The 12 days of Christmas were particularly good to comedian Louis CK. This week, the popular actor and stand-up comedian illustrated exactly how and why video can be so profitable.
Imbued with the idea that consumers are always more than willing to cough up a small amount of money for digital content that comes from their favorite performers, Louis CK bucked the conventional trends of distribution, DRM, ads, and other traditional marketing steps for an online video release.
Instead, CK simply uploaded the video to his website and made it available for purchase at the low price of just $5. The result was staggering.
According to the famous comedian, after only four days, the video earned an impressive $200,000. And on day twelve, it had breached the $1 million threshold.
“The experiment was: If I put out a brand new standup special at a drastically low price ($5) and make it as easy as possible to buy, download and enjoy, free of any restrictions, will everyone just go and steal it? Will they pay for it? And how much money can be made by an individual in this manner?” CK wrote after pulling in his first quarter-million from the video.
Upon hitting the seven-figure mark, CK thanked his fans and pledged to donate a portion of the earnings to charity and to provide bonuses to his employees and staff. He pledged to keep only $220,000 for himself.
Has Louis CK’s experience with online and mobile video success changed your thinking about the smartest ways to market digital content to the masses today?
