Starting a video blog doesn’t take much these days. You obviously have to know what you are doing and have a plan on what you want to accomplish with your video-blog. And of course, if you play all your cards right and get a bit lucky, you may become the next Internet video superstar. But before you do all that, you are going to need a place to share your videos with your fans. A lot of newbie vloggers start with YouTube and only after they have gotten a few subscribers, they put up their websites. But you should always do the reverse. Whether you want to use Viddler or YouTube to host your videos, you should always have a website to post your videos to and let your fans to connect with you. That’s the best way to get the biggest bang out of each video.

As someone who has built close to a thousand websites and blogs in the past few years, I can tell you that creating a simple vlog is not as tough as it used to be. With technologies such as WordPress, Drupal, and Ning, you can build a killer video community without breaking the bank. Even if you are not a designer, you can still use a premium video theme to get started fast. There are lots of video blogging themes available for WordPress, so you should have no excuse for not having you site up and running before posting your videos on YouTube.

1. TV Elements: TV Elements is very clean video blogging theme that makes it easy to put your web show online. Great way for your visitors to browse through your episodes.

2. Tubular: Tubular is a cool dark video blogging theme that allows you to embed videos from YouTube, Viemo, and other top video sites to your site. So you can essentially have your own videos as well others that you find interesting.

3.  Groovy: Groovy is cool, fun video blogging theme from WooThemes that gives you plenty of options to share your videos with your fans. 17 color schemes to choose from, so you have a lot of options to choose from.

4. WooTube: WooTube is another great theme for YouTube vloggers. This is an ad ready video blogging theme that is very easy to customize. And you get 7 color schemes to choose from.

5. eVid: evid is a cool little video-blogging theme that makes it easy for you to share your videos with your visitors. Your visitors do get a chance to rate your videos too, so you can get feedback and work on creating better quality videos.

These theme won’t cost you a fortune, but they do give you the chance to get a head-start over vloggers who only focus on putting their videos on YouTube without having a real long-term strategy. If you are just getting started with your vlog, I strongly recommend registering your own domain and putting a website that your fans can refer to for more content. Have fun vlogging!

You may have noticed in the past few weeks that I have been talking more about video-blogging and the tools that can help you get vlogging done more effectively. The most essential vlogging tool is your camcorder. If you intend to make a professional quality video for your web show, you are going to need a decent cam. The mini camcorders that you see in retail stores do a good job taking videos on the go, but if you intend to conduct interviews with the experts at conferences or professional gatherings, it’s always good to have a pro camcorder.

I have always wanted to own a pro camcorder to not only check it off of my wish-list but also capture better quality videos to share with others. I do have a Zi8, so I am all set for my road trips. But I have never really cared for paying $5000 or more for a pro camcorder. I have never wanted to be a director or professional producer, so spending that much money on a pro camcorder has never made sense for me. Besides, there are a lot of other things you can do with $5000-$10000.

Thanks to Panasonic, I didn’t have to spend that much money to get my hands on a super cool camcorder. Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 is a brand new pro camcorder that is decent enough to capture HD videos, and it doesn’t break the bank either. It may not be as powerful as some of those high-end pro camcorders, but for what I want to do, it’s the perfect gadget.

This camcorder is a dream come true for newbie video producers. It’s affordable enough for most to invest in it, and it’s of high quality, so you do get a lot of bang for your buck. I won’t bore you with technical specifications for this device, but the fact that it can take 10.6 MP still photos is a big plus.

Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 may not be as portable as a Flip, but it does work great for those interviews and serious videos. It’s certainly not for everybody, but if you are hoping to take your vlog to the next level and try your hands in the field of video production, this is a good camcorder to get started with.

Your take: how’s been your experience with AG-HMC40 pro?

If you’ve decided that you want to take your blogging to the next level and start making videos rather than typing out your ideas, then you need to start learning a little more about what it takes to succeed as a video blogger or vlogger. There’s more to it than just having a video camera and something to say, much like there’s more to blogging that just having fingers (or whatever else you type with) and the ability to string words together. Here are some tips to help you build your skills as a video blogger.

1. Do several takes. Chances are good that unless you’re a real pro at talking in front of a camera that you’re not going to be perfect on the first take. Do it at least twice to see if you can get it right the second time around.
2. Pay attention to how you’re speaking. The speed at which you’re talking, your tone, emphasis and other elements of your speech will have a big impact on the watchability of your clips.
3. Avoid just rolling out of bed and vlogging. As superficial as it may be, appearance counts. Take a shower and brush your hair before you start blogging.
4. Learn to edit video. There are few things more awkward than dead air. Learn to edit your videos down to professional looking segments. There are many places to do this for free online, so fancy software isn’t required.
5. Have a script or notes. While a select few out there might be able to wing it when it comes to video blogging, most people will need something to work from. You don’t have to and shouldn’t just sit there are read from a paper, but at least have a reference when you’re speaking.
6. Actually have interest or expertise in what you’re blogging about. No one wants to hear me vlog about sports because a) I know nothing about them and b) I don’t care to. Keep your vlogs on topics you can actually get inspired by or have a clue what you’re talking about otherwise you’re not going to get many repeat viewers.
7. Keep it within a reasonable time limit. Generally, about five minutes is a good length for a video blog. Making it too long will pretty much ensure viewers will turn you off before you’re done talking.
8. Realize that public speaking rules still apply. All the things that you remember when you’re giving a speech in public or talking in front of a group of people still apply when video blogging, so keep that in mind.
9. Give a summary. Most people don’t want to have to watch a video in order to know if they wanted to watch it in the first place. Always offer a short summary about what each video contains so visitors can get the gist beforehand.
10. Learn from the best. These days, even the President gets in on video blogging of sorts. Listen and learn from what the bigger names in video blogging do and emulate the things they do well.

This post was contributed by Jill Gordon, who writes about the top online universities. She welcomes your feedback at Jill.Gordon25@ yahoo.com

I have mentioned a few times earlier this year that if you haven’t started with video-blogging, now is the time. But a lot of folks still feel hesitant about jumping on this trend. The truth is, a lot of folks feel uneasy about having their faces shown on the screen (on YouTube or wherever). But there is more to video-blogging than you sitting in front of a camera and talking. 15 Minutes of Fame is a book dedicated in showing you how to achieve success on Youtube. Here is my review of this fairly recent book on YouTube:

15 Minutes of Fame tackles the concept of vlogging from the very beginning (when YouTube started). YouTube has failed to make lots of money for Google, but we are going to look back at YouTube as a game changer in the video publishing industry. The fact that more folks are getting out of their cable contracts to surf YouTube shows how the game has changed.

15 Minutes of YouTube fame goes over what you need to do publish your video on YouTube. Fredrick Levy talks about how you can create viral videos with your camera and even your mobile phone camera. And let’s not forget that some of the most viral videos in 2008 were about cats! I like the fact that the author talks about the simple video-blogging concepts such as embedding videos and capturing video with web cam. These may seem simple to you but if you haven’t done any video in the past, it is essential to learn as much as you can on these topics.

The author also discusses some of the best tips you can get from YouTube superstars. A lot of folks can learn a lot by watching the masters. But some folks keep watching and still get no clue. That’s where these tips come in. You are going to actually read what the masters have to say about making it on YouTube. The good thing about making videos is the fact that it’s going to be unique no matter what. No-one can take on your unique personality, and that’s why video-blogging is fun and rewarding.

The last chapter of 15 minutes of Fame is about the future of video-blogging. The future is bright. I can tell you that. But unless you jump on the latest trends in the industry, you are going to find behind. Once you get started with video-blogging, you are going to get rolling (depending on your level of enthusiasm), and it would be easy to implement new things as you will be the CEO.

Overall, Becoming a Star in the YouTube Revolution is a great little book that can help you get started with video-blogging. It is definitely not the only book you need to read to get up to speed, but it does help to read the superstars’ tips. Grade: B+/A-.