» March 8, 2008 in
I was asked by Thatedeguy why I video blog and why I do it every day (almost, I missed one day and soon to make it up ;)
I Like Video Blogs Therefore I Make Video Blogs
I prefer blogs that offer video over text only blogs. Therefore I create blogs like the ones I personally enjoy subscribing too ;)
In addition video is a better way to communicate than text, is getting more popular, increases the reach of your blog (my vids are uploaded to a half dozen sites), are portable on mobile devices, builds my branding, offers an alternative to text, and most important, I ENJOY video ;)
Is video worth the time?
There are no solid statistics on video viewing. For instance Youtube can't even tell me how many videos are watched on Youtube vs. embedded in sites like my own and others.
However the video sites do give "total" stats so lets take some guesses.
45n5.com averages 750 unique visitors per day.
45n5 videos average 450 views per day (all videos/networks combined).
Now I'm no rocket scientist but I'm guessing over half of the people that interact with 45n5 content daily are doing so by consuming video!
They might also read the text but they are watching the videos also. By not doing video you are losing out on a HUGE portion of readership and eyeballs that WANT to watch your videos, like me ;)
Of course there are no real statistics, just guessing, but if you are into stats it is FOR SURE worth it.
If you are into better communicating, ie with text, audio, and video FOR SURE it is worth it. If you are into keeping your blog current then FOR SURE it is worth it. If you are into "growing your blog" then it is FOR SURE worth it. If you are into improving your personal brand it is FOR SURE worth it. yadayadayada
Do Text AND Video
There is a small minority of folks still reluctant to give video a try and like to make cranky posts. That's fine.
Don't stop doing text when you start doing video. Simply do your video AND then make the text post afterwards. Give them the option to maybe hit the Play button on your site when they get tired reading, they might like it one day ;) Win/Win.
I like video
I was surprised at Affiliate Summit how many people in the "industry" still don't blog.
Here I am thinking everybody should be jumping on the video bandwagon any day now when I come to realize most people haven't even jumped on the blog bandwagon yet.
I video blog because I like making the videos and I prefer blogs that also do video. That's it. Nothing special.
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Stu says on March 9, 2008
OK Mark, I'll bite! (Like you thought I wouldn't) ;-)
"There is a small minority of folks still reluctant to give video a try and like to make cranky posts. That's fine."
Mark, this is a completely disingenuous comment. Nowhere in the post am I being "cranky". For God's sake, the opening paragraph reads:
"More and more people seem to be posting videos on their blogs lately, which I reckon is really cool, but just don’t expect me to watch them."
You say that around half the people who interact with your site are watching your videos. You could also look at it that half the people who read AREN'T watching them. If I had a major part of the user experience on any of my sites which only half the visitors were actually using, I'd be seriously considering the ROI time-wise.
You say that video is a better way to communicate than text. I don't see any evidence of this, you haven't even tried to justify the statement, just given it as a blanket fact.
If you read the commments from my post, you'll see that in response to Chance's comment I made the point very clearly that I'm not anti-video (or anti-marshmallow). I'm all for it if that's what you want to do.
You should know from our own personal history that you're not going to please everybody all the time. So I'm not watching your video posts, big deal, I still subscribe to your blog, and read all your posts (although I sometimes crave a little more detail in the text posts, but if you've chosen to move that stuff into the video, I guess I'll learn to live without it unless the subject is one which piques my interest.)
Before branding someone a cranky part of a small minority (which, yet again, you've provided zero statistical backup or evidence that it is, in fact a small minority), perhaps go back and read the post again and respond to the actual points made, rather than posting disingenuous misinformation combined with opinion and passing it off as fact.
If you're really keen to find out what your readers think, why not run a poll, asking how many of them watch the videos?
But all in all, you want to do videos, keep doing them (I know you will). I seem to remember someone telling me once that "It's your blog, do as you damned well please with it!" ;-)
BTW, dude I reckon you could do with a bigger post box, damn hard to write long responses in such a little box. :-)
Cheers mate
Stu
45n5 () says on March 9, 2008:
@stu - I was using your post as an example of people that don't like video. If you don't like something bad enough that you write an entire post about it, that's "cranky" in my book.However I didn't mean to offend you with the choice of words, If I did I apologize.
Stu says on March 9, 2008
I would have thought that cranky would be in the wording of the post, not the opinion expressed. That's all.
Care to take a stab at answering some of the points in the post or my comment here? I'd be really interested to hear your answers.
I think it's a conversation worth pursuing. Not just for video, but any "extras" we have in our blogs. Does the reward justify the time spent/possibility of alientating some visitors? I'm pretty sure you're on the right track, at least your feed subscriber numbers would say so.
Cheers mate
Stu
45n5 () says on March 9, 2008:
@stu - sure I'll stop by and comment on your specific points.BlogEntrepreneur says on March 9, 2008
I never really gave this much thought but I don't watch the videos either. Not just on blogs but even the news portal on Yahoo is now becoming almost all video.
I can't really offer a valid reason for not wanting to watch the videos but I just don't. I am like Stu...I read the text post and if it REALLY REALLY hooks me I will watch the video but that's it.
Tom Beaton says on March 9, 2008
This is probably the only blog I watch the videos on. The reason being it covers what the text is saying and its just a refreshing change. I probably listen more than watch in all honesty, but still, it is enjoyable.
It depends on the type of blog and what you are putting across. I do not video blog because I exhaust all my desire to do video on my www.kitefreestyle.com website. I enjoy writing for Technogumption.
The Marketing Dojo says on March 9, 2008
Producing videos and distributing them via Tubemogul helps with your rankings on the search engines. Check out the term "video niche site" on Google http://tinyurl.com/yt5unv .
There are four different links that ultimately point back to 45n5. One of those links features a video thumbnail that really draws the attention to the link. If you have a thing for guys with beards...just kidding :-)
Video bloggers are wise to use targeted keywords and keyword phrases for their video post titles for SEO purposes.
45n5 says on March 9, 2008
@dojo - for sure seo is another great benefit of hosting video on the sites ;)
@tom - you should try it some time ;)
@BlogEntrepreneur - you may not watch the videos but some of your visitors might still want to see them ;)
BlogEntrepreneur says on March 9, 2008
Mark..no doubt. Vanilla and Chocolate kind of argument.
What kind of equipment do you need to "video blog?"
I have a camera in my laptop but I honestly don't have the slightest idea how to use it and I would imagine it would be a bit unwieldy to try to move my laptop around.
45n5 says on March 9, 2008
@BlogEntrepreneur - nothing special needed, just hit record ;)
Windows and Macs come with free video editing software.
It gets super easy once you do it a few times.
Just keep offering vanilla and chocolate ;)
MyCookingSucks says on March 9, 2008
If you are not into video blogging...you are missing $$$
Check out my new project www.MyCookingSucks.com
Niche site.
80% of the people do not blog, own PC or have internet service, so where do they get their info?
From Cellphones and what a better way to advertise? videos.
I know cos I am from one of those 80% and I know what it takes to get their attention.
You think the people in INdia, Tibet or China cares what you write? they rather watch my cooking videos.
Think International , my friends!!!
GTG--time to cash my checks!!
thegeekboys.com says on March 9, 2008
I like video blogging but the problem is that it takes to dam long to do a video. I personnally like doing vlogs that are very professional. and that's very hard and time consuming I think anyway
Kyle James says on March 13, 2008
Mark, I like your reasoning here, but IMHO your missing one of the biggest advantages of video blogging. Video blogging puts an added personal touch to your blog that makes you a genuine person. Pictures are great and talking about yourself is great, but actually putting a moving breathing person to a blog is exponentially valuable branding. For me I find your blog much more trustworthy because I can see your face when you talk instead of just reading. Also videos can be easier for some people who are lazy. I'll be honest most of the time I don't read the txt just watch the video. Sometimes I'll even multitask and read something else while listening to the video and absorb two things at the same time.
Keep it up!
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