Networks You Want To Join
- Thread starter LeGenDaryPuLse
- Start date
QuiteGoneJin
Letf Handed Red Headed Stepchild Gamer
Why? Tell us more. Nothing seems to be more polarizingly divisive than opinions on whether to network or not.
There is little to no benefits to joining a network on my channels.
Rod71
I've Got It
hehe, love it. It's like watching people stand in line to give a thief some money, and then say "Would you like some more, sir?"
QuiteGoneJin
Letf Handed Red Headed Stepchild Gamer
How the heck do all those top media and games lists pages monetize then?[DOUBLEPOST=1454165760,1454165699][/DOUBLEPOST]
So informative and helpful. Ty kindly you are a gentleman and a scholar.
Clam-
I've Got It
Just because you guys don't know how to get the most (or anything) out of a network doesn't mean everyone else doesn't know either or shouldn't. We're on a deal where we basically don't lose any money and get a ton of stuff from the network and are about to sign another 1-year contract and should become managed partner so we don't have to deal with occasional 3rd party claims. I'll eventually get to write an entire review, but the deal we managed to negotiate is not something every network can match. And the benefits from being in a network have been huge for us. So yeah, I live in 21st century, am part of MCN, they're not taking my money and I love it. Sorry to burst your bubble.
QuiteGoneJin
Letf Handed Red Headed Stepchild Gamer
"M'ok". Clam could you explain more, pretend I have no clue what networks do and all I hear is people saying they are useless.Just because you guys don't know how to get the most (or anything) out of a network doesn't mean everyone else doesn't know either or shouldn't. We're on a deal where we basically don't lose any money and get a ton of stuff from the network and are about to sign another 1-year contract and should become managed partner so we don't have to deal with occasional 3rd party claims. I'll eventually get to write an entire review, but the deal we managed to negotiate is not something every network can match. And the benefits from being in a network have been huge for us. So yeah, I live in 21st century, am part of MCN, they're not taking my money and I love it. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Clam-
I've Got It
Ok, here is how I see it.
Networks were supposed to help content creators learn more about YouTube, get access to various tools (improved dashboard, music libraries), give you an opportunity to meet other partners in network to collaborate with, hear about their thoughts, opinions, exchange good tips & tricks and stuff they've learned so far. Certain networks also have ad sales team which can potentially boost your revenue as well as land some sponsors for their more popular channels. Some networks are doing what they're supposed, but most aren't.
However, some people realized that they can make easy money through the whole concept of networks and since YouTube literally doesn't care what networks are doing with channels, some have been running poor business practices where they would say and offer whatever it takes to get someone to sign a long contract and once they joined, they wouldn't help them or even steal their money (Forela anyone?). This is true for many networks out there and although some have shown quite a lot of potential in the past two years, they would all crumble and start being useless once they grew too much as they couldn't handle all the partners and provide proper help & guidance.
The truth is, if you own a small channel, you should not join a big network. The only way you're ever getting any help is by finding small networks who are passionate about their partners and have certain requirements channels need to meet. All these networks with no requirements and thousands of channels while employing only several people are no good for small YouTubers. You're better off talking on this forum and going alone w/ YouTube rather than having someone leech off of your hard earned money while giving you pretty much nothing in return. What you should aim for is to have a channel manager, someone who you can talk to daily if necessary, whether through email or Skype. Sadly, again, smaller YouTube won't be able to get this. Once you grow a bit, all kinds of opportunities will open: being able to negotiate better deals (either percentage ones, e.g. 80-20% or RPM/CPM based ones where you don't give network any money until you reach certain threshold), having one or more channel managers, network throwing sign up bonus at you, arranging sponsorship deals and so on. That's the beauty of YouTube though, you discover more and more cool stuff as you grow. This is why you often see people with a few hundred subscribers calling out networks and writing nonsense how networks are bad (not referring to two people who I quoted above!) when in reality, they expect too much. Don't expect anything and if you're able to get a deal like 90-10% even as a small YouTuber, go for it, however you should search for smaller networks IMO. Don't even think about singing contracts longer than one year, but ideally you'd go for a no lock-in contract.
However, think about it like this. Why would network invest time and money into you & your channel if you can leave next month? Answer is simple, they wouldn't and they won't. So again, don't expect much.
"But if you're not getting anything from network if you are small on YouTube, why even join and lose 10% of hard earned revenue?!"
- if you are small, that also means you're not earning a lot of money, so giving up on 10% of your earnings which could very well be just $10-20 is not a whole lot
- networks that have their own online communities (forums, social media, steam groups, whatever) will also be useful as you'll be able to talk about stuff with other partners, get some tips from experienced YouTubers and so on
- if you run into issues with your channels, you'll have someone to talk to about it, whether it's other YouTubers or your own network
And I could keep writing forever and lose myself in all of this while trying to explain why networks are good and bad at the same time, but it all comes down how big (or small) you are, what are your expectations and what are you looking for in a network. Please feel free to ask any questions if you have, I'll try to write shorter replies next time
Networks were supposed to help content creators learn more about YouTube, get access to various tools (improved dashboard, music libraries), give you an opportunity to meet other partners in network to collaborate with, hear about their thoughts, opinions, exchange good tips & tricks and stuff they've learned so far. Certain networks also have ad sales team which can potentially boost your revenue as well as land some sponsors for their more popular channels. Some networks are doing what they're supposed, but most aren't.
However, some people realized that they can make easy money through the whole concept of networks and since YouTube literally doesn't care what networks are doing with channels, some have been running poor business practices where they would say and offer whatever it takes to get someone to sign a long contract and once they joined, they wouldn't help them or even steal their money (Forela anyone?). This is true for many networks out there and although some have shown quite a lot of potential in the past two years, they would all crumble and start being useless once they grew too much as they couldn't handle all the partners and provide proper help & guidance.
The truth is, if you own a small channel, you should not join a big network. The only way you're ever getting any help is by finding small networks who are passionate about their partners and have certain requirements channels need to meet. All these networks with no requirements and thousands of channels while employing only several people are no good for small YouTubers. You're better off talking on this forum and going alone w/ YouTube rather than having someone leech off of your hard earned money while giving you pretty much nothing in return. What you should aim for is to have a channel manager, someone who you can talk to daily if necessary, whether through email or Skype. Sadly, again, smaller YouTube won't be able to get this. Once you grow a bit, all kinds of opportunities will open: being able to negotiate better deals (either percentage ones, e.g. 80-20% or RPM/CPM based ones where you don't give network any money until you reach certain threshold), having one or more channel managers, network throwing sign up bonus at you, arranging sponsorship deals and so on. That's the beauty of YouTube though, you discover more and more cool stuff as you grow. This is why you often see people with a few hundred subscribers calling out networks and writing nonsense how networks are bad (not referring to two people who I quoted above!) when in reality, they expect too much. Don't expect anything and if you're able to get a deal like 90-10% even as a small YouTuber, go for it, however you should search for smaller networks IMO. Don't even think about singing contracts longer than one year, but ideally you'd go for a no lock-in contract.
However, think about it like this. Why would network invest time and money into you & your channel if you can leave next month? Answer is simple, they wouldn't and they won't. So again, don't expect much.
"But if you're not getting anything from network if you are small on YouTube, why even join and lose 10% of hard earned revenue?!"
- if you are small, that also means you're not earning a lot of money, so giving up on 10% of your earnings which could very well be just $10-20 is not a whole lot
- networks that have their own online communities (forums, social media, steam groups, whatever) will also be useful as you'll be able to talk about stuff with other partners, get some tips from experienced YouTubers and so on
- if you run into issues with your channels, you'll have someone to talk to about it, whether it's other YouTubers or your own network
And I could keep writing forever and lose myself in all of this while trying to explain why networks are good and bad at the same time, but it all comes down how big (or small) you are, what are your expectations and what are you looking for in a network. Please feel free to ask any questions if you have, I'll try to write shorter replies next time
QuiteGoneJin
Letf Handed Red Headed Stepchild Gamer
Thanks, that was one of the first helpful posts I've read on the subject.