While many creators try their luck launching a YouTube channel first, some creators know they needed something different to start monetizing their videos. Yet knowing how to monetize video content in a scalable way can be a challenge in and of itself.
Want to figure out how to make money with videos (and not just go the old YouTube route)? Read on to find out.
Video Monetization 101
Today, creators like Sotomethod are realizing that they can leverage video monetization to build successful businesses — and they don’t need YouTube to do it. Wondering how to monetize video content and turn a great idea into a profitable venture? We’re here to show you how.
In this post, you’ll learn exactly what video monetization is, the three main video monetization models, and steps to start monetizing your video content.
Video monetization: Getting started
Let’s begin with what video monetization means. In a nutshell, video monetization is the process of making money off the video content you create and share online. That’s it!
By monetizing your video content, you can typically collect cash through paid advertisements, paid subscriptions, or one-off transactions. People — they can be subscribers, one-time (or repeat) customers, and advertisers — are paying you for access to your platform, your videos, or your viewers.
Today, top brands exist right alongside passionate and talented educators, fitness instructors, entertainers, and more in the online video space. If you’re able to grow a healthy following, you can start monetizing your videos and earn good money simply doing what you love. Making your content available for consumption over the web and via TV/mobile apps is called OTT streaming (because it goes "over the top" of traditional broadcasting services).
For anyone looking to build their passion into a successful brand, now is as good a time as any to start.
How to make money with videos: 3 VOD business models
There are three main business models you can choose from to monetize video content, each offering their own unique viewing experience:
- Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD)
- Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD)
- Transactional Video On Demand (TVOD)
- Ad-Supported Video On Demand (AVOD)
Let’s break down the different models and learn how each tie into video monetization (i.e., how to get money from monetization).
What is the SVOD model?
With SVOD, subscribers pay a recurring fee, usually monthly or annually, to enjoy unlimited access to premium content, so long as they continue to pay. It’s one of the most profitable video monetization business models — and one of the most popular, as evidenced by the success of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and new kid on the block Disney+.
Netflix alone had more than 192 million paying streaming subscribers worldwide in the second quarter of 2020. Revenue growth in the global SVOD market nearly doubled between 2018 and 2020, and is expected to surpass $87 billion by 2025.
Benefits of an SVOD video monetization model include:
- A steady stream of income
- More time to create content and add value for paying subscribers
- Subscribers can watch as much content whenever and wherever they want
What is the TVOD model?
Another way to start monetizing your videos is through transactional video on demand, or TVOD. How do you get money from monetized videos with this type of model? TVOD allows consumers to purchase content on a pay-per-video or pay-per-series basis.
There are two main ways to offer this service:
- Allow consumers to gain permanent access to a piece of content with a one-time payment
- Through download to rent, where customers can access a piece of content for a smaller fee, but for a limited time
The most familiar examples of this are renting digital video content through Apple iTunes, Google Play, and the Amazon video store.
What is the AVOD model?
Here’s how to check if a video is monetized: You know how sometimes when you watch a YouTube video (unless you have a paid subscription), you sit through an advertisement before the content starts to play? That’s a prime example of a classic video monetization method known as ad-supported video on demand, or AVOD.
With the AVOD business model:
- Advertisers pay to place their ads in front of your viewers, which typically appear at the start of the video or somewhere during the stream
- Your audience can access your video content without paying a monthly subscription fee — they’ll just be required to watch a few ads as they’re streaming
- The more viewers or reach you have, the more ad agencies will be willing to pay you for those eyeballs, and the more money you can earn
Video monetization sites for creators
There’s no question YouTube lifted the visibility of independent creators with its platform and has given them a home for their content. But figuring out how to monetize videos on YouTube in a sustainable way is an uphill battle: channels with as many as 1.4 million views per month bring in under $17,000 per year.
With so much noise and competition, many talented creators never crack that top tier. When you’re constantly competing for views and hustling to stay one step ahead of the search algorithm, it can be both time-consuming and mentally draining. Fortunately, creators have far more choices in terms of video sites to make money these days, and some are even leaving YouTube as a result.
Millionaire Hoy is just one independent video creator who found great success off of YouTube. After turning to Vimeo for help to launch an SVOD service for his instructional videos, he says he discovered new-found freedom in creating fitness content.
Read Millionaire Hoy’s story →
3 steps to start monetizing your videos today
Now that you understand what video monetization is and what the three VOD business models are, let’s get down what you really want to know — how to make money with monetized videos from your existing content library. Just follow the simple steps outlined below, and you’ll be on your way to video monetization in no time, whether you’ve got 10 videos in the bank or 1,000.
1. Create your own online VOD platform
First things first, create a VOD-optimized website where current and potential customers can access your content. Vimeo makes it easy to start monetizing your videos — in fact, anyone can get started with Vimeo OTT, right now, for free. Some of the all-inclusive, end-to-end services Vimeo offers include:
- Free migration
- Branded app development, submission, and management
- Comprehensive, real-time insights to help you keep your pulse on what’s working and what’s not
- 24/7 support for both you and your subscribers
Simply put, Vimeo takes care of all the technology needs and customer service, giving creators more time to focus on content creation, growing their brand, and connecting with their audience.
In theory, you can build a similar platform yourself by investing in a few important tools and services, including web hosting, a unique domain name, a content management system, video hosting, payment processing and others.
If you’re web-savvy and have the financial and operational capacity, this is doable — but it's often at the expense of higher costs and time-consuming management.
See why IndieFlix pivoted from creating and managing their own VOD platform from scratch, to partnering with Vimeo:
2. Choose a video monetization model
The next step is to choose an on-demand video monetization model. Creators wondering how to tell if a video is monetized can expect three options: SVOD, AVOD, and TVOD. What’s the best way to monetize videos for your brand? Each VOD model has its own benefits, depending on your goals.
SVOD
For niche creators offering high-value, specialized content — and who are sure that people will pay for it — SVOD might be the best option for how to monetize your content. If you’re a smaller operation with a decent following, you can likely bring in more money selling subscriptions to fewer people than having to worry about consistently hitting a high number of views to rake in revenue on AVOD. And with SVOD’s autopay option, you get a steady stream of revenue each month without hustling to beat algorithms.
AVOD
AVOD might be attractive to some creators as a way to start monetizing your videos. Advertisers are paying you to place those ads in front of your followers, so for big media brands or influencers who know they can attract millions of views a month, AVOD can be a profitable option.
To expand upon this a bit, there are two types of AVOD models to choose when launching your own channel:
- Programmatic advertising: Your inventory (video views) are offered within an ad exchange marketplace, where advertisers will bid on your content in real time. This takes some time to set up and maintain, and requires a significant number of monthly views to be profitable.
- Direct-sold advertising: With this model, you reach out to advertisers directly to sell your inventory. For example, if you’re a yoga instructor, you could contact yoga mat manufacturers and pitch them to advertise on your channel. This strategy requires a bit of sales work up front, but requires less technical resourcing and can be quite profitable for niche content.
TVOD
Finally, what happens if you monetize your videos using TVOD? As we mentioned before, this method allows consumers to purchase or rent content on a pay-per-video or pay-per-series basis. While TVOD isn’t the most popular video monetization model among Vimeo creators, many publishers — especially those live streaming sports — can leverage live TVOD (also known as pay-per-view, or PPV) as their primary revenue driver.
With TVOD, creators ultimately have more control over what content their customers consume, and if a rental, for how long.
Vimeo Streaming's OTT services support all three video monetization models — as well as hybrid combinations — to help your video business thrive. Whatever your monetization needs are, we can help.
3. Grow your business with OTT video apps
Mobile usage has soared in the past decade and a growing number of people are consuming video content on their smartphones. Yet, while cable cutting holds strong, consumers are still plopping down in front of the TV to stream content. You can give your audience the best of all worlds and start monetizing your videos even further with custom OTT apps.
Millions U.S. households today engage in OTT streaming of video content. Creating native streaming apps for mobile and TV devices can easily turn one-time viewers into loyal, paying subscribers.
Why? Not only do apps offer a fully branded experience, but they make in-app subscriptions and payments seamless too. In fact, having a branded app
Vimeo Streaming includes development for every device, including:
- iOS
- Android
- Amazon Fire TV
- Roku
- Xbox
- Apple TV
- Samsung Tizen
Our team takes care of customization, regular updates, analytics, and even the difficult and time-consuming process of launching an app in various marketplaces. Again, all creative control stays with the creator, so you’re able to produce content and nurture your audience. We’ll handle the technology.
Create your own subscription channel →
Monetize with Vimeo Streaming
Join brands like Dropout that leverage Vimeo for their video subscription services.
- Monetize through subscriptions and connect directly with your audience, avoiding reliance on major networks like Netflix or Hulu.
- Unlike YouTube, Vimeo allows you to fully own your content and audience insights, plus you can sell or rent individual videos, a feature YouTube lacks.
- Achieve more stable revenue; typically, converting just 1% to 5% of your free YouTube followers to paying subscribers is sufficient for success on Vimeo’s OTT platform.
- Create your own applications with Vimeo’s assistance, enabling you to engage your audience across various devices and platforms.
- Enjoy a premium viewing experience with high-quality streaming, customizable applications, and a robust video player that enhances your brand.
- Vimeo simplifies the process of launching and managing a streaming service, regardless of your technical skills, handling customer support, legal matters, and tax obligations so you can concentrate on content creation.
- Benefit from transparent and affordable pricing that scales with your business, ensuring predictable expenses and cost-effective growth.
- Safeguard your videos with digital rights management (DRM), geo-blocking, and comprehensive privacy settings.
- Vimeo continually introduces innovative features and expands platform support to facilitate your growth and service enhancement, with recent updates including support for LG and Vizio TV apps, dynamic categories, native bumpers and sponsorships, and a streamlined checkout process via Stripe Connect.
A streaming service built for you
Video monetization doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t have to turn to YouTube to get your videos seen anymore. With the right tools and support, creators can build a streaming service to transform their video content into a serious, profitable business, all while delivering a flawless viewing experience for audiences.
And with the power of Vimeo’s OTT streaming apps, you can build a Netflix-style app or channel for your live and on-demand videos. Vimeo empowers you to create a viewer destination where you can:
- Stream live or on-demand video content across the web and mobile and TV apps.
- Manage your own content library with an easy-to-use CRM.
- Monetize your videos via subscriptions or one-time payments.
- Engage with subscribers in real time within your apps.
- Track video performance and analytics.
- Build a video library of on-demand and live events for subscribers.
- Run promotions and special offers.
Video monetization wrap-up
We’ve covered a lot of information on how to make money with videos. In short, there are three video monetization models that businesses use to earn revenue:
- SVOD (subscription video on demand)
- TVOD (transactional video on demand)
- AVOD (ad-supported video on demand)
The best way to monetize videos depends on a number of factors. To help you get started, here are 3 steps to start monetizing your videos right away:
- Start your own video monetization site on the web with Vimeo Streaming
- Choose a video monetization model that suits your needs (many Vimeo creators start with SVOD)
- Look into expanding your content distribution with branded apps (just give us a shout if you need help)
Explore Vimeo Streaming →
If you are a creator yourself, you may want to explore how Vimeo can help you make, share, and manage videos. Learn more about features like livestreaming, video hosting, screen recording, our video teleprompter, video analytics, and more.
