GoPro Videos / Travel Niche Monetization Ideas

Probably, you already bought the hero 3+ or the hero 4 black which is 4K and that is awesome. However, I have some bad news. OK so here it is. 4K generated by the hero is not pro.

All is not lost, you can still use the hero for wide establishing shots, but do not use it for a close up. Get instead a panasonic lumix FZ1000 or a black magic camera. Do not get the panasonic lumix LX100 as you will cry. It is also 4K, but no zoom. The LUMIX DMC-GH4 is also good, but it will cost you approx $2000 after lenses so it s more expensive. I can get an FZ1000 on ebay for $600 and that is well worth your money.

For software I rec the cyber link. It is multi cam. Corel is not multi cam, but it is also good and has a great stabilizer with is important to me. Remember that hero camera sound is poor. Get for your other 4K camera an external mic. This is not expensive. Also, get a tripod so you can interview people and not have a lot of shaking going on.

Also, this is important, get a polarizing filter to minimize glare in your videos and images. This will darken your blue sky and get rid of shine that is annoying. I have a hero camera and the 4K video looks like dog dirt, the panasonic is much better and looks super pro. It only cost you like $100 more. Believe me, it is well worth the money.

However, people like the go pro. It is small and easy to carry. Think of it as a helmet cam. Where as the other camera... it is to do interviews and get people to talk to you. Worst problem with go pro is that it distorts facial features and enlarges your nose. If you do not believe me... shoot video with a go pro. OK now shoot the same video with a panasonic camera. I rest my case.

Your best bet may be to contact a well established travel site and see about working for them. Especially if this is international travel. The exclusive video content will be appealing to them. You will almost certainly make more going that route than launching your own site(s). That can be an option down the road after you learn the editorial ropes. I'm not necessarily saying don't do that right now and learn as you go, but purely from a monetization standpoint the early money is working under and established brand.

First build yourself a blog or travel niche portal. Write interesting stories of your adventures and put cleverly placed affiliate links throughout. Don't just spam your sidebars, make it so people can enjoy your stories and then click for more information if they are actually interested. Then, verify your site in the YouTube admin so you can link directly out from your videos.

Since you have the videos recorded already I would organize them by location (like you have done) and put up YouTube videos keyworded and tagged for those locations. Make sure to fill out long descriptions with details about the locations you shot your videos in. Talk more about the location in the description than the experiences, leave the experiences in your videos.

When editing your videos...format something like this:

"Have you ever wanted to visit Bali? In this video I'm going to take you there and you're going to be amazed at how beautiful this place is!"

{quick logo splash with your url}

"Hey I'm gabelumagui from yourtravelsitename.com, 2 months ago I went to Bali and it was incredible...let me show you what I mean...."

{cut to videos with voice over / or just music if that's what you're going to do }

"To see more travel videos make sure you subscribe to my channel and to get more information on Bali and other beautiful locations I go to, click the link in the description to check out my site, yourtravelsitename.com"

{any kind of closing statements about sharing , your other social media accounts and so on...}

End.


Things to note:

If you're main objective is to get them to your site, also watermark all of your videos with your website name....or make it part of a transition or something....or both...just make it subtle, entertain first then let your viewers choose from there.

Put an email capture on your blog because the people who will be looking at it are people interested in travel. You can hook them up with deals as you find them. In order for this to work (for them to have a reason to sign up) put together a "20 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Traveling" (or something like that) ebook and give it to them free. It doesn't have to be huge, just something of value with REAL things you have learned along the way....for example, "locking the OTHER door in a taxi so no one can open that door and snatch my bag." - quick explanation of how it could happen then move on to the next tip.

If your "trap" is Video>Site>Emails>On Site Offers>Email Offers...build it all accordingly and with each next step in mind.

I hope that helps give you some direction.

Good luck!

Hey @gabelumagui!

I'm wondering, what video software you use for editing??
And what is the average length of your videos?
3+ user here

I have been recording my trips too. Thinking of creating my channel and uploading the videos there for people to watch. It may help them plan their journey.