The Economics of Vlogging

On YouTube, you can catch the latest movie trailers, watch Miley Cyrus lick a hammer, and see animals at their cutest (and/or most destructive). Also intrinsic to the YouTube world are vlogs, video journals made by normal folks that now play an important role in a company's marketing strategies. What exactly are the economics of vlogging?

Vlogging Basics

There are as many different types of vlogs are there are types of blogs. Vlogs can inform, inspire, entertain, teach, or just give some personal fulfillment to the vlogger. Starting a vlog is as easy as having an idea and knowing how to use the video recorder on your smartphone. Most smartphones have excellent cameras, making them ideal tools for getting into this potentially profitable hobby (or career).

Independent vloggers aren’t the only ones who take advantage of this platform. Many companies have their own YouTube channels that they use to help them boost SEO and reach out to current and potential customers.

If you’re not very familiar with vlogs but find the idea intriguing, check out this list of some of YouTube’s vlogging all-stars. You’ll see that vlogs can focus on anything, from the serious to the utterly ridiculous. The large number of tastes to which different vlogs appeal is one of the reasons advertisers love a successful vlog, since such vlogs create grand opportunities to reach new eyes and ears.

How Do Vloggers Make Money?

It seems like some vloggers just sit in front of a camera and make fools of themselves, but they work hard to come up with ideas for new material that'll interest their target audience. That hard work can yield big payoffs. Members of YouTube’s Partner Program can earn major bucks as their videos attract millions of views. Solely from this Partner Program, some vloggers become millionaires. You can check out some of the numbers here.

If a vlogger manages to establish himself or herself as an authority in a particular field, that perceived expertise is a fantastic opportunity for marketers to spread the word about products. Viewers trust vloggers. Even though vloggers must clearly state when they get paid to promote a product, viewers still listen up because many vloggers feel the same way about promoting products as one vlogger quoted at bbc.co.uk, who says, “If I would never actually use that company or even if I just don’t like the product, I’m not even going to think about [promoting it].”  

Successful vlogging can come with even more high value perks. Sponsors sometimes pay for them to attend major events like the Super Bowl as well as events sponsored by YouTube. Sweet deal, right?

Vlogging as a Career

As great as vlogging is as a tool to reach the world with a message, news about your life, or general nonsense, it isn’t easy to gain a following and establish yourself as a professional vlogger. Once someone has the spark of an idea, he or she must develop it, write clever titles and descriptions of videos, and advertise himself on social media. His talent, along with a dash of luck, could lead to great things.

If you're thinking about starting your own blog, begin with your smartphone. As mentioned earlier, these little technological marvels have everything you need to kickstart your vlog. Some tips listed at becomeablogger.com tell you how to get the most of your smartphone as a vlogging tool. 4G Smartphones from T-Mobile are especially good for vlogging endeavors, nationwide high-speeds will able you to share your adventures with ease and speed.

Like any other monetary endeavor, it takes much work to make a success out of vlogging. It means devoting a lot of time planning new material and connecting with viewers. Engaging in conversations with viewers in comments on YouTube, in Tweets, and on Facebook, is vital.  For anyone with the time and the will, vlogging can turn into a full-time job.

While the word “vlog” by itself sounds like a form of medieval torture, vlogging is far from painful for those who can pull it off. For self-disciplined, creative people, vlogging is a fantastic chance to make some extra money and have fun in the process.