# using youtube/break.com for advertising your products?



## JustMuck (Jan 13, 2008)

I know it may not mean much coming from me, but I have a unique advertising scheme that at this point I have no idea whether it will work or not. My website will be completed within the next week and just like everybody else I have been contemplating the best possible ways to get people to my site. Our company has the money to spend on advertising, but I just don't want to spend 1,000's of dollars on advertising if it can be avoided. Please note, we revolve completely around poker.

So as I started thinking how I could almost completely eliminate advertising costs, which ultimately adds to profit, I came up with this.

*Banner and Link Exchanges*
I started by contacting poker websites from small to large about banner costs. These costs ranged from $25/month to $10,000/month. 

Now, after getting numerous prices I was just sick at how much I would have to spend to get the type of advertising I wanted. Especially since we are just starting up. I don't want to have to sell 1,000 shirts just to cover advertising costs. So I emailed a lot of the smaller companies back and asked if they would be willing to do banner and link exchanges instead of straight advertising. Some said no, because at this point I have no hits to contribute, but said to contact them later when I had a base to run off of. Others said yes and it was that easy.

I am just not big on having other companies promoted on my web page. I don't want people clicking off my page to look at somebody elses. So for this, I have yet to decide whether I am going to personally use it. For someone that doesn't mind advertising for others I think it would be beneficial to contact sites. Just make sure if you are selling shirts that revolve around surfing you contact sites that sell surf boards or whatever. 

*DO NOT PROMOTE OTHER SITES THAT SELL T-SHIRTS THAT ARE MARKETED TO THE SAME PEOPLE AS YOURS!!*

*YouTube, Break, MySpace TV*
I have expierence with video production. So I wanted to know whether commercials would be a viable means of advertisement. I am not one that goes to any of these sites often, but millions go everyday. I went to YouTube and searched for "poker" and got 37,000 videos. Many with over 100,000 hits and some reaching close to 1 million.

So what this does for me is nearly eliminates the need to pay for advertising. Cardplayer magazine offered me 200,000 impressions for $8,000 a month. These sites offer me millions of possible views for $0.

Cost for this advertising scheme comes out to be around $3,000. Not a month, not a year, this is a one time fee for us. That is a computer, video camera, and editing software. 

The beauty is that your videos don't have to have good actors or be edited professionally. They just need to be witty, sexy, or eye-catching. They don't have to relate to your company. They don't have to make sense. There is no logic to it at all. Just make a video that will get attention and put a static text at the bottom with your website address.

*TIPS*
1. Use attractive models that will attract the opposite sex. If you look at the most popular videos on these sites. They normally have a woman showing cleavage.
2. Use funny pranks. People will watch somebody getting hit in the nutts, shocked, or doing anything stupid.
3. Impersonations and spoofs. Make fun of somebody famous. There is always somebody in the spotlight to make fun of. Use the Spears family, OJ Simpson, Barry Bonds, George Bush, Tom Cruise, or Lindsay Lohan. They all seem to be very popular right now.

These are just some ideas I wanted to share. Like I said I haven't used them yet, but the way I see it I have as good of odds having this work as I do paying for advertisement. I will definately fill you guys in on how it turns out. Also, if you need any help for video ideas, techniques, or anything send me a message. If I can help I most definately will!


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

*Re: Just Muck's Advertising Scheme*

I think the key to the above is that you're thinking of spending $3000 for the "potential" of getting millions of views. Views that may or may not turn into paid customers.

I think there's a LOT you can do to promote your website for $3000 (or less) that would be more effective than a youtube video.

Many tips have been posted in this section of the forum for ways to market your products.

Here's one article that was shared about how to make a youtube video for just about "free": http://www.t-shirtforums.com/general-t-shirt-selling-discussion/t5383.html


----------



## JustMuck (Jan 13, 2008)

*Re: Just Muck's Advertising Scheme*

Yes, that is true. I suppose I forgot to mention that I have a degree in Multimedia. Have filmed and edited hour long wedding videos and that my first short film was played in front of congress in attempt to get my college accredited. Hand selected by our congressman.

Once again, this does not automatically mean I will get MILLIONS of hits. The whole idea on advertising is getting someones attention. Getting them to watch and re-watch the videos. Have them tell someone else. 

Commercials are a wonderful thing. Some of the best commercials have nothing to do with the company advertised. The commercial keeps your attention and at the end shows you a company logo. With these websites you can be even more "unique" in the sense that you don't have the FCC down your throat. You just cant show nudity.

Also, you can run advertising with other companies, but you get limited space on a website. With videos you can upload as many as you want. And they are no different than an advertising banner. If your banner isn't attractive, nobody will click on it. 

So what I am saying, is with my expierence with film, I believe it is dumb for me to pay for advertising when I have the tools to make videos for free. If it doesn't work, I will go another route.


----------



## Xeon (Aug 11, 2007)

In my opinion, never pay money for banner ads.
Even on targeted sites (you're selling car t-shirts and buying banner ads on a automobile website), the results are often disappointing, and worse still, it's frigging expensive.

Banner ads nowadays are more like for creating an image and branding, not sales. They used to be awesome in the early days of the web, but no longer.


----------



## maddog9022 (Sep 5, 2006)

Xeon said:


> In my opinion, never pay money for banner ads.
> Even on targeted sites (you're selling car t-shirts and buying banner ads on a automobile website), the results are often disappointing, and worse still, it's frigging expensive.
> 
> Banner ads nowadays are more like for creating an image and branding, not sales. They used to be awesome in the early days of the web, but no longer.


were did youcome to this outcome.


i am going to try this but i will not use a commercal but i will have paintball film made into a nice short vid and put my advertising on that. i think it will also help create a more personal feeling. but i dont know how well it will work.


----------



## Catbox (Oct 3, 2007)

Your ideas seem good Justmuck... 

from what you posted though it sounds like you need to convince yourself also... 
It's normal to be nervous or apprehensive about starting something new... 

it's a short trip...our lives are...

Go for it... you have the video background and the ideas...


----------



## Sharp21 (Aug 3, 2006)

There are a number of small tshirt startups with video ads posted up on youtube. Doesnt even need to be as expensive as $3k. I saw one done on a cell phone that cracked me up!
On that note, you dont even need to "make a commercial". Just start your own page & upload fresh content consistently to build a viewer base. Your webpage link will be displayed in your sig & if you keep posting the freshness then they will check out your site.
S>


----------



## JustMuck (Jan 13, 2008)

It's not that I need to convince myself. I know I have the means to get it done. As hard as I have searched I have no idea of a conversion from views to website hits. I could be getting 100,000 hits on my video, but how many actually go to the link they see there? I would think it would be higher than the 3-6% sale rate you should shoot for, for hits to sales on your site. 

So I am thinking, if it is 10%, and in turn I get the 3-6% in sales. Each video would net 300-600 shirt sales (if I am getting 100,000 views). This more than enough pays for the $3,000 in equipment costs after a couple videos.

Also, Sharp, I am not the type that can just slap something together. If I know my ability can produce a higher quality video, I have to do it that way. Or else I won't be satisfied. But you are correct, its actually videos like the one you are explaining that drive me to believe this is a viable way to advertise.

I was doing research. Checking videos and hits and studying the content. I decided it didn't matter what the content was when I saw a phone video of a crotch rocket driving down the road. Nothing special. The video had been posted for 4 hours, had 40,000 views, and 250 comments.

We will be shooting commercials soon and I will be sure to let you guys know how it is going. Also, if anyone needs ideas or help with anything let me know. With my lack of expierence in the t-shirt business, I feel this is a way that I could help some out in exchange for the help I have recieved.


----------



## Xeon (Aug 11, 2007)

The video thing sounds good, but then,you guys gotta be careful.
Cos' if you post it on youtube and it rarely shows up in the searches, then you'll still be owned.


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> So I am thinking, if it is 10%, and in turn I get the 3-6% in sales. Each video would net 300-600 shirt sales (if I am getting 100,000 views). This more than enough pays for the $3,000 in equipment costs after a couple videos.


Not to sound harsh at all, but I don't think people are going to youtube looking to buy a product.

They are there for the quick fix. Watch the video, on to the next.

I can see the videos on youtube to help with the branding of your site and to help the general word get out, but I don't think you'll see those kind of conversion percentages from a youtube video.

My guess is that anyone would be lucky to even see a 1% conversion ratio from even the best video.

Hopefully someone can prove me wrong, but just going from my experience in selling online and watching how people use youtube, that's my educated guess.


----------



## marlo45 (Oct 4, 2007)

My guess would be that it can work, espacially for the funny t-shirts demographic. I sometimes go to youtube just for something to make me laugh. 

When i feel the need for something to cheer me up, if it's funny enough and i think it's something original, i look for the source to get more. That in turn could bring you new, repeat visitors, which in turn can convert to some funny t-shirt sales (even if not immediately). Furthermore, if you stay consistently fresh with your humor you can build loyal fans of your vids/funny ts.

Maybe the same could be said of other types of t-shirts? Your guess is as good as mine.


----------



## JustMuck (Jan 13, 2008)

Like I said, I know I can make videos that people will enjoy watching. We already have a series of commercials ready to shoot. The whole idea for me, is why spend money on advertising when I can atleast try this for free? 

I have a little expierence in sales. You being in the t-shirt business for a long time should know that while people do shop for clothes, most buyers purchase on "impulse". When I sold cars, I saw people come in to buy their 16 yr old a car, and ended up buying one for themselves also. Almost everyone is an "impulse" buyer. Thats what most sales people don't take advantage of. Gain the buyers interest and they will make the sale for you.

I am lucky enough to be targeting a group of people that typically have disposable income. Remember, generating web page views can help you in a lot of ways. Even if I don't generate the a lot of sales from this, but I get page hits, I am then able to charge for advertising.


----------



## Gunslinger (Aug 3, 2007)

Rodney said:


> Not to sound harsh at all, but I don't think people are going to youtube looking to buy a product.
> 
> They are there for the quick fix. Watch the video, on to the next.
> 
> ...


Have you ever talked to Lou about that, Rodney? It would be interesting to hear his opinion on this subject.


----------



## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

JustMuck said:


> Remember, generating web page views can help you in a lot of ways. Even if I don't generate the a lot of sales from this, but I get page hits, I am then able to charge for advertising.


Hi, will you please elaborate on this a little more for me? How does one become able to charge advertising? Who is buying? Thanks so much. 

As far as your idea, nothing ventured - nothing gained. Good luck with it.


----------



## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Xeon said:


> The video thing sounds good, but then,you guys gotta be careful.
> Cos' if you post it on youtube and it rarely shows up in the searches, then you'll still be owned.


 
Hi Xeon, what does that mean, you'll still be owned? I don't understand, thanks, Kelly


----------



## JustMuck (Jan 13, 2008)

Girlzndollz said:


> Hi, will you please elaborate on this a little more for me? How does one become able to charge advertising? Who is buying? Thanks so much.
> 
> As far as your idea, nothing ventured - nothing gained. Good luck with it.


A lot of websites don't generate revenue by selling anything other than advertising. The more hits your web page gets the more value you possess for selling advertising. I am not familiar with how sites determine their prices, but MySpace for example charges no less than $5,000/ month for one of their advertising links. Thats not a banner or anything nice, just a link.


----------



## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

JustMuck said:


> A lot of websites don't generate revenue by selling anything other than advertising. The more hits your web page gets the more value you possess for selling advertising. I am not familiar with how sites determine their prices, but MySpace for example charges no less than $5,000/ month for one of their advertising links. Thats not a banner or anything nice, just a link.


 
Okay, I read up on and watched a news video of the girl from whateverlife.com. The advertisers came to her. 

If you do stuff on youtube or myspace and you get alot of hits, will advertisers come to you and ask to advertise on your page? Is that how it works? Or is it like the whateverlife.com girl, where as she has her own website? 

Please explain a little more on this if you can, I am very interested and I do appreciate your time. Thanks a million, Kelly


----------



## marlo45 (Oct 4, 2007)

Girlzndollz said:


> Okay, I read up on and watched a news video of the girl from whateverlife.com. The advertisers came to her.
> 
> If you do stuff on youtube or myspace and you get alot of hits, will advertisers come to you and ask to advertise on your page? Is that how it works? Or is it like the whateverlife.com girl, where as she has her own website?
> 
> Please explain a little more on this if you can, I am very interested and I do appreciate your time. Thanks a million, Kelly


It's the potential traffic you can get from a youtube channel you've created that may eventually lead to advertising revenue; not the video itself (or the youtube/myspace page). 

Youtube/myspace videos will not make you any money unless the people who are watching start coming to your own web site and your traffic rank significantly increases to a point where ad space on your site is sought after. This is when the advertisers start coming to you.

It's almost like a real life billboard spot. Smack in the middle of Manhattan, for example, will charge a lot of money for billboard spots simply because a lot of traffic (people) will see it. Somewhere miles away with far less traffic wouldn't be able to get away with such high pricing.

Is the whateverlife.com girl the one that started with $8 when she was in high school and is now a millionaire from giving away free myspace layouts? If so, i read it a while back, too.

Anyhow, it's all about the traffic. The more people come to your web site, the more important your site becomes, the more you can charge for advertising spots, the more, well, you get the picture.


----------



## JustMuck (Jan 13, 2008)

He summed it up pretty well. For valuable advertising space you have to get a whole lot of hits. So I am using the videos on 4 different, and maybe more, video websites. YouTube, MySpace, Break, and StupidVideos. In turn I hope for these videos, which will have my web address on them, to generate me a lot of traffic. This in turn can get me sales and make my site attractive for advertisers. Tho, be careful who you let advertise on your page. Nobody wants to come shopping at a store that has too many irrelevant ads.

Remember if you run advertisements, have them SIMILAR, but not the SAME as your page. If your company sells CAR shirts, sell advertising to car companies, racers, BUT do NOT sell to someone else selling shirts, you will cost yourself sales. So don't rush and just sell space to anyone, research the company that wants to purchase ad space.


----------



## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Ah, very good info, and I thank you for the enlightenment. I understand what you are saying. Thanks to both of your for your time and teaching. It's a new age out there, and it's a good one, I think. Limitless for the creative folks, really. I'm glad to have run across this thread, thanks again.

Yes, I was referring to the girl who borrowed $8 bucks from her Mom when she was 14. Isn't this country awesome? Like hitting the lottery without buying a ticket. She's only 17 now, it's amazing. 

Good deal, thank you very much. I'm keeping this golden nugget, have a great day!


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Gunslinger said:


> Have you ever talked to Lou about that, Rodney? It would be interesting to hear his opinion on this subject.


I think what Lou is doing is different than what is being talked about in these threads.

He's mostly selling a product directly to the people who are watching his videos to learn about heat transfers. 

That's different than creating a funny, silly, sales type video in the hopes that someone will visit your t-shirt site and buy.

He's basically producing a tv show about a specific topic and selling a product related to that topic. Almost like an informercial, but not really.


----------



## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Yeah, what Lou does sounds even smarter than it appears on the surface when Rodney explains it that way. I guess you could say Lou is doing direct sales using his tools in his training video rather than focusing on site hits to attract revenue from advertisers, no?


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Girlzndollz said:


> Yeah, what Lou does sounds even smarter than it appears on the surface when Rodney explains it that way. I guess you could say Lou is doing direct sales using his tools in his training video rather than focusing on site hits to attract revenue from advertisers, no?


When you are selling a product, you generally don't want to sell advertising on that same site.

I think Lou's videos are a great idea and they help drive traffic/sales to his website. 

He's giving out something for free (his knowledge) and in turn, the targeted audience he's built sees the relevance in the product he created and sells from his website.

But I don't want to take this thread too far off track into an in depth analysis of Lou's business model 

Suffice to say, there are a lot of ways to use low cost marketing methods like youtube, blogs, etc to help drive traffic to an ecommerce store.


----------



## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Is there a good thread on blogs and how they work out there?


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Girlzndollz said:


> Is there a good thread on blogs and how they work out there?


There's good threads about just about everything  It's all in the search 

The tags search is great for finding lots of threads about a specific one/two keyword topic.

Like blogs:
blogs related topics at T-Shirt Forums

Or myspace:
myspace related topics at T-Shirt Forums

Or plastisol transfers:
plastisol transfers related topics at T-Shirt Forums

Type whatever you want to learn about in the tag search and you'll find lots of topics that cover your interest.

The search box at the top of the site is great for finding a specific thread about something. You can type in a company name, a question, etc...it searches all the forum threads using Google technology.


----------



## Gunslinger (Aug 3, 2007)

That's why I brought the point up, Rodney ... needed it clarified. I didn't want myself, or others reading this thread, to be diswayed from using the video market as a potential sales tool, as long as it was used in an effective way (which I wanted to believe had been successful for Lou).

I think it's also important to understand, that it is always better to have "quality" traffic drawn to the products you selling. A million visitors coming to your store, simply because they think you are funny may help you to become a stand-up comedian, but it won't help you sell t-shirts. Unless your videos are absolutely reflected in the design of your t-shirt ... example, a video of the event that caused the "Don't taze me, bro" posted on YouTube, would sell any incarnation of t-shirts in your store. A funny video of a bunch of guys running around wearing t-shirts of a duck, isn't going to sell duck t-shirts ... I don't care how funny it is.


----------



## marlo45 (Oct 4, 2007)

Gunslinger said:


> A funny video of a bunch of guys running around wearing t-shirts of a duck, isn't going to sell duck t-shirts ... I don't care how funny it is.


LOL, i wouldn't buy one either. I think if it's more parody related and of the moment (like the don't taze me bro example), the funny stuff may be able to work wonders. I'm just guessing, though.


----------



## JustMuck (Jan 13, 2008)

I don't know. I mean I am not saying it is going to be the greatest marketing ever. I just learned some thing in my business and advertising classes that you wouldn't think of.

All my videos will be about poker. So if someone searches for poker, I am giving them a funny video to watch, and then a product that will intrigue poker addicts. The nice thing for me is that they generally have disposable income. This helps on the "impulse" buying.

Like I said before, I don't know that it will work, but I am confident enough in my ability to intrigue people with my videos that I am going to put in the time. If it works, sweet. If not, it won't bother me. I am just trying to think outside the box.


----------



## Girlzndollz (Oct 3, 2007)

Rodney said:


> There's good threads about just about everything  It's all in the search
> 
> The tags search is great for finding lots of threads about a specific one/two keyword topic.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks, of course, I'll do that. I thought I'd ask b/c some threads are more full of wealth of good information than others, so I was wondering if one of those stuck out in anyone's mind.

I found the thread "blog software" which was clear and full of golden nuggets of info. I'm going to follow up on all the info you posted in there. Luckily, it was the first one I read, so I hit the jackpot out of the gate. 

Thanks for the awesome info, again, this forum comes through with flying colors!


----------



## Gunslinger (Aug 3, 2007)

Rick ... I NEVER wanna discourage a new idea, or any creative thinking.

And after looking your website, what "I" would do is make some interesting (make em funny, creative, etc.) instructional videos about poker. Now, I love poker ... I mean I LOVE poker. Out here, we have several casinos here ... more casual, down home-style ones than what folks see from Vegas, which is nice for locals to hang out and play together. I sooo wanted to get into the daily/nightly No Holdem Tourneys, but the poker room was cramped and the tables were small. So, I stuck to video poker 2-3 times a week (good money, if you know what you ae doing). I did extensive research on how to win at video poker, and bought several programs to keep sharp FROM those cool sites.

Look, you are gonna try your way, anyway. Why not try mine, as well ... and double your chances for success?


----------



## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

i had this video done just for my press release for my architecture work..... planning a commercial for my line in the springish......

youtube tends to be grainy.... my final .avi for the press release is really good.......

b


[]
[] 
[]
\/


----------



## JustMuck (Jan 13, 2008)

Hey, I don't take anything personally. I mean, I came to this site to learn, and pass whatever knowledge I have on to help others. I have been an artist since I was little and something you deal with is critisism, some constructive and some blunt. Either way, I posted this to get opinions, and so I can pass on what I learn from it. If it works great, but if not, oh well. I am the type of guy that likes to do things differently. I went and read the live chat with Johnny Cupcakes last night and he mentioned how paying for advertising is lame. I just think the same way.


----------



## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

cross-market is the key.....

get the website... lock in a few domain names....cross link..... get your gear on peoples backs that are in the lime-light/etc...... work on sponsoring events.....etc

b


----------



## Xeon (Aug 11, 2007)

*From JustMuck:*


> I went and read the live chat with Johnny Cupcakes last night and he mentioned how paying for advertising is lame. I just think the same way.


The reason Mr. Cupcakes say that is because he doesn't need any advertising. He has been getting attention since he slapped the cupcake logo onto a t-shirt, wore it himself, walk around and people started asking where he got it, and thus it's all word of mouth.
If paid ads are lame, Google AdSense will collapse tomorrow, Nike and Coca-Cola wouldn't be where they are today, and your TV won't screen any ads anymore.

For most of us, it's different. In fact, a lot of small boys like us have tried using viral marketing, paid ads etc., only to get minimal sales.
I mean, Cupcakes doesn't even need to put any vids on youtube.com or do any search-engine optimization on his website.

No offense to anyone, but I consider the case of Facebook, Cupcakes etc to be freak successes.

Anyway, every business has a different way of doing things.
For all you know, youtube.com might work for you. 

Good luck!
Xeon


----------

