MotoNoob
Wannabie Member
Let's face it.
It's likely that none of us will be the next DoItWithDan and have 780,000 subscribers. So, if you're lookin at getting into motovlogging, you're going to want to do it for the love of sharing stories. Hell, even IF you're looking to do it full-time and get 780,000 subscribers, you're going to want to love sharing, otherwise, it's going to turn into a chore and you'll start resenting the work. Then again, that's true of any job.
It's likely that you won't have the skill sets to get everything you need to get completely setup, but it'll get you far enough to get recording and get published. In my day job, I'm an IT Director who just happens to have some photography, Photoshop, and audio/video editing experience, and a significant other who has an MBA in Digital and Social Media Marketing, so I'm going to share my knowledge and experience with you now.
Before we get started, take this with a grain of salt.
I'm new to motovlogging and don't have many subscribers yet. But this won't primarily focus on the actual story telling component of the craft. If you strip away that aspect, you're left with creating a strong online presence and promoting yourself through other means.
Let's begin.
BRANDING AND MESSAGE
It's all about consistency of message and message delivery. This is marketing, pure and simple folks. If you want a professional looking channel, you must start with consistency.
1. Research and Persona: Well before you publish your first video, watch. Watch as many different motovloggers as possible. See what they do; see what you like, what you dislike, and what you'd like to emulate. Yes, you ultimately want to be original, but the field is rather narrow in scope and, ultimately, it's going to come down to whether or not people a) like your personality, and b) like your message. So, figure out if you're going to be a storyteller, a stunter, a builder, a racer, or something else all together, and how you plan on delivering your message.
Just don't be a Noob. That's my thing. And I will cut you.
2. Picking a Name: Every motovlogger has one, and you will, too. Whether or not you want your face to be public or if you want to ride behind a mirrored visor, this, in combination with your persona, will help determine your name. Again, we're talking about branding here. Make it short, and make it simple. Ideally, no one else on YouTube will have that name. Ideally, YourName.com will be available for your website (more on this later).
3. Claim the Brand: Once you come up with a name, claim it. Create the YouTube user. Create the Twitter user. Create the Instagram account. Create the Facebook page. Register the website ($12/year).
4. Branding: Once you've secured the name as an asset, it's time to start branding it. Create a logo. You can either find royalty free, commercial-use stock imagery, or you can create the logo yourself (or pay someone to make a logo for you). You may choose to incorporate or not incorporate your name into the logo, but it's best to have both your name and your logo stylized and complimentary. For example, here are mine:
I'm using strong, bold primary colors that show up well on white backgrounds. Here's the thing... in the process of developing your brand, you need to come up with a color palette of 3 - 5 complimentary colors. If you've ever been to Home Depot and seeing the paint chips that have color suggestions, that's what I'm talking about. You can use these colors and imagery to create the graphics for your YouTube and Facebook covers, as well as your channel and user icons.
5. Consistency of Branding: Once you have your color scheme, USE IT. For instance, I know off the top of my head that the hex code for the red in my logo and name is #990000. When I go into Photoshop or Premier and I want to create a visual asset, I can use that red and know that it will visually align with my branding. BE CONSISTENT. Don't have multiple versions of your logo or name. Create the one, and use them on everything. This is why I can say "Coca Cola" and you can close your eyes and visualize the red Coca Cola can, and the white cursive script.
WEBSITE AND WEB PRESENCE
These isn't a must have, but it goes towards presenting a consistent brand and expanding your web exposure and ultimately driving traffic to your YouTube channel. In addition, it has the potential to increase the overall revenue from your monetization efforts.
1. Website: You can register your domain name from Google Domains or Name dot Com for about $12 a year. This just gives you the name. You'll need a web host to point that name to, which can an additional investment (Wordpress.com can host your domain name for about $9 a month). This also gives you a relatively easy to use website where you can schedule posts that duplicate your YouTube content and drive traffic to your channel. Here's what my website looks like:
Whenever I schedule YouTube content, I schedule a post on my website with the video and description, and attempt to drive people towards YouTube to continue watching other videos and to subscribe.
2. Instagram: It's what all the crazy kids are doing these days!! The nice thing is that it's very low-maintenance. Start up an Instragram channel and anytime you come across a motorcycle, snap a picture and throw it up on Instagram. You can certainly post additional content, but you'll notice that you accumulate Instagram followers much more quickly than YouTube followers. PRO TIP: Here's where the MBA in Social Media Marketing comes into play... When you post your photo, you'll want to include hashtags at the end of your description. The sweet spot is between 9 - 11 hashtags that have between 40,000 - 90,000 "public posts". This provides the best opportunity for exposure. Some common hashtags I use are: #motovlogger #motovlog #motorcycle #biker #traffic #accident #motonoob #bikerslife #delaware - and then some hashtags that are specific to the photo.
3. Twitter: Motovlogging is a visual medium, so I'm actually not very active on Twitter for motovlogging. It's obviously another channel that can be utilized to drive traffic towards YouTube, so if you post on Instagram and have the time and resources to replicate the post on Twitter, then do so by all means.
4. Facebook: Facebook and YouTube for me have always been diametrically opposed, or in competition with each other. Along those same lines, I know that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are expanding the how video/media is delivered on Facebook, so this may also change the landscape of what we do to some extent. That being said, creating a Facebook page and replicating your YouTube posts and including your videos has the potential to drive that traffic back to YouTube.
MONETIZATION
Yay, capitalism! You may or may not choose to go this route, but if you can make money doing something that you love, you may as well!
1. "Monetization" is the term used for making money from shared ad revenue on your videos. Google has made this relatively simple to setup to where you create an AdSense account, fill out some information (Name, Address, Bank Account), and you can connect your YouTube channel to that Google AdSense account. Once you hit a threshold (usually $100), they'll deposit it right into your bank account. Now, don't get pie and the sky dreams! You're likely looking at making anywhere from .05 cents to $2 a day with a relatively low number of subscribers. If you also go the route of throwing up a website, you can also monetize it with AdSense ads, as WordPress does include relatively simple to install and configure AdSense plugins.
2. Merchandise: Or "Merch" (or "Swag) has never been easier to incorporate either. You can literally go onto websites such as CafePress and create shirts, hats, and other items with your logo (or other cool catch phrase or slogan, branded of course), and include those on your website to sell. Most of these places allow you to have your own "store" that you could also link directly to in your YouTube video. Like monetization, most of these places have a threshold where, after you sell a certain amount, they deposit revenue into your account, but the earning potential is a bit more if you have a good product.
...Continued in the next post...
It's likely that none of us will be the next DoItWithDan and have 780,000 subscribers. So, if you're lookin at getting into motovlogging, you're going to want to do it for the love of sharing stories. Hell, even IF you're looking to do it full-time and get 780,000 subscribers, you're going to want to love sharing, otherwise, it's going to turn into a chore and you'll start resenting the work. Then again, that's true of any job.
It's likely that you won't have the skill sets to get everything you need to get completely setup, but it'll get you far enough to get recording and get published. In my day job, I'm an IT Director who just happens to have some photography, Photoshop, and audio/video editing experience, and a significant other who has an MBA in Digital and Social Media Marketing, so I'm going to share my knowledge and experience with you now.
Before we get started, take this with a grain of salt.
I'm new to motovlogging and don't have many subscribers yet. But this won't primarily focus on the actual story telling component of the craft. If you strip away that aspect, you're left with creating a strong online presence and promoting yourself through other means.
Let's begin.
BRANDING AND MESSAGE
It's all about consistency of message and message delivery. This is marketing, pure and simple folks. If you want a professional looking channel, you must start with consistency.
1. Research and Persona: Well before you publish your first video, watch. Watch as many different motovloggers as possible. See what they do; see what you like, what you dislike, and what you'd like to emulate. Yes, you ultimately want to be original, but the field is rather narrow in scope and, ultimately, it's going to come down to whether or not people a) like your personality, and b) like your message. So, figure out if you're going to be a storyteller, a stunter, a builder, a racer, or something else all together, and how you plan on delivering your message.
Just don't be a Noob. That's my thing. And I will cut you.
2. Picking a Name: Every motovlogger has one, and you will, too. Whether or not you want your face to be public or if you want to ride behind a mirrored visor, this, in combination with your persona, will help determine your name. Again, we're talking about branding here. Make it short, and make it simple. Ideally, no one else on YouTube will have that name. Ideally, YourName.com will be available for your website (more on this later).
3. Claim the Brand: Once you come up with a name, claim it. Create the YouTube user. Create the Twitter user. Create the Instagram account. Create the Facebook page. Register the website ($12/year).
4. Branding: Once you've secured the name as an asset, it's time to start branding it. Create a logo. You can either find royalty free, commercial-use stock imagery, or you can create the logo yourself (or pay someone to make a logo for you). You may choose to incorporate or not incorporate your name into the logo, but it's best to have both your name and your logo stylized and complimentary. For example, here are mine:
I'm using strong, bold primary colors that show up well on white backgrounds. Here's the thing... in the process of developing your brand, you need to come up with a color palette of 3 - 5 complimentary colors. If you've ever been to Home Depot and seeing the paint chips that have color suggestions, that's what I'm talking about. You can use these colors and imagery to create the graphics for your YouTube and Facebook covers, as well as your channel and user icons.
5. Consistency of Branding: Once you have your color scheme, USE IT. For instance, I know off the top of my head that the hex code for the red in my logo and name is #990000. When I go into Photoshop or Premier and I want to create a visual asset, I can use that red and know that it will visually align with my branding. BE CONSISTENT. Don't have multiple versions of your logo or name. Create the one, and use them on everything. This is why I can say "Coca Cola" and you can close your eyes and visualize the red Coca Cola can, and the white cursive script.
WEBSITE AND WEB PRESENCE
These isn't a must have, but it goes towards presenting a consistent brand and expanding your web exposure and ultimately driving traffic to your YouTube channel. In addition, it has the potential to increase the overall revenue from your monetization efforts.
1. Website: You can register your domain name from Google Domains or Name dot Com for about $12 a year. This just gives you the name. You'll need a web host to point that name to, which can an additional investment (Wordpress.com can host your domain name for about $9 a month). This also gives you a relatively easy to use website where you can schedule posts that duplicate your YouTube content and drive traffic to your channel. Here's what my website looks like:
Whenever I schedule YouTube content, I schedule a post on my website with the video and description, and attempt to drive people towards YouTube to continue watching other videos and to subscribe.
2. Instagram: It's what all the crazy kids are doing these days!! The nice thing is that it's very low-maintenance. Start up an Instragram channel and anytime you come across a motorcycle, snap a picture and throw it up on Instagram. You can certainly post additional content, but you'll notice that you accumulate Instagram followers much more quickly than YouTube followers. PRO TIP: Here's where the MBA in Social Media Marketing comes into play... When you post your photo, you'll want to include hashtags at the end of your description. The sweet spot is between 9 - 11 hashtags that have between 40,000 - 90,000 "public posts". This provides the best opportunity for exposure. Some common hashtags I use are: #motovlogger #motovlog #motorcycle #biker #traffic #accident #motonoob #bikerslife #delaware - and then some hashtags that are specific to the photo.
3. Twitter: Motovlogging is a visual medium, so I'm actually not very active on Twitter for motovlogging. It's obviously another channel that can be utilized to drive traffic towards YouTube, so if you post on Instagram and have the time and resources to replicate the post on Twitter, then do so by all means.
4. Facebook: Facebook and YouTube for me have always been diametrically opposed, or in competition with each other. Along those same lines, I know that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are expanding the how video/media is delivered on Facebook, so this may also change the landscape of what we do to some extent. That being said, creating a Facebook page and replicating your YouTube posts and including your videos has the potential to drive that traffic back to YouTube.
MONETIZATION
Yay, capitalism! You may or may not choose to go this route, but if you can make money doing something that you love, you may as well!
1. "Monetization" is the term used for making money from shared ad revenue on your videos. Google has made this relatively simple to setup to where you create an AdSense account, fill out some information (Name, Address, Bank Account), and you can connect your YouTube channel to that Google AdSense account. Once you hit a threshold (usually $100), they'll deposit it right into your bank account. Now, don't get pie and the sky dreams! You're likely looking at making anywhere from .05 cents to $2 a day with a relatively low number of subscribers. If you also go the route of throwing up a website, you can also monetize it with AdSense ads, as WordPress does include relatively simple to install and configure AdSense plugins.
2. Merchandise: Or "Merch" (or "Swag) has never been easier to incorporate either. You can literally go onto websites such as CafePress and create shirts, hats, and other items with your logo (or other cool catch phrase or slogan, branded of course), and include those on your website to sell. Most of these places allow you to have your own "store" that you could also link directly to in your YouTube video. Like monetization, most of these places have a threshold where, after you sell a certain amount, they deposit revenue into your account, but the earning potential is a bit more if you have a good product.
...Continued in the next post...
