The tides are swelling for social media video skits, and the seasons favor players in the video streaming business. While social media users laugh at comedy skits on their smartphones, skit-makers are raking in millions of naira on a monthly basis. Just by standing before a camera to video some funny performance, skit-makers across Nigeria are emerging millionaires on the economic landscape.

1. Make money with social media video skits

If your brick-and-mortar business or online freelancing services are drying up, going into social media video skits can make you a millionaire within three – six months. It is stress-free, legitimate, fun, and creativity-based. So long you can put up an entertaining performance in front of a camera; you are set to become a celebrity millionaire.

List of some top comedy skit-makers in Nigeria

• Macaroni (real name – Adebowale Adedayo)
• Maraji (real name – Gloria Oloruntobi)
• Isbae U (real name – Adebayo Ridwan Abidemi)
• MC Lively (real name – Michael Sani Amanesi)
• Taaooma (real name – Greene Maryam Apaokagi)
• Oga Sabinus (real name – Chukwuemeka Emmanuel Ejekwu)
• Brain Jotter (real name – Chukwuebuka Amuzie)
• Lasisi Elenu (real name – Nosa Afolabi)
• Woli Agba (real name – Ayo Ajewole)
• Broda Shaggi (real name – Samuel Animashaun Perry)
• Cute Abiola (real name – Abdulgafar Ahmad Oluwatoyin)
• KieKie (real name – Bukunmi Adeaga)
• Zicsaloma (real name – Aloma Isaac Junior)
• Nas Boi (real name – Nasiru)
• Others are Abiri, De General, Twyse, Craze Clown, Sydney Talker, Real Warri Pikin, etc.

Social media platforms from which to earn revenue with your skits

• Facebook
• TikTok
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Twitter (now X)

How to become an outstanding content creator on social media

Most social media skit-makers have certain qualities in common, and you must have variations of these to enable your videos to generate sustainable revenue for you. To be a compelling content creator, you must:

• Devise creative ways to make your performance unique
• Be a laughter merchant with rib-cracking jokes
• Be able to mimic people and events with funny facial expressions
• Explore current situations to pique people’s interests
• Be able to adopt various personalities and play different roles
• Focus on a niche – satire, religion, romance, money, etc.

How to make money and succeed at social media video skits

Follow these steps with consistency to be able to make money and become a social media influencer in your skit-making endeavor:

• Develop your acting skills – in film school or a local drama group.
• Create social media accounts – to upload your video skits.
• Choose a stage name for all your social media videos.
• Acquire or rent filming equipment – cameras (or smartphones), gimbal, lighting, microphones, smartphone/laptop, and editing apps or software.
• Shoot your movie skits and upload them to your social media platforms.
• Collaborate with other skit-makers or movie actors.
• Upload 2-3 videos every week for the first three months – be consistent and persistent.

If your social media video skits remain engaging and compelling – and with patient consistency over some months – you may soon become a sought-after TV personality, brand influencer, product ambassador, and celebrity content creator. You must monetize your social media channels to make money out of your content, and you can partner with major businesses to promote their brands in exchange for payments in your skits.

2. Upload short films to Netflix and make money

Here, we shall cover several video streaming platforms where you can upload content and make money. The era of selling movies on DVDs is fast eroding, the big money is now in content streaming platforms. In these digital times, movie producers market their films on video streaming platforms, and music promoters/artists sell their music on audio music platforms.

Since many comedians and social media skit-makers ultimately get featured in mainstream movie productions, you might want to know how to make money from producing and uploading feature movies on digital platforms. Here are some movie streaming platforms where you can earn significant revenue with your films – depending on your country of residence:

• Netflix
• Hulu
• HBO Max
• Amazon Prime
• ShowTime
• YouTube
• iTunes
• Vimeo
• VHX
• Gumroad

How to make money from your feature films or short movies online

There are several models for selling your short movies or lengthy feature films online. Some platforms allow you to upload and set your desired price for your movies, and others enable you to charge a rental fee from people watching the films. It is also possible to get paid after consumers download your content to their digital devices.

It must be pointed out that some video marketing platforms charge you a monthly or annual fee to upload and host your movies – sometimes as low as $15 subscription per month. Other platforms allow you to upload your video films for free while earning recurring revenue from them. If you want a free platform where you can monetize your videos, then think of YouTube.

Make money from Netflix movies

While there are many video streaming platforms that can pay you for hosting your video content or movies, let’s focus on Netflix since it is apparently the most popular out there. Given that more than 30 million customers are subscribed to the platform, getting your content on Netflix does not only give you global exposure and validation, it also puts big money in your bank account.

To improve your chances of getting your movies on Netflix, here are the major steps you must take:

• Work with a sales agent or movie distributor to get your movie on Netflix. You can’t pitch directly to Netflix; they accept pitches and content through licensed agents and distributors. Your chosen agent must have a proven relationship with Netflix and be able to negotiate terms on your behalf.
• To improve your chances with an agent or distributor, your movie must have generated a buzz across the country or super-engaging on social media platforms such as YouTube. The more popular the movie is after post-production, the higher the likelihood that your targeted agent will agree to pitch it.
• To get your distributor interested and pique Netflix’s interest, the movie must not only capture national or regional attention on social media and on mainstream media, it must also focus on a popular subject such as human trafficking, ethnic history, and social concerns among others, as well as feature popular figures and influencers for marketing purposes.
• Figure out a way to make your movie fill a gap in Netflix’s library, boost the platform’s subscriber base or retain current customers.
• Your chosen movie sales agent or distributor must have a working relationship with Netflix, guide you on your marketing goals, thrash out the costs associated with hosting the content, negotiate revenue and terms of engagement, and be completely honest and transparent in all dealings connected with your business.

While licensing fees will have to be paid for an exclusive deal that covers two or more years, your distributor must help you achieve worldwide licensing rights for your content, obtain video files and associated files, as well as getting the movies encoded according to the technical specifications required by Netflix.

In the rare case that your movie pitch with Netflix is declined, your distributor should help negotiate with other Netflix alternatives to sell your movies. But if you are lucky and your movie is accepted, you can expect to earn between $10,000 and $90,000 for your content – subject to various factors – if you are in Africa, but producers in the US earn millions of dollars on their movies.

Popular Nigerian movies on Netflix

While there are hundreds of African movies on Netflix, here are a few Nigerian movies to motivate you to get listed on the platform:

• Lion Heart
• Blood Sisters
• Rattlesnake – The Ahanna Story
• The Man of God
• Ayinla
• Bigger than Africa
• Amina
• Fine Wine
• Swallow
• King of Boys
• Namaste Wahala
• The Set Up
• October 1
• A Sunday Affair
• Dark October
• Anikulapo
• Elesin Oba
• Alakada Reloaded
• Last Flight to Abuja, etc.

If you work hard at it, your short movie or feature-length film may be the next one to be hosted on Netflix – making you a millionaire in months. And without Netflix, you can still achieve millionaire and celebrity status if you invest all your creativity and resources into creating superlative social media video skits. Now stop reading! And get to work on your next digital movie for your global audience.

Photo by Steven Van on Unsplash