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From the Email Bag – How to Make Money on YouTube By Christine Durst & Michael Haaren Oct. 18, 2012 Dear Rat Race Rebellion: My son thinks he’s a comedian. He wants me to pay for him to go to Los Angeles and do standup comedy and get ‘discovered.’ I’ve seen his act, and it’s actually not bad. But it’s not good enough for me to take out a second mortgage. So I told him to put some videos on YouTube. He can make money and get discovered there, if he’s as good as he thinks he is, right? – Diane in Springfield, Mo. Dear Diane: If he’s as good as he thinks he is, and he thinks he’s very, very good, then maybe. By now, many have heard the story of Justin Bieber’s YouTube rise to fame. Justin’s mother, Patricia Mallette, posted videos of her son’s early performances to YouTube so that distant relatives could follow his progress. Talent manager Scooter Braun clicked on one of the videos by accident, loved what he saw, and “the rest is history.” Talent managers still look for future stars on YouTube, but now it also makes stars itself. Some earn six figures and more from ads, corporate sponsorships, and other sources. Their clips trigger millions of views, and stars segue into film and other media. Many of the viewers are tweens and teens, who share YouTube links the way older generations shared newspaper clippings, multiplied by endless clicks, texts and chats. Many YouTube stars do comedy, so you may want to see how they compare to your son’s act. (Be warned, however, that content can be a bit edgy.) They also promote themselves very actively inside and outside YouTube – an important point to tell your son. A sample includes: -- Ray William Johnson, at www.youtube.com/user/raywilliamjohnson -- Shane Dawson, at www.youtube.com/user/ShaneDawsonTV -- The Key of Awesome, at www.youtube.com/channel/SWzEb34z_jyv0 Dear Rat Race Rebellion: My 13-year-old daughter wants me to get WiFi at home. It’s kind of expensive. We have an Internet cable connection, but it just goes to my desktop computer. I let her use that to do homework and such, but she wants to use her laptop in her bedroom with WiFi. Do you think WiFi is worth it? – Marla in Austin, Tex. Dear Marla: Unless it costs an arm and a leg, yes. Having a WiFi connection will let your daughter communicate with her friends online in private (a mixed blessing from the parent’s viewpoint, of course). But even more importantly, teens and tweens, too, gather online now in the evening, and often collaborate on their homework or class projects and share school-related news. For example, columnist Mike Haaren’s 12-year-old daughter meets with friends using the free video-chat service ooVoo (www.oovoo.com). OoVoo permits up to 12 friends to video-chat simultaneously, with instant messaging as well. Your WiFi arrangement would also open the possibility of virtual volunteering, virtual internships, and other online activities that may interest your daughter now or later. Finally, if she has a Facebook page and is like many other teens, she would probably prefer to access that in private, too, rather than at the communal desktop. ---- Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is Work at Home Now, a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2012 BY STAFFCENTRIX, DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM |
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