LAST EDITED ON Nov-02-08 AT 11:01 AM (PST)
He's an excellent report I bought rights to concerning video and youtube and has some blackhat techniques.Confessionsof a YouTube Maniac Volume 1
The Easiest Way to Make a Great Screenshot Video!
WATCH THE VIDEO:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/animoto/animoto.html
Are you struggling to make high quality screenshot (image-based) videos for your business to place on YouTube? Are you tired of messing around with Windows Movie Maker, Camtasia, and other complex and complicated movie making software?
Let me let you in on a little secret...
It's called Animoto.com.
What is Animoto?
Basically Animoto makes slideshows, ie videos from images. But Animoto does this on it's own and it makes screenshots that seriously kick butt. The videos Animoto produces look like professionally done commercials or movie trailers.
All you do is upload some images, upload some music or choose from their collection, and then hit a button. Bam! Just like that Animoto takes all that and turns it into a professional looking video. If you don't like the first video....run it thru again and Animoto will spit a video out at you that is completely different! It never makes the same video twice!
Honestly, I was a little skeptical too. But listen...take a few minutes, zoom over to the site, sign up and test it out. You'll be amazed....maybe even addicted. It really is that cool. Don't ask me how they do it....all I know is that it works.
You can make short 30 second videos for FREE with Animoto. If you want to make full length videos there is a small fee. You can buy credits thru there system – works out to like $3 a video. Or sign up for a YEAR subscription which costs a “whopping” $30. If you use my referral code you'll save $5 and get a year's worth of unlimited videos for $25 measly bucks.
I'll be honest with you. I made my money back from Animoto on the very first video I used it to make. There is even a “remix” editing option on full length videos that gives you more control over the video if you don't like what Animoto produces.
I'll let the site speak for itself. I'm telling you, once you check out the site, see it in action, and give it a test run you'll understand what I'm talking about.
FYI – Animoto has just launched a new type of service that may be of interest to you. It's a little more expensive, but if you can't or don't want to make your own videos it's worth checking out -
http://business.animoto.com/
Camera Shy? Make Your Own Videos Without Being on Camera!
www.reallusion.com/crazytalk/
Are you camera shy? No way am I stepping in front of a camera and putting it online so the whole world can see! - Does that sound like you?
Not everyone has the confidence or talent to stand in front of the camera and “wing it”. And not everyone wants their name and face broadcast across the internet.
There are some solutions.
One solution is a software called Crazy Talk. www.reallusion.com/crazytalk/
Crazy Talk is a software that will bring your images to life. It's a perfect solution for anyone who doesn't want to step in front of the camera and be a “star”.
You could easily take a still image of yourself and with Crazy Talk make that image life-like. The software will make the image move like a real person. The mouth will move to whatever audio you put to it.
Some might find this pretty creepy. It is...LOL. I'm not so sure about taking Crazy Talk and using it bring a picture of myself to life.
The real power of Crazy Talk comes when you use the software to create characters. You can take a picture of your dog and with Crazy Talk put words in his mouth. Maybe even make him an internet “celebrity”. Crazy Talk is perfect for someone looking to get creative but not wanting to step on camera.
All it takes is an images, the Crazy Talk software, and a few simple adjustments and you're ready to go.
And if you're also self conscious about your voice as well? Snag a voice changer software from the net and adjust your recorded audio to make it sound as nice or as strange as you'd like.
With software like this, you can create a whole character or identity online without ever once putting yourself in front of the camera. Pretty cool, huh?
Your other option is animation. There are lots of different animation softwares out there ranging from easy to very difficult to use. Sometimes it's just best to outsource it to a pro.
However, if you're a do-it-yourself kinda person here are a few links to check out.
Toon Boom Studio
http://www.toonboom.com/main/
Anime Studio
http://my.smithmicro.com/win/anime/index.html
Stick Figure Animator - http://www.snapfiles.com/GeT/sTiCkFiGuRe.html
Roxio Video Lab - http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/mydvd/videolab/overview.html
Photo magico - http://www.boinx.com/fotomagico/overview/
Windows Photo Story 3 – http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
Slideroll - http://www.slideroll.com/
Voice Changers
MorphVOX – http://www.screamingbee.com/product/MorphVOXJunior.aspx
Fake Voice - http://www.download.com/Fake-Voice/3000-2150_4-10711470.html
AV Voice Changer - http://www.download.com/AV-Voice-Changer-Software/3000-2150_4-10056479.html
What Are people Searching For On YouTube?
WATCH THE VIDEO:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/WhatPeopleSearch4/WhatPeopleSearch4.html
While there still isn't an exact way to find out what people are searching for on YouTube, there is a neat little trick you can use now that YouTube has implemented “suggestion” tool into it's search function.
Just type one letter or number into YouTube's search and YouTube will give you “suggested” searches. This will give you a rough idea of what keywords people are looking for. This will make it easier for you to know which keywords to target.
I've made a short video covering this topic. You can watch it by clicking HERE.
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/WhatArePeopleSearchingFor/WhatArePeopleSearchingFor.html
Use Cliff-hangers to Get More Clickthru's
Here's a trick that has worked well for me when it comes to making money on YouTube promoting an affiliate offer.
Here's what I've done. Some may consider it “BlackHat” but I feel it's a tip worth sharing.
Many products now have video on their salespages, what I've done is take a short portion of the video....I just record the video right off the webpage using Camtasia. I don't record the whole video just the first 30 seconds or so. All I want is to record right up until the video starts to really get interesting.
The goal is to create a “cliffhanger” for viewers and then flash a graphic when the short clip is done that instructs the viewer to click on the link to watch the rest of the video.
The link takes them to the salespage – thru my affiliate link – where they can see the full video in it's entirety.
I was able to use this technique recently with a CPA offer that paid out $2 for every email address I collected. Using this little cliffhanger technique I was able to get a HUGE clickthru rate from my YouTube video to the salespage where the full video was located.
I've only just begun using this trick. There are some sneaky tricks you could pull off with this method. I guarantee using this cliffhanger” method will increase the clickthru rate you see on your videos.
Two more cool tips...
I didn't come up with these, so I'm not going to put them in the report and try to take credit for them. Instead I'll just give you the link and you can check them out for yourself.
http://www.strategicprofits.com/blog/tips-for-youtube-users/
Having Trouble Getting Views? How to Get Some!
Tube Increaser is a software that will increase the amount of views your YouTube video has by sending “fake” views to your video. While some people may disagree with this tactic, sometimes it's needed just to get your video “off the ground”.
I've heard some people claim that using Tube Increaser software will get you banned from YouTube. I've never had that happen to my accounts and/or videos.
The key is moderation. Some people are greedy and want a million views on their video in 2 hours...they think that is somehow going to get them more REAL views and make them a ton of money overnight.
It doesn't work that way. The best way to use a tool like Tube Increaser is to use it in a way that makes your views seem NATURAL. More views built up gradually over time will start to get your video ranked higher in the YouTube search results. It will also help your video start to get more attention in the natural search results.
Your goal with software like Tube Increaser is just to get your videos enough views so that they start to get REAL views. Preferably REAL views that are targeted to your topic from YouTube search results and search engine results – Google, Yahoo, MSN.
The big myth is that if use a tool like Tube Increaser and get your video on the “Most Viewed” lists, you will instantly start making a boatload of money.
The problem with that way of thinking is that many of the views you get as a result of tactics like that are highly untargeted. They are just RANDOM people, most of whom probably want little to do with your offer. Many of them will be 13 year old kids who don't have credit cards and will leave silly and sometimes downright rude and nasty comments on your video.
What is the point of driving those kind of views to your video? Plus, remember a tactic like this is much more likely to draw the attention of YouTube.
Software like this works best when used to make things look natural. Your goal should be to jump to the top of the YouTube search results for your keyword and eventually the Google search results as well. Not to send a bunch of completely untargeted viewers to your video while drawing attention from YouTube, which increases the chances your videos will disappear and your account will be banned.
You need to have a more long term vision, instead of just a short “get rich overnight” mentality.
Tube Increaser is the best software I've used so far for this purpose.
Tube Surfer.net (http://www.tube-surfer.net) is a free tool you can use as well. There are actually a good number of these services online. Here's a list I've put together:
Tube Increaser
Tube Surfer.net
Traffic Master
DJ Express
TwentyFourHustle
Other Ways to Get Natural Views...
Using social networking and forums can get your videos more views naturally. If you have a MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter account let people know about your videos.
Post some links to your videos on high traffic forums. If you want to get a little more “blackhat” post a link to your video with the wrong desecription...
This is sneaky but it works to get you views. If you put something in a forum like, “Hey watch this funny video I just found!” and link it to one of your videos, you'll see a huge boost in your views. Because views make a difference in YouTube search results this help you in the long run.
Need Some Kick Ass Feedback?
Tube Automator is another software tool that some may consider “BlackHat”. It's a software that makes it easy for you to create YouTube accounts and increase the number of comments and ratings of your videos.
The point here is to increase those numbers so your video will show up on the top lists like “Most Commented”, “Top Favorites”, “Top Rated”, etc, etc.
Tube Automator is another tool that should be used with moderation. When used improperly, Tube Automator is nothing more than a blatant YouTube SPAM tool that will get your videos and accounts on YouTube banned.
But when used properly and in moderation, it is a terrific tool to start to get the “ball rolling” on your videos.
Almost everyone I know who complains about Tube Automator's effectiveness does so because they have a short-term, get rich tomorrow mentality when it comes to video. When used properly, Tube Automator is a powerful tool that will save you time and make you money.
It's somewhat costly and probably isn't a good investment for someone just getting started with videos and YouTube.
Tip - Make People Notice Your Link!
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see people making with their videos on YouTube. You have to call your viewers attention to your link. If the goal of your videos is to drive traffic to your website, you have to let people know how to get there.
Putting a clickable (http://www.) link is the starting point. Once you've done that, you've made it easy for those who view your video to get to your link with one simple click. Now you have to draw their attention to the description box and to the link.
The best way to do this is with a short message at the beginning and end of your videos that POINTS to your link. Use arrows, get people's attention, tell them it's there, tell them to click on it.
Some people don't like putting a message at the beginning of the video. I've never had a problem with it...I just keep it short when I place the message at the beginning. Maybe a 1 sec message. Then at the end of the video you can use a longer message and use the “End of Video Trick” to put a really long call to action at the end.
If your video is a “how to” type of video where you give instructions, make sure you tell your viewers to click on your link for more info or to get something for free....whatever.
Simply letting your viewers know that the link is there will instantly increase your click thru rates.
Simple but effective...and often overlooked
SEE END OF VIDEO TRICK VIDEO:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/endofvideotrick/endofvideotrick.html
Split Revenue With YouTube
Did you know YouTube now has a partner program much like the one previously offered by the video site Revver.com?
YouTube's partner program allows you to make money from ads that YouTube places on your videos.
There are some restrictions and you have to apply, but if you are someone who is producing original content it may be worth checking out. Also remember this, being a member of the Partner Program also gives YouTube an incentive to show your videos and rank them higher in their search, maybe even feature them on their front page.
Here's the link to check it out - http://youtube.com/partners
YouTube Annotations
Have you seen the new YouTube annotations feature? This feature allows you to add thought bubbles and other annotations on your video. You can also make the annotations CLICKABLE.
The only catch is that you can only link to YouTube links. So you can link to another video, a YouTube Channel, and YouTube search results.
Some uses thus far have been an interactive card trick video, a shell game video, and an IQ test video.
Card Trick - http://youtube.com/watch?v=tbEei0I3kMQ
Shell Game - http://youtube.com/watch?v=SzEvcS01Cl0
IQ Test - http://youtube.com/watch?v=E43n6iQnuPw
These videos have made the viewing experience interactive. I think this could be a great way to drive traffic to a site. Why not make a simple 3 question quiz for viewers? When the viewer clicks on the correct answer they would be led to the video with the next question. If they click on the wrong answer they are taken to a video that says “WRONG!”.
After viewers answer the 3rd and final question they are take to a video you have created that says something like - “Congratulations, you have answered all 3 questions correctly! Please click on the link in the description box to claim your PRIZE!” Of course, you would have an ARROW pointing to where the link is.
You could easily point that link to a CPA offer for a free gift card or free Ipod, etc. Maybe something different.
I've already seen someone using a similar technique to point users to a Free IQ Test offer that I know pays more than $1 for every lead collected.
Or maybe your PRIZE is a Free Copy of an Ebook you've written loaded with affiliate links? Who knows...
Collect Leads From YouTube
YouTube has huge potential, but perhaps the most overlooked opportunity on YouTube is the ability to use it generate a swarm of free leads.
Think about it this way. If you're using YouTube to make money from CPA offers that collect email adresses, that means that YouTube viewers will subscribe to offers if you are able to lead them there.
If you run a newsletter perhaps it's time to start thinking about a way you can move some of your content over to YouTube in an effort to get some more suscribers.
Advertise your free ebooks or reports on YouTube.
You don't even have to use a squeeze page. I've been playing around with a technique where I let everyone who wants to download my report do so without having to enter their email address. Then I make an effort inside of the ebook to get their email address. You can do this by offering a free gift or a free newsletter subscription....just like you would on a squeeze page.
Did you also know that you can place a DONWLOAD link right in YouTube's description box?
You can.
So if you want to give away a free report just link to the report right in the description box by placing the download link there. Example: http://www.MyFreeReport.com/freereport.pdf
If you use this tactic it's best to let viewers know before hand. I suggest putting info or instructions right in the video.
How to Deal With Comments
Dealing with comments is simple. Delete the negative ones and keep the positive ones.
Here's the right way to do it. Go to your comments and BEFORE you Delete the comment, Block the User who made the comment. This way this user can't make any more stupid, rude, or nasty comments on your videos. After you've blocked the user, delete the comment and you're all set.
Sometimes a nasty comment will actually HELP you because some of your viewers will come to your defense or the comment will start an argument that just keeps going and going and going. Seriously, I've seen people make more than 20 comments arguing back and forth with another YouTuber. Apparently some people have nothing better to do than argue with people on YouTube!
If you don't want to deal with comments you can Disable them and not have to worry about it, but that will prevent you from getting on any type of “most Commented” list and may hurt you in search results.
The Truth About Thumbnails
WATCH THE VIDEO:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/Thumbnail/Thumbnail.html
I keep seeing mis-information spread across the internet on this topic so I will cover it here.
YouTube takes a screenshot of your video halfway thru. So if your video is 1:00 long, the screenshot is at 30. That is well known by most people. However few people seem to realize that YouTube also takes a screenshot of your video ¼ of the way thru and ¾ of the way thru.
So if your video is 1:00 long YouTube will take screenshots at 0:15, 0:30, and 0:45.
You can change the screenshot viewers see by going to My Videos and then clicking on the “Edit Video Button” on the video you want to change.
Combining YouTube and CPA – A How-to
The YouTube to CPA offer method is not a new one. I mentioned it in my first YouTube report. I've put together a video to cover this topic.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/YouTubetoCPA/YouTubetoCPA.html
YouTube SEO Section
YouTube for Search – Exploiting YouTube for SEO
WATCH THE VIDEOS:
Part 1:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/SEO1/SEO1.html
Part 2
SNEAKY TRICK
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/SEO2/SEO2.html
YouTube, online video, and user created video content isn't just about going “viral” or creating a “buzz”. Right now smart marketers are staking their claim to high search engine rankings with video. Search engines like Google survive by providing their users with the best and most relevant content. As more and more people jump online looking for video, these search engines will need to start delivering it.
We're already seeing it in search results. YouTube results are starting to show up at the top of search engine results for tons of keywords.
Google already has an entire video search engine category. And believe me, people are using it. All you have to do is post a video on YouTube, wait a month or so and you'll start to see links to your video from Google search/GoogleVideo.
Right now is the time to really take advantage of video when it comes to search engine results. The amount of video content out there is tiny. Which means competition is weak. It's easier right now to get a top search engine result in the video search results, then it is in the regular SERPS.
Sometimes all you need to do is make the title of your YouTube video the KEYWORD you are targeting and you'll be at the top of the Google Video Search results in a couple of days.
Think about it this way. Competition in video search right now is low. And while demand for video search is nowhere near what content search is, it's growing and it's growing fast.
Some news on the growth of video search:
Search Engine Marketers Sticking to Basics But Eyeing Video, According to SEMPO 2007 State of the Market Survey
http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=144845
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080619-113452
http://searchengineland.com/080529-083649.php
http://www.sunherald.com/prnewswire/story/627609.html
How to Rank Higher in Search With Video...
The Name Your Video Trick
I've only shared this next trick with 2 people prior to writing this report. It's a little trick I found on accident, and I'm still not entirely sure why it seems to work, but the tests I've done have showed that it does.
The main key to ranking well in YouTube search and Google search with your video is picking a keyword phrase and using it in the title of your video, your description, your tags, and even the name of your channel.
But my experiments on YouTube have also shown me that the name of the FILE when you upload it seems to have an effect on your search results.
So if you are uploading a video going after the Keyword phrase “Golf Tips”, you would include “golf tips” in the name of the file you upload.
Example – You upload a video about “golf tips”. The Title of your video is “Golf Tips – Hit Your Driver 300+ Yards!”. The name of the .wmv or .mp4 or whatever file you upload should be the same as your title.
In this case – “Golf Tips Hit Your Driver 300 Yards.mp4”
The hyphen, + sign and exclamation point are left out because you can't save a file with them in the file name.
Again, I'm not quite sure why this works, but it has always has a positive effect for me and the 2 people I told about it before writing it in this report. My guess is that because YouTube has a limited amount of content they can judge your video on – basically just the title, the description, the tags – that this somehow plays a role.
A Quick YouTube SEO Overview
Channel Name, Channel Tags, Channel URL
Your Channel URL is the username you sign up with on YouTube. So if you sign up with the name “CoolDude247” your YouTube URL will be www.youtube.com/cooldude247
Picking a username related to your keyword can help you in search results. I've noticed it especially helps in Google search results.
The only time you should NOT be using a keyword based username is if you are trying to “brand” yourself or your channel. Basically if you are trying to become an online “celebrity”. Otherwise you should always carefully choose your username and relate it to the keywords you plan on targeting with your videos.
Channel Name
You Channel Name is different from your username/Channel URL. You can change your Channel Name under the Channel Info tab under My Account.
Under Channel Info you can choose your channel name, leave a description of your channel, and choose your Channel Tags. These are all important features when it comes to YouTube SEO so it is important that you take the time to use them properly.
Make sure you are using the keywords you are targeting here. 98%...maybe 99% of YouTube users do NOT do this...so completing these simple steps will put you ahead of the game from the start.
Personal profile – You can find this under Account-->Personal Profile.
Take a quick second and add some info here. At the very least you should add your URL and some of the keywords you are targeting in some of the blank boxes. This will add more keywords to your Channel page.
Give Your Videos Some Link Juice!
One way to get some “link juice” back to your videos and help them in search results is to link to them using keywords you are targeting. So if your video is targeting the keyword “lose weight fast” you would want to make the words “lose weight fast” on your website a HYPERLINK to your video.
You can do this on “link juice” sites like Squidoo, Blogger, Zimbio, LiveJournal, MySpace and Wordpress.com if you don't have your own website.
Also don't forget about article sites. I like GoArticles.com for this because I can put links in my articles, unlike other article sites. Here's an example of how it's done on GoArticles.
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=951880
On top of that......
It's also important to embed your videos on other sites as well. What I do is embed the video and put a title above it that is my keywords linking to my video.
You can check out this link (http://freehalowars.blogspot.com/2008/06/update-halo-wars-release-date-gamestop.html) for an example. Scroll down to where it says “Halo Ward Release Date” above the video I've embedded.
Very few videos have backlinks to them so it doesn't take many links to start to see some results, although the keyword you are after makes a difference. Obviously more competitive keywords will be more difficult to rank highly for.
Pinging Your YouTube Channel
This is a cool trick for YouTube SEO. It won't do much for you in Google, but it will help your video get picked up by other search engines like Yahoo, MSN, Ask.com, IceRocket, etc, etc.
Your YouTube account has an RSS feed you can use.
It looks like this:
http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/USERNAME/uploads
To get your RSS feed, all you need to do is put your Username where I have “USERNAME” in the link above. Then you can take that link to sites like Pingoat.com and Pingomatic.com and use it to ping your RSS feed.
If you combine this with proper keyword use and the YouTube SEO techniques I mentioned ealier it can be very effective.
Sites you can do this at:
Pingoat
Ping-O-Matic
Buy Vids From Other YouTubers
I talked about this in my YouTube Traffic Tips ebook and received a lot of questions about it.
(And then had a “GURU” STEAL the idea from me and take credit for it more than a YEAR later!)
It really is as simple as it sounds. I've done this now about a half dozen times. All I've done is sent a message to someone whose videos I liked and asked them if they would be interested in doing a video for me for money.
I've found it's best to approach some of the less “famous” YouTubers. The vids I've bought have been mostly in niche markets. I have little interest in trying to get a bunch of 12 year olds to watch my videos.
Great Source to Make Video Content Sites! Legal too!
Okay, this isn't YouTube related, but it is a great new source for content if you run a blog or are in the business of building content sites.
The source is Hulu.com.
Hulu is an excellent source for content if you're looking to embed video content into your blog or website. The amount of content there is amazing and the quality is excellent.
It's a perfect source if you're building content sites. It's perfect for anyone building content sites focused around celebrities, movies, TV shows, etc,etc. Plus....it's all legal. No worrying about copyrighted content “issues”. The site is actually owned by NBC and is kind of a convergence of television and YouTube.
Right now, it's a great source of free content that you can embed on your website....and a great place to watch a TV show, movie, or documentary on your laptop!
Some Cool Links
Free Proxy Checker
Video Blaster Pro
Links to all the training videos contained in this report:
ANIMOTO:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/animoto/animoto.html
END OF VIDEO TRICK VIDEO:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/endofvideotrick/endofvideotrick.html
WHAT ARE PEOPLE SEARCHING FOR:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/WhatPeopleSearch4/WhatPeopleSearch4.html
YOUTUBE TO CPA:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/YouTubetoCPA/YouTubetoCPA.html
SEO Part 1:
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/SEO1/SEO1.html
SEO Part 2
www.dombom.com/iframes/youtubemaniac/SEO2/SEO2.html