Online humor site JibJab, which is behind ElfYourself and loads of other zany videos has hit a big milestone: it’s now processing one million paid transactions per year. That’s big news for the company, which pivoted in late 2007 from an ad-supported business to one that generates revenue primarily through premium services and downloads.
JibJab earns money through a few channels. First, it offers a premium membership for $12/year that gives members access to its full range of customizable “Starring You” videos, which let you insert your friends’ faces into funny video clips like the site’s amazing take on the original Star Wars Trilogy . Membership also gives you access to all Ecards and ‘Everyday Fun’ messages. Unpaid users have access to some of this content, but much of it is reserved for premium members.
If users want to download their custom videos they can do that too for a few dollars (premium members get a discount on downloaded goods). Finally, the site also sells physical goods emblazoned with photos of you and your friends.
CEO Gregg Spiridellis declined to break down how many transactions each of these revenue streams accounted for, but he did say that the site is seeing 2x growth in terms of premium transactions since last year. You can see Spiridellis talk more about this in the interview above. JibJab has raised $16.9 million since 2006.
JibJab is a digital entertainment studio that creates, produces and distributes things that make people laugh. In 1999, brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis saw an opportunity to create a new entertainment brand based on two emerging trends. First, off the shelf software was leveling the playing field for creators. Meaning the tools needed to produce high quality productions were no longer the exclusive domain of megamedia conglomerates that could afford mega-million budgets. Second, the Internet offered independent creators...
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