How to Craft a Successful Web Series

Most content creators around the globe are focused into the internet to have their work seen and heard.
Let's face it: Web Series and video marketing go hand in hand. Both follow the same rules as outlined in the YouTube Creator Playbook.

However, since putting across your long-form story in small bursts is not an easy task; a web series takes more time, patience and concrete planning. Plus, you'll be targeting a much more specific audience who should/must stick with your tale for a long run.

YouTube, the world's largest video distribution podium uploads over 100 hours of videos every passing minute. It's the saving grace for all digital content creators. Whether it's short films, a feature length documentary, TV series pilot, YouTube is the ideal place to have your content showcased and spread.

Here's a scenario: what if you are a budding content creator and new to the digital sphere, but not yet sure how to offer your first video to the Internet Gods?

Despair not, as we list the major principles that will help you to craft a successful web series.

Have a story:



You always start with a story. What is it about, how do you want to portray it? Have a clear understanding before taking a dive in the web series world. It’s imperative to understand that a worth watching episode should contain a three-act structure, even it lasts only for 4-5 minutes. The episode must have a strong content that's easy to be followed by the next episode, as the story moves forward.

Find your target audience:



This has been talked about a lot times before. Finding a target audience for your show is basically THE important factor to consider before you direct your content to the world. Keep in mind you will never be able to please everyone on the web, and that's okay. If your web series could manage to fetch a limited amount of appeal and a select group, you and your show will get the acclamation that it deserves, eventually. If your story is based on crime and drama, it must be shared with blogs and sites dedicated solely to that specific genre. If you are heavy into comedy, the same theory must be followed here in order to find specific target audience. Do your homework to find people who go to advertise and share your content.

Budget:

Here's fact: A production house spends 33% of the ENTIRE budget of the film in PR/Marketing. You are not likely to get supremely wealthy working on a webs series. A successful web series however is not different than a movie and requires same amount of dedication. We suggest you release an episode every two weeks or at least one every week. Create a backlog of episodes before publishing your first video. This ensures that the episodes are released without fail and also gives you the liberty to still produce/work on more episodes on the go. Remember you are not doing it for the money but for the opportunity to get seen and heard.

Use the resources around you :



Find people who are more than ready and eager to help you and just want the experience in return. It helps if you live in a filmmaking hub, but even if you don't, you can certainly find talented people around who in order to boost their resume are willing to work for free. You can opt to put an ad up on Craiglist in the area of production and just be amazed to see the number of responses you get.

Curate a plan:
 


You're the boss of your show. Curate plan and lay down to the casts and crew. People will follow you if you are a decisive leader.

Ensure quality of the show:



Your show does not necessarily have to appear slick like a high budget Hollywood movie, but it should at least tell the audience that you as the creator know what you're doing. Other than perfect casting, you also have to make sure that you have the best sound and light design. They need to hear and see you crisp and clear. You have to move the mass and create a mood for them.

Research is the key:


Do your research extensively. It's always better if you can collaborate with other web series stars in an episode to garner the much hyped attention. Internet is FREEDOM, people!

With web series all you gain is a valuable experience. You'll be showcasing your talents and possibly heading to a brighter future ahead.

Go ahead, follow these golden steps and brace yourself to enter the world of stardom! :)