How Bloggers Can Create, Host, and Publish Videos Effectively

Effective communication should be the number one goal of every blogger. While crafting well-written articles goes a massive way toward achieving this, for some types of posts (especially “how-to” style articles), the written word is sometimes not enough.

A great asset for every blogger to have in their toolbox is video production and publishing skills. However, for those who have not yet explored this great visual communication medium, the prospect can seem a little daunting. So, in this article, I would like to share with you a simple step-by-step guide to creating and publishing videos for your blog.

Types of Videos and How to Create Them

For the most part, all videos can be broken down into two categories:

1. Screencasts

A screencast is simply a video of a computer screen. These types of videos can be excellent accompaniments for how-to style posts. There is nothing quite like reading what to do in an article and then looking over the shoulder of an expert who is showing exactly how to do it.

Screencast videos are also excellent for recording slide presentations that convey detailed concepts and ideas.

Probably the most well-known screencast software packages are Camtasia and Screenflow (for the PC and Mac respectively). They are both extremely intuitive to get started with and are capable of recording screen or PowerPoint/Keynote presentations as well.

Additionally: Screencast videos often have higher completion rates because viewers prefer seeing real-time demonstrations rather than only reading step-by-step instructions.

2. To-Camera

With some notable exceptions, such as Gary Vaynerchuk, “to-camera” videos are much less common in the blogging world than screencasts. Perhaps this is because there seems little need to talk directly to the camera when your message can be conveyed effectively through text or a screencast. However, it is also likely that many bloggers are somewhat scared of putting themselves in front of the camera and are effectively hiding behind their keyboards.

In any case, the scarcity of this style of video in the blogging community presents a huge opportunity for those of us willing to push our comfort zones and learn this skill.

Of course, video recording technology is changing all of the time, so it is hard to recommend a specific camera. However, the Kodak Zi80 pocket camera is really very impressive for 1080p high-definition recording (especially given its small size).

Editing & Producing Your Video

Although very occasionally you may like to use additional software such as iMovie, Sony Vegas, or Pinnacle Studio, for the most part all of the editing you will need to do can be performed inside the screencast software. This is the case even if you wish to combine the to-camera and screencast styles in the same video.

Once the editing is complete, it is a trivial task to produce the video files in the format you require. Usually, an MP4 is by far the best for the web.

To reduce file size without compromising the quality of your video after it has been produced, you might like to use free tools such as HandBrake or Free HD Convert. These are really useful not only for faster uploading (which we’ll talk about in the next section) but also for making it easier for people who have slower internet connections to watch the video.

Hosting Your Video

The obvious choice here is to simply upload your video to YouTube. This has many benefits, including low cost (it’s free!) and, from an SEO standpoint, search engines automatically index your content.

However, sometimes you may wish to host elsewhere, especially if you want to create more exclusive content just for your own subscribers. In this case, one option is to upload your video to the server that hosts your blog. However, if you have regular shared hosting, this is not really advisable due to the large file sizes of videos coupled with the limited bandwidth restrictions of such servers.

Instead, you might like to consider Amazon S3 hosting, which is a paid service (although unbelievably cheap!). Despite appearing slightly unintuitive to begin with, it is very simple to use: simply create a “bucket” (what we would normally call a folder), upload your video, and set the file-sharing permissions to public. If you still don’t like the Amazon interface, then you might choose to use the Mozilla Firefox plugin called S3 Fox to manage this process from your web browser.

Example

For instance, a how-to blog explaining “How to Create a WordPress Website” can include a screencast showing the actual WordPress dashboard setup. Readers can follow along visually while reading the written instructions, making the learning process faster and more effective.

Publishing Your Video in WordPress

There are several WordPress plugins available for playing videos, but two recommended ones are JW Player from LongTail Video Inc. and wordTube by Alex Rabe and Alakhnor. They are both free for personal use and allow you to easily add YouTube or Amazon S3 videos to your blog posts and customize the video player size, appearance, and controls.

Case Study

Rohit, a tech blogger from Delhi, started adding short screencast videos to his tutorial posts instead of relying only on text. Within three months, his average time-on-page increased by over 60%, and his blog subscriptions saw a noticeable rise. Readers mentioned that seeing real-time demonstrations made his content easier to understand and more trustworthy.

Instructions: Simple Steps to Get Started with Blog Videos

1. Decide whether your content is better suited for a screencast or a to-camera video.
2. Use basic tools like Camtasia or Screenflow to record your video.
3. Keep videos concise and focused on one topic.
4. Export the video in MP4 format for best compatibility.
5. Upload to YouTube or Amazon S3 and embed it into your WordPress post.

Conclusion

Video can significantly enhance how bloggers communicate complex ideas and engage readers. By starting with simple tools, choosing the right video type, and publishing strategically, bloggers can unlock powerful opportunities to grow their audience and deliver more value through visual content.