300 Articles vs. 300 Videos - Who Would Win?

72 replies
Just the question.

If you had to choose between getting 300 videos, and 300 articles, which do you think would convert better and lead to more sales?

It is a Youtube vs Ezine scenario.

Each article title would match the ezine title.

Keywords match as well for the 2 sites.

Each can be bookmarked and linked to - but what ever is done to one must be done to the other.

These videos/articles would NOT get submitted to outside directories.

Clean smack down. What do you think?
#300 #articles #videos #win
  • Profile picture of the author TelegramSam
    Jill,

    I hate to sound silly, but if you can confront it, do both!

    Sam
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by TelegramSam View Post

      Jill,

      I hate to sound silly, but if you can confront it, do both!

      Sam
      Sam, SHHHH!



      I want to know what people "think" would get the better results.

      Does anyone think video marketing is worth the effort?

      Because I see so many people with articles this and articles that.

      So, I really want peoples opinions on this. If you were going to get access to only youtube or ezine for the rest of your life, which one would you take?
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      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        Originally Posted by newbiz View Post

        of course video dear..i am a lazy boy..i dont lke to read article or book..:p
        Yes, this is my thought, but I don't have actual "proof"

        In addition, I find making videos easier than writing articles.

        Originally Posted by Liam Hamer View Post

        I think a lot of it would depend on the subject matter, but putting that aside for a moment, I think the articles would win 150 of each though, and the internet marketer in question would win
        Ok, so this is really interesting. I am wondering Why the articles would win. is it because of the way you can weave a resource box into the end to click on? Do you think more people are reading?

        Do you think the articles will all rank better than the videos?
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        • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
          Originally Posted by Ron. View Post

          Depends on what you're selling? For sex toys......give me a video showing a demonstration........If you're selling how to write a best seller...........give me articles with tips, samples, methods and techniques......


          Ron
          And this is an excellent point as well.

          To find a Niche that is Fair to do both with. Then again, is there no one that would like to be read to on how to write a best seller? Almost another assumption as far as use of multimedia for learning is concerned.
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          • Profile picture of the author Ron.
            Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

            And this is an excellent point as well.

            To find a Niche that is Fair to do both with. Then again, is there no one that would like to be read to on how to write a best seller? Almost another assumption as far as use of multimedia for learning is concerned.



            Best Seller means just that, Best seller. It does not mean it's the best written.

            There is a formula to writing a best seller. Writing is important but layout, text style, colors, packaging are all important. Samples of this in text form might be a better choice than video.

            Technology is great BUT do not use it just because it's available to be used. It has to make sense to use it. In theory, maybe someone will want to be read to as it relates to creating a best seller but I don't think so.

            I want to highlight, underline, make notes, place post-its everywhere, etc........even print the article and put it in my BEST SELLER research binder.



            Ron
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            • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
              Originally Posted by Ron. View Post

              Technology is great BUT do not use it just because it's available to be used. It has to make sense to use it. In theory, maybe someone will want to be read to as it relates to creating a best seller but I don't think so.

              I want to highlight, underline, make notes, place post-its everywhere, etc........even print the article and put it in my BEST SELLER research binder.



              Ron
              So you don't think that someone might take notes on a great video (if no written version was available), or download the mp3 version to listen to again at a later date.
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              • Profile picture of the author Ron.
                Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

                So you don't think that someone might take notes on a great video (if no written version was available), or download the mp3 version to listen to again at a later date.

                Sure, I think so.........as a matter of fact I did it last week with a WSO I bought.


                But take into account your audience. What are the demographics? If they are parents of baby boomers, a video or MP3 may not be their fancy. A article will do just fine.

                A 17 year old or even a 45 year old.....MP3/video would be fine.


                Depends on subject and audience.
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        • Profile picture of the author Liam Hamer
          Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

          Ok, so this is really interesting. I am wondering Why the articles would win. is it because of the way you can weave a resource box into the end to click on? Do you think more people are reading?

          Do you think the articles will all rank better than the videos?
          Again, it of course depends on the subject matter. I like videos if they are demonstrating how to do something. There's a woman over here in England that is making some serious money(and a serious name for herself) by demonstrating how to apply eye shadow to get the looks of celebrities. If she just wrote about it, I don't think she would be doing anywhere near as well.

          If we were talking about a topic such as weight loss, I think written words are more effective. Say someone made a video explaining how they lost weight by following a special eating and exercising plan, I'd personally rather see it in text, with maybe some 'before and after' pics.

          All that said, yes I do think the articles would rank better. Despite having a higher PR, and massive user base - I rarely see Youtube vids above EZA articles in the search engines. Any results I see from video sites always seem to be near the bottom of the top 10. I don't know if the search engines give more weight to written text, or maybe it's because the videos aren't as SEO optimized or backlinked. This is a great debate though, I'm interested to read all the different opinions
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  • Profile picture of the author Liam Hamer
    I think a lot of it would depend on the subject matter, but putting that aside for a moment, I think the articles would win 150 of each though, and the internet marketer in question would win
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron.
    Depends on what you're selling? For sex toys......give me a video showing a demonstration........If you're selling how to write a best seller...........give me articles with tips, samples, methods and techniques......


    But seriously. As someone mentioned, do both.......I am converting articles into videos. Just like Warriors love to hang out on WF reading the archives and getting golden nuggets of priceless info, there are people that love to hang out on YouTube searching for info in video form. Not only YT but other video sites as well.




    Ron



    Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

    Just the question.

    If you had to choose between getting 300 videos, and 300 articles, which do you think would convert better and lead to more sales?

    It is a Youtube vs Ezine scenario.

    Each article title would match the ezine title.

    Keywords match as well for the 2 sites.

    Each can be bookmarked and linked to - but what ever is done to one must be done to the other.

    These videos/articles would NOT get submitted to outside directories.

    Clean smack down. What do you think?
    Signature
    "Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody"
    -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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    • Profile picture of the author Silas Hart
      Originally Posted by Ron Hitson View Post

      Depends on what you're selling? For sex toys......give me a video showing a demonstration........If you're selling how to write a best seller...........give me articles with tips, samples, methods and techniques......


      But seriously. As someone mentioned, do both.......I am converting articles into videos. Just like Warriors love to hang out on WF reading the archives and getting golden nuggets of priceless info, there are people that love to hang out on YouTube searching for info in video form. Not only YT but other video sites as well.




      Ron
      This is funny because I actually have wrote articles on some of the sex toys I sell, and I've done a couple demonstrations too. (not the female actually using it) - for some reason, finding women to actually demonstrate the item on themselves is harder than I thought when I first started buying the items wholesale.
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      • Profile picture of the author Intrepreneur
        Fred says 300 videos but this rivalry cannot be measured for real ever because of the diversity of both. (meaning what type of video verus an article.. a spammy text video a la la?)

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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Fullman
        Originally Posted by FaJeeb View Post

        This is funny because I actually have wrote articles on some of the sex toys I sell, and I've done a couple demonstrations too. (not the female actually using it) - for some reason, finding women to actually demonstrate the item on themselves is harder than I thought when I first started buying the items wholesale.
        Lol,

        You must be gutted, mate. I know I would be.



        Kind regards,
        Steve
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        Not promoting right now

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        • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
          I think a lot of this depends on the person doing the creation, too.

          Some people are better in print, because they know how to write. Others can carry a lot of visible energy that translates well in live action.

          Then there's the way they prepare. When I've done live presentations in this market that were largely extemporaneous, they've been pretty well received. The one time I worked from a complete presentation, it got only average marks from the crowd.

          Some people are exactly the opposite. Jimmy Brown, for example, seems to prefer very carefully scripted presentations. He's much more relaxed with them than I am, and so they're a hit with the audience.

          Now that I think about it, that might be a clue to the way one should prepare for the test: If you're a good improvisational speaker, you'd do the video from a sketchy outline, and the article based on that. And vice-versa if you're a "be prepared" kind of person.

          Hmmm... Maybe it doesn't depend as much on the person as I thought a few sentences ago...
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  • Profile picture of the author dimatrix
    Banned
    Both methods are very good but if i were to choose, i'd go for 300 videos. They'll definitely convert better. Most people, myself inclusive, would rather watch it than read it. watching 300 videos are much fun and easier to complete than reading 300 lenthy articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author ebizman87
    Hi Avenuegirl..

    Interesting question. Unfortunately,I'm not expert enough to comment on this issue.
    But I've a suggestion.

    Why NOT do a case study on what you mentioned above?

    Of course 300 vidz and 300 articles are a lot and will take time. Why not try 10 VIDS vs 10 EZA? Let the campaign run for 30 days and see what you get.

    My 2c..

    Ps:I'd love to see such case study being conducted and shared here in this forum
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin Marshall
      That would be a very interesting case study. I think there are more variables involved with video marketing. Your videos have to be good. I can't tell you how many terrible marketing videos I've seen on Youtube. As soon as I click on a video for a review of anything and I see some 14 year kid telling me about something I turn it off. The same holds true for a really boring speaker or poor video quality.

      I think if you did 300 videos a month, the quality of the videos would suffer. It would take a lot longer to do 300 videos that people would want to watch than 300 articles.
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    • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
      Originally Posted by ebizman87 View Post

      Hi Avenuegirl..

      Interesting question. Unfortunately,I'm not expert enough to comment on this issue.
      But I've a suggestion.

      Why NOT do a case study on what you mentioned above?

      Of course 300 vidz and 300 articles are a lot and will take time. Why not try 10 VIDS vs 10 EZA? Let the campaign run for 30 days and see what you get.

      My 2c..

      Ps:I'd love to see such case study being conducted and shared here in this forum
      That's a very cool idea. I'd be up for that.

      I would say 20 vids and 20 articles, though.

      How should this be done? Target all of the videos and articles at the same site and see what refers more traffic?
      Or target them at seperate sites? The same site would probably be better.

      And would you prefer just a comparison between the articles and videos, with no further promotion? Or social bookmark the articles/videos as well?
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      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        Ok, just ran out and got a sausage egg and cheese, and food helps me think.

        Here is an idea:

        2 products for this would need to be done.

        So, find a product that is all about writing articles, and find a product that is all about videos. Both need to have a similiar price point.

        Now, for each product you get half articles written and half videos done.

        So - video product is marketed via articles and videos
        - article product is marketed via articles and videos

        The 300 goal is now broken down into 150 for each.

        Also, you have to keep in mind - Youtube is FREE so this has to be done with a FREE ezine account, which will make you wait a couple of weeks sometimes to approve articles.
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        • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
          Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

          Ok, just ran out and got a sausage egg and cheese, and food helps me think.

          Here is an idea:

          2 products for this would need to be done.

          So, find a product that is all about writing articles, and find a product that is all about videos. Both need to have a similiar price point.

          Now, for each product you get half articles written and half videos done.

          So - video product is marketed via articles and videos
          - article product is marketed via articles and videos

          The 300 goal is now broken down into 150 for each.

          Also, you have to keep in mind - Youtube is FREE so this has to be done with a FREE ezine account, which will make you wait a couple of weeks sometimes to approve articles.
          So, you'd be making 75 videos and 75 articles for each product?

          The problem I see with this is: How do you make 75 videos about video creation without already mentioning basically everything that matters for video creation?
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      • Profile picture of the author ebizman87
        Originally Posted by ShaneRQR View Post

        That's a very cool idea. I'd be up for that.

        I would say 20 vids and 20 articles, though.

        How should this be done? Target all of the videos and articles at the same site and see what refers more traffic?
        Or target them at seperate sites? The same site would probably be better.

        And would you prefer just a comparison between the articles and videos, with no further promotion? Or social bookmark the articles/videos as well?
        If you can do 20 VIDS and 20 ARTICLES, then go ahead but make sure the quality is there.

        Here's a suggestion to track the traffic. Set up 2 page within 1 domain (you don't have to waste your money buying new sites)

        Direct the videos to a page in your domain..

        Ex: domainname.com/site1

        and for the ARTICLES, direct it to another page..

        Ex: domainname.com/site2

        In both pages,make sure you're having the same content and compare the conversion like subscription to your list,CTR for affiliate products and so on..

        And about the promotions of the vids and articles, if you submitted an article at Socialbookmarking A, then submit the vid with the same keywords as the article at the same site.It should be fair and square!!

        It'll be nice to see such case study being shared here in WF..
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  • Profile picture of the author Asher
    Who would win?

    The marketer of course!

    It's the Fisherman who wins the battle between
    crane and clam.

    Chinese Story Time!

    Once upon a time, a sea clam was on a beach of an Island, a beautiful island, sunning and opening its shells showing its fleshy interior.. The inside was full of mud since this clam just came from a muddy past. He looked dirty.


    A white crane flew past, high up in the sky, and came down and tried to pick at the clam's fleshy interior with its long beak. The clam quickly shut its shells and the crane's beak was caught inside the shells.


    The 2 would not give way to each other. The crane continued to bite at the fleshy part, even though its beak was clammed shut inside. The calm would not open its shells.


    They reached a stalemate and after awhile, a fisherman came along and caught both the crane and the clam.
    Asher
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  • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
    Both would definitely take the cake, but if you have to choose, I'd say videos will get better results.

    Here's the thing, though: It depends on the quality of the articles/videos.
    Or rather, the relative quality.

    I've been making videos for quite a while and to me, it seems easier to out-do the general quality of most videos on YT. I find it harder to stand out from the crowd with a well-written article.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mukul Verma
    It depends on which one you have mastered to use video or article. The topic plays a HUGE role in it, however I would say video and here is why
    1. Google LOVE video, so that will bring you more traffic
    2. The Video market is very under used compared to articles
    3. Video is a newer concept, so people are not turned off by the commercial use of You Tube (also to mention you can make a video funny with the purpose of branding).

    Right now more people are using articles, I personally have not had success, however I think you will succeed what you master
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  • Profile picture of the author trilogy09
    Hi avenuegirl,
    I def like your idea of article marketing and using videos may work well too but it certainly isn't as polished and proven as article marketing. I would personally go w/ articles if you had to pick one/ But you certainly can't go wrong doing both. However, if you are doing ne article writing i would recommend using squidoo and/or hubpages as both of these rank very well in the search engines but have a great benefit over ezine, you can do much more w/ customization and linking.
    Best Of Luck To You
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  • Profile picture of the author profit media
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by trilogy09 View Post

      Hi avenuegirl,
      I def like your idea of article marketing and using videos may work well too but it certainly isn't as polished and proven as article marketing. I would personally go w/ articles if you had to pick one/ But you certainly can't go wrong doing both. However, if you are doing ne article writing i would recommend using squidoo and/or hubpages as both of these rank very well in the search engines but have a great benefit over ezine, you can do much more w/ customization and linking.
      Best Of Luck To You
      What ever gets done to one, must be done to the other.

      Originally Posted by ShaneRQR View Post

      So, you'd be making 75 videos and 75 articles for each product?

      The problem I see with this is: How do you make 75 videos about video creation without already mentioning basically everything that matters for video creation?
      How do you make 75 articles about article creation without already mentioning basically everything that matters for article creation?

      Originally Posted by Ron. View Post

      Sure, I think so.........as a matter of fact I did it last week with a WSO I bought.


      But take into account your audience. What are the demographics? If they are parents of baby boomers, a video or MP3 may not be their fancy. A article will do just fine.

      A 17 year old or even a 45 year old.....MP3/video would be fine.


      Depends on subject and audience.
      And I'm wondering if this needs to go just one more breakdown. A 100/100/100 where niche #3 is somewhat of a neutral product - could be an overall IM course.

      I don't think I want to put anything else into the mix.
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  • Profile picture of the author Midas3 Consulting
    Depends entirely on the niche Jill.

    If I'm selling "Photoshop Video Tuturorials" and I can create promotional videos which allow me to even show clips of the tutorials, then yes , conversions are likely to outpull text only articles.

    I think it's a case of know your market/demographic and niche and tailor accordingly rather than a straight forward articles vs video question.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by ebizman87 View Post

      Hi Avenuegirl..

      Interesting question. Unfortunately,I'm not expert enough to comment on this issue.
      But I've a suggestion.

      Why NOT do a case study on what you mentioned above?

      Of course 300 vidz and 300 articles are a lot and will take time. Why not try 10 VIDS vs 10 EZA? Let the campaign run for 30 days and see what you get.

      My 2c..

      Ps:I'd love to see such case study being conducted and shared here in this forum
      Originally Posted by SimonHarrison View Post

      Depends entirely on the niche Jill.

      If I'm selling "Photoshop Video Tuturorials" and I can create promotional videos which allow me to even show clips of the tutorials, then yes , conversions are likely to outpull text only articles.

      I think it's a case of know your market/demographic and niche and tailor accordingly rather than a straight forward articles vs video question.
      What ever is written in the article, must be said or written in the video.

      The only difference is with the video, I can use pictures (if I am speaking the article) I can use music, or even some other video clips.

      The words in both will match exactly. The tags and titles will match.
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  • Profile picture of the author bozz723
    Youtube wins most of the time. It all depends on what you are marketing though. I take youtube in a heart beat however.
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  • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
    What do you think of using bit.ly shortened URLs? They could be useful for displaying a short (custom) link in the videos that people might be more likely to type. Of course, with Youtube you can have a clickable link in the description, but even there, a short link might be more appealing than an unshortened one (particularly if it's a deep link).

    Also: Very easy to track clicks with bit.ly.
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    • Profile picture of the author VeitSchenk
      here's another thing to consider: different people consume content in different ways.

      some prefer video, others listening, others again reading. I e.g. have video and audio because I can read much faster than anybody can talk.

      when there's only a video/audio, and I *really* want it, then I tend to download it and view/listen using jetaudio which can speed up almost anything. (including flv, which I download using IDM)

      so, like many have said before: it depends on the topic (if it requires visual demonstration....), the demographics and psychographics and their preferred learning style.

      with whatever you do, make sure it then ties in with the style and content of your landing page -- if you're using 300 videos and your landing page is only text, then you suddenly have a huge disconnect.

      for this experiment I'd use the approach suggested above: two separate landing pages, each customized, i.e. reflecting the source of the traffic: video for video-traffic, text for text-traffic, i.e. make the transition from 'response' to 'conversion' as seamless as possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author pwnzor
    Depends on what it was about. If it was a product Demo I'd say Video if it was a description I'd say Article.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mya
    I actually read the article in a video and paste the article on the side box.
    I sell about a product a day on only youtube.

    sometimes I don't even do that if I don't have time, I show pictures and ask them to read the article pasted to the right. Its actually amazing I make any sales, but they just keep coming in.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bev Clement
    There is no right or wrong answer. People will only guess if they haven't done this.

    Only way to know the true answer is to test it.
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  • Profile picture of the author H.Miller
    Very interesting question. Both are very powerful forms of advertising. I guess it all depends on your market and what you are marketing. But like everyone else has stated. We will never know unless we test it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Darth Executor
    Videos. I personally hate them but a lot of marketers seem to swear by them. The best part about video is that the web sites won't whine like little girls if the video exists on another site already, so you don't need to 'spin' videos like you do with articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author drwhogoesthere
    I do all three.

    I know we are only talking about articles V's videos but I also do powerpoint slides.

    I write the article and post it up. I then create a Powerpoint slide show out of the article, with each paragraph becoming a slide and then post it up to Slideshare.

    I then quick convert all the slides into jpegs, add them to photo story, add some music save as a video and post it to video sites.

    It takes me anywhere between 1/2 an hour to an hour to do the whole lot. They are not the best, or most interesting video, but they are out there, all with backlinks and spread across a wider area.
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  • Profile picture of the author Susanna Dodd
    I think it depends how you prefer to obtain information. If I'm looking for a product on how to do something, me personally, I would search a video first. I'm a visual learner. I really don't like reading something to tell me how to do things. I like pictures and videos for that purpose. So I would have to say that videos would win for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author chris916
    In my experience it seems like a lot of videos are all over the place. They go off on tangents and I lose interest quickly. If I am interested in a subject I would rather have the meat and potatoes without too much commentary. It seems like most people do a search and will read more articles than watch videos to me.
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  • Profile picture of the author dadvocate
    Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

    If you had to choose between getting 300 videos, and 300 articles, which do you think would convert better and lead to more sales?

    Articles are more viral with respect to being spread around the internet, reaching more people.
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    • Profile picture of the author kevinfar
      Originally Posted by dadvocate View Post

      Articles are more viral with respect to being spread around the internet, reaching more people.
      On what do you base that statement? In my opinion, videos are much more viral and will reach a lot more people than any article will ever be able to reach.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        Originally Posted by kevinfar View Post

        On what do you base that statement? In my opinion, videos are much more viral and will reach a lot more people than any article will ever be able to reach.
        Well, he can base it on an experiment I just did.

        I put a video up yesterday, and it is embedded on someones blog today.

        Never have my ezine articles been embeded into anyone elses sites.

        Apparently, my videos are better than my articles - but I don't really believe that is entirely true.

        I spend TIME writing my articles.

        And while there are not a lot of them in my account, I know they are written better than a lot of what I see.

        Anyway, Bev is right. We will only know once it's been done.

        There are some variables I realized today.

        For instance, with youtube you can send your video as a reply to someone elses video. There is no way to do this on Ezine.

        So I am thinking that a "fair" challenge would allow one to use what ever facilities are available at each site with no additional penalty.

        I need some help on what special things I can do at ezine - within ezine - to get noticed.

        Is there something I am missing?

        I know I can submit articles.

        I know I can comment on other peoples articles - but I don't know if that does anything to bring attention to my articles.

        Does anyone know if commenting on other peoples articles at ezine does anything for you?
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Fullman
    I've never had an article generate 150,000 views and 50,000 click-thru's.

    I've had a video do exactly that, though...

    Thanks,
    Steve
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    Not promoting right now

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  • Profile picture of the author TommyG
    Videos seem to be beating articles in a big way. And here's why.

    First, you can upload a video and it can be on the front page of Google for that keyword in as little as 10 minutes. Let's see ezinearticles do that!

    Second, you can take one video and change the format (mpeg, mov, avi, mp4) and create 4 videos. You can take those 4 videos upload them 1 per week. Now you have 4 videos that look entirely different to the search engines (no duplicate content issue) for the same amount of time it takes to make one. No spinning or rewriting needed. You now have fresh weekly content that will stay there for weeks or months. Just change your title, keywords and description when uploading.

    You can even add or shave a couple of seconds off your videos to make the length of time different and they appear to be different videos to the search engines. Another way to create multiple videos without having to rewrite, except for changing the title and description.

    Finally you can upload them to multiple sites for free using tubemogul. Just change the title, keywords and description for each upload and now you have a lot of videos from multiple sites bringing you traffic. Those videos may also stay on the search results for some time bringing you continued traffic.

    You get a lot of videos out there with very little work. Imagine if you created 4 separate unique videos X 2 different lengths of time (ex. 60 seconds and 65 seconds) X 4 video formats X 15 different video sites. You now have 480 videos uploaded on the web bringing you traffic in the time it takes to create only 4 without the duplicate content issue.

    Plus people don't usually fast forward a video as they might miss something where people will scan an article and miss a lot of what you are saying.

    And the final tidbit. You can watermark your videos with your website url throughout the entire video making it easy for someone to see. Most articles only have a link with your site name at the end. How many times have you read an article but didn't read it through to see the link?

    The bottom side of videos is some marketers are scared to do a video. This is probably why most still do articles. If you aren't afraid to make a video then you can do very well. I avoided them for a while but have come to realize that videos can get me much farther than articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author MoneyRaker
    They say that 1 Picture is worth a Thousand Words. I say that 1 video is worth a thousand Pictures. Videos would win any day! they're so much more powerful than plain words when DONE RIGHT! and Youtube has alot more potential and traffic than ezine .

    No comparison for me!
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  • Profile picture of the author jyzackoh
    I would think videos will win because when people watch your video they would already have a more "intimate" bond with you and will more likely listen to your advice, provided you do the video well. It works both way i guess.

    Very interesting question though but I guess I will stick with youtube. One thing about ranking is that although youtube videos might not rank as high in google, they have their own user-base which will provide a lot of traffic as well. And now that they have the youtube keyword research tool (which IMO is not very perfected), things could get better with videos!

    Of course, if i were to choose anything it would surely be a mix of both, the best of both worlds! =)

    Just my thoughts,
    Zack
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  • Profile picture of the author Floyd Fisher
    Video would be better.

    My reasoning? The law of intensity: A vivid experience is best remembered.

    The more of a person's 5 senses you grab the attention of, the better it sticks.

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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Ok, and I see all of this video stuff in this thread, and yet it appears to me (I don't know about anyone else) that the majority of advice given on this forum to anyone starting out is to go with articles articles articles. Bum Marketing. More articles.

      Why - to those of you who say video - why would you not suggest a noob start right off with video marketing?

      You know, we have several threads on this forum that show just how to make your own videos - even with FREE software.

      Why on earth do so many shove article marketing down the noobs throats?

      I know at some point everyone should make a site, post to a blog, or get some kind of articles out there - but are we just fooling ourselves into believing that article marketing is just going to be easier to break into first, and the noobs are not wise enough to handle a video off the bat?

      Is everyone set on believing that youtube is still for teen boys?
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      • Profile picture of the author Asher
        Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

        Ok, and I see all of this video stuff in this thread, and yet it appears to me (I don't know about anyone else) that the majority of advice given on this forum to anyone starting out is to go with articles articles articles. Bum Marketing. More articles.

        Why - to those of you who say video - why would you not suggest a noob start right off with video marketing?
        I'm recommending for both.

        But like many others, I would recommend articles first.

        Reason being - an article basically becomes a script
        for the video.

        Not everyone's great with video and I'm sure you've
        been bored by all the "Um, welcome to my, um, video...
        this video is about... um... wait... umm... how to make
        money online... in 20 minutes by selling your mom's
        kitchen without telling her... without getting killed"

        (Or something like that)

        Once the articles are out, take those articles and
        script them into video.

        I'd be willing to bet most people who take what they
        say impromptu and write it down... it reads horribly.

        It makes sense to them... but doesn't make sense
        to the viewer/reader.

        An article helps a beginner by giving him structure.

        When you have an existing article and you convert
        that into video, it can potentially save a lot of time
        without having to do re-takes.

        Of course, this isn't the same thing for people who
        have a natural flair for speaking in front of a camera.

        I'm talking about a starting marketer whose stepping
        into the world of multimedia.

        Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

        You know, we have several threads on this forum that show just how to make your own videos - even with FREE software.

        Why on earth do so many shove article marketing down the noobs throats?
        So, why are you trying to shove video down others
        throats?

        I'm not questioning your intent, Jill but the way I see
        it, this thread is, in a sense, structured with a slight
        bias against article marketing.

        I mean... the poll itself already looks biased.

        Plus, you've got a sig that says "article marketing sucks!"
        that points to a video marketing course.

        But back on my response... there are many advantages
        to articles - even though it's "old school".

        It's not "cool" and it's not "2.0" but it's got advantages
        to it like backlinks and for the non-American people
        (like me), we don't get judged immediately just because
        we sound different.

        We're judged on our content - not our accent.

        If you read a great article about money and you agreed
        with it... but you heard the exact same article presented
        to you in video/audio with a Nigerian accent - would your
        views be affected?

        It's just how things are.

        Articles give the people some fighting chance.

        Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

        I know at some point everyone should make a site, post to a blog, or get some kind of articles out there - but are we just fooling ourselves into believing that article marketing is just going to be easier to break into first, and the noobs are not wise enough to handle a video off the bat?

        Is everyone set on believing that youtube is still for teen boys?
        What's wrong with trying to start things off with
        something we're more familiar with?

        I mean... we were taught ABCs in school at first and
        we learn to read/write/communicate.

        We weren't taught how to become one with a video.

        I don't believe YouTube is still for teen boys... I believe
        YouTube is for bored people who are looking for
        entertainment.

        Asher
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        • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
          Originally Posted by Asher View Post

          So, why are you trying to shove video down others
          throats?

          I'm not questioning your intent, Jill but the way I see
          it, this thread is, in a sense, structured with a slight
          bias against article marketing.
          I'm not shoving anything down anyone's throats, I'm just curious what people think (hence the poll).

          I know article marketing works. I'm not against article marketing - I know it is something that needs to be done.

          But I do think there is a very silly fear a lot of people have when it comes to adding video to their marketing campaigns, and trying it out for themselves. You don't "have" to talk or be seen. You don't need copy to get a message across.
          Signature

          "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

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    • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
      Interesting thread!

      I think it depends on 2 things... primarily, the quality and type of video, vs the quality and type of article. But also, to some extent, the niche.

      A well written article or a well made video will kick a low quality article or video's @$$, all other things being equal.

      That said, I've found that some niches seem to respond better to videos, while some niches seem to respond better to articles. But the difference is usually (but not always) relatively small. Almost all niches I've been involved with respond to both articles AND video pretty well, *IF* it is quality content.

      But it's not really fair to compare Ezine to YouTube. In terms of potential traffic, that would be like comparing a couple grains of sand to an entire beach!
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  • Profile picture of the author shab
    I'd go for videos.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by shab View Post

      I'd go for videos.
      ROFLMBO, Great signature.
      Signature

      "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

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  • Profile picture of the author philayres2
    I would say that the videos would win, if optimized properly. The articles can't win without links. The videos might still show up.
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  • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
    Avenuegirl:
    Two things come to my mind:
    1. In IM you need the ability to write good copy (sure you can outsource, but has anyone ever been successful with 100% outsourcing right from the start?)
    So writing some articles are a good way to get into this game. Also, you need to write content for a landing-page/sales-page/blog at some point.

    2. Seems to me that more people have the ability to write a fairly good article. Not as many people can make a good video (just my impression). The threshold for sitting down and writing something is lower than for getting the necessary software and equipment, and getting in front of a camera or speaking into a mic. Can be pretty daunting.
    As for videos that don't feature the creator and/or are unnarrated slideshows... good luck with those. Don't know if anyone is seeing a lot of success with this type of video, but it's certainly not my idea of a good video and I personally dislike the unnarrated slideshows.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by ShaneRQR View Post

      Avenuegirl:
      Two things come to my mind:
      1. In IM you need the ability to write good copy .
      But do you really?

      Think about ads that have NO copy. They exist, and I should probably go on a hunt. There are ads that are just pictures and sound, or video - and they tell a story. And then you'll just see a company name at the end.

      Or some will just ask a question or two, or have a couple of sentences.

      Music and the right photos can have just as much impact as copy imo.

      2. Seems to me that more people have the ability to write a fairly good article. Not as many people can make a good video (just my impression). The threshold for sitting down and writing something is lower than for getting the necessary software and equipment, and getting in front of a camera or speaking into a mic. Can be pretty daunting.
      As for videos that don't feature the creator and/or are unnarrated slideshows... good luck with those. Don't know if anyone is seeing a lot of success with this type of video, but it's certainly not my idea of a good video and I personally dislike the unnarrated slideshows.
      I'm not here to beat you up but I think that is a very general statement. And my thing here is, is it a good article if no one sees it? Don't a lot of people get their articles seen not because it is good, but because they ping and bookmark and drive some traffic to them?

      I'm not saying that is not done with video as well, but I think the assumption that video is "hard to do " and very intimidating is out there.

      And the rub here is you don't need a camera, you don't need a microphone, and even without those it doesn't have to be just a slide show.
      Signature

      "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

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  • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
    I can only report my own experiences, of course.
    Actually, I am currently doing something of an experiment to try and improve my ability to produce decent videos at a higher rate. So I'd be very interested to see what kind of videos you're making.
    I understand if you don't want to give away your niche/campaign and don't want to share. But if you're okay with it, I'd love to see an example from someone else.

    I think I've improved a lot, but I still have to put quite a bit of work into my videos.
    Also: Is it your experience that videos get more views more quickly than articles?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by ShaneRQR View Post

      Also: Is it your experience that videos get more views more quickly than articles?
      That's a big yes.

      Although on the side of articles, there are more article directories you can submit marketing materials to than video sharing sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Emily Meeks
    Everybody knows and understands Youtube, but many will say "WTF is Ezinearticles?!?"
    Signature

    In all that you do, know your True INTENT...

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    • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
      Originally Posted by moneysoapbox View Post

      Everybody knows and understands Youtube, but many will say "WTF is Ezinearticles?!?"
      Good point.
      An article may be a bit easier to get to rank on page one, but you can definitely get videos there as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author LarryC
      Originally Posted by moneysoapbox View Post

      Everybody knows and understands Youtube, but many will say "WTF is Ezinearticles?!?"
      Well, from a marketing perspective it doesn't matter whether anyone's heard of Ezinearticles. Very few people who aren't marketers will actually go to an article directory to look for information. But if your article ranks well, it will be found when someone searches for the word or phrase.
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      Content Writing, Ghostwriting, eBooks, editing, research.
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  • Profile picture of the author sdentrepreneur
    Video's are much more powerful. I have been getting videos on Google first page in 24 hrs and driving tons of traffic and sales. Articles do also work well but its a different audience.

    James Hickey
    SD Entrepreneur - James Hickey ? Internet Marketing Expert and Mentor
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    Learn Digital, Internet and Social Media Marketing For Your Business
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  • Profile picture of the author pheonix44
    I honestly believe if you do the videos the right way and use a few techniques for youtube you can see a crush of traffic. But there is no reason why you can execute both methods. If I had to choose only one though I would go with the video marketing, assuming the videos were TOP quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sandy Cormack
    The value in threads like this is, everyone has a limited amount of time to devote to marketing, so we want to know what works best. Thanks for this discussion.
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    Sandy Cormack

    Creativity Training, Strategic Planning, Personal Development, Organizational Development, and Lead Guitar
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  • Profile picture of the author mine1718
    tough question, id go with the articles.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
      I've been using online article marketing for about 9 years now and only recently ramped up my video marketing. So far the views and clicks per videos are trouncing my articles across 3 different niches (soon to be four). Though I realize there are a lot of other factors such as keywords, the niches, price point, etc. All things being equal, my videos are getting a lot more loving......

      RoD
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      "Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out."
      - Jim Rohn
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  • Profile picture of the author mghowell
    Split the difference 150 articles and 150 videos
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  • Profile picture of the author duncanb
    Personally i feel that articles would clinch it. They are more versatile. The viewer can skip to the parts that they want and do not have to wait for video to load etc.
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