Did you know that 81% of businesses are using video in their marketing RIGHT NOW? In this post, you'll discover how you can harness the power of vlogging and YouTube to promote your blog content to a whole new audience, thus exploding the growth and profitability of your blogging business.
"Vlogging".
Have you heard of it?
You probably have, but if you haven't, let me briefly explain what vlogging is.
Vlogging is very much like blogging, but instead of creating content in written text form, you're simply recording content in the form of videos.
That's as simple as I can describe it, and some people call it 'video blogging' or 'video journaling'.
A 'vlogger' is an individual who creates videos known as vlogs or 'video blogs.' Similar to a blogger who creates blog posts.
Whereas blog posts are published on self-hosted platforms, vlogs, on the other hand, are mostly published on video hosting sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook.
However, YouTube is by far the most prominent place on the web where vloggers publish their vlogs.
YouTube is huge; in fact, it is considered to be the second-largest search engine on the web.
Did you know that 3.25 billion hours of video content is watched on YouTube every single month? (Source)
Over recent years, vlogging on YouTube has exploded, not just for celebrities and rich kids, but also for businesses and bloggers.
With more people creating and consuming content on mobile devices, online video is the perfect medium to use to help promote your blog or your online business.
According to Vlogging Guides, YouTube accounts for 80% of the total mobile video consumption.
So it's clear to see that if you're not vlogging, then you're clearly missing out on a huge opportunity to increase your brand awareness, drive more visitors, create more leads, attract more customers and clients to your blog or online business.
Well, it's time to change your gameplan! Are you ready to start vlogging to explode the growth of your blogging business? If you are, then let's begin.
Let's start with your YouTube channel.
Do you have one?
I would be very surprised if you didn't have one.
Perhaps you do have one and haven't really had much time to put it to good use.
If you have a YouTube channel, it's time to light a fire on it. If you don't have one, click here to create one.
Your YouTube channel is personal to you. It's your gateway to broadcasting yourself, your brand, and for increasing awareness about almost anything you want on the web.
But let's be smart about this because, as a blogger, you should view your YouTube channel as an additional platform for creating, sharing, and promoting great content.
With a blog, you publish blog posts, right? With your YouTube channel, you publish vlogs or videos.
The other great thing about publishing content on YouTube is that you have every opportunity to build a huge audience base.
That's right, whatever niche you're into, chances are there are folks on YouTube searching for exactly what you have to offer them right now.
So, not only do you have the opportunity to contribute with great content, but also the opportunity to grow a huge fan base, a loyal following known as 'subscribers.'
Everyone starts from zero; you have to work at it to get your subscriber count up.
OK, before you even start thinking about creating a channel and uploading your videos or vlogs, you first need to make your channel look professional and appealing to your intended audience.
Let's talk about branding!
What does 'branding your YouTube channel' actually entails?
It entails creating some kind of identity that will help people identify who you are. Very much like you've already done with your blog.
If you have an appearance that is unique for your blog, you should naturally carry this appearance and identity over to your YouTube channel. In other words, be consistent with your online branding.
And when I say branding, I don't just mean making your channel look like your blog or website. You also have to pay attention to your UVP, messaging, byline, about page, etc.
If you take a quick look at my YouTube channel, for instance, you will notice that my branding and messaging is consistent with that of my website.
Take some time to craft a great banner logo for your channel and some cool thumbnail templates you can use later on in your vlogs. These will help anyone who knows you through your blog to identify your content and channel on YouTube.
As well as branding, don't forget to customize and complete your channel profile and settings too. Many bloggers forget to do this.
The idea is to use your channel to promote your vlogs and videos and drive visitors back to your blog so that they can consume more of your content and hopefully subscribe to your email newsletter.
Here are some essential things you need to do -
Creating vlogs or videos for your channel takes as much time and effort as creating any other form of online content.
With blogging, you can spend days or weeks researching, writing, and crafting your blog posts to perfection.
Vlogging is no different, however as a blogger creating videos, you have quite a big advantage.
That advantage is that you already have content to use for your videos. Yes, I'm talking about using the content from your blog.
Repurposing content from your blog and turning them into vlogs cuts your workload right in half.
And this is one of the many reasons vlogging can be so powerful for bloggers.
Remember, though, the content you use for your vlogs needs to be of high-quality too.
The recording and audio quality of your vlogs also need to be top-notch. It doesn't need to be perfect, but good.
Let's now look at the process of creating high-quality vlogs for your YouTube channel.
Start with making a list of all the blog posts you have on your blog that could be repurposed into vlogs or videos.
Tutorial posts and product review posts are great for doing just that.
Also remember, with careful planning, you can also turn your list posts and even strategy posts into vlogs too.
Always keep in mind two things 'quality', and 'relevancy'.
After making your list, take each post, restructure them, and reorganize the content to be reproduced into a quality video script.
Here's how I create vlogs and videos for my YouTube channel -
The next step is to actually record your vlogs (videos). Now, this step can take a considerable amount of time to do, especially if you've never done anything like this before.
If you make a few mistakes at first, that's OK. Don't become frustrated with it and give up. Making mistakes is all part of the process.
Take your time and try and have some fun doing it; you'll soon get the hang of it.
If you're doing online tutorials and need reliable screen recording software, I highly recommend using something like Screencast-O-Matic. Or if you're on a Mac, you can use Quicktime.
Screencast-O-Matic has some really cool features, and even though it's a premium service, it's very affordable, like $15 or so per year.
If you're recording yourself in your vlogs, you will need some HD video recording equipment.
I started by using my iPhone for recording HD video and audio. In fact, that's all you need these days because the quality of the video and audio is excellent.
These days, I prefer to use my Panasonic Lumix G7 setup. This is a great camera for vlogging. You can find it here on Amazon (Affiliate link).
The microphone that I use to record quality audio is a Rode VideoMicro. (Link to Rode VideoMicro on Amazon)
You can check out my full vlogging setup here.
Editing your vlogs and videos can take just as much time as it takes to record them, but take your time. The more you practice, the efficient you'll become at editing.
One important tip I can give you when editing is this - don't be overly-critical with your video edits.
You're not trying to edit a Hollywood Motion Picture; you're simply polishing up your YouTube vlogs.
To edit your vlogs and make them look clean and semi-professional, I recommend using Movavi for Windows or Mac if you're on a budget.
Whilst using free video editing software is cheap and cheerful, I will say, hands down, if you want to take vlogging seriously, at some stage, you should consider using pro tools.
I was using Movavi for a little while before moving over to Final Cut Pro for the Mac back in 2017. Another pro tool to consider is Adobe Premier Pro, though not as intuitive as Final Cut Pro in my opinion.
Tip: Export your vlogs in a recognizable format by YouTube and always aim for the best quality possible.
Of course, you don't really need to go and spend a ton of money on an expensive video editing software, as I said, unless you're going to be vlogging on a professional level, that is.
If you have some video editing tools on your computer, just use that for the time being.
Once your vlogs are ready and polished up, simply head over to your YouTube channel to begin uploading them. Check out the video below by Brian Dean from Backlinko on YouTube SEO.
Creating vlogs is one challenge in itself, the other is using them to help drive traffic and readers to your blog.
In addition to the tips Brian shares in his video above, here's a list of things you can do to optimize your video vlogs -
Like any online content, your vlogs needs some exposure to get traffic, views, and conversions, so the best way to do this is to promote them along with your YouTube channel.
The more people who subscribe to your channel, the more chances you'll have to promote your new vlogs to those subscribers.
More content, more traffic, more referral traffic to your blog, and so forth.
Here are 10 things you can do to promote both your vlogs and your YouTube channel.
Recommended post: For more pro tips on growing your YouTube audience, check out this post.
OK. So to give you some inspiration to get started, below, I've compiled a concise list of my favorite bloggers that have found success with vlogging.
Ileane Smith from IleaneSmith.com - I've known Ileane for the past ten years now, and through her YouTube channel, she vlogs about blogging and social media and provides YouTube tutorials. Check out her channel here.
Ashley Faulkes from Madlemmings.com - Again, I've known Ashley for several years. Through his YouTube channel, Ashley provides WordPress and SEO tips and tutorials. Check out Ashley's channel here.
Justin Germino from DragonBlogger.com - Justin is a technology and entertainment blogger and vlogger who's been around for a very long time. I had the pleasure of interviewing him a few years ago too. You can check out Justin's channel here.
Alessandro Castellani from Alecaddd.com - Alessandro is a professional web designer and developer, blogger, and vlogger. I've been following him for a good few years. I learned most of what I know about WordPress web design and development from watching Alessandro's vlogs and tutorials. You can check out his channel here.
So, there you have it! Some key things you need to know to start vlogging to grow your blog the smart way.
I realize that vlogging can be an extremely time-consuming activity, but as you get more used to doing it, the more fun you'll have. Of course, you'll also become better at it, and that's when vlogging becomes rewarding.
Once again, video can be a compelling medium, so make sure you're doing everything you can to make it work for you and your blog or online business.
There's a whole new audience out there waiting to discover your content through video and vlogging, so go make something happen.
Now over to you.
Are you creating videos to promote your blog or online business?
Please share with will all your friends and connections on social media; I appreciate you as always.
Enjoy.
Ps. Don't forget you can check out my vlogs and videos through my YouTube channel here; feel free to subscribe if you love what I have to share.
