1. Get a YouTube Account

YouTube dominates the online video space. If you upload your videos to only one video network YouTube is your best bet. They are the biggest video platform online and serve over one billion videos daily. There is also significant niche traffic to be had by uploading Videos to numerous networks, and a great way to manage this is with a site called TubeMogul. TubeMogul is a video syndication service that allows you to distribute your videos to multiple video sites at once. TubeMogul also has built in analytics allowing you to see where your videos are being watched the most.

2. Be professional

You don’t need to be wearing a suit and tie but at least remember to shave. If you want to produce a Viral Video you probably won’t do it looking like a slob. Find yourself a good professional setting. I just use a couch but it works for me because that is where I feel most relaxed, which brings me to my next point.

3. Get comfortable

Video Blogging is a little nerve racking, so it helps to be comfortable. Find the place where you feel most comfortable, your favorite couch or chair perhaps, and get set up. Plenty of light is also a necessity, but not so much that it feels unnatural. Personally I prefer to record when no one is around so I can focus on the video at hand and not what others in the immediate area are thinking about what I am doing.

4. Make sure your batteries are charged

Real simple suggestion here. It sucks if you get into a good dialogue and it is cut off mid sentence due to a failing battery. Then the battery need to be charged, or an AC adapter attached, and the entire flow is interrupted.

5. Use a script

Having a script makes the production process significantly less stressful. Knowing exactly what you want to say before you say it allows you to focus on delivery when the camera is rolling. It is best to look at the camera as much as possible so point form might suffice so that you can ensure you achieve the best results possible.

6. Remember that YouTube has a 10 minute video limit

Even though they support HD Video YouTube still implements a 10 minute video length cap. If your plan is to create a video longer than 10 minutes you will need to chop it up into pieces so that each file you upload is at least 10 minutes or less.

7. Practice makes perfect

The more videos you are able to make the more natural it will feel for you to be in front of a camera. If you can break your video into sections this will allow you to do multiple takes for each section. If you were going to make a video of these tips, for example, the best way would be to record each tip separately several times and then take the best clip of each tip. With this method during the editing process you will simply need to determine the best take of each section and piece them together.

8. Use a Tripod

I bought a compact tripod from a local electronics store for only $15 and I use it almost everytime I shoot. I also had a HD tripod stand given to me and I use this as well for some scenes. A steady camera is a necessity so if you do not have a tripod handy ensure the person handling the camera is careful to hold it as still as possible.

9. Give yourself time to edit

The Photographer Thomas Hawk says that for about every ten pictures he takes he usually only keeps about one. With Video a similar rule applies. Shoot a lot, use a little.

10. Syndicate your video

If you are unfamiliar about how Podcasting works check out this tutorial about how to make a video podcast. Once you have created your video you can submit it to Podcastblaster and iTunes and it will be a registered podcasts.

Scobleizer Summarizes

Earlier this year I had a chance to visit Robert Scoble at his home. My cousin Luke even took Scobleizer surfing. Scoble is a really down to earth guy and in the video below he shares 5 of his best video blogging secrets.

Do you have a YouTube channel? If you do feel free to share it in the comments below.

A 10 Step Guide to Video Blogging


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

The Video Rant

Just because the rant is the easiest and most common video blog format, that doesn’t mean that it’s an instant success. Rather, a video rant should be (1) timely, (2) topical, and (3) between 30 and 90 seconds in length. You can go as high as 120 seconds, but the most successful online video rants are about 30 seconds long.

Here’s a good example of a video rant from Loren Feldman. It was cut around the time Facebook was really gaining popularity, is about how Loren doesn’t get why it’s so popular, and is 58 seconds long. And as you can see, the only editing is inserting a pre- and post-roll.

The How To Video

Videos that show audience members how to do something are great for both helping your audience achieve some goal, as well as generating more search engine traffic. When shooting how-to videos, you should include step-by-step shots of what you’re showing.

This video on how to escape from handcuffs is a great example of a how-to video. It’s short (1 minute, 12 seconds), and it features plenty of close-up shots of how the host escapes from the handcuffs. This helps viewers easily understand a mimic the video’s instructions.

The Screencast

Another variant of the how-to video, a screencast is super simple to pull off and is great for either showing your audience how to do something technical or for marketing a service or piece of software. Also, screencasts can be as long as you like, but you should really try to stick to the basic steps of what you’re trying to demonstrate. A good way to do this is to break your demonstration down into steps in advance, and maybe rehearse it a few times before recording your final product.

And when it comes to screencast software, there are many options. You can find a list of 10 frees screencast software choices here, but I personally recommend CamStudio

Here’s one excellent example of a screencast from the Google Analytics YouTube channel. In less than 60 seconds, it shows you how to grant other users access to your Google Analytics account.

Video Event Coverage

Covering events that are relevant to your audience can also be a great way to engage viewers. It allows you to (1) appeal to those who couldn’t be there, and (2) connect with those who were.

The easiest way to cover and event is to take footage throughout the event and then cut it into a montage of the event’s highlights. And an easy and fun way to get a lot of great event footage without missing out on the event itself is to pass your camera around to people you trust. This way, you’ll get a lot of different perspectives of the event, and even get to be in the video yourself.

Here’s an example of just such a video. It’s montage of the opening party of the first ever Podcamp Montreal. The inaugural Podcamp featured attendees that ranged from super-geek execs from Seesmic to rock star David Usher, so it was fun to (1) share the opening party with those who couldn’t make it and (2)document it for those who were there.

The Video Interview

Conducting video interviews on topics relevant to your audience is not only a great way to produce easy-to-edit video content, but also to attract links from both the interviewee and others who watch and share the video. It’s important, however, to make sure that both the interviewee and the what you discuss with them stays relevant to your audience.

This is an interview with Marc Poirier, founder of Acquisio, a company that develops PPC software and bid management tools. In it, Marc discusses PPC trends in 2009, and we shot if for the NVI search marketing blog, so it it was specifically tailored for it’s audience — i.e. we’re two search marketers discussing search engine marketing. Because it was also shot at SMX East 2009, a search marketing conference, it also doubles as even coverage.

The 5×5 Video

A video blog genre also known as the 5×5 Vignette, it consists in stringing together 5 shots that are 5 seconds long (hence the “5×5″ ). There’s often some underlying theme that ties the five shots together, like a particularly day in the video bloggers life, and this makes them great for creating supplemental content for you blog.

This is a 5×5 of a cooperative exercise between the Dutch, German and Belgian police forces, but you can find all kinds of 5×5s to inspire you on the 5×5 Vimeo Channel.

The Lip Dub Video

There are some pretty darn famous lip dubs out there, and I don’t mean Milli Vanilli. The Harvey Danger Flagpole Sitta lip dub is just one that comes to mind. Produced by the staff of Vimeo to market the video sharing site, it was a viral success and launched the site into the main stream.

The potential of lip dub videos is that they give you a chance to show off your personality, and as a result, really help build a bond with your audience. Here’s one my own favorite lip dubs of Melanie’s “Brand New Key.” Not only does it show how lip dubs don’t need to have the production crew behind them that the Flagpole Sitta one did, but that they are also a great way to help people smile when they’re feeling down in the dumps.

The Karaoke Video

Of course, if you have the pipes to back you up, you might forego the lip dub and strut your stuff, in hi def. To help you along in with your internet karaoke stardom, Online Karaoke Channel offers the largest library of karaoke downloads — some are free, and the rest are pretty reasonably priced. And if you’re not quite sure that you want to invest in a karaoke library yet, their karaoke YouTube channel features a few hundred uploads to help you acquire a taste for digital karaoke.

In addition to entertaining your viewers, doing karaoke will also help you content get found by new users searching for videos of popular songs. And as this rendition of Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face” demonstrates, it doesn’t take much editing at all.

The Parody

For video bloggers who are bit more “in your face,” there’s the parody. Now, with parody, you have to be careful what country you’re in, but the last time I checked, parody is protected by law in the US (where YouTube servers are housed). Now, I am not a lawyer, but from what I understand, this means that unless you say something that’s explicitly untrue and venture into the world of libel and slander, uploading your parodies to YouTube shouldn’t get you into any legal trouble.

When done well, moreover, parody can be a great instigator and piece of linkbait. It is also a genre that Loren Feldman has run with quite a bit. Although known more for his ock-puppet parodies of Shel Israel, he’s also done Dave Winer, Michael Arrington, and as this recent clip demonstrate, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

The Video Prank

Finally, there’s the video prankster. This doesn’t require any real editing, but it does take some imagination and planning. You also need an opportune place to hide the camera – somewhere where it (1) won’t be seen, (2) will have a good view of the victim, and (3) will be able to pick up everything being said. And if done right, you can end up with tons of views (like how the one below has over a million).

10 Simple Video Blog Ideas


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Video is considered as one of the best methods for communicating with audiences but there a lot of sites that use video and it not doing them any good.

I came across a website recently that was of a graphic designer. The trouble was that when I visited the homepage, on the right there was a video it made me check it out but it was not related to the graphic designer. It looked very good, I actually watched the whole thing and it was just over ten minutes long. I don’t often do that but this video was very creative and it captivated me. Having a video on your website is great but it has to be for the right reasons. When it is not your video or it is not about you then you should question why should you use it?.

After I had watched the video I simply closed the browser tab and carried on what I was doing. I was not engaged in the website or who it was about in fact I cannot remember who it was or anything about them or their work, all I can remember is the YouTube video they had on their site.

Some good reasons to use video on your website are for example to use video to draw in your visitor to show such things as an existing client using your product or service, tutorials, before and after showreels or to bring something to life so the visitor can see it for themselves in action.

Video is best for communicating a simple, convincing message

Another problem with some videos is that they can be overly long and can also be overly technical. A long video, even if it makes some really good points, drives people away. A good video will communicate what your business is about  and will further explain why someone should do business with you or engage with you on your blog.

Video blogging can be a great way of getting a message over to your visitor in a animated way either with you being filmed or with animated effects. How many of you do video blogging? Do you feel they are good or bad? Personally I feel they can be good but as I have explained above they can also drive your visitor away so don’t push them in your visitors face. I like ti when they are an option to view them rather than a necessity.

If you are going to use a video on your website make sure it is relevant to your site and does not drive your visitors away by being to long, too technical for your audeience or simply not engaging.

Using video on your website


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Some of the benefits of using TubeMogul:

• It saves you time by eliminating the hassle of having to upload videos to numerous sites individually plus, you can track all your videos in one central location.
• By taking advantage of the option to upload your videos to multiple sites, you can reach a larger audience and increase your viewership.
• The in-depth charts, graphs and analytics allow you to better understand your viewers so that your content can be more targeted towards their interests.
• The ability to share your data with others is a great addition to marketing campaigns and also nice for sending to interested advertisers and sponsors.
• The marketplace is a great place for potential advertising to find you.

Not only can you track your own videos and content on TubeMogul, but you can also track those from other video producers. Unfortunately, you can only follow up to five producers for free.

To do this, you simply need to choose which site the video or producer is on and then enter either their URL, username, or the video URL. If you choose, you can then put these videos and/or producers into custom groupings for comparing or just viewing all their stats at one glance. Once again, you can only create up to five groups. If you want to follow or create more than five, you will need to upgrade your account – which of course costs money.

The chart above is similar to part of what you will see on your dashboard. This chart can be edited to display any video or publisher that you’d like to track. Also, once your add your own videos, you’ll have the option to add those to the chart as well. From your dashboard, you will also be able to see stats at a glance of each videos and/or producer that you’re following. From there you can choose to view reports for each one individually. This can also be great for marketing purposes because you can see how your competition compares to you.

When uploading your video, you can enter metadata – title, tag, and description. You can also choose which sites you’d like the video to be uploaded to. After doing this, you will be able to keep track of the status of your videos per site. TubeMogul then stores the links and embed codes to all of your videos, making them easily accessible to you. Once your video has successfully been added to each site, you will also receive an email notifying you along with a link to the video on each site.

Once you fill out your profile you’ll need to verify your credentials for each account that you add. Doing this proves that you are who you say you are and ensures that your stats are reported accurately.

In your account settings you’ll also be able to keep track of how many videos you publish each month. You only can only publish 100 videos a month for free. If you are a power video publisher, you’ll need to upgrade to publish more than 100 videos per month.

There’s also the TubeMogul marketplace which, is great for advertising purposes. Your stats are displayed for potential advertisers to see. In the marketplace you can browse and search all users and also see who was recently added.

Lastly there are the email reports that you can choose to receive. It’s nice because you can pick and choose which reports you receive on a daily or weekly basis. As you can see below, not only can you get reports for your own content but also from the producers that you’ve bookmarked. Once again, this allows you to keep up with those competitors on a daily or weekly basis.

So as you can see, TubeMogul is a must use marketing tool for video publishers and those wanting to stay on top of their competition. I definitely feel that it can benefit video bloggers as well. If you are already a TubeMogul user, feel free to share your experiences with us in the comments. If not, is this something you plan on trying and utilizing for your videos?

Please let us know int he comments.

Publish and Track Videos While Saving Time With TubeMogul


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

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* You can check out more of my videos on my YouTube page.

How to Use Images in Video Blogs


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Name: Loren Feldman
Site URL: 1938Media.com
This tough talking New Yorker calls it like it is. Although he’s made a name for himself covering primarily tech, he doesn’t shy away from touching on larger pop-culture issues, and is best known for being controversial. In fact, his spoof on black tech bloggers cost him a contract with Podtech.

There are probably two major lessons that you can draw from Loren. First, you don’t need high-end equipment to blog. In fact, 99% of his clips are shot with the built in camera in a Mac. Second, being controversial (and even antagonistic) is fine so long as you’re interesting and know what you’re talking about. Loren regularly calls out others on their bulls**t. However, he only does so when it’s something that matters to his audience. Furthermore, he doesn’t over-step his bounds by treading on unfamiliar ground, and pretending to know about topics that he doesn’t.

Name: Jay Smooth
Site URL: IllDoctrine.com
Founder of NYC’s longest running hip-hop radio show and HipHopMusic.com, Jay Smooth discusses the implications of hip-hop in a larger pop-culture context. Rather than blindly evangelizing hip-hop music, he actually speaks with a voice of reason that’s nothing short of compelling. In fact, artists and mainstream commentators alike are vulnerable to both criticism and praise from Jay.

The most important video blogging lesson that you can learn from Jay Smooth is to apply your understanding of your audience to your final product. Jay doesn’t only resonate with his viewers (hip-hop fans) because he’s working to make sure that good apples of the industry don’t get lumped in with the bad. He also produces a product that mimics many of the very same characteristics of his topic: hip-hop music.

Jay’s clips are on the higher-end of the production scale, but that’s because his rants are cut up into punchy, syllogistic segments that lend them a lot of the same rhythm as a hip-hop track. Basically, he’s speaking to his audience in a style that they already relate to.

Name: Jay Grandin
Site URL: JayGrandin.com and Jay Video on MySpace
Now, this Jay is known for churning out random, sometimes slapstick comedy clips. They range anywhere from jolly rants about marketing bulls**t, to scripted skits about cultural stereotypes.

The kind of comedic talent that Jay Grandin employs is rare. What you can learn from him, however, is the importance of social media marketing and growing an online community.

Essentially, long before Jay Grandin hosted his own video blog, he was active on MySpace. There, he’d upload videos and network to publicize them. The result was a serious viral following. In fact, the response was so positive that before leaving for Europe, he put out a call on MySpace for places to stay. The result was that he found free room and board in London and Grenoble, Strasburg and Munich, and Gratz and Vienna.

Video Blogging Lesson from 3 Masters


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Video blogging needn’t be stressful. Generally, it’s pretty easy and fun to do. But we want results from it. We want to capture and hold our viewers’ attention and deliver strong value. More and more bloggers are getting into video, now. I think that’s wonderful, but it puts a little more pressure on us to do the best job we can with it.

7 Little Tips that Make a Big Difference in Video Blogging


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Since blogs are not mainstream media content, they conform to an entirely different set of standards than print media. Well, the same is true of video blogs: they’re not made-for-TV clips, and are governed by entirely different rules of quality.

A couple of weeks ago, I went over hardware and software basics for video blogging. My point was that you don’t need fancy euipment to video blog: any camera and some free software will do fine. Well, Dave Starr brought up an important point with the following comment:

One thing not mentioned here is, to my mind, the most difficult hurdle of all … and it can’t be solved with a piece of software.
[...]
Your video production must have a reason to be a video. So much of what I see being promoted as “video blogs” are just what the TV industry calls “talking heads”. If you watch TV … and most of us do … just watch something as mundane as the local news and notice that the camera never stays fixed on the “talent’s head” for more than few seconds at a time. Even if the commentator keeps talking, the view cuts away to the scene being talked about, people involved, even a map of the area, then comes back to the speaker only breifly …. and then on to something else.

Do _not_ just sit in front of a camera and talk … it will fall flat … because your viewers expect to see more than your face.

What Dave fails to appreciate is that anchormen have to conform to standards of objective journalism and are, therefore, chronically dry in their delivery. If we didn’t have the stock footage to break it up, we’d fall asleep before the next commercial break.

Where video blogging is different, is that (1) a video blogger can express themselves however they want, and (2) vlog posts should be short and sweet, so you have less time to lose your audience’s interest. The point is that just as video blogs aren’t television spots, vlogger and television producer are not the same job.

Take vlogger extraordinaire, Loren Feldman. He’s a talking head par excellence, and still gets more views than the History Channel online. Now consider what he said a couple of weeks ago:

99% of what I do is shot with the built in camera in a Mac. The other 1% is shot with bulls**t, consumer grade, you know, cameras — Casios. It doesn’t matter what cameras, it doesn’t matter what computer, [...] because the truth of the matter is that it’s not the equipment, it’s the athelete.

You know what I’m saying? That’s the problem with all these tech guys: they have all this equipment, and they think that they can tell a story.

Editing is a f**king art. Acting is a f**king art. Shooting is a f**king art. Um, and quite frankly, none of you guys have it unless you went to f**king film school, or acting school, or any of that stuff. It’s obvious.

I mean, look at Scoble: he’s got all this HD stuff, and blah, blah, blah… He can’t frame, he can’t do f**king anything, and it’s like that with most of you guys: you just don’t have talent. And it’s not going to matter what film you use, you undestand what I’m saying? It doesn’t matter what camera. That’s it. [,,,] I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is.

Now, Loren talks about editing and shooting, but his own repetoire of clips are pretty straight forward: an irate, bald, talking head gives you the low down on whatever. It’s his delivery that makes him what he is. He frames his shots so that they capture the his mood, and edits out all the superfluous ranting so that the clip cuts straight to the point.

The motion and emotion are all done with his face and tone. In other words, Loren appreciates the importance of showmanship, and that’s what video blogging is all about: showmanship.

Just because the root words of vlog is video and blog, that doesn’t mean that vlogging shares any of its fundamental principles with either of those media. To be a successful vlogger, you have to be a showman and create a spectacle, but you don’t do that by conforming to the standards of mainstream media video. You do it by having a personality.

You see, just like written blogs, the vast majority of video blogs suck. While poorly written blog can still enjoy SEO benefits because the search engines keep coming back to index the keyword intensive (albeit poorly written) content that’s updated regularly, a poorly produced video blog might not even show up in search engines’ video verticals. After all, the meta-info that you append to your clips are appended by the video host of your choice. So when people conduct searches for video on topics that you’ve vlogged about, it’s your YouTube or Blip.tv page that they’re going to find.

If you want to benefit from video blogging, then, you’ll have to be talented and interesting.

Video Blogging: Not Made for TV


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Despite what so many people think, the barriers to entering the world of video blogging is nearly non-existent. In fact, there are fewer barriers to video blogging than there are to podcasting, if only because you don’t have to worry about bandwidth.

The barriers that video blogging does share in common with podcasting, however, pertain to (1) hardware, and (2) editing software. You see, at the end of the day, you still have to capture the moment on film and, then, because video blogs should be between 1-2 minutes, you have to edit out some of the superfluous footage or redundant ranting.

Hardware
Plenty of folks subscribe to the ethos that something has to be perfect before it launches. Consequently, they never get their video blogging off of the ground because they assume it requires an expensive camcorder. However, what counts as perfect in the blogsphere is often not only different from the spic and span, polished image of the mainstream media, but at odds with it.

What I’m getting at, here, is that if you any kind of digital camera, you have everything you need to video blog. Personally, I oscillate between an old-school Kodak EasyShare DX7630 and a Canon PowerShot A560. I’m not sure of the model, but Loren Feldman uses $200 Casios when he’s not using the web cam built into his laptop.

The point is that you don’t have to go through the same problems that Vlad did with expensive camcorders. All you really need is a digital camera, camera phone, or web cam, and you’re all set.

Software
So once you’ve shot your piece, you have to bring it down to 1-2 minutes, and that takes some editing. In general, digital cameras record in one of two format: MOV and AVI. The software you’re going to use, however, is going to depend on two things: (1) your operating system, and (2) the file format in which you camera records.

If you’re running Windows, then chances are that you have Windows Movie Maker (WMM). This is an extremely user friendly software. As with all things Bill Gates, however, there are drawbacks. First, when WMM “exports” a file (i.e. when it saves an edited version of your clip), it does so in only in AVI or WMV format. This is not ideal because you want to be picked up by iTunes, and that requires that you provide a video enclosure that links to an MP4.

The second drawback of using WMM is that it cannot open the MOV file format. So if your camera records in this format, you’ll have to worry about getting software to convert the file format. Not only does this create an extra step, but it also tends to erode the quality of the video clip.

If you use a Mac, then you think that you’re better than everyone who uses a PC. Well, you’re right, but that’s not the point. The point is that you probably have iMovie. If for some reason you don’t, iMovie is only available as part of the iLIfe bundle which comes with five other applications and will set you back about $80 USD. Now, that’s not expensive as far as video editing software goes, but it’s a lot if you’re only interested in 1/6 of the software bundle.

Whether you’re stuck with WMM or have a Mac that didn’t come with iMovie, then, your next best choice is QuickTime Pro. This program will allow you to both open and “export” any kind of file format except for WMV. So as far as being able to create file formats to upload to a file host and offer to iTunes respectively, QuickTime Pro will cover all your bases.

However, Vimeo thinks it’s a rip-off, and it kind of is. It will run you $30 USD, so it doesn’t compare to the value of iLife. Even though you’re probably paying too much for what you get, at least you’re not paying for what you don’t need/want (as with the iLife bundle).

Another set back with QuickTime Pro is that it is not very user friendly. Figuring out how to create certain effects can be both time-consuming and difficult to figure out. I’ve been using it for a few months now, and I’m still stumbling on functionality that I think should be more readily accessible. Furthermore, although it can do a few things that WMM cannot do, there are a couple of things that WMM can do that QuickTime Pro cannot.

At the end of the day, however, whether you’re stuck with Windows or have a Mac that didn’t come with iMovie, QuickTime Pro is a perfectly reasonable compromise for routine video blogging, and it’s relatively inexpensive. Provided you already have some kind of digital camera or web cam, then, the only barrier to becoming a video blogger is about $30 USD.

Video Blogging Hardware and Software


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

With about a dozen decent alternatives to YouTube, however, deciding how to host you video content can be tough. At the end of the day, video bloggers should strike a healthy balance between bandwidth, distribution/reach, branding, and community. They can do this by choosing to upload their content to YouTube, Blip.tv, and whatever social network that they’re most active on.

Hosting and Bandwidth Bandit Costs
Becoming a popular producer of online content can be expensive. Every visitor to your site is an added strain on your bandwidth, and anyone who has exceeded their monthly bandwidth will tell you that this is where hosting providers make their money. The thing about video files, moreover, is that they’re a lot larger than text. So if you’re hosting your own video content, success can be one of the worse things to happen to your pocket book.

Indeed, this is precisely whey there was such a demand for video hosting/sharing sites. The average Joe/Jane just can’t afford a large audience for their video content. By letting in a middle-man, then, you drastically reduce the costs of video blogging. In fact, you make it affordable.

YouGooTube: The Video Giant
When most users think online video, YouTube is the first name that comes to mind. It is not only the number one destination for online video sharing, but allows users to customize the color scheme and URL structure of their “channels.”

As a video hosting solution, however, YouTube isn’t without its drawbacks. First, the resolution on their video players leaves something to be desired — i.e. it’s terrible. Secondly, the massive user base makes it nearly impossible to attract enough attention to build up your own brand.

Mind you, that very immensity also makes YouTube a must in video hosting. For starters, because it is the largest video sharing site, you cannot afford to pass up on YouTube’s potential reach. Secondly, few vloggers will seem reputable without a presence on YouTube. Finally, because YouTube is owned by Google, content on the site is regulalry indexed by Google. If you want search engine visibility, then, it is imperative that you upload content to YouTube and make sure that each clip is tagged appropriately (see Step #3 of 4 SEO Tips for Universal Search).

Blip.tv: Video Hosting for Vloggers
As far as video hosting sites go, there’s a reason why TechCrunch called Blip.tv “a great platform for videobloggers to host their content.” For starters, Blip.tv offers users a branded channel and social funcionality, just like YouTube. However, some added functionality makes it even more appealing.

First, the player that you embed on your own site is not branded. That is, rather than featuring the logo or look of something that Blip.tv is producing, it looks exactly as though you are hosting the content yourself.

Secondly, if you want, Blip.tv will take care of submitting your content to iTunes for you. This means that you don’t have to worry about including video enclosures of an MP4 version (see 5 Vlogging Basics) in your posts and then submitting your blog’s feed to iTunes. When it comes to actually publishing a video to your blog, this eliminates the rather tedious step of converting the file into an MP4 format that iTunes can pick up.

Finally, Blip.tv features an optional affiliate program that will run ads in your video player. Consequently, you can actually monetize your content if you choose to do so. There are four ad formats, moreover, so that vloggers have a selection from which to choose. If you’re not that fussy, finally, there’s an option to let Blip.tv implement a blend of the four.

Be Social
Blogging and vlogging are just part of the larger phenomenon of user generated content (UGC). It just so happens, moreover, that UGC is just part of the larger phenomenon of Web 2.0. In a nutshell, Web 2.0 is about being social and sharing. It’s no surprise, then, that (1) social networking has also been a huge part of Web 2.0, and (2) the most successful video hosting sites also feature a social element and sharing functionality.

If you’re active on any social network, then, it follows that you should probably be uploading your content there as well (or at least some of it). If you want to be taken seriously as a video vlogger and not just hobbyist, I wouldn’t recommend relying any any give social network to distribute your content. However, uploading your content to any given network will extend your potential reach.

For starters, it will expose those you are already connected with to your work. More to the point, however, it will allow those that discover your content to connect with you. By being able to connect with you on a peer to peer level, you will be able to establish a trust economy with your audience. After all, the marketing potential of social networks lies in the trust-based relationship that they enable you to establish with your audience.

Video Hosting: Where Vloggers Should Upload


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Now I’m not talking about looks, here. No, I’m talking about presence. You see, you might have interesting and original things to say, but if you don’t say them right, you’re just going to look like a jerk — meaning that no one is going to pay attention to you. For example, if you’re a brilliant thinker but not a writer, then you probably shouldn’t be blogging. When it comes to vlogging, then, you have to be a bit of showman.

In a word, vlogging is show business. It might be small time, but it’s a show just the same. After all, you’re getting up in front of the camera and showing the world what you got. If you want to make sure, then, that your audience likes what they see, you have to be a showman. There are a few tricks out there to being a good showman. Here are a few.

Use Your Face
You’re trying to be a vlogger, not a news anchor. Use facial expressions to emphasize points and talk to the camera like it’s one of your closest friends. One of the mistake that Michael Gray made in his inaugural vlog post was that he was as stiff and as deadpan as an opiated geriatric. The allure of vlogging is that it injects your content with personality and humanity. It does this, moreover, because of the talking head. If all that head does is talk, however, than it’s not much more than a podcast. If a picture is worth a thousand words, than so is a facial expression.

Know What You’re Going to Say (But Don’t Script It)
Whether you’re a blogger, vlogger, or podcaster, if you don’t have something unique or interesting to offer, no one is going to care about you. So before you film, plan out what you’re going to say. Do not, however, script it. Scripts are for actors. You’re supposed to be a showman. With a script on hand, it will be hard to resist reading off it and you’ll come off as jerky and unnatural — even if you’re well-versed in the topic. So before vlogging: 1) choose a topic, 2) decide what’s important about it, 3) pick a stance, 4) run through it in your head a couple time, and 5) just do it.

Shoot Now, Edit Questions Later
Once the camera starts rolling, follow it through until the end. Without a script, you might find yourself babbling or wanting to go back over topics to add a point that you previously left out. No problem. That’s what editing software is for. So if you start stumbling over your words, relax, take a deep breath, and say it all over again. During the editing process, you’ll be able to cut out all the superfluous jabbering, and trim the final product down to about 1-2 minutes (see 5 Vlogging Basics). Besides, sudden lapses in time make a vlog post an edgy and organic thing, and that only lends it both credibility and entertainment value. As the Edelman exec John Kerr said, “the shaky cam is now seen as the most trusted form of media.” After you get it all out of your system, you’ll have plenty of time to go back over the footage and decide what belongs in the video and what doesn’t.

Showmanship in Vlogging


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

There are many ways that you can incorporate videos into your articles. Here are two ways I particularly like:

Video Tutorials:

Video tutorials are great tools for educating your readers on how to do something. By creating a video, you walk and talk them through the tasks that you are trying to teach, providing them with much more information than you could provide by writing alone.

There are many great video tutorials already posted on YouTube. If you think that one of these videos would help you make your point, think about incorporating it into your article.

One of my niche blogs discusses massively multiplayer online role playing games. I love posting and discussing the latest game trailers and developer articles. These videos are very entertaining and provide the latest information being released about upcoming new game titles. Your readers will love the new media of video tutorials.

Video Monologues:

Video monologues recently have become popular around the blogoshpere. Darren Rowse at Problogger.net has started doing them, as well as John Robinson at SiteFever.com. Yaro Starak at Entrepreneur’s Journey has a permanent video monologue on his front page introducing his readers to his blog.

These videos are an awesome way to connect with your readers on a personal level. There is something about watching these video monologues that make you feel that the blogger is talking directly to you. There is no doubt in my mind that these create more loyal fans.

Another great thing about videos is that it keeps your readers on your site for longer. There is no better way to reduce your bounce rate than by creating a 5 to 10 minute video. While someone might skim your writing, videos tend to capture your viewers and make them stay until the end.

So, I challenge you this week to add video to a post on your blog. Your readers will appreciate it!!

Using Video to Engage Your Readers


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Vlogging is about more than an ego boost. Just as there are SEO benefits to blogging, if you tag your vidoes properly, vloggers stand to gain additional exposure through vertical search engines such as Google Video and Blinkx. More importantly, however, they provide your audience with a richer user-experience. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then imagine what a picture that moves and speaks is worth. Finally, just because you vlog, that doesn’t mean that you can’t blog too. In fact, the majority of vloggers out there are full-time bloggers who use video on a part-time basis.

If you’re going to make a success of vlogging on either a part-time or a full-time basis, though, there’s a few basic principles you should follow. These will help you both provide your readers viewers with a richer experience and make sure that your videos are found/seen.

Keep it Short & Sweet: In a word, vlog posts should range from about 1-2 minutes. In vlogging, your facial expressions and tone of voice let you get away without elaborating on exactly what you mean. More to the point, however, this is the internet, and users have a short attention span. Unlike your writing, users can’t scan a video, so it’s best if you cut to the point with your vlogs.

Move & Express Yourself: If you’re going to vlog, you have to accept that you will have to be part performer. As I just suggested, the reason that multi-media is so expressive, and therefore powerful, is that it captures so much more nuance than the written word. Don’t try to be a news anchor. Rather, carry yourself as though you’re talking with a close friend.

Enunciate: Speak clearly!!! Chances are is that your vlog post is going to convey a lot more than what can be summed up in a mere thousand words. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to try to squeeze those thousand words into your minute-and-a-half long video. Instead of trying to speak at a pace that makes it seem as though you know everything there is to know about your topic, speak at a pace you would use if you were trying to teach someone something. Don’t jibber and don’t mumble.

Include Video Enclosures: Now, you’re going to want to upload your video to a video host (or several) such as YouTube. This will allow you to (1) get additional exposure, (2) easily embed your vlog on your site, and (3) save a ton on bandwith. However, beneath your clip, you should probably include a link to an MP4 version of the file. Services such as iTunes pick up video content by checking RSS files for links to such files. So by including this video enclosure below an embedded video player, you’re both saving on bandwith, but still reaching out to content aggregators such as iTune.

Submit Your Feed to iTunes: Now that you’ve included video enclosures, you have to make sure that iTunes actually picks up your content. You do this by opening iTunes, going to the iTunes store, and clicking on submit. They’ll ask you to log in to do this, so if you don’t already have an iTunes account, you’ll have to get one. From there, you’ll be able to provide iTunes with your RSS feed. However, iTunes will reject your feed if they don’t find any such enclosures, so make sure that you’ve already posted at least one vlog post.

5 Vlogging Basics


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Second video blog from Nate & Josh


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

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Advanced Business Blogs, New Media Marketing, Podcasting & Video Blogs


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/