This is the fourth post in a 5-part series on how to create good online video. Read the entire series — image, sound, editing, distribution and promotion.
When it comes down to it, the web offers the largest distribution potential for independent content creators. However, despite the potential, it is important to focus on specific venues so that you can build an audience. Without an audience, you won’t be able to support an active community. A dedicated audience also provides ideas — content or otherwise.
Fortunately, good distribution solutions are limited. Most of them are also free. The following list represents distribution options that should always be considered while distributing online video.
- YouTube: Google owned YouTube is the world’s largest online video site. It can attract a niche audience as well as a mass audience. Every show should have a presence on YouTube.
- Blip.TV: Blip has grown rapidly over the past 5 years. It is primarily designed for episodic content creators and has the ability to distribute content to set-top boxes, including TiVo. While it is a good solution, its player is a little buggy and may frustrate end users.
- iTunes: Apple’s media portal is tremendously popular and continues to grow as the company releases more mobile devices. It allows content subscription that is far superior to other solutions.
The above recommended solutions are all free and distribute your content broadly across the web. However, you also need to embed videos on your site. While you’re welcome to use the YouTube or Blip.TV player, I suggest signing up for Vimeo+. At $60/year, it is far more customizable and cleaner than any of the other solutions. Furthermore, its video encoding quality surpasses YouTube and Blip.TV
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