Would this Youtube Plan of Attack Work? (Video Style, Monetization, Keyword Research)

[StefffR]

I was thinking about an idea, making Youtube videos that are informational, for example:

"Best Camping Spots in X"

For the script I would use some parts of already written blog posts and I would just do a voiceover, and about the video I would compile some pictures/videos of the topic that is in the video.

My main method of monetization would be dropshipping a product that is solving a problem of the audience that is watching the video, for example in this case I don't know really much about camping but I know that I popular product was a Multifunctional Survival Shovel (this is just an example)

The video would consist of an intro, then the ad (Something like: "this video is sponsored by x...", then the main content talking about the different locations and at the end or nearly at the end I would mention my product again.

I think that this can work because the products would be problem solving and will touch a pain point of the customer, plus Google is pushing Youtube more and more (with the new update in some SERPs there are 4 videos with the Yt Widget, where before there were only 3) so maybe some videos would even rank in Google.

Of course that proper keyword research needs to be done and I am planning to target keywords that don't have videos specific for them, or if there are some videos they are old and not really benefitial or maybe if they are short.

What do you think on this and how would the conversion rates be because at the end they are informational videos?

 

[Ryuzaki]

@StefffR, what product are you going to dropship that solves what problem related to "Best Camping Spots in X"? A map?

The quickly and cheaply produced "listicle" videos with images with Kens Burns editing and voiceovers do manage to rack up some views over time, for sure. But I wouldn't expect these types of videos to convey much confidence in the viewer, which is going to negatively affect your conversion rate. I'd treat these as more of a way to get paid from ads and funnel people to other videos and my own site where I'd also get paid with ads.

Otherwise, all there is to it is to do it. You might pivot, change video styles, change monetization ideas as you start to get data in. But you won't get that data without plowing forward.

I think featuring fake sponsorship products that are only tangentially related to the video isn't going to do great. You're better off sharing some clickbait-ish product and dropping Amazon cookies and then letting them go shopping for themselves. It's a numbers game, really, when your video production is going to be the video equivalent of an "Made-For-Adsense" website.

 

[StefffR]

@Ryuzaki Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about this, because I am looking to start something in Youtube in 2021, but I am not sure how to approach it.

I know that if I sell random dropshipping products the conversion rate will be pretty low, but I was relying on as you said, "Made-For-Adsense" video production, where I would product a lot of search intent videos so the bigger view volume would make up for the low conversion rates. For products, for the camping example I would probably sell something like a cookware set or a something that it multifunctional and solves the "small space" problem that a lot of campers have.

Also I've been thinking about the other thing you said, the "Top 5 X for Y" with Amazon links, but it is true that the conversion rate would be pretty bad there too.

The third option is to make videos around the content for a informational website I am starting, but I don't know how much of an impact it would make for the growth of the site. Also I am scared that I make the article and the video for the same query, if the video snippet takes over the number one spot, more people would go to Youtube then to my site, which doesn't make sense, because the premium ad networks pay way better then Adsense.

What's your opinion, which path would you take @Ryuzaki?

 

[Ryuzaki]

I think you're over-complicating things and falling victim to paralysis by analysis.

Like, why the focus on affiliate products at low conversion rates on low quality videos and trying to make up sales by targeting keywords with higher search volume? Will low quality videos get the user metrics needed to rank for high competition and high volume search terms? Assuming you can rank for these terms, the affiliate commissions will pale in comparison to display advertising revenue you'll get from sheer video views. Just drop an amazon link in the description and move on, or don't bother and save a little time that can accumulate into producing more videos.

I don't see a problem with having a website where each post also gets a video. That's double dipping and a good thing.

Or... disregard that entire plan and start a legit Youtube channel with higher quality video production that gains subscribers so your videos can launch out of the gates and gain views.

I'm not suggesting you take any specific approach. But I'd think about not pursuing "low quality videos" as the foundation of the approach. It CAN work. I've seen "life hack" channels that are crap clickbait videos with misleading thumbnails that do massive amounts of numbers. Those exist in the cooking niches and many others.

But you know who's making those channels? Teams of Chinese people pumping out the dog shit in vastly higher quantities than you'll be able to.

I just don't see the point in rolling around in the nasty slop at the bottom of the barrel. You tend to get back what you put out there, especially since Youtube and Google have both matured in their understanding of user metrics.

But if you want to pursue the "still images with Ken Burns editing" style of videos, I think you should do that, but simplify your plan. All this talk about fake sponsorships and conversion rates and a content site to go with it... all of that is trying to polish a turd into a diamond.

You can make money by scaling the turd. But I fear that time would be better served by producing videos that aren't going to end up de-ranked in some future algo update. For all the effort it's going to take, you might as well produce a real asset.

With that being said, I bet you can bot the hell out of this whole thing. Your job (or a VA's job) would be to create folders on your desktop full of images for each video and a text file with the text you want overlaid on that part of the video. Then a bot can put it all together in whatever software you choose and render it automatically for you. Then you can send it off to some Fiverr person with a narration script, or read it yourself, re-render, upload, paste in the description and title and tags, and upload 10 a day. I doubt it ends up netting a lot of money but if you need to get it out of your system, I'd do it efficiently and get to the end stage faster.

 

[WinMore]

I have some experience in the video creation sphere to try and boost conversions.

It does work if you give valuable content. It doesn't even have to be about the specific product you are trying to sell. Just talking about the subject makes you an authority in the viewer's eyes.

It's okay to start out with crappy stuff. As you go along, you will get more ideas, and you can try different stuff. If you start with something that might be crappy, just make sure you don't keep on following that script. Every video, try to see what you can do to improve and see if the extra cost (time, money, etc) is worth it.

Creating videos with the same content as your article sounds like a good start to me. But after a while, I would be thinking about how I could make it EVEN better.
Could be making multiple shorter videos, so people can find specific answers quickly. That way your one article can become a mini-series. That's also digestible on social media. Just spitballing here. There are many other things that could be improvements.

Good luck!

(Disclaimer: I stopped doing this, I found other ways to become an "authority" in that niche, so I found my time spend there no longer worth it. I couldn't find a way to keep it sustainable and worth the rewards after a while)