Critique this idea #2: Content platform using Youtube biz model
Rather than videos, creators are actually writers who post articles on this platform. Similar to Youtube (YT) business model, articles are imbedded with video advertisements as a reader scrolls down the page. Content creators earn an income, and readers do not have to pay a monthly subscription. Readers can also pay a monthly subscription to access all content without ads.
Creators are incentivized to create better content to garner more likes/views and hence more attention and a higher income. Each article will also undergo plagiarism check against existing content on the platform as well as the internet.
Why post on this platform and not medium?
Well, why not earn some money? Many medium creators are earning pennies or even free for their content. This platform benefits creators and readers who pay nothing to view awesome content!
Such a model will undoubtedly incentivize creators to create better content, which may lead to better quality articles than what it's currently posted on other platforms(Notwithstanding, there are really good content on Medium!)
What do you think of it?
In theory the idea is great, but....
I have some experience with blogs, and I can tell you that ads generate really low revenue... This means the incentive to write in the platform is extremely low, each article its not going to pay much, in fact must users will get 0$...
Even a powerhouse like Youtube dont pay much per video, you need a really big following and lots of videos and views to grab some $...
Great insight. And I have to concur that writers will not get as much as video creators. You probably need a 50,000-100,000 daily views on your articles to be as profitable as youtubers.
Thanks for the feedback!
Why do you think authors will make more money then on medium?
How can you ensure the content submitted will be better than what is on medium?
Apart from money writers I assume care about reaching an audience. That’s part of the reason to write in medium too.
If there are ads, why not just put ads on my website/blog directly and use this platform? What do writers get?
Just overall this doesn’t sound to me like a strong medium competitor. It’s of course a content game but the incentive for writers isn’t clear enough to me. Not to mention medium also has really nice analytics and an awesome text/article editor. Maybe I’m missing something?
As a reader I prefer to see ads as opposed to paying - but is this sustainable for the platform and writers?
Hey thanks for the feedback. I'm a writer on Medium and I do see some aspects of Medium that can be improved.
You can only earn money if your articles are published under the Partner program which is essentially paywalled. This essentially restricts your content to only a certain group of individuals.
My idea is that content writers can also earn money (through ads, just like youtube) while reaching out to everyone without any paywall.
Of course, you can start your own blog and put up ads, but not alot of individuals are able to own a successful blog. Why don't youtubers start their own website? Because it is unlikely they will be as successful as being on youtube. Some youtubers have diversified onto twitch but youtube remains their main source of income because youtube has the reach and audience that most bloggers/vloggers can't achieve.
Content writers get a % of the ads revenue, so if your content is good and gains traction, more people view your articles. Thus, more revenue! Exact model as Youtube. On medium, your pay is very uncertain as it depends on the number of reads and claps from premium subscribers.
Medium only has four metrics: views, reads, claps fans. This is not exactly nice analytics when there are also other metrics that can substitute/ complement it. The text editor is simple, which makes it awesome to some but not to others.
As for sustainability, i think that Youtube can be a good measure. Though I recognize that people do get 'triggered' if you are in the middle of reading an article and a 10sec ads pops up; it will totally ruin your mood. Regarding this aspect, more research can be done.