What questions should I ask a network before deciding to partner or not?

Ask what type of contract it is. Is it based on a flat CPM, percentage, or quota? If it's based on a flat CPM, ask what that rate is. If they want information from you to set a base CPM, keep in mind that January and February are the two worst months of the year for CPMs. It's a common ploy to give you a lowball offer that sounds better than it is. If based on a percentage, ask what the split is. Is it based on gross income or net income (where they take expenses out and then take a percentage as well)? How long is the length of the contract? Does it auto-renew? If it auto-renews, will it do so with the same terms? How do you cancel the contract if you do not wish to continue the partnership? Does the contract have an out clause? Will you make more money with them vs staying with Adsense? If they say yes, does it require extra work like doing internal promotions?
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Wow thanks for the stellar reply :) Extremely helpful!
 
Wreckless Eating said:
Ask what type of contract it is. Is it based on a flat CPM, percentage, or quota? If it's based on a flat CPM, ask what that rate is. If they want information from you to set a base CPM, keep in mind that January and February are the two worst months of the year for CPMs. It's a common ploy to give you a lowball offer that sounds better than it is. If based on a percentage, ask what the split is. Is it based on gross income or net income (where they take expenses out and then take a percentage as well)? How long is the length of the contract? Does it auto-renew? If it auto-renews, will it do so with the same terms? How do you cancel the contract if you do not wish to continue the partnership? Does the contract have an out clause? Will you make more money with them vs staying with Adsense? If they say yes, does it require extra work like doing internal promotions?

Next ask what they expect you to do. How many videos are you required to upload per month? Are you required to upload videos to a hub for promotional purposes? If you are, will you get paid for those videos? Are internal promotions within the network mandatory or optional?

What features do they offer you? Do they have a music/sound effects library? What site do they use for music? Does the license for music carry over when you leave or do you have to remove music/purchase license to keep monetizing your videos? Do they have a dashboard where you can see data from your account? Do they offer full transparency into earnings with access to your daily earnings reports on youtube? Do they offer any other features like bulk annotations or a facebook app?

Phone inquiries should be for information only. Do not try to negotiate contracts over the phone where they can pressure you. Handle contract details via email only so you can take your time.
Ask them how long they've been in business-ask for references-see if they can put you in touch with other channels that are partnered with them so you can ask them about their experience with the network.
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This! he has the best advice on networks. :D He has been my network guru thus far LOL!!
 
licious_xo said:
Stylehaul has contacted me a few times until I flat out said no to them a few months ago. Maker studios is the one I have most recently been contacted by. It's funny you bring up the promotion thing because I was trying to figure out if promotion was even involved at all since all of the networks seem to mention it as a benefit, although never seen a lot of promotion besides the huge channels like you said.

I could see protection against click bombing being a good reason to join though.

The thing about using music from their library, is if you use a track in a video, would you no longer allowed to have that video up/have to upload a version without the music once your contract is over?
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you will have stay in a network in order to use the music from their audio library. because some of the music there are copy written
 
I've had several talks with Maker before I signed up with Fullscreen. They're local, so I was able to go there in person for a meeting. They tend to be more hands on that other MCNs with their partner managers checking in to see how you're doing and they'll offer some advice on how to tweak things to get more views. The down side to this is their contract-you have to pay a higher percentage compared to other networks and they will ask you for a minimum 2 year commitment. I actually got a lot of great advice during the meeting and was really impressed with them, but the terms they offered given the volume of views we produce per month (roughly 1 million views per month at that time) were unacceptable. I will be talking to them again in a few months when my contract is up to see if they have anything more to offer.
 
Wreckless Eating said:
I've had several talks with Maker before I signed up with Fullscreen. They're local, so I was able to go there in person for a meeting. They tend to be more hands on that other MCNs with their partner managers checking in to see how you're doing and they'll offer some advice on how to tweak things to get more views. The down side to this is their contract-you have to pay a higher percentage compared to other networks and they will ask you for a minimum 2 year commitment. I actually got a lot of great advice during the meeting and was really impressed with them, but the terms they offered given the volume of views we produce per month (roughly 1 million views per month at that time) were unacceptable. I will be talking to them again in a few months when my contract is up to see if they have anything more to offer.
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is maker good? I did hear though that they were a better network of some sort?
 
AikoMiyoko said:
is maker good? I did hear though that they were a better network of some sort?
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They have the most money. If you live close to their office, the have production facilities available to rent at a very discounted price. They also have a full staff that you can rent for projects. Everything from writing to set design/makeup/wardrobe, equipment rentals and post production is available. They also can help you book locations around the world for shoots, which isn't always an easy thing to do on your own.

It's all a trade off. They get more involved with channels because they do production, but you pay a higher percentage and you may not have complete control over the process when they're involved.
 
Wreckless Eating said:
They have the most money. If you live close to their office, the have production facilities available to rent at a very discounted price. They also have a full staff that you can rent for projects. Everything from writing to set design/makeup/wardrobe, equipment rentals and post production is available. They also can help you book locations around the world for shoots, which isn't always an easy thing to do on your own.

It's all a trade off. They get more involved with channels because they do production, but you pay a higher percentage and you may not have complete control over the process when they're involved.
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whoa a whole production crew.., omg thats like a film maker's dream come true..that is awesome! although the no control thing isnt >.<..
 
KGATV said:
How long the contract is, what's the split, what's the cpm, what features to they provide (things like forums, audio library, licences, campaigns promotion, etc). :) that's all I can think of.
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He said it all, no more should or needs to be asked, but I felt I needed to be part of this thread.
 
licious_xo said:
Stylehaul has contacted me a few times until I flat out said no to them a few months ago. Maker studios is the one I have most recently been contacted by. It's funny you bring up the promotion thing because I was trying to figure out if promotion was even involved at all since all of the networks seem to mention it as a benefit, although never seen a lot of promotion besides the huge channels like you said.

I could see protection against click bombing being a good reason to join though.

The thing about using music from their library, is if you use a track in a video, would you no longer allowed to have that video up/have to upload a version without the music once your contract is over?
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With your type of channel, I`d suggest going to Fullscreen or Base79 not Maker or Stylehaul.
and you want the one that`ll pay the most while giving you the most features and helping you out the most.
 
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