Lesson: Collaboration

Transcription

1 Lesson: Collaboration Collaborations can be a powerful way to reach new viewers. Forge connections to find a broader audience. Get set up A good collaboration could bring new viewers to your videos. Make sure your channel is set up and ready for new viewers and get them interested in subscribing. Things you can do before starting a collaboration: Set up the visual aspects of your channel with a banner, icon, name, and sections that will help new viewers understand what you re all about. Upload content regularly. This will show new audiences that you re an active channel and give them a reason to subscribe. Establish an audience, even a small one. This can help you understand which videos viewers enjoy and guide your collab choices. See it in action Page 1 of 12

2 Threadbanger s channel: ready to collab Threadbanger has a fully set-up channel page, regularly uploads content, and has more than enough audience to know what their viewers like. They re ready to collab. (Video in English) Annoying Orange s branding strategy Dane of Annoying Orange shares his tips and strategies for establishing a brand identity on your channel page. Know your value Often, creators think they can only collaborate with channels that have a similar number of subscribers -- but that s not the case! You re more than your number of subscribers. You have skills, access, and resources that can be valuable to other creators, even ones with a much larger audience! Try to communicate the advantages you could bring to potential collaborators: Special skills like being able to sew costumes, write music, or create cool special effects. Production resources like a nice camera, post production software, or other equipment. Unique access to interesting shooting locations, fancy cars, or interesting people. Broad audiences like the demographics of your YouTube subscribers, followers on other social media, or offline fans. Page 2 of 12

3 See it in action Barely Productions & Threadbanger Barely Productions utilized Threadbanger s special design skills to create costumes for their Lady Gaga parody, which introduced Threadbanger to Barely Productions big audience. Vsauce2 & BBC Earth Unplugged Vsauce2 collaborated with BBC Earth by leveraging their unique access to an extensive archive of bug and animal footage and shared it with his large established audience. Listen to Kevin talk about the experience by clicking the title, above. Choose compatible collaborators Page 3 of 12

4 A collaborator doesn t have to make exactly the same type of videos as you. Instead, choose collaborators whose videos you enjoy and compliment your style and tone. Questions to consider when identifying potential collaborators: Could you imagine someone watching one of their videos then immediately watching one of yours? Would it make sense for them to be programmed together? Do you have compatible values? Do they need any of the skills/production resources/unique access/audience that you have and vice versa? Do you enjoy their videos? You likely won t enjoy collaborating with a creator whose work you don t admire. See it in action Yogscast talk about choosing collaborators CEO of the gaming channel Yogscast talks about choosing compatible collaborators at 8:20 in this video. Connecting with potential partners Page 4 of 12

5 When reaching out to potential collaborators, it s important that you make a pitch. In other words, tell them why you want to collaborate, what you can bring to the table, and what type of video or project you could make together. Tips for reaching out: Use their preferred method of communication often indicated in the About tab. Be familiar with their channel and the types of videos they make. Include the value (skills/resources/access/audience) you can provide. Offer a brief synopsis of the type of collab you want to make. Make it personal -- use their name and don t just copy paste the same note to many creators. OK sample pitch Hi Threadbanger, I am a cooking channel looking to collaborate with other channels. I have 100K subscribers and live in Los Angeles. Are you interested? Great sample pitch Hey Rob & Corrine, I love your channel! I watch your Man vs. Pin show regularly -- loved the one last week with the beer bottle glasses. I also have a DIY channel (100k subs), but I focus more on cooking. Here s my most recent video about thanksgiving dinner hacks. I m reaching out because I have an idea for a video that I would love to collaborate with you on! Here is the synopsis of what I am thinking, let me know if you d like to discuss more... Be authentic Page 5 of 12

6 There s no formula for making a collaboration video great -- that s where you get to be creative! However, it s important that no matter what the idea is both you and your collaborator can create it in a way that s authentic and similar to the style and tone of your channels. Consider these things when developing your collab: If one of your existing viewers saw the collab, would it feel familiar to them? Is it done in a natural style or tone like your usual videos? Your collaborator should consider this too. If a new viewer saw the collab would they be able to get an idea of the types of videos you usually make? Are you excited about the idea? Is it something you will be proud to show your fans? See it in action Page 6 of 12

7 HISHE & The Brotherhood play with Legos The animation channel, How it Should Have Ended, collaborated with the stop-motion animation channel, The Brotherhood, to create How The Lego Movie Should Have ended. The comedy was familiar to HISHE audiences, and the animation style was familiar to The Brotherhood s fans. Freddie W collabs with Key & Peele This video combines Key & Peele s usual comedy with Freddie W s action and special effects, making this collab familiar and fun for both audiences. Cross-promote Page 7 of 12

8 A great collaboration video on its own might attract some new fans, but combine it with a smart cross-promotion strategy and you have the opportunity to really grow your audience! Tips for a successful cross-promotion: Upload two different videos to both collaborators channels. This way, both audiences have a way to discover the collaboration and be introduced to the other. Use cards and description links to provide viewers a way to navigate from one channel to the next. Use a verbal call-to-action that directs to the other channel like go check out our other video on X channel by clicking the link below to guide viewers across channels. Include collaborator s channel info in your video s title and description to help increase discovery when viewers search to find your collab. See it in action Page 8 of 12

9 Vsauce & Minute Physics Vsauce uploaded half of his collaboration with Minute Physics to his channel. At the end of the video, he introduces the second video topic and adds a call-to-action to help fans get to the second video. Minute Physics & Vsauce Minute Physics uploaded the other half of the collaboration to their channel. And just like the video on Vsauce s channel, at the end, they provide calls-to-action to navigate to it. No matter what channel you come from, you're guided to watch both videos. Turn new viewers into subscribers Page 9 of 12

10 A good collaboration, with smart cross-promotion, has the potential to bring new viewers to your channel. But once they re here, you want to ensure they subscribe and keep coming back often. Tips for converting new viewers to subscribers: Ask viewers to subscribe to your channel at the end of the collab video. Set up your channel to highlight videos new audiences may like best (e.g., put your best or most relevant videos in the top section and be sure you have a channel trailer.) Don t stop uploading! You ve done the work of getting these new viewers to your channel, give them a reason to come back regularly. These strategies are suggestions pulled from our experience with YouTube creators and are not promises or guarantees for success. See it in action Use your branding to promote a collaboration When partnering with a new creator, Field Day updates their channel branding to feature their most recent collaborator. Try it Identify three channels you would like to collaborate with. Why might they be a good fit for your audience? Page 10 of 12

11 What type of videos do your audience like the most? Are there channels which solely produce videos like this? Create a pitch for a potential collab and take the first steps to get it started. Check your knowledge You have a channel that features beauty and hair tips. What type of channel would be a good fit for a collaboration? A cooking channel because it s in a totally different genre. A channel where you think the creator needs help with their hair and makeup. Another channel that features beauty and hair tips. A channel that features fashion tips. You have a surf video channel and you want to cross-promote with a channel that features action sports. What should you do first? Ask the channel creator how many subscribers and views it has. Get your channel into shape and develop a specific plan for how you would like to cross-promote. Create sections that you think would appeal to the creators of that specific channel. Read through the comments of the last video they posted to gauge how much viewers enjoy their videos. How can you ensure a collaboration or cross-promotion on a YouTube video is effective? Page 11 of 12

12 List all the collaborators in the video description. Include a call to action and a card in the video that guides the audience to the other collaborators channels. Add cards at the end of each video to link channels together. All of the above. Page 12 of 12