Unboxing videos are having a sort of renaissance,
and I would argue that if done well, they
can be the most profitable type of video a
tech YouTuber can make.
So why are some channels doing it and others
not?
I am Marton from TechAltar, you are watching
the 31st episode of The Story Behind series,
and let's unbox this topic.
YouTube and boxes go way back.
Before 8K cinema cameras and professional
studio lighting took over YouTube, basically
all tech YouTubers just filmed themselves
getting excited about unpacking their new
gadgets.
As YouTube became more professional though,
the successful channels figured out what they
were good at and specialized themselves into
one of two categories.
Product first channels, like MKBHD, Linus
Tech Tips and TechnoBuffalo for example ended
up being really good at reviewing and analyzing
products in depth.
For them and their viewers, boxes were mostly
just a waste of time, so on their channels,
unboxing videos started to fade away and the
focus shifted over to in-depth and hopefully
unbiased product reviews instead.
On other channels, like Unbox Therapy, iJustine
and Llamar Wilson for example, unboxing videos
flourished.
The common theme among these channels in my
opinion is that they first and foremost want
to entertain.
Having a new product for them is really just
an excuse to make a fun video.
And for their viewers, it's just an excuse
to watch a fun video.
Which is often reflected in the products they
unbox.
Sure, there is an occasional iPhone or Xbox
unboxing, which might be sort of informative,
but more often then not they unbox toys, trinkets
and some unexpected stuff.
Which makes sense, because these videos are
supposed to entertain more than they are supposed
to scientifically evaluate whether you should
buy a product or not.
Now of course there are no strict lines between
these two camps, because product channels
also entertain, and entertainment channels
also cover useful tech, however, I think you
get my point.
When it comes to making money though, successful
unboxers usually win, because their videos
take less time to make and are often easier
to monetize.
While a regular, in-depth product review usually
takes somewhere between 5 to 10 days to make,
an unboxing is short and doesn't require any
in-depth testing, so it can be done in just
a few hours or maybe a day.
And here is why that's a great business.
First, the YouTube algorithm loves channels
that upload frequently.
New videos get this "New" tag for about a
week, which significantly boost viewership,
they get recommended to people more often,
plus if you have watched a video from a channel
in the last couple of days, you are much more
likely to be served another one from the same
channel again.
In other words, constantly having new videos
is a super effective way to bring you more
views, more subscribers and of course more
advertisement revenue.
This is part of why channels doing daily vlogs
and game streams became some of the most popular
ones on the platform, and doing unboxing videos
can be a tech YouTuber's way of releasing
lots of relatively easy to make videos.
Another good reason for unboxing videos would
be to combat costs.
Buying tech to review is expensive.
Just to make up for the cost of a flagship
phone, a YouTube video would usually need
at least half a million views.
That's when you reach 0.
So obviously, YouTubers have to get a little
creative.
Releasing multiple videos per device, like
say an unboxing video + a review, + a camera
comparison for example can be an effective
way to spread out the cost of a device over
multiple videos.
Third, unboxing videos are perfect for sponsored
content.
You wouldn't want to have a review of a Huawei
phone to be sponsored by Huawei, because reviews
and tests are supposed to be unbiased.
Unboxings though aren't in-depth tests, so
they might as well be sponsored.
Which they often are, and viewers don't generally
seem to mind.
Method four is when channels become big enough
to get companies to just send them stuff.
Anyone above, I would say, a hundred thousand-ish
active subscribers who regularly does unboxings
and puts up an address will just start getting
free stuff from companies who hope to be featured
on their channel.
Hundreds of companies send YouTube titans
like Casey Neistat stuff even if he only shows
a fraction of them on camera and even then,
usually only for a few seconds.
So channels that are open to unboxings get
lots and lots of free stuff.
Stuff they can either use or put out up on
eBay and sell, or make giveaways with.
And fifth is of course affiliate links.
A lot of unboxings happen with kind of unique
products that viewers wouldn't otherwise know
where to find.
So if they want to buy them, they often use
the unboxer's affiliate link.
And if they do, merchants like Amazon give
the channel a sort of referral bonus, usually
somewhere between 5 to 10 percent of the value
of the product.
Not bad.
So adding up all of those benefits, you now
probably agree with me when I say that unboxings
can be the most profitable type of videos
a tech YouTuber can make.
But if that is the case, why doesn't everyone
just do them?
Well, I think unboxing videos are easy to
make, but really hard to make well.
The act of opening up a box is by itself boring
and meaningless, so the YouTuber needs to
be able to do two very important things to
turn that into an interesting video.
First, they have to find fun and novel products
all the time.
This is why Unbox Therapy unbox anything from
5 dollar phones to Nintendo shoes or phone
cases with tazers.
And second, they have to make the otherwise
boring act of opening up a box interesting.
That takes some real entertainment skills,
which, as it turns out only a few YouTubers
have.
And they need to do both of those again and
again and again.
Alright, how do you feel about Unboxings?
As always I have put together a poll on Twitter,
which you can find in the description of this
video, so go there and cast your votes.
While you are at it, follow me on my social
media channels, cause that's where I hang
out!
Subscribe for future episodes and watch previous
episodes, because they are all still relevant.
So binge watch them!
