Squarespace has added a new tool to its website builder – the ability to monetize video content.
Squarespace customers will be able to sell their videos for a one-time fee, or even set up a recurring subscription for them. The videos will be hosted by Squarespace directly.
Customers will be able to add 30 minutes of video for free, with content exceeding this only accessible to paying Squarespace users.
Squarespace Adds Video Monetization Tools
Videos can now be monetized on Squarespace-created websites through its Member Area portal, a tool that was added in 2020 and intended as a way for website creators to offer paid content for their customers.
Squarespace creators will now be able to sell access to video content, either with a one-time charge, or with a recurring fee. The tool allows a high level of customization for videos, including the ability to adapt titles, URLs, thumbnails, metadata and more.
The video content is hosted natively on Squarespace itself, but it also supports eternally hosted videos on YouTube and Vimeo.
How Much Will Video Monetization Cost?
All Squarespace customers will have access to the video tools, but the level of access depends on the tier which they are subscribed to.
Everyone across all plans can upload 30 minutes of high resolution video to their site. If you want to do more than this though, you’ll need to start paying.
Video monetization is available to those with Members Area access – an add on product for Squarespace subscriptions.
Squarespace plans start at $14, for the Personal tier, and its Business tier is set at $23 per month. There are more advanced options too – both Basic and Advanced Commerce are intended for those looking to create an ecommerce site, at $27 p/m and $49 p/m respectively.
To gain access to those video monetization tools, you’ll need to add on the Members Area too. This starts at $9, increasing to $35 depending on the number of members areas and video storage required.
Here’s a breakdown of the Squarespace pricing plans:
| Plan | Price paid annually The price per month you'll pay if you choose to be billed annually | Price paid monthly The price per month you'll pay if you choose to be billed monthly | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest Plan  | | Cheapest Ecommerce Plan | | |
| Squarespace | Squarespace | Squarespace Commerce | Squarespace Commerce | |
| Personal | Business | Basic | Advanced | |
Does My Business Need Video Content?
There are 244 million people in the US alone watching video content, making it a huge market that is hard to ignore for any business. In addition, 54% of users are looking for more video content from their favorite brands and businesses.
Unlike copy on a standard web page, videos are also great at communicating your brand’s message in seconds, and are easily shareable on social media, be it TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, or wherever your main audience is.
In fact, we predict that one of the main social media trends in 2022 will be a meteoric rise of video marketing from brands large and small, leveraging short form video content to deliver a sales pitch in seconds.
Tools such as Squarespace’s video monetization means that everyone can get in on the act, even the smallest business, generating the ability to make money from video content without no technical knowledge required.
