WoodMarvels.com hits 1 Million total video views!

I’ve been blogging my experiences with WoodMarvels.com since the very beginning (Official Launch was October 19th, 2007). Back then, I had a clear vision that each and every product on the site needed to have a 3D animation showcasing how things went together… this was part marketing, part education.

Hitting 1 Million Views

I had several e-mails since I launch the site from people saying why I bother making these animations… why not just make things cheaper instead! Well, almost since I started the first 3D assembly animation, there has been a consistent 35-40% of people who find the site from the videos alone. How do I know this? Because, they are putting WoodMarvels.com (and variations) in their search engine keywords which I can see in my stats. You can’t find what you don’t know! This excludes direct traffic but it does tell you the growing power of video and how important it can be to a startup.

The hard numbers

I track several sites to see how things are going on the video front and today it’s finally hit one million video views! This includes a little 3DMarvels.com and i3DS.com animations but the numbers are so minor as to be insignificant. WoodMarvels.com makes-up well over 95% of all the videos in my accounts if not more.

YouTube: 518 272
Youku: 34 716
Vodpod: 5 276
Tu.tv: 43 029
Blip.tv: 47 440
TubeMogul: 332 466 (includes dozens of other third party video sites)
Todou: 18 963

Total: 1 000 162

Keep in mind that I find my videos on many other sites, so I hit a million a while back but not for the sites that I take the time to track.

How many videos have been made?

Roughly 350 out of the 389 uploaded are WoodMarvels.com but the WoodMarvels.com videos get by far the most views as the site is established. I expect 3DMarvels.com to grow even faster as I’ve learned a lot since my first videos!

What does this tell me?

• Video marketing WORKS but it’s a numbers game
• Viral videos (I’ve had no SO FAR) just happen, it’s like getting struck by lightning so you can’t have virality as your goal, just work consistently and overtime, you’ll read very respectable numbers.
• If you have a unique product, video is by far the best way to grow an audience of potential customers and the cheapest (if you do it yourself).
• Videos are ALWAYS working, 24 hours a day, all year so even if I stop making them, new people are finding them all the time.
• Videos creates synergy with SEO, SEM in addition to customers.
• Videos save a company money and time, as customers discover for themselves how things fit together.
• Videos are the most efficient method of providing information to a prospective client.

Which video is my favorite?

I have a lot of videos but I still absolutely love watching my Medieval Castle Walls B animation… perfect synergy!

The music and visuals fit so perfectly together! I just can’t bring myself to update it to a higher resolution… why mess with perfection?