The Internet has always been an excellent tool for the mass dissemination of information, but in recent years, it has been a boon to private individuals looking to create a following for themselves online. These people refer to themselves as video bloggers (or vloggers for short), and the content they produce can be about anything.
Some people like it purely to be able to share their thoughts with an audience, while others have found a way to monetize their audience and turn their vlogging into a full-time job. Regardless of their motivations, any video blogger that wants to reach a massive audience has to follow some rules to see any worthwhile results. While some might be able to bend or break these rules, those people are the exception.
Here are some examples of common trends among all successful video bloggers:
Have the right camera
It’s right there in the name – video blogging. How can you expect to be a good video blogger if you don’t have a good camera? Being able to get away with grainy webcam recordings stopped in the mid-2000s. These days, it’s essential to have a camera that’s able to record high-quality videos that are appealing to look at. Depending on what kind of content you plan on producing, the kind of camera you’ll need to buy will be a bit different. If you expect to film a lot on the move or outside of your home, a portable camera with lots of storage space and battery life is necessary. Compare this to filming yourself inside your home, where there’s always access to a power outlet, and chances are you can efficiently deal with any storage issues by immediately offloading data onto your PC.
Obtain a high-quality microphone
Adequately capturing your voice is essential when making any video. A poorly shot video can be saved with proper audio backing it up, and an exquisitely shot video can tank if nobody can hear what’s going on. Simply put, nobody is going to want to see lots of videos from someone whose microphone isn’t up to par. There are thousands of people currently on the Internet who have amazing, crisp microphones, so if any vlogger expects to keep up with the pack, they need to have the right equipment. It’s essential that you carefully select your microphone based on what kind of environment you record in, as not all microphones will perform the same in any given space.
Employ attractive editing
With the oversaturation of video bloggers on the Internet, it’s crucial to stand out in any way possible. Video editing is what takes most video bloggers from amateur to professional. Simple things like adding in subtitles or captions when necessary can make viewers much more engaged with your content, which means they’re much more likely to keep watching other videos you’ve produced. On top of it all, editing software allows you to seamlessly blend several different “scenes” for any single video in an easy-to-digest manner. Wide range of free video editor tools for Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone & online can surely make any vlogger’s life much easier. Have you noticed a rise lately in videos using captions? That’s because not everybody now wants to commit to an entire video or have sound come blaring through their speakers just because they wanted to kick the tires on a semi-appealing video. These subtitles allow you to draw in viewers without them having to fully commit to your video. Editing works to increase views – simple as that.
Be engaging
Video blogging should be seen similarly as self-publishing, but instead of a book, you’re producing a TV show. It’s worth mentioning that young people spend more time watching video on their laptops than they do from TV, so there’s a massive market for online videos. You get to dictate exactly what’s on the show and how it’s presented. Sounds great, doesn’t it? The hard part, however, is making sure that your videos are actually able to draw in viewers and keep them there. It’s show business, making it extremely important to show off any interesting aspects of your personality to keep people on the hook. Don’t be boring. Viewers can leave in an instant to find more exciting pastures.
Conclusion
The life of a video blogger can be a lot less glamorous than the videos they produce. But then, in the end, that’s all part of the show. Countless hours must be spent figuring out what video to make next and what content will be in it, next to actually shooting the video(s), and then gluing everything together with video editing software at a later date. Even a five-minute video can have hours of hard work put into it for seemingly mundane content.