So you’ve come this far, investing time and money into the creation of quality video content, and now you are wondering how to make it work for you. While the main function of videos is to increase traffic to your site, increase engagement, and boost your brand, there’s no harm in monetizing a little more directly.

Viddler

Viddler offers several offers for video monetization: viewer targeted ads can be included before, during and after your video, and videos can be hidden behind a paywall or included in a subscription service. The program also offers the option of making a customized video store for premium content.

In addition to this, Viddler has supercharged analytics and viewer engagement features, allowing you to track trends in your content and in your viewership. Somewhat surprisingly for a program with strong analytical features, the SEO features of Viddler are limited and its not possible to make a video site map, a crucial tool in maximizing search engine visibility.

Videos can be unbranded and fully customizable in terms of colors and buttons, however the thumbnail is selected from a limited number of stills rather than anywhere in the video. Recent changes to the website make assessing the full feature set and pricing tiers difficult as the company moves into offering more tailor made solutions for each business.

Pricing: From $100/month for full analytics features, subscription service includes transaction fees

Free Trial: No free trial, but you can request a demo

Vzaar

The advertising add-ons come in a pricier package for Vzaar, included automatically in the $400/month enterprise package or as a $50/month add on to the $200/month business package, however the customization options are greater than for Viddler. Choose specific ads for each video or a global one for all of your content, and choose where they play and whether or not to make them skippable for your users. Adding subscription and paid-for premium content is available for every plan, although you have to go through their paywall partner MPP solutions.

Vzaar has a very simple and intuitive interface and bulk uploading, making playlists, and customizing the unbranded player can be picked up in no time. It also has powerful security features providing tight control of sensitive content and encryption preventing unauthorized downloads. Its analytics is limited to the integration with Google Analytics and thus not as powerful as something like Viddler, however its SEO features are better and video site maps are easy to add to your site.

Pricing: From $250/month for the advertising features, up to 500GB storage

Free Trial: 30 days

Vimeo Pro

Video marketing often seems like an indirect way of making money, and even through including advertising you are going through a third party. Vimeo PRO not only allows you to charge for your premium content with no volume limits (with the owner retaining 90% of the transaction costs), it also includes the ‘Tip Jar’ feature – viewers can choose to leave money as a tip, paying seamlessly through your video using credit cards or Paypal.

The analytics on offer are not quite on par with Viddler but nevertheless intuitive and thorough, with full SEO and video site mapping capabilities. The video player is customizable with your own colors, brand and logo.

Vimeo has recently done away with its tiered pricing and plans, offering one flat rate with all the features. Especially large volumes should contact their sales team for enterprise rates. The basic PRO version is nevertheless a very affordable video platform for monetization, at a fraction of the cost of Viddler and Vzaar.

Pricing: $199 a year for 20GB of bandwith a week, 1040GB a year

Free Trial: Not available

Monetizing your content is a challenge for every business, and it can be hard to narrow down the many avenues of doing so.  With so many quality video hosting options available the options can seem overwhelming. This article should point you in the right direction, pointing out monetization features to increase your content ROI at both high and low price points.