MsKitka.com

Research – Do your research to determine what you want from your podcast. If you’re not sure how you would like your video-podcast to turn out, go to some podcast directories and watch what other people are putting out. If you want your show to be like everyone else, follow the herd, if not, try and figure out how to express your individuality.

When I started Kitkast I didn’t know a lot about podcasting. I had been watching Rocketboom on and off for several months and listened to Podnography on a regular basis. I believe that both of these shows inspired me to make my own show… a sarcastic news programme with sex-industry news and interviews.

Genre – Brainstorm to decide what kind of genre you would like to make: news; documentary; comedy; drama; etc. Always remember that if you’re putting out video footage, the show will likely not be very long due to its size, so either try and make something that tells a story or presents a full package in one episode or make it captivating enough to keep people coming back.

Although I appear on Kitkast in my underwear, I believe that it’s the sarcasm, sci-fi references and interesting stories that keep people coming back. If you want to develop an audience, do what you can to make it fun in the little time you have to present it. This may not mean stripping off into your underwear and talking about sex, but usually the more popular podcasts are the ones that offer some sort of comedy. If you want to make a soap opera, it may be difficult to maintain an audience if your subject matter is serious… sarcasm is a great tool for developping an audience (especially if your production quality is not… professional).

Vlog vs. Topic – Decide what sort of content you would like to put into your podcast. You can do something different every week and people can love you for your personality only or you can cater to a specific subject. The good thing about choosing a subject is that it lets people interested in that subject know that they would like this video-podcast. TV shows are labeled in categories for a reason… If I hear a new sci-fi show is out, my ears perk up like a dog getting ready to fetch his favorite ball. The only negative about this is that if you don’t continue to create fresh new entertaining content on that same subject, people could eventually get bored.

There was a discussion on a Yahoo message board a few weeks ago about how Kitkast’s subscribers had surpassed Steve Garfield’s Video Blog subscribers very quickly after its first or second episode. The reason for this was probably thanks to being mentioned on Fleshbot, the most popular sex blog on the Internet which boasts approximately 100,000 unique viewers per day. Steve Garfield, however, is one of the Godfathers of vlogging and his show(s) have amazing production value (the man is a real pro…). The Yahoo thread basically said that Garfield was beaten by the boob, which may be true but, like I said, I prefer to think that people come back for the stories and sarcasm. I must admit, I didn’t know who Garfield was before Zod told me about the Yahoo thread, but now I visit his site on a regular basis.

So, a subject or theme is not overly important, but it may help attract like-minded people. The truth is, if your video-podcast has adult content it probably will do quite well… who doesn’t love sex?

Boundaries – Set boundaries for yourself. If you are podcasting video, know that the video can have repercussions. Showing nudity in the US is usually translated as porn, so be careful. My own boundaries include not showing nipples, naked ass or snatch. Partly because of my dream to pose in Playboy and to take it all off there first. It’s true that I have plenty of outtakes at home with me shoving my nipples back into my lingerie, but those outtakes will not be shown on the Internet without censorship. Remember, your parents and grandparents might be completely inept at using the computer, but they can still find you.

Writing – Depending on the style of video-podcast you have decided on, you may need to write a script or talking points. Remember that you probably don’t have a monitor feeding you your lines like on the evening news, so you will need to know what you’re saying in advance. Sure, you might like to do stuff on the fly, but it doesn’t work well for everyone. If you’re not incredibly cute people may not want keep tuning in to watch you stutter. It’s true that a lot can be fixed in editing, but do what you can to prepare before filming.

Personally, I don’t have a lot of time to memorize before filming. Since I often try and get the most up to date news stories possible, I finish writing on Wednesday afternoon and film on Wednesday evening. I make a lot of mistakes, but thanks to editing it’s not as noticeable (not until the Kitkast outtakes episodes come out over the holidays!).

Helpful Hints – No matter what format or genre you choose, always remember to do what comes naturally to you. Remember, you should do your best to create fresh good-quality content on a regular basis, so make sure it’s something that doesn’t make you tear your hair out on a weekly basis.

Part 1: Creative Planning
Part 2: Technological Planning
Part 3: Filming
Part 4: Editing (Coming Soon)
Part 5: Marketing (Coming Soon)

This entry was posted on Friday, November 18th, 2005 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Videoblogging, How To. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.