Lon Seidman may not run the biggest tech gadget YouTube channel in the world – his Lon.TV account boasts a solid 365,000 subscribers – but he has carved out a significant and successful media business. His secret? A laser focus on reviewing everyday, high-volume products that might not be glamorous, but consistently drive affiliate sales through platforms like YouTube and Amazon Video.
In a recent interview, Lon Seidman shared the inner workings of his strategy: from selecting the right products for review and optimizing affiliate links, to his growing interest in decentralized platforms. Let’s delve into the key insights from this conversation.
Lon Seidman on his YouTube channel Lon.TV, reviewing tech gadgets in his studio setup.
Lon.TV’s YouTube Channel Strategy: Focusing on Practical Tech
Lon Seidman’s journey as a tech gadget reviewer began in 2012 with the launch of his YouTube channel. From the outset, Lon’s strategy has centered on providing reviews of tech products, particularly those that are affordable and accessible to the average consumer. While certain trending topics might generate fleeting spikes in viewership, Lon recognized early on that in-depth, honest product reviews were the consistent revenue drivers. This approach extends to Amazon, where he also posts reviews, leveraging their robust affiliate program to monetize his content.
When it comes to choosing which products to review, Lon employs a strategic approach rooted in data and market understanding. He prioritizes products with high search volume and affordability, while consciously avoiding overcrowded, hyper-competitive niches. Rather than chasing the latest flagship gadgets, Lon often focuses on products that are slightly older but still highly relevant to his audience’s needs. This could include essential tech like printers, modems, or practical accessories. A key component of his review philosophy is demonstrating the product in real-world use and delivering unbiased, truthful assessments, fostering trust with his viewers.
“I learned early on that if you’re a commodity content creator like I am, and people are not coming to you to begin with, then what you have to do for content is something that people might be looking for. So you have to talk about products that have a high search volume.” – Lon Seidman
Lon illustrates this point with the changing dynamics of the laptop market. Pre-pandemic, laptop reviews were a cornerstone of his channel, providing consistent engagement and affiliate revenue. However, as market saturation increased post-pandemic, interest in laptop reviews waned. Adapting to this shift, Lon pivoted to emerging product categories, such as mini PCs, recognizing a renewed interest in this niche. This adaptability, driven by monitoring viewer behavior and search trends, is crucial to Lon’s content strategy. He emphasizes the importance of reviewing products from established brands readily available in major retail outlets, ensuring relevance and searchability. While niche hardware, like retro gaming products, holds appeal for specific audiences, Lon primarily targets consumer products with broad market representation.
Diversifying Revenue Streams Beyond YouTube AdSense
While YouTube AdSense provides a foundational income stream, Lon Seidman has strategically diversified his monetization methods. Sponsored walkthroughs, affiliate links, channel memberships, and merchandise sales all contribute to a more robust and resilient business model. Lon operates a self-hosted e-commerce site for merchandise, currently transitioning to a new provider to optimize this aspect of his business. Transparency and viewer trust are paramount in his sponsored content. Lon emphasizes delivering genuine value in sponsored reviews, ensuring alignment with his audience’s interests and maintaining his credibility.
Affiliate marketing, particularly through Amazon’s program, is a significant revenue pillar for Lon. He navigates Amazon’s specific guidelines, such as restrictions on mentioning prices directly in videos due to price fluctuations. This often requires careful video editing to comply with Amazon’s policies while still providing essential information to YouTube viewers who expect price context. Lon also addresses challenges like automated content moderation on Amazon, where barcodes might trigger takedowns due to perceived privacy risks. Despite these hurdles, the profitability of Amazon’s affiliate program makes the extra effort worthwhile. While occasionally creating Amazon-exclusive video content, Lon primarily focuses on cross-posting reviews across both YouTube and Amazon Video to maximize reach and revenue.
“Amazon’s been so good that it’s worth doing that extra amount of work to do it.” – Lon Seidman
A key advantage of the Amazon affiliate program, as Lon points out, is that commissions aren’t limited to the reviewed product alone. Viewers who click affiliate links often purchase related or unrelated items during the same shopping session, generating broader affiliate revenue. This “halo effect” of affiliate links significantly enhances monetization potential.
Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Affiliate Marketing Challenges
Lon candidly discusses the evolving challenges within affiliate marketing. Acquiring products for review, whether through self-purchase or brand partnerships, remains a constant consideration. The limitations of YouTube’s native affiliate program and the restrictions on external linking in YouTube Shorts pose ongoing obstacles. The shift in YouTube Shorts’ linking policy, where external links in descriptions are no longer clickable, directly impacted Lon’s strategy for short-form content. A dedicated Shorts channel, intended to capitalize on quick reviews with affiliate links, saw its effectiveness diminished by this policy change. Adapting to these platform-driven changes and broader market trends is a continuous process in Lon’s business.
Optimizing Content for Search and Viewer Engagement
Search engine optimization (SEO) is integral to Lon’s content strategy. He emphasizes the importance of crafting specific, keyword-rich video titles and utilizing chapter markers with timestamps to improve search visibility on YouTube and Google. While thumbnails play a crucial role in attracting clicks, Lon acknowledges the ongoing challenge of creating consistently effective thumbnails that resonate with viewers and accurately represent video content.
Lon leverages AI tools, specifically ChatGPT, to streamline content creation for his blog. Transcripts of his video reviews are used as a basis for generating blog posts. While AI provides efficiency, Lon emphasizes the essential step of human editing and personalization. He refines the AI-generated text to align with his voice, adds further insights, and ensures accuracy before publishing. This blog, featuring embedded video content, serves as a valuable extension of his YouTube channel, catering to audiences who prefer reading reviews. By syndicating blog content via an email newsletter, Lon further expands his reach and audience engagement. The blog’s growing organic traffic from Google search, currently at 15,000 to 20,000 monthly clicks, demonstrates the effectiveness of this multi-platform content strategy.
“I have Chat GPT actually take the transcript and write me out a blog post…I’ll go in and put it in my voice a little better, add some things, take some things out…” – Lon Seidman
Exploring Decentralized Platforms and the Future of Content Ownership
Lon is keenly aware of the limitations and potential risks associated with relying solely on centralized platforms like YouTube. He has explored alternative platforms like TikTok and Instagram, but finds their current monetization and external linking capabilities less suitable for his affiliate-driven business model. However, Lon sees significant potential in decentralized platforms like Mastodon and PeerTube as viable alternatives to traditional social networks and video-sharing platforms.
He highlights the inherent value of personality-driven content and the trust built between creators and their audience. Lon believes this human connection is difficult for generative AI to replicate, suggesting a degree of resilience for content creators like himself in the face of AI advancements. He emphasizes the trust viewers place in his honest reviews, particularly when researching purchasing decisions for tech products like televisions.
Lon discusses the cyclical nature of the web, from decentralized websites to centralized platforms, and the emerging pushback against platform dominance. Algorithm changes on platforms like YouTube, which can negatively impact creator visibility, further fuel the desire for content ownership and control. He notes the decreasing costs of bandwidth and self-hosting, making decentralized alternatives increasingly feasible. Lon has experimented with running a PeerTube server, appreciating its decentralized video distribution model and peer-to-peer bandwidth sharing, which reduces server load and promotes community-driven content delivery. His vision for the future includes a more decentralized content ecosystem that empowers creators and levels the playing field, reducing reliance on platform algorithms.
Building Direct Audience Relationships and Community
Building direct relationships with his audience is a priority for Lon. Email newsletters serve as a crucial tool for maintaining direct communication and audience retention, despite the challenges of growing subscription lists. Lon recognizes the potential of platforms like Substack for fostering direct audience relationships and content ownership. He emphasizes the importance of adapting to evolving algorithms and market trends while prioritizing audience trust and building a sustainable, diversified content business. Ultimately, Lon Seidman’s success story underscores the power of niche focus, adaptability, and a commitment to providing valuable, trustworthy content in the ever-changing digital landscape.
