Click here to view the embedded video.

Should you start an online video show? That’s like asking yourself if you want to lose weight or marry the person of your dreams! The answer, if you haven’t caught on yet is yes. We’ve been doing it for years, and it’s been huge for us! But recently we were talking to someone who said “Oh, there’s no point in me starting an online video show. You guys have been doing it for so long.”

That’s just bunk. It’s true, we have been doing it for years, but it’s not like we just woke up one day and said “let’s start an online video show!” and then presto! We became a huge success. It didn’t work that way. We started our first online video show (Ask Dan & Jennifer) a few years ago, and it grew and it grew and it grew and now it’s grown like 1000% in that time, but it didn’t happen overnight. It took time. Allow yourself the time to grow and just go off and do it. And whatever you do, don’t think it’s too late. It’s never too late.

And this is ESPECIALLY true if you have already started a blog – because a video show will get you a lot of extra visitors and much more credibility.

There are many reasons you should start your own online video show. Such as…

It creates trust

If you make posts to a blog, yes, it’s great and wonderful and all that, but it still doesn’t pack the same punch as an online video. People can look at your online video and say “Wow. He/She is a real person.” People will be able to relate better to you if they can see and hear you. It will allow you to better showcase your own particular brand of speech, humor, satire and the like. It also creates a deeper personal connection. Having a face and voice to associate with your content helps your audience feel like they know you and then they will be more invested in you and your success.

It helps you reach different people

Face it: in today’s world, we have way too much to do and way too little time to do it in. Reading a blog takes more time than listening to one. People want options with their content. They want to be able to put it on the iPod/iPhone/iPad and take it with them to the beach or the gym or to be able to listen to it in the car. Having a video blog gives people options. And people like their options.

It allows you to differentiate yourself in the market

We started askdanandjennifer.com a few years ago and it’s a love and relationship site, and that is a VERY crowded market place. It’s very difficult to stand out, and if you don’t stand out, you die. It’s just that simple. So we had to sit down and ask ourselves, “What can we do to stand out? What do we have that no one else does?” Simple! We have Dan and Jennifer. By posting our online video show we were able to showcase our most unique asset-ourselves. People could see us and connect with us and become part of our audience and then tell their friends about us. That helped increase our audience exponentially.

It opens up an entirely new audience

There are a mulitiude of video sites out there (youtube, hulu, funnyordie, etc) and they have their own audiences, and many of these people are not really that into reading blogs. Posting an online video show allows you to access and engage these people and potentially bring them back to your site or simply create a new online show only audience. There are millions of people on these video sharing sites and it’s also true that there are people on these sites that are going to be interested in whatever it is you have to say. They’re not going to go to you, you will have to go to them. The first rule of growing your fan base is simple: go where the people are. Not going to these sites is about as effective as opening up a surfboard shop in Utah. No one’s going to buy a surfboard there. Why? Because there’s nowhere to surf in Utah. Setting up your surf shop in say Southern California is going to be more effective. Even more effective would be setting it up right on the beach. You have to go where the people are.

You can be everywhere

Having an online video show gives your and your blog a life of its own outside your actual blog. You can be on multiple sites that each have a wide reach. The bigger your net, the bigger your catch.

Never, ever, try to do anything

We never try to do anything. We just haul off and do it. You’ll never hear us say “we’re going to try this and see what happens” we say “we’re going to do this.” Big difference.

“Do or do not, there is no try.” – Yoda, Inspirational Quotes from Today Is That Day

That crusty little muppet was right. If you “try” to do something, you’re just going to fail and but if you “do” something it’s different. You’ve “decided” to do it. The word “decide” has comes from the latin root which means “to cut off all other options.” If you want to be successful, say you’re going to do something, and then burn the bridge behind you so you have no other choice.

Never ever give up.

Of all the blogs that started around the same time as ours, we can name two still in existence. Most quit after about six months. The general rule of thumb is people quit right before they’re about to become successful. Don’t that make that mistake. Never give up. Just do whatever it is you want to be doing. Live that passion, live it daily and be consistent about it. You can’t help but succeed then.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Camcorder

One of the obvious things you need to start a successful video show is a camcorder, or possibly more than one if you have them. You don’t have to have an expensive camcorder – you can even use your webcam if you don’t have a more traditional camcorder. Regardless of whatever camcorder you have, make sure you have a stable place to set the camera up for filming. If you’re using a traditional camcorder, you’ll definitely need a tripod. Don’t have someone hold your camera for you – they’ll never be able to keep it steady enough to keep your viewers from getting motion sickness.

Good Lighting

Your living room overhead or a lamp just won’t work if you want good, even lighting for your online video show. Lamps and overheads create shadows, which look unprofessional in a video. Visit a camera store or browse online for some discount lighting fixtures or lighting kits. You don’t need super expensive lightboxes or anything like that. A simple bulb with a broad umbrella will do just fine.

Lapel Microphone

Strong, even sound is as important as good lighting. For a professional looking and sounding online video show, you want to minimize echos and static. Some computers and laptops have built-in microphones that may work, but your best bet is a lapel microphone, especially if you’re shooting your video on a set in front of a camera instead of with a webcam. Lapel microphones are very inexpensive, but they’re worth their weight in gold.

Video Editing Platform

Good video editing software is essential for a professional looking video show. There will be lots of things you want to edit out, without spending hours re-recording a video to be perfect because you don’t have editing software. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to have a Mac to have a great video editing platform. Adobe has some great options for Windows video editing, including Adobe Premiere Elements which is available for less than $100. However, their best program so far is Adobe Premiere Pro, which comes in at just over $700 – if that fits your budget.

Use Video Sharing Sites

Video sharing websites, like YouTube, are free and your most valuable tool for getting people to see your video show and start making money online. Create accounts with several of the most popular video sharing websites and start uploading your video show online regularly so people can start watching what you’ve created. Tubemogul is an excellent option if you want to upload one video to multiple video sharing websites without the hassle of uploading large files over and over to different sites. Tubemogul allows you to upload the video once and it will distribute your video to various video sharing websites for you.