Interview: Ismail Akwei on importance of GhanaWeb Reporter to YouTubers

Ismail Akwei is the editor-in-chief at AfricaWeb, a company that democratizes news and information through its online news platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa including GhanaWeb.com, CamerounWeb.com, MyNigeria.com and TanzaniaWeb.com.

Ismail is among the speakers at The YouTube Creators Festival, a three-day convention that will bring all content creators across the region to engage, educate and inspire in the global YouTube community.

The conference will be climaxed with the Creators Awards night & Concert, which will recognize hard-working and influential content creators in Ghana. The festival is powered by Entamoty With several local & international partners.

You are one of the speakers at The YouTube Creators Festival in Accra. How important is the festival and why should people attend?

YouTube is the second biggest social network in the world after Facebook. Missing a convention of YouTubers anywhere in the world is like denying yourself a piece of the digital pie of the future. Being at the YouTube Creators Festival will open doors to participants who want to succeed and be digitally impactful on YouTube.

Can you tell us a bit more about GhanaWeb Reporter and where it stands?

GhanaWeb Reporter has niche blogs for content creators and they are able to publish directly onto the Wall of GhanaWeb without any screening. There are currently over a hundred active blogs on the platform and payments of over 12,000 Ghana cedis have been made since its official launch on March 29, 2022.

As a speaker at the festival, what are you going to say about GhanaWeb Reporter?

The GhanaWeb Reporter is a window of opportunity for YouTubers who wish to organically appeal to an audience in Ghana. GhanaWeb has that audience and the Reporter allows content creators to share their videos with the GhanaWeb audience and also earn some revenue from the content they publish. Even a day-old YouTuber can earn faster than they would on YouTube.

Bloggers are already quite active with GhanaWeb Reporter. Why is GhanaWeb Reporter popular with the Ghanaian blogger scene?

Bloggers used to sign up for a WordPress site and then pay for the domain name and hosting. After all these expenses, they fail to get traffic to their blogs which affects the impact they make. With the introduction of the GhanaWeb Reporter, the bloggers got attached because it was a tool that served their needs of getting a wider audience and being paid for their hard work.

What makes GhanaWeb Reporter important for content creators on Youtube?

Content creators on YouTube also need more views for their content to thrive. The GhanaWeb Reporter has the audience and with a blog on the platform, YouTube videos can be shared to GhanaWeb and the content creators get to be paid on GhanaWeb while they grow their numbers concurrently on YouTube. Early content creators can earn on GhanaWeb Reporter until they hit the threshold to make money concurrently on YouTube.

What has been the experience of GhanaWeb TV with content creation on Youtube?

GhanaWeb TV is GhanaWeb's online TV that promotes content including news and programmes. Content creators on YouTube can take advantage of the reach GhanaWeb has to promote their content on GhanaWeb TV. It serves as another distribution channel to increase their views.

GhanaWeb TV is supported by Age Africa Agency as a YouTube MCN. What did the cooperation bring to you?

Age Africa Agency as a YouTube MCN has introduced diverse content onto GhanaWeb TV and that has increased the Ad inventory available to GhanaWeb and also generated direct advertising revenue for the channels they manage. It is a win-win cooperation for all parties involved (GhanaWeb TV, Age Africa Agency and the content creator).

What, in your opinion, are the most obvious opportunities for content creators on Youtube in Ghana?

The obvious opportunity for YouTube creators in Ghana is to join the Age Africa Agency's MCN and get access to GhanaWeb's resources to create impactful content and get their channel's growth and monetization managed professionally.

Statistics indicate that YouTube represents 69.7 percent of the total internet usage in Ghana with the number of registered users growing rapidly by the day. How can content creators leverage this penetration to commercialize their content?

By joining the Age Africa Agency, content creators benefit from partner management, digital rights management, and sales and audience development. Age Africa Agency in partnership with GhanaWeb will get advertisers to pay for services including overlay adverts, product placement and in-show sponsorships on the creator's content. They are also assured of 4 streams of revenue: programmatic revenue, direct revenue, native revenue and revenue from third-party uploads.

If YouTube creators are interested in order to become a GhanaWeb Reporter, what should they do?

1. Download the GhanaWeb App on an Android phone or iPhone

2. Register

Open the App on your phone and tap on the Member button at the bottom of your screen to register with your phone number or Email.

3. Get verified

Follow the two-step verification process to prove your identity. Create your profile by typing your name and uploading your image. Click Save.

4. Apply for a blog

After verification, fill out this form to officially apply for a Professional Reporter Account which will be created by GhanaWeb.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR A BLOG IF YOU ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT.