal Time.

These collaborations have surely amounted to 100,000’s of cross-pollinating subscribers, but Wong has gone even further and recruited full-on celebrities to start in his videos. Eliza Dushku and Jon Favreau have both brought attention to Freddiew by acting in videos on the channel.

Monetization Techniques:

In 2010, Wong was hired by McDonald’s to make a commercial with fellow YouTube star Joe Penna, of MysterGuitarMan. In 2011, Electronic Arts hired him to produce and act in a TV commercial for the Battlefield 3 videogame.

The popularity of the channel attracts clients to Wong’s business, Overcrank Media, which specializes in feature film and video content.

#4 machinima

Subscribers:  5,042,690

Total Video Views:  3,762,099,896

Top Video:  http://youtu.be/cRdxXPV9GNQ

Description:

If you like videogames, Machinima is probably your favorite YouTube channel.

How Machinima gets Views:

Machinima is a great example of the power of the niche. First, they tap into a huge, worldwide fanbase of devoted gamers. Within that they offer playlists that will appeal to fans of particular games or genres.

Machinima has launched several other channels targeted at smaller niches within their overall gamer niche. Examples include Machinima Sports (all sports games) and Machinima Realm (for MMOs and RPGs). Each of these channels boast subscriber-counts in the hundreds of thousands.

Monetization Techniques:

In addition to t-shirts and iPhone apps, Machinima sells skins for their viewers to put on their videogame consoles.

They also leverage their millions of devoted viewers (who are largely in the coveted 18-34 male demographic) to promote game releases… at a price. At the time of this article, the Machinima YouTube channels background was an advertisement for Wreck it Ralph, a gaming-centric Disney movie.

#3 smosh

Subscribers:  5,713,473

Total Video Views:  1,805,990,512

Top Video:  http://youtu.be/2uJE48aKVNo

Description:

Starting on November 19, 2005, Smosh is almost as old as YouTube itself and is the oldest channel on this list. Every Friday, comedy duo Ian Hecox (24) and Anthony Padilla (25) upload a new comedy video, likely parodying the latest pop culture phenomenon.

How Smosh gets Views:

Smosh’s success started when one of their first videos, “Pokemon Theme Music Video”, went viral way back in 2005. Though the video was little more than Hecox and Padilla lip-syncing to the theme song to Pokemon anime, it garnered 24.7 million views and was the most-viewed video on YouTube for a period of about six months.

Eventually the video was removed for copyright infringement, but Smosh already had a subscriber base and momentum. They built on their Pokemon fans by making a series of videos called Pokemon in Real Life and have also made videos around the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Legend of Zelda franchises.

In 2012, they’ve sought to expand their audience by starting three new channels:  Smosh Games (videogame-related), Shut Up! Cartoons (animated), and El Smosh (Spanish language).

Monetization Techniques:

Smosh was tapped to be one of the YouTube’s very first partners way back in 2007. They’ve made over one million dollars from ad revenue since then. They also sell merchandise through District Lines and sell their music on iTunes.

Barry Blumberg, a former Disney executive, took an interest in the young Smosh duo early on and signed a deal to become a partner in Smosh. He’s helped them grow Smosh as a business, which meant hiring a staff and building a website in 2008. In 2011 Smosh was acquired by teen media powerhouse Alloy Digital, LLC.

#2 nigahiga

Subscribers:  5,944,569

Total Video Views:  1,346,455,881

Top Video:  http://youtu.be/xfeys7Jfnx8

Description:

Nigahiga is the YouTube channel of Ryan Higa, who at 22 years old is the youngest YouTuber on this list. Ryan first started making low-fi video skits with a few friends back in 2006, just as a way to share a laughs with the rest of his high school.

But early videos like “How to be Gangster” and “How to be Ninja” took off and the silly YouTube videos eventually became a full-time job for Ryan Higa. The channel has come a long way and now it includes comedic original music videos along with traditional vlogs and sketches.

How Nigahiga gets Views:

The success of Nigahiga lies in the personality of Ryan Higa. He’s an unpretentious everyman that viewers feel a real connection with. He’s funny too. Still, it’s difficult to fathom what sets Nigahiga so far apart from the rest of the YouTube crowd and justifies its place as #2 most subscribed overall.

Monetization Techniques:

International brands have seen Nigahiga’s millions of subscribers as an opportunity to reach a wider audience and Higa has been willing to cash in. He’s made videos raising awareness for Carl’s Jr. Restaurants, The Google Nexus One, and the film Despicable Me.

#1 RayWilliamJohnson

Subscribers:  6,067,130

Video Views:  2,038,359,848

Top Video:  http://youtu.be/K2oLoBpFmho

Description:

In the fall of 2007, as an undergraduate student at Columbia University, Ray William Johnson would take study breaks by watching YouTube videos. He observed that people mostly went to YouTube to watch either viral videos or vlogs… and that’s when he had the idea to combine the two.

Equals Three is Johnson’s thrice-weekly YouTube show in which he spotlights (and lampoons) viral videos. Each episode contains three trending YouTube videos and averages about five minutes in length.

How RayWilliamJohnson get Views:

Johnson’s content is always fresh and funny because he gets it directly from videos that are already going viral on YouTube. People subscribe to his channel in droves because he filters through trending videos and presents them in a way to get maximum laughs.

Johnson explained his humble path to 6,000,000 subscribers to Forbes:

Equals Three has expanded its audience further by allowing A-list celebrity comedians to guest host it, including Robin Williams, Kevin Smith, Kal Penn, and many more. In exchange for hosting the show, they get a chance to promote their own YouTube channels.

Monetization Techniquess:

Ray William Johnson is as notable for the way that he doesn’t make money as he is for how he does make money:

Johnson told Forbes, “Most product placements detract from that entertainment experience.” He recognizes that his millions of subscribers trust him to deliver quality, entertaining content and that he would be jeopardizing the value of his channel by “selling out” and using it to endorse products.

For now, Ray makes plenty of money by selling t-shirts on his site and raking in millions in ad revenue from his two billion video videos.

If you’re interested…

Here’s a link to Income Diary’s YouTube channel.  We don’t quite have a million subscribers… yet.

The post Top 10 YouTube Channels appeared first on How To Make Money Online.

Some have taken advantage of YouTube’s incredible power to expand their influence and make money online.

Below, I’ll share with you 21 ways you can follow in their footsteps.

#1 Keep it Short

People are more likely to begin watching shorter videos. They’re also more likely to finish watching them.

So do everything you can to be brief.

#2 Pay Attention to Lighting

One of the biggest problems plaguing YouTube videos is poor lighting. Even the finest video camera can’t capture vivid detail when the real-world lighting is poor.

You can invest in a soft-box lighting kit, but usually a well-positioned household lamp will do fine. Just make sure there is an even, continuous source of light on the subject of your video and that there’s no overwhelming backlighting (like from an open window).

#3 Edit Your Videos

Hollywood’s best actors don’t shoot scenes in one take. But that doesn’t stop many YouTubers from posting unedited webcam videos of them rambling and tripping over their words.

If you want thousands of people to be watching your videos, you owe it to them to trim the fat and move things along. Editing together the best parts and cutting out pauses will quicken the video’s pace and remove the pressure on you to deliver a flawless performance.

If this sounds too expensive or advanced for you, you’re wrong. Video editing software like Movie Maker, iMovie, and VirtualDub are all free and easy to learn.

#4 Brand Your Videos

When you’re watching a YouTube video, how often do you read the name of the channel?

Probably not very often. That’s why it’s important that you let people know who you are within the videos themselves.

I recommend starting and ending each video with a quick shot of your logo, your channel name, and a tagline that demonstrates the unique value of your videos. If you want to really impress, then hire a video effects editor to animate your logo and create an accompanying jingle.

#5 Include Background Music

One way to make your videos more professional and more enjoyable to watch is to include background music. You can find a quiet instrumental track that’s free to use at the free music archive.

#6 Research Your Keywords

Choosing keywords for your video is essential for ranking well. Just like with standard SEO, a little bit of research goes a long way. I recommend that you consult YouTube’s keyword tool before you decide which words and phrases you’ll be targeting.

#7 Put a Link in the Description

If you’re looking to build your own website, then you’ll need to give people a way to get there. While you can mention the name of your site during the video, few people will actually write out the address into their browser.

The best way to drive traffic to an outside website is through the description box. Make sure to start with http:// or it won’t be recognized as a link. You’ll also want to put the link in right away, because after 27 characters, the description is hidden unless the ‘show more’ button is clicked.

#8 Put Keywords in the Description

The link is the most important part of your description, but if you stop there you’re missing an opportunity to further your video search engine optimization.

Write out a thorough description that will help YouTube and Google rank your video for the keywords you’re targeting.

#9 Pick the Right Title

If ranking for a few keywords is your primary concern, then make sure to put them in your title. In fact, if you can fit them in twice, you’ll rank even better.

But ranking well doesn’t matter if nobody clicks on your video. That’s why it’s also important that your video title be something that induces curiosity, promises a benefit to the viewer, or otherwise explains why someone should watch the video right away.

A good title can make all the difference in the world. It’s worth it to take a few minutes and brainstorm the best possible title for your video.

#10 Pick the Right Thumbnail

YouTube will give you three choices for your video thumbnail: one at the 1/4 mark, the ½ mark, and the ¾ mark. Just like with the headline, it’s important to pick an image that’s going to make people want to click on.

If you’re really clever, you can design your video to have an engaging image around one of those markers.

#11 Make Playlists

YouTube’s playlists allow you to string a group of videos together in a sequence that plays one after the next.

If your videos benefit from being watched in a particular order (e.g. a series of videos about building a website), then creating a playlist that reflects that will help your viewer get more out of your videos. Of course, it will also help ramp up your views across the channel.

Playlists have an additional benefit: since they show up separately in YouTube searches, every new playlist is another opportunity to show up on the front page of search results.

Creating a playlist is easy. Simply click on the ‘Playlists’ tab while you’re in the Video Manager and then click ‘+ New playlist’.

#12 Create Interactivity with Annotations

One of the most powerful features of YouTube videos is their ability to be interlinked through annotations.

Some YouTubers put annotations in the top-left and top-right corners of each of their videos. The annotation in the top-left links to the previous video and the annotation in the top right links to the next video.

Annotations can be used to create a menu screen at the end of your video. The viewer is presented with a selection of other videos and the viewer gets to pick whichever one they would like to watch. This makes it easier for people to navigate between your videos (and therefore watch more of them).

Annotations point users to a playlist or a page where viewers can subscribe to your channel.

#13 Use Captions

These are YouTube’s version of subtitles. Not only are they great for the hearing impaired and people who don’t have their volume turned on, the text you provide as a transcript is also read by YouTube’s search engine. That means more opportunity to rank for more terms.

Add captions by choosing to edit a video and then selecting the ‘Captions’ tab.

#14 Promote with Social Media

In 2012, this one is a bit of a no-brainer. There isn’t a viral video in existence that hasn’t been shared through social media.

Facebook is a particularly powerful platform for video, as they can be embedded directly into a post (unlike with Twitter). But it’s not the only platform you should be using. I’ve also noticed that many of the biggest viral video sensations of 2012 (including Dollar Shave Club and Kony 2012) rose to prominence thanks partly to reaching the front page of Reddit.

I recommend trying out a few different social media strategies with your videos and then seeing what works best for niche.

#15 Post Regularly

Like with a website, you absolutely need to update your YouTube channel regularly if you want a shot at success. Commit yourself to uploading a new video once a week or once a month (whatever you’re capable of) and stick to it.

#16 Encourage Community

YouTube can be an amazing community. Your viewers can respond to your questions in the comment section, send you material for future videos, and make video responses to your videos. But you have to encourage this type of behavior if you want to see it happen.

For some real life examples, Mystery Guitar Man is a YouTube channel that has done an amazing job building a community around its videos.

#17 Become a Partner

If you want to make money directly from your YouTube account, you can allow YouTube to put advertisements in or alongside your video and then link your YouTube account to an Adsense account.

You aren’t likely to make a living from these earnings unless your view counts are through the roof (that’s why I recommend having a monetization strategy through your own website), but every little bit helps.

To get started, simply click ‘Settings’ while looking at your channel and then select ‘Monetization’.

#18 Respond to Popular Videos

One of the easiest ways to get more views is to identify your video as a “video response” to a popular video. Your video will show up underneath the original video and also possibly in the sidebar adjacent to it: that could mean 100,000’s of eyes on the link to your video.

I’ve personally used this method twice to get over 30,000 views.

#19 Contact Bloggers in Your Niche

Most bloggers love to feature high quality video content on their site. It entertains their readers and give them something to write about.

For you, the benefits are even greater: more views, more subscribers, and a valuable backlink to your video. When a website with a high Page Rank embeds your video, Google recognizes it and begins to rank the video higher in its searches.

Of course, in order for these bloggers to feature your great video content, you must first reach out to them and let them know about it.

#20 Create a Blog Post around Your Video

If you have a blog in the same niche as your video (and in a perfect world you do) then you should make a separate post for each video you upload to YouTube.

Optimize this page for search using the same title and keywords as your video and your video is more likely to show up at the top of Google’s results.

#21 Use a Call to Action

Simply asking your viewers to do something greatly increases their chances of doing it. On YouTube, there’s no shortage of actions you can ask viewers to take:

“Subscribe to my channel.”

“Share with your friends.”

“Click the like button below.”

“Add this video to your favorites.”

“Leave a comment.”

“Follow the link in the description.”

Which call to action to use and how you deliver it (in person or through an annotation) depends on your style and your audience. Just make sure that you’re asking your viewers to do something – or else you’re missing a big opportunity to grow your channel.

Read more: ‘How Adam Got 180,000 YouTube Subscribers’

The post 21 Ways to Dominate YouTube: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on How To Make Money Online.

2012 is proving that viral videos can be much more than clips of cats, cute babies, and people hurting themselves in funny ways. They can launch companies and movements.

But while many websites try to manufacture viral videos to promote their business, nearly all fall short of their million-view expectations. It isn’t just a matter of luck: there’s a science behind social video marketing.

Below I take a look at the three biggest viral video sensations of 2012 (so far) and break down exactly how their view counts exploded.

A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE

In order to help launch their television network in Belgium, TNT turned to the ad agency Duval Guillaume. Since TNT’s forte is drama, Duval Guillaume devised something dramatic for a YouTube video — and the resulting video shot to the top of the charts (14 million views in its first three days).

How “A DRAMATIC SURPRISE” Went Viral:

It Strikes Your Curiosity Early

Within the first ten seconds of the video, every person watching has a burning question on his or her mind: what happens when you press the button?

Nearly eight years of video content is uploaded to YouTube every day, so it’s absolutely essential that a video grab the viewer’s attention before they decide to watch something else.

It Uses Real People and Real-Life Footage

The best part of “A DRAMATIC SURPRISE” isn’t the fast-paced stunt work. It’s watching the expressions on the faces of the normal, everyday citizens who just so happened to press the drama button. Watching them go from curiosity, to horror, and finally to delight is truly a sight to behold.

Having watched thousands of advertisements with paid actors and scripted dialogue, it’s refreshing when a video shows honest, unfiltered reactions. Of course, real-life footage is best when the reactions are to public shootouts and scantily clad women speeding by on motorcycles.

It’s Cross-Cultural

While TNT was just trying to target Belgium with “A DRAMATIC SURPRISE”, the appeal of the video is worldwide. Anybody can appreciate the wonder of watching extraordinary drama unfold in an otherwise very ordinary square. The language barrier is minimal, as no words are spoken throughout the entire sequence.

This universality means that the video has been viewed all over the world, becoming the day’s most watched YouTube videos in countries as diverse as South Korea, South Africa, and Sweden. The more global a video is, the better its potential to break out into the stratosphere of YouTube views. This is especially valuable for an international brand like TNT.

The Result:

Just three weeks after the video’s release, we don’t know how effective this promotion has been in getting more subscribers to TNT’s Flemish channel. But with over 30 million views already, it’s safe to say the campaign has been a dramatic success.

DollarShaveClub.com – Our Blades Are F***ing Great

On March 6, 2012 a little-known startup called DollarShaveClub.com quietly uploaded a promotional video to YouTube. The short video starred the CEO and founder of the company, Michael Durbin, and cost about $4500 to produce.

Four days later, on March 10, the video had been viewed over two million times – and overnight it transformed DollarShaveClub.com from a struggling upstart into a profitable business.

How Dollar Shave Club went Viral:

It Stayed Short

Television commercials are usually 30 seconds long. YouTube videos can be as long as you want.

But longer isn’t always better – especially when it comes to viral marketing. In today’s fast-moving Internet landscape, five minutes seems like a long time to sit and watch a video.

DollarShaveClub.com got the length just right with their video. Clocking in at about a minute and a half, the video is short enough to be viewed casually but long enough to convey a complete message.

It Made People Laugh

People share funny stuff online because everybody likes to laugh. The funnier a video is, the more likely it will go viral. Another reason humor is important is because it contributes to trust and likeability, both huge factors in sales.

The Dollar Shave Club video is hilarious but – even more impressively – it manages to be hilarious while still delivering an effective sales pitch. Watch carefully and you’ll notice that in each joke Durbin is illustrating a feature, advantage, benefit, or overcoming a possible objection.

You might be wondering why a CEO like Michael Durbin is so funny. The answer is that he honed his comedic chops performing improv and sketch comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade.

It Took Risks

Michael Durbin probably “should have” made a more traditional, safe video for his beloved startup. Instead, he decided dance with a leaf blower next to a guy in a bear suit and a warehouse employee named Alejandro.

After watching the finished product, it’s obvious that Durbin made the right decision. But if he hadn’t been willing to risk making a fool of himself, you probably wouldn’t know what Dollar Shave Club was.

It Got Noticed

Within 24 hours of being posted, “DollarShaveClub.com – Our Blades Are F***ing Great” was the number one trending topic on Reddit.

That same day, the video was featured in articles on a host of sites, including TechCrunch and Mashable. The Mashable article, titled “Is This the Best Startup Launch Video Ever?”, has received over 7,000 combined Tweets and Likes.

It isn’t just a happy accident that the video got all of this attention. It’s simply the result of an original, hilarious, and otherwise remarkable video.

The Result:

The day “DollarShaveClub.com – Our Blades are F***ing Great” was released, 5,000 people subscribed to get razors delivered to their door every month. That’s amazing. But it’s even more amazing when you know that the website was crashing all day long from too much traffic.

Today, the video has about 4.5 million views and Durbin is no longer revealing the number of people subscribed to his service (though we know it’s at least 12,000). Another video is planned for this Father’s Day.

Kony 2012

Invisible Children posted a video called “Kony 2012” on their YouTube channel on March 5, 2012 and in that moment the world of online video changed forever.

Six days later, the 30 minute video had already amassed 100 million views on YouTube (the fastest ever). “Kony 2012” isn’t just the most viral video of 2012. It’s the most viral video of all time.

How KONY 2012 Went Viral:

It Started with an Existing Community

It seemed like “Kony 2012” came out of nowhere. But like most “overnight successes”, the video’s popularity was actually years in the making. Director Jason Russell and Invisible Children had already strung together several successful Kony awareness campaigns. These included high schools assemblies, public demonstrations, and even the support of Oprah Winfrey.

So when the video launched, there was already a large and receptive community ready to watch it and click ‘share’. This is how “Kony 2012” got 66,000 views in its first day.

It Blew Up thanks to Tweeting Celebrities

Twitter has allowed celebrities to gain influence by amassing millions of followers. It has also given those millions of followers a small chance of influencing celebrities back.

“Kony 2012” took full advantage by encouraging viewers to reach out to 20 of the world’s most influential celebrities. This is what pushed the video over the edge: Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, and P Diddy all chimed on Twitter to support the #StopKony movement.

The biggest tweet came from Oprah Winfrey. On the day Oprah mentioned Kony to her 9.6 million Twitter followers, “Kony 2012” saw a 13,536% increase in views (about 9 million in total).

It Reached Critical Mass

Once “Kony 2012” started rolling, there was no stopping it. Kony was averaging about 1.3 million mentions on Twitter per day. Meanwhile, his name was at the top of every Facebook feed on the planet.

This lead to so many views, that the international media started paying attention – and writing cover stories on increasingly viral video. Invisible Children had officially reached their goal of making “Kony world news.”

Persuasive Techniques:

Below I’ll delve a little bit deeper into the exact methods that Jason Russell used to make “Kony 2012” one of the most persuasively potent short films of all time.

It’s Personal

“Kony 2012” is about a complex geopolitical problem. If that’s the way the video were framed, it would never have gotten more than a few million views.

Instead, Jason Russell lets us into his life and family. He shows us videos from his personal Facebook timeline. Then, when it’s time to show the struggle of Ugandan children, he doesn’t tell you about all of children, but rather one kid: Jacob.

It’s only by telling personal stories that the audience is able to make a personal connection with the video.

It Pulls at Your Heart Strings

“Kony 2012” starts out with some emotionally-charged scenes, like a child being rescued from a cave and a deaf person hearing for the first time. But the video goes straight for the heart when it shows a teenaged Jacob sobbing and saying he would rather be dead than continue living under the oppression of the Joseph Kony and the LRA.

When people feel an emotional connection with your video, they’re more likely to put their guard down and just listen. More importantly, the deeper connection they feel with the message will compel them to take action.

It Creates a Sense of Urgency

Once uploaded, a YouTube video is there forever. So, why does Jason Russell claim that the Kony 2012 video will “expire” on December 31^st 2012?

Any salesperson could tell you: people respond to deadlines. Invisible Children planted a seed of urgency in the mind of their viewer so they would be more likely to act immediately.

It Establishes Authority

Trust is hard to come by online, but it’s also essential if you want people to sit through a 30 minute video (and then share it at the end). Since people are socialized to trust authority, one way to help convince people to trust you is to establish yourself as an authority or borrow the authority of others.

“Kony 2012” does just that by panning over official documents and interviewing authoritative experts on the Joseph Kony (including the head prosecutor for the International Criminal Court and a several Ugandan politicians).

It Offers Social Proof

People trust other people more than they trust companies, organizations, and YouTube videos.

That’s why “Kony 2012” features so many shots of crowds of young people wearing their shirts and shouting their slogans. There’s also a brief clip where they show the 600,000+ fans that the movement had on Facebook.

The video also encourages viewers to order an “Action Pack” which includes two bracelets – one for the viewer and one for a friend. The extra bracelet gives everybody who orders the action pack an incentive to bring another person into the movement, thus doubling its effectiveness and encouraging all-important word of mouth.

If Provides a Clear Call to Action

Uncertainty usually leads to inaction. That’s why the last thirty seconds of “Kony 2012” give the viewer “three things you can do right now.”

The end of a video is the best time to let the audience know exactly what you want them to do.

The Result:

As of April 13, 2012, “Kony 2012” had surpassed 180 million views (including views on social networking sites) and garnered at least 3.6 million pledges to Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 campaign. The Invisible Children Facebook page has gone from a few hundred thousand likes to a few million.

On the other hand, the public’s enthusiasm for the cause has been largely short-lived and the campaign has met with a great deal of controversy (many argue that simply drawing attention to Joseph Kony actually hurts the cause).

Whatever your opinion, there’s no doubt that “Kony 2012” has set a new benchmark for what a viral YouTube video is capable of accomplishing.

What are the Common Threads?

At first glance, these three videos couldn’t be more different from one another. One is dramatic hidden camera footage. One’s a series of punch lines. And one is a 30 minute film dedicated to the capture of an international criminal.

But underneath the surface, the three videos share strong commonalities. They’re all engaging from start to finish. They’ve all got that a professional polish. Most of all, they’re all something that people can get behind, talk about, and share with one another.

After watching these three remarkable viral videos what common threads stand out to you?

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