How magazines are delivered in the future might be the million dollar question, but one thing is for sure, great editorial is a must have asset for any great magazine and Web site. So, what can you do to make great editorial brilliant editorial? I suggest adding digital video side bars into your mix.
There is a little Web site called Youtube® that has proven that great video does not necessarily equal great quality video. The number one hold up I hear to Web video from magazine publishers is lack of staff, lack of expertise, lack of capital and lack of ideas. But, if you ask them for side bar ideas to a story, there is no end to the thoughts. Thus, the entrance of the “digital video side bar”. If no one has laid claim to that phrase, I would like to do so now on Sunday, March 15, 2009. Lol.
Most great articles have side bar ideas that can be enhanced with little to no work from the author. A Sony® Handycam® and a tripod are often the only tools needed to expand the idea and bring it to life. Besides the camera the tripod is mission critical. The rules for great online video are easy to remember, Keep it simple, keep it steady and keep it relevant. Today’s $399 camcorder produces a perfect picture for Web video, but no tripod equals shaky video. This is a no-no and should not be taken lightly. With the cables that are included in your camera purchase, a user with very little technical aptitude can upload the video to Youtube®. This means only upload short video clips. You do not need to edit video in the early stages of the online video game. Why Youtube® you ask? It’s free and the service is almost never down. Plus, it places your content in front of the world for a marketing push. In addition, you can easily create your own Youtube® video channel for your magazine. Youtube® will provide you with HTML code that you simply embed on your Web site.
The critical part of this entire equation is that you MUST promote the digital video sidebar in your magazine. Just like a normal sidebar, but make it POP!
Let’s look at two easy examples of how you can make this happen.
A writer for a parenting magazine interviews a family counselor on the importance of teaching a child to share. Ask the interview subject for their permission in advance to video the interview for a digital video side bar. Take along your camera and tripod. Position the subject in such a way that the camera can pick them up well and the light is even. Then, record the interview. You will only upload portions of the interview that are appropriate. Or, ask the counselor to write down the ten 10 tips for teaching your kids to share as a list. Then record the subject reading those tips. In this example no editing is required.
In this next example, a writer for a sports magazine is talking to a soccer pro about kicking techniques. Record the interview, but more importantly, record the pro showing you the techniques you discussed in his interview. Shoot this as one take so that you do not have to edit anything. You will only upload portions of the interview that are appropriate. Or, ask the pro tell you on camera the 5 things all young soccer players should remember during a game. You will soon see that interview subjects have no problem talking about topics that they know very well. Again, in this example no editing is required.
Do not worry about adding fancy titles, fancy graphics and editing to make your video clips an online success. As I told you before, Youtube® has proved that you do not have to place high quality video online to be a big hit. With that in mind, remember, the rules for great online video; Keep it simple, keep it steady and keep it relevant.
Ryan
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Award-winning internet consultant, nationally acclaimed speaker, Emmy winner, author, TV producer and internet pioneer, Ryan Dohrn has been featured in USA Today, ABC, CBS, on Forbes.com and has made over 700 TV appearances and trained over 3,000 people around the globe. 
Ryan is more than an internet consultant, he is a teacher and a mentor to hundreds of business owners around the world.
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