How To Use This Guide

Welcome to your very own Choose-Your-Own-Adventure D.I.Y. Guide to YouTube. Part how-to, part industry analysis, this manual will help you explore the ups and downs of making money in the YouTube economy, from whether or not to sign with a multi-channel network, to understanding exactly how you can make money through advertising sponsors.

You can use this manual in one of several ways. If you are an aspiring content creator, start by clicking on the "So You Want to Make Some Money?" link below to begin your exploration. Or, if you would like to learn more about the content industry on YouTube, including what MCNs do or how recent copyright litigation is affecting YouTube's monetization system, then click on the "Mapping YouTube" link. The information included in this second link (and its associated pages), makes up the backbone of this guide. Regardless of what you click, you may still find yourself exploring the information and analyses contained within "Mapping YouTube;" the advice this manual offers grounds itself in the current state of the industry, and as such the topics are interwoven and linked throughout the site.

When you are done exploring, no matter which path you take, make sure to check out this guide's conclusion ("How To Make Profit Off the Long-Tail"), which you can click on in the menu to the left-hand side of any page.

What's Next

While journeying through this manual, you will may come across references to an unavailable or "stub" entry. The YouTube Economy guide is a growing project, recognizing both continuing changes in the industry and areas for potential future growth. Version 2.0, which is currently in the works, will examine two new avenues for profit within the industry: creating your own MCN and creating your own proprietary tools for video content management and analytics. These "stub" pages are a gesture towards what will come next.

Begin this path

1. So You Want to Make Some Money?
2. Mapping YouTube

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