Seeing Past the French Maids

I started French Maid TV as a vehicle to create new integrated advertising models for online video distribution where products and services appealing to young men would be explained by hot sexy women dressed as French Maids. It continues to be a working business model but I'm tired of being a one trick pony. I'm tired of people not being able to see past the French Maids. I'm tired of being the "French Maid Guy."

Sure it's fun. It's the most fun I've ever had in my professional life although I do miss having a Gold Football parking pass to Disney World sometimes.

It took about a month to get listed on the iTunes store, 3 days later French Maid TV was the number one podcast on the iTunes store but it still took a little while to get a sponsor.

The first sponsor French Maid TV had was Barter Bee with the episode How To Barter Online. that has had over 5 million views. Next Podtrac brought French Maid TV Go Daddy that episode has had over 2 million views and that led to an episode for iLike.com with over 3 million views. Then a Tubes episode with over 5 million views and now mdialog.

Sponsors are by far the most profitable way to make money in online video right now but they take a long time to build relationships with and finding sponsors that are comfortable with French Maids is even tougher. Many times I have sponsors who really like French Maid TV and the reach of French Maid TV but they don't feel comfortable putting their brand next to French Maids. I think this attitude will change if there is a change in the White House but I'm not hedging my bets on that.

The latest episode of French Maid TV that was posted on YouTube about 2 weeks ago has had over 400,000 views on YouTube and over 90,000 views on the sponsors site mdialog.com . I'm not sure how many of those views have come from the mdialog iPhone video application but I do know my sponsor is very happy with the results so far and is also happy with the amount of new users French Maid TV is bringing to the mdialog site.

I know French Maid TV is a very fun and effective way for brands that appeal to young males to get their message out and to drive a targeted audience to take action. What I don't know is how to get invited to the Maxim Magazine's or Spike TV's advertisers appreciation party where I can work the room and find more sponsor's for French Maid TV. I'm sure I'll figure that out soon (let me know if you know of any brands that would be interested in French Maid TV) but in the meantime I'm planning on leveraging relationships that I have discovered through French Maid TV and launching some new projects that will be a little more friendly to sponsors and that don't have French Maids in them.

Don't worry, I'm not ditching the French Maids, in fact I was casting yesterday for a new French Maid TV DVD that I'm working on, "French Maid TV's Official Guide To Lingerie Vol 1." I hope to have it ready for the holidays and to promote it I'm creating a French Maid TV stage show that I hope to get on Late Nite TV during November Sweeps to promote the release of the DVD.

As for the new non French Maid projects, I'm talking with other content producers about how we can work together on co-productions and I'm looking for distribution partnerships that will play a key role in launching my new shows. I'm also talking with sponsors ahead of time about sponsoring my new shows before they launch because I think I have enough of a proven track record of getting views that I don't need to throw away views to get a sponsor.

In the past, I've created upfront presentations for TV pilots that were never shot and watched new TV networks take those trailers to advertisers and get upfront ad sales money for shows that didn't yet exist. If TV advertisers can see past a trailer for a show that hasn't been created yet then I'm sure I can find new sponsors who can see past the French Maids and sponsor my new shows before they launch.

One of the pioneers of video web casting, Leo Laporte, with the help of Podtrac has sold out his advertising inventory in advance and I think this is going to be a trend.

At the New Media Expo Leo also had some very nice things to say about me when I came on his show. Leo is a visionary and it makes be feel good to know that he sees beyond the French Maids.

If you can see past the French Maids and are interested in sponsoring a new show or are interested in partnering on a project or even doing a link exchange please contact me and let me know. Short to the point emails are best.

What Can You Do If You Get Too Many Emails?

If you have become so popular that you can't answer all your emails. You might want to make a video that will explain how people can really get a hold of you if they really need to.

I sent Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library TV an email asking him if he knew of a Vineyard that was progressive enough and wealthy enough to sponsor a French Maid TV episode or two about wine and I got an email reply with a link to the above video.

What's the Biggest Online Video Success?

Yesterday Journalist Daisy Whitney asked her Twitter followers, "What do you think is the best example of a business, brand or marketer that used web video to great success to grow the business?"

I replied, "Will It Blend."

Will It Blend? is the best example of how a small company without an ad agency can have an impact on brand awareness and on their bottom line.

I've blogged about Will It Bled before but I think it merits repeating.

Will It Blend is a great model for content creators to examine.

Blendtech makes great blenders. They create online videos that showcases how strong their blenders are. People watch their Will It Blend videos and Blendtech sells more blenders. Keep in mind, it wouldn't work if Blendtech made crappy blenders or if their videos were not fun to watch.

For more on the Will It Blend story you should attend the The New Media Expo where you will get the whole story about Will It Blend.

"That's all nice for Blendtech Tim but I don't make high quality blenders. I just make videos."

Well, imagine if you had a DVD of your video content and you did an online video that promoted that DVD? Now I'm not saying to drop it in a blender.

Try this on for size, What if I made a DVD and a Pay Digital Download called French Maid TV's Official Guide to Lingerie Vol. 1 ? Then I created a French Maid TV episode called How To Buy Lingerie and had the episode be sponsored by French Maid TV's Official Guide to Lingerie Vol. 1?

Could I sell more copies of the DVD and Digital download then Will It Blend?

What if I also created a live show that could be done on a stage where the French Maids would come out and do a live performance of How To Buy Lingerie?

OK one more: What if I got the French Maids to do a live performance of How To Buy Lingerie on say Late Night TV during SWEEPS in November just before the Holidays?

Does that sound like something you think I could find a few investors to invest in?

How To Change Your Oil

I've been doing some different tests with the French Maid TV episode How To Change Your Oil. On Revver we shot up to number one pretty quickly but on YouTube we named it Oil Change and only got a couple thousand views in a few days. So we renamed it and reposted it on YouTube and we'll see what happens.

I have another version of it on the French Maid TV site with additional ads on it and it seems to be tracking well.

I'll let you know how the experiment goes when it's over.

How Do You Have a Conversation with Your Audience?

One of the big differences between new media and traditional media is that we can have a conversation with our audience. Ask A Ninja has people send in questions for the Ninja, It's All in Your Hands has the audience has it's viewers steer which way the story goes and French Maid TV well... French Maid TV has had some issues because the audience wants to have a conversation that advertisers and sponsors would not be interested in even though it is a very emmotionally engaging conversation.

That said, I'm not giving up on having a conversation with the viewers and I'm looking for your help. One idea I have is to have the French Maids respond to "How To" suggestions from the viewers so if you have a "How To" that you would like the French Maids to cover or you have a suggestion for a better conversation for the French Maids to have that advertisers would be interested in please let me know.

Expanding Your Brand

French Maid TV is known for "How To" videos by French Maids where hot sexy girls dressed as French Maids take products and services from sponsors and explain to young men how to use them. French Maid TV has about 1 million downloads per month of our funny / sexy videos but finding sponsors takes a lot of time, money and effort because the marketplace for this kind of advertising isn't built yet and not every potential sponsor wants to have their brand associated with sexy French Maids.

While the online video integrated advertising marketplace is building I thought I would try a few new things with French Maid TV by creating new non sponsored videos to take advantage of the few online video advertising monetization options that have already come together. I also thought this might be an opportunity expand the French Maid TV brand along the way.

The first new type of video is French Maid Magic which is a new series of Magic Tricks by French Maids. The second thing is the above video 1 Minute Maid which is the first in a series of funny and sexy video profiles of the French Maids.

I've spent a lot of time on the phone doing sales calls to get integrated sponsors for "How To" episodes of French Maid TV and it took me awhile to realize that the marketplace was just not coming together fast enough for me. Instead of giving up I thought I would create some videos that were not "How To's" and I would attach advertising solutions that are now coming together.

I'm currently working on deals with online video advertising networks to add pre-roll, post-roll and overlays to these new French Maid TV series but it's very slow going dealing with contracts and legal departments. That said, I've always found that whenever I post a new episode of French Maid TV in our video podcast feed on iTunes new business opportunities come my way through unsolicited emails. No, I'm not talking about the Nigerian Generals who need bank transfers. I'm talking about real deals for distribution of French Maid TV on other platforms and potential sponsorship deals. So rather than wait for the pre-roll / post-roll overlay deals to be in place I thought I would post these new non sponsored videos and see what new business oportunites come my way.

I've spent the last few months redesigning the French Maid TV website and I (don't laugh) used Apple's iWeb to do it. I also installed and built out a banner and text ad server using OpenX to deliver IAB standardized ads from different banner ad networks and affiliate marketing networks.

In addition to all this we created a new Gift Shop using Zazzle where you can even make your own T-Shirt .

With social networks all the rage we have created a new community area but at this time it's invite only while we work out the kinks. I hope to have it open to the public soon and make it so that people can upload their own French Maid auditions and post response videos to our videos. All in good time.

If you would like an invite send an email to community at frenchmaidtv dot com.

French Maid Magic

So I've decided I try a few new things and see how they work. I've redesigned the French Maid TV website (using Apple's iWeb) and I've launched a new series on French Maid TV called French Maid Magic using Revver for the video hosting.

French Maid Magic is shorter than previous French Maid TV episodes, it's cheaper to produce and most importantly it's not sponsored.

I think I've left a lot of money on the table by not creating more episodes and I've also found that when I release a new episode I have more sponsorship inquiries come my way. So rather than spend time chasing sponsors I'm going to try and create more content that hopefully will generate income through attached online video advertising / new ads on the French Maid TV website and bring new sponsors to me.

I'm also trying a few other new things that I will let you know about as well.

Oh, I've also created an area on the site for Media Buyers

TMZ uses Brightcove

According to TMZ Brittany Spears showed up in Vegas to open a new club called LAX at the Luxor. I know, who cares about Brittany Spears? Well it's not her but the fact that TMZ is using Brightcove to serve their Brittany Spears videos and Brightcove does a fantastic job.

Now I’ve talked with Brightcove about using their service for French Maid TV and I would love to use their service to host videos of hot girls but the don’t have any advertisers that would be interested in reaching young men with sexy French Maids and I’m not interested in placing the French Maids on a site that doesn’t offer a way to monetize my videos.

Video Advertising on YouTube

Video Advertising is something I’ve been doing for years on Network and Cable Television. I’ve created promotional spots and campaigns for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer to UFC as well as TV commercials for feature films like Fight Club and Sin City. I’ve also produced “different” Online Advertising like French Maid TV but in all my time in advertising there has never been a big day like yesterday.

Yesterday Google announced that they are launching overlay advertising on Youtube Videos. I’m very excited about this and look forward to see how things will play out.

This is a really incredible time to be producing emotionally engaging online videos that cut through the clutter, launch new brands and drive consumers to act. Oh right, and the video can really be measured. But as someone who is plagued with ideas it’s more exciting to know that I can run with an idea, produce it, post it on YouTube and finally get paid for it.

Making the Right Deal So You Can Buy a New Car

Online Videos by Veoh.com



It’s a pretty exciting time in the world of independent content / video podcasting / pocasting / videoblogging / online video production. The Big Fantastic guys inked a deal with a Hollywood mogul , Tiki Bar TV and
Keith and the Girl signed a deal with Wizzard , the LonelyGirl15 guys struck a deal with Bebo on a new series Kate Modern in London and the Podacast WallStrip was acquired by CBS for 3 to 5 million dollars depending on who you talk to. It really feels like things are happening but online creators beware, I don’t see any of the independent content producers I know driving around in new cars… yet.

My whole life I’ve dreamt of a studio deal. Wait, that’s not true. When I was a kid I wanted a Webco Black Diamond BMX Bike and a surfboard. I’ll start over. My whole adult life I’ve dreamt of a studio deal, a deal where I would be warm and safe, a deal where I could have an office on the lot with my own parking spot, a deal where I would come up with “wonderful”, “creative” and “brilliantly evil” ideas that the studio would green light and that I would then go write, produce and direct. Then the studio would distribute my production for the whole world to see. But then I discovered the Internet and how my dreams have changed.

Once I figured out what I could do with the web I created a fictional videoblog/online story that had millions of hits and I realized while I was waiting for that studio deal I could write, produce, direct AND distribute my own projects. I loved it. It was great. I could come up with whatever I wanted and just go do it and for the past seven years I have. Millions of people came to see my work but they didn’t leave any money just a big fat bandwidth bill. I quickly learned I didn’t know how to make money on the Internet.

So I kept at it and kept at it and finally came up with French Maid TV . It has brought me millions of views, I get paid money to make it and it is way more fun to make than any studio or TV project I’ve ever produced. Sure I have to deal with clients that put their “marketing speak” into the voice over but other than that I have a lot of creative freedom. It has brought me a big Hollywood agent and meetings with studios all around town. I’m out pitching all my “wonderful”, “creative” and “brilliantly evil” ideas and it feels pretty good. But wait, I still don’t have a studio deal and as far as I know neither does anyone else who creates online video. The closest thing to a studio deal that I know of is what has happened to Big Fantastic.

The Big Fantastic guys made a show called Sam Has 7 Friends for $50K of their own money. They got millions of views. They got a big Hollywood agent. They had meetings all over town. Then they pitched a new idea called Prom Queen to Michael Eisner and he bought it. Not only did he buy it he also bought their online hit Sam Has 7 Friends. Can you believe it? These guys pitched and sold a new series as well as their old series to the dude that used to run Disney! Incredible. Side note: I used to be a production assistant on Michael Eisner’s “Voice of Disney” intros to the Disney Sunday Movie. You know, “Hello, I’m Michael Eisner and Welcome to the Disney Sunday Movie.” More about that another time.

Now the Big Fantastic Guys (who I love) are working around the clock the same way they did when they produced Sam has 7 Friends and they are getting paid for it! It’s great. Right? Well, I don’t see them driving new cars or in a big office on the lot yet and the other thing that crosses my mind when I drive through the studio gates is that they don’t own their content anymore either. Makes me want to ask someone for some advice. What a second, maybe I can Ask A Ninja? Let’s see the guys at Beatbox Giant created an online show, Ask A Ninja
They got millions of views. They got a big Hollywood agent. They had meetings all over town. Then they got something pretty cool. No, it wasn’t a studio deal with an office on the lot. They got a big advertising deal with Federated Media . But best of all, they still own their content. They still get to write, produce, direct AND distribute whatever “wonderful”, “creative” and “brilliantly evil” ideas they come up with and if they can keep it all going, I’ll bet we will see them driving around in new cars soon.

Now if one of my “wonderful”, “creative” and “brilliantly evil” ideas ever gets bought at a studio I don’t think I’ll be able to turn the deal down just yet cause the market place hasn’t developed enough yet for me to survive full time on French Maid TV but I will ask my agents to fight hard to get me the best deal possible bcause the lease is running out on my SUV and I don’t have enough money to buy a new one… yet.