I’m involved in more than just “Daily Flip” type videos you know. I also work with companies to help create much “bigger” videos that are on “the next level” in terms of quality and production. Believe me, it’s a whole different world to create those videos. There’s concept strategy, scripting, pre-production, production, post-production, etc… And so much more.

Fortunately for me, I work with an amazing full team of experts at shooting and editing and all that stuff. I get to help with the conceptualization and then the marketing mostly. It’s a lot of fun too.

Just recently one of the projects I’ve been involved with has launched. Check the site out at FoundYourCalling.com. It’s a portal site for a very large education customer featuring a $5k create a video contest, and… about 20 “viral” type videos that I got to help with. If you can make a video at all, regardless of quality, you should go enter to win.

Here’s a few videos from the campaign for you to enjoy. My favorite is “Cubicle Cribs”. Listen to the boss’s voice at the end off camera. Sound familiar?

Here’s another video that I “acted” in. Ok, I had no speaking part except the chant at then end. Where’s my Oscar?

I’m also in this one, at the end. The bodyguard.

Check them all out at http://www.foundyourcalling.com/watch-videos/.

This is a cool video for many reasons. 1. Because my friend Kevin Savetz is a great guy. 2. He’s got a great new site that you should all checkout that is very smart at ReviewRoundup.com, and 3. We did a dual Flip cam video. He pointed his at me, and I pointed mine at him. I flipped back and forth between the camera footage to create a neat interview effect.

Note: Kevin is a smart guy who builds sites like this that do very well. You could learn a thing or two from him by looking at some of his sites and how they’re built. Very smart.

That headline sounds bad, I know. More ukulele playing in the video below. Today I’m showing off my lame strumming skills. I’m getting a little better, but it’s obvious I need more practice time.

Again, the entire point of doing these videos is to showcase the power of web video both as an educational and entertainment medium. I’m using web videos to not only educate myself on how to learn the ukulele, but I’m also using web videos to show the world my progress.

Plus, it’s fun. And fun is well, fun.

Why doesn’t YouTube have a business channel? They have channels for musicians and experts and journalists and more, yet no place for businesses to upload their content. Why?

Well, it could be that as of the time of this writing, there is hardly any business-type video content in existence. By this I mean that businesses have not begun en masse to create videos for marketing purposes. So it makes sense, right now, that there is no YouTube business channel because there is not any content to fill it.

Another reason that YouTube may not have a business channel is that of the business video content that does exist, most of it is spammy to say the least, and YouTube doesn’t want spammy content in any form.

So here we are, in June 2008 and businesses are beginning to realize that a big piece of the future of marketing online, and search, is having an online video. But YouTube, who owns 77% of all video views, has decided not to create a sandbox for businesses to play in.

If Google Wants To Make Money Right Now, YouTube Has To Stop Thinking Like A Publisher
Recently, much talk has been made about how YouTube cannot make money in their current publisher business model (page views + ads = $$$). I’ll leave the intense debate on that issue to people like Mark Cuban who I agree with. But that’s not what this manifesto is all about.

If YouTube wants to make money right now, they need to create a business channel, or independent brand (Google Video perhaps?) that is built specifically for businesses to put their video content.
Let’s first talk about why they need to do this, then about how it’s going to make them money right now.

Reason #1 YouTube Business Should Exist & Segregate the Prisoners

Business content doesn’t fit with the current content on YouTube. A commercial or training guide or seminar recording does belong next to music videos or skateboarding videos or soft-porn videos.

Ask any Chairman of the board of a Fortune 500 company (I have) about why they aren’t putting their videos on YouTube and you’ll get the same answer. “I’m not putting my brand in the mix next to videos of underage teens dancing in their underwear.”

Good point. Why would they? The answer is they’re simply not going to. Done.

YouTube has to wall-off business content and separate it from the general population. How can this be done? Well, one way would be to take Google Video and turn it into the “business” arm of YouTube. The other way would be to simple create a walled-off section of YouTube called YouTube Business and make that video content exist on its own, not integrated into the general population.

Reason #2 YouTube Business Should Exist & Universal Search is an Empty Cup

Universal search is the future of Google search, and a big piece of that is direct integration of video into the organic results.

But Houston, we have a HUGE problem!

Yep, the reason you’re not seeing Google universal search in action (one of them at least) is that there simply isn’t enough relevant video content in existence to “fill” billions of search results. Let me explain.

Every day millions and millions of people come to Google and look to find high-quality, relevant content that solves their problems. So let’s pretend that one of those searchers comes and searches Google for “skateboarding manufacturers. It’s obvious that that person is interested in finding a list of companies that sell or product or distribute skateboards.

So when they search, they get some web pages (276,000 or so) with tutorials and probably some image results and maybe some blogs show up too.

Then they get a bunch of videos (17 only to be exact) of kids doing skateboard tricks.

How relevant!!! Not.

There are millions of examples like this. The bottom line is, because of the very nature of the type of content that exists on YouTube right now, there is not enough relevant content to display in universal search.

Google searchers are not going to continue to use Google if they are not receiving the highest-quality, most relevant results, and if they turned Universal search on right now in full it would be a joke.

That’s why YouTube needs, no MUST, have business content!

What Kind Of Content Would Fit On YouTube Business?

Online video is a huge opportunity for businesses. Imagine having the power to put a commercial, or educational guide, or viral video, saying whatever you want to say, however you want to say it, on your website for people to be able to watch 24-hours-a-day, 7-days a week.

This is reality. Businesses that do not take advantage of online video both on their website and on sites like a YouTube Business will be left behind down the road. Video communicates so much better than bulleted text on a screen, we all know this.

So there is no question that all businesses will be required to produce videos for online consumption. It’s like having a website today that’s easily findable online. It’s no longer something you could do, it’s an expectation. If you don’t have it, there’s something wrong with you in a consumer’s eyes.
This same expectation will happen with online video eventually. It’s that important.

So what kinds of videos should businesses be making and storing on YouTube Business?

Commercials or infomercials
Educational videos
Training videos
Recruiting videos
Website spokesperson videos
Viral videos
And any other type of video you can think of that will help educate or guide or inform a potential customer about

A Big Problem Is That YouTube Doesn’t Want Those Types of Videos

In case you haven’t noticed, the types of videos mentioned in the list above are NOT videos that exist on YouTube today. In fact, if you read their terms, you’ll understand that YouTube does NOT WANT those types of videos and will remove them if noticed. I know because they took a few of my videos down that had calls to actions on them.

Why doesn’t YouTube want business related videos? Because that’s not their model at the moment. They want a critical mass of user-generated content videos and they’re going to sell ads on and around them.

Fine. That’s great. But it still doesn’t solve a problem for millions of businesses who will need a place to have their videos hosted and served and viewed.

Introducing YouTube Business!

So we’ve talked about why YouTube needs a business section. Now let’s talk about how YouTube is going to make money, immediately, with a business section.

But first off, let’s talk about the huge opportunity that exists. Millions and millions of businesses, from mom and pop stores, to billion-dollar, global corporations will all have the need to have a place to put their videos. Guess what? They don’t have a resource right now to do that.

That’s right. As of right now, there really isn’t any place for a business to quickly, easily and cost-effectively put their business video content. They could invest in third-party hosting, but then they’re going to have to figure out how to create a proprietary flash player to stream their videos, and more importantly, their videos, if not hosted on YouTube, are not going to be indexed into Google universal search.

The bottom line is, even for large companies, it is going to be much easier to simply have a place that is built for business video content that solves all the issues associated with video streaming, compression, quality, etc…

It’s All About Subscriptions

Remember we talked about stopping thinking like a publisher? YouTube needs to forget ads on business content, ok? Keep them on user-generated content if you wish.

Let’s talk about subscriptions. For the sake of this argument, let’s say that there are 1 million businesses ready to sign up today to this new YouTube Business channel. Of course there are millions and millions more businesses in the Global market today, but let’s stick with the 1 million.
(Actually, the U.S. Census reports that there are 5,983,546 businesses in the USA alone in 2005.)

What if YouTube Business charged each business $100/month to host their videos? That’s $1200/year, times 1,000,000 accounts = $1.2 BILLION/year.

Alright, let’s say that they signed up 5 million businesses at that same rate?
That’s $1200/year, times 5,000,000 accounts = $600 BILLION/year.

You think that would pay a few bandwidth bills?

Ahh, yes, but Jim, would a business pay $100/month to have their videos hosted at YouTube? Why yes, they’d pay that in a heartbeat, and here’s why.

1. Universal search integration for videos that meet “requirements”
2. The ability to remove the YouTube branded logo on the player allows the business to both stream the video on YouTube, as well as on their website
3. Full HD capability if wanted
4. Long-form. Allowing videos up to 2-hours in length
5. Maintaining brand equity by segregation from amateurish and inappropriate videos in the general population
6. Unlimited views
7. Trend tracking and analytics
8. Private community
9. Custom-branded business channel pages

Links & Clicks Are Just Gravy

Let’s take this a step further now. So we’ve got all of these businesses paying YouTube a monthly recurring revenue. Now let’s start upselling them.

Want the ability to put clickable links to outside website urls in your videos? Add $50/month to your fee, or charge the business by links or clicks or views.

Example #1: One link per video. And it costs you $1.00 every time that video is viewed.

Example #2: All links in your videos that are clicked cost you $1.00 for every click.

Example #3: You pay for views of your videos on a sliding scale. The more views the more you pay.

There are many combinations YouTube could choose from that the business would pay for.

In Conclusion

Why would any business upload their videos anywhere else? They wouldn’t. A YouTube business channel just makes sense for both businesses and YouTube. Someone from Google give me a ring. I’d be happy to lead this for you. I’m not kidding. Let’s do it.

I’d love to hear your comments. Tell me I’m wrong, tell me I’m right, but make sure you actually read the entire piece above first?

Good question, eh? I’m willing to bet you suffer from what most people suffer from… devaluing yourself or your business. You know… charging too little, or not making your value known to customers and employers.

Admit it, it’s ok. Everyone does it. But the time to stop is now. You’re never going to get where you want if you continue to devalue your knowledge and experience.

So how do you determine your value as a consultant or employee or as a sales organization? Some people or companies have no idea how to price themselves, or when/if to discount. Today I talk with Duncan Macpherson from Pareto Systems, and co-author of “Breakthrough Business Development”.

We talk about value and negotiating your value. Good stuff the consultant who needs to know how to price or value their work and time.

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This is a good one today. Listen to the interview below where I talk with Kelly from TheHolisticOption.com. A niche site that operates on a publisher/subscription business model. Kelly provides great insight about how she started the site only 8 weeks ago is already selling ads.

But that’s not all, we talk about all kinds of things that you MUST listen to if you’re a person wanting to build a successful niche website.

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Show notes:

Site is 8weeks old publisher/subscription model, free to consumers.

Got initial traffic by sending a direct mailer to 17k people, postcard, offered to test 3 month banner ad on site.

Got ads by bartering with “competitors” or complimentary sites.

Doesn’t run google ads because of competition, or bad sites that would show on her pages.

Promotion - social networking on linkedin, myspace, youtube video/channel, facebook, blog.

Does a podcast - interview experts in fields of holistic medicine, featured on itunes.

Talks about how podcasts are easy, using skype and a headset.

Thinking about doing a documentary - create one to promote site.

We talk about how to choose a pr firm. What does PR firm do for them? They secure offline press and trade pubs.

She’s going to be on Donny Deutsch!

Time for yet another learning how to play the ukulele update. The truth is, I don’t have that much time to practice, so I’m not getting that much better. So bear with me. In today’s video I show you some more chords I’ve learned. I’m still having fun, I just wish I had more time.

Remember, the whole point of this was to see if I could learn how to play by watching videos on Youtube or learning from free information found through Google. So far, so good. But slow without practice.

Today I posted a blog over at MPDailyFix.com about Tim Russert and his personal brand. I’m cross-posting the video over here as well.

I didn’t know the guy personally, but after watching his friends and colleagues talk about him, it’s safe to say that he was a person of great character and personal brand and I would like to be like him.

Check this cool interview I did with Rob McNealy over at StartupStoryRadio.com.

Rob runs a social media marketing company, as well as doing his podcast, and we chatted about that and all kinds of online marketing. Overall, a great interview with some helpful tips and tricks you can garner for your brand/business.

Click here to listen.

So the winner has been chosen. Yep, you, are getting my old Flip camera. I hope you take good care of it. It likes to be read to before bed, preferably stories that aren’t scary, and it also likes to have its tummy rubbed when it’s not feeling well.

When you get the camera in the mail, you had better use it to take a thank you video :) Oh yeah, and send me your address. I think you’re in Canada? Wow, what’s this shipping going to cost me? Can I just throw it over Lake Erie?

Click To Play