The Playlist video player is the top-earning video player we offer, accounting for 90% of a site’s video revenue on average, and boosting RPM by 25-35% for sites not running any other video ads.
In this article:
- What is the Playlist video player?
- How the Playlist video player makes money
- How the Advance Playlist feature works
- Where does the Playlist player show up on your site?
- How to remove the Playlist player from a specific post or page
- How to show the Playlist player video at the top of the page on mobile
- How to customize the Playlist video player heading
- How to add a single video to your playlist
- How to add multiple videos to your playlist
- How many videos do you need in your playlist?
- What type of videos should you include in your playlist?
- Can you create more than one playlist?
- The top-earning settings for the Playlist player
- How to see your Playlist player earnings
What is the Playlist video player?
The Playlist player cycles through a list of videos you’ve added to a playlist, and it automatically displays on all posts on your site unless you’ve turned it off for a specific page.
When a reader scrolls past the player, it becomes “sticky, " meaning it stays visible as they scroll down the page.
How the Playlist video player makes money
Ads show between videos in the Playlist player. By default, the player moves to the next video after 30 seconds if the reader has not interacted with the video player. This boosts your earning potential even further and allows you to share fresh video content that your readers may be more interested in.
Here’s how Advance Playlist works:
1. If a reader hasn’t interacted with the video player* by the 25-second mark of the video, two buttons show up on the player's right side — Next and Stay.
If the reader presses Next, the player moves to the next video in the playlist, serving a pre-roll ad first. If the reader presses Stay, the buttons disappear, and the video keeps playing.
*The buttons won’t appear if the reader has interacted with the player in any way — including pausing, turning the volume up or down, turning closed captions on or off, or even just tapping the video on mobile to pull up the controls.
2. If the reader doesn’t press either button or interact with the player within 5 seconds, the player will move on to the next video in the playlist, serving a pre-roll ad first.
3. This process repeats for the next video in the playlist.
For readers who haven’t engaged with the video showing so far, it’s a way to show them fresh video content that they may be more interested in.
Where does the Playlist player show up on your site?
The Playlist player automatically shows up on most pages of your site. Our ad code tells this video player to load on pages on your site based on body classes our team sets up on the back end and where on the page to display.
This video player earns the most ad revenue when it appears high in your post content, allowing it to autoplay and stick to the side of the screen soon after the reader begins scrolling through your article.
Contact support if you want the video player to load in a different place on the page.
How to remove the Playlist player from a specific post or page
If your site uses WordPress, you can tell the automatically-inserted Playlist video player not to load on a specific post or page.
1. In the WordPress editor, scroll down below the content.
2. In the section titled “Raptive Ads”, you’ll find a checkbox to disable certain types of ads.
3. Check the box* for "Disable auto-insert video players." This will tell the Playlist video Player (and the Sticky Outstream video player, if applicable) not to display on that page.
*You will need to check this specific box even if you’ve checked the “Disable all ads” box — that setting only controls display ads, not video players.
4. [Optional] Choose a date in the "Re-enable ads on" field, to re-enable the Playlist video player on a future date.
If your site doesn’t use WordPress, our team can remove the video player from a specific page/post or provide a code snippet for you to remove the video player. Just submit a ticket here.
Show the Playlist player video at the top of the page on mobile for higher ad revenue
By default, the Playlist video player sticks to the top of the screen on mobile once a reader scrolls past the player.
Testing shows this location is less annoying to readers, leading to 80% lower close rates and 2.2x more time spent with the video on screen for a 2-3% overall RPM boost.
If your video player isn’t showing up at the top on mobile, choose this location on the Ad Preferences page in your dashboard.
How to customize the Playlist video player heading
Your Playlist video player will display under the heading, “My Latest Videos”. Contact us if you’d like to customize the wording of this heading or remove it.
Remove the Playlist player video title wrapper for higher ad revenue
The Playlist video player can display the title of whatever video is running inside the player at that moment, but the player earns even more with no title displaying.
Why? Research shows that fewer than 1% of readers click on this part of the video player called the “title wrapper.” Video players with no title wrapper get closed 32% less frequently.
Turn the Playlist video player title wrapper off via Ad Preferences in your dashboard for a 5-6% increase in video revenue.
Building your video playlist
Learn more about Playlist Management in this article.
How to add a single video to your playlist
Option 1: Hover over the video and select “Playlist.” Here you can quickly add a video to a premade playlist.
Option 2: Hover over the video and select “Details.” Scroll down to Video Settings. You can create a new playlist or select a previously made one.
How to add multiple videos to your playlist
Option 1: Select the videos you want to include in the playlist and click “Add to Playlist.” You can then choose from a list of your premade playlists
Option 2:
Within the playlist, select “Add New Videos.” Select the videos you want to add and click “Save.”
How many videos do you need in your playlist?
The overall number of videos in your playlist does not matter for revenue. You’ll earn the same with a small number of videos as you will with a large number of videos because the revenue comes from the ads that show in between videos.
We suggest choosing a small handful of your best videos to show in the playlist.
What type of videos should you include in your playlist?
Each video in your Playlist video player has the exact same earning potential as long as the reader doesn’t close the video player.
Choose videos that will engage your readers and provide a good preview of the type of content you provide on your site, but don’t worry too much about which videos to include or exclude.
Can you create more than one playlist?
Yes! You can learn more about how to create and manage multiple playlists in this article.
The top-earning settings for the Playlist player
- The Playlist player should start playing high in the post content on all posts and pages. Contact us to make any adjustments to where your Playlist player displays.
- The Playlist player should stick to the top of the screen on mobile. Choose this location on the Ad Preferences page.
- Remove the video title wrapper. Streamline your video player by removing the video title. Readers are less likely to close the minimal video player, so you earn more from video ads. Select this on the Ad Preferences page.
How to see your Playlist player earnings
In the “Earnings” section of your dashboard, select “Earnings Overview” for a report on your video revenue for whatever time period you select at the top of the page.