Trial and Error

Once upon a time a tea-obsessed video producer decided to make a Web show. Like thousands of others before him, he grabbed a camera and started shooting in his kitchen.

Unlike others, he kept making the show and he kept sending it out to experts and he kept asking for advice and he kept fixing his show and he kept making it better.

He submitted the show to Web network Revision3 as an applicant for its beta program, a farm league for emerging Web shows. The show was rejected, so he refined it and struck relationships with video-sharing sites. He submitted it again to Revision3 and it was accepted.

That was two months ago. And the show, “Bottles, Blends and Brews,” became part of the freshman class of the Revision3 beta.

Fast-forward a mere six weeks later because that same Web host—Zack Luye—landed a gig as the host of a new weekly Web show created by Adagio Teas, one of the biggest tea makers and distributors.

The show is slated to launch online in January and will revolve around the company’s “signature blend line.” The podcast will highlight some of the more interesting and successful custom blends that customers can create on the site.

Why am I telling you this story?

1. Persistence can pay off.

2. Not everyone gets hurt in a recession.

3. There are paths to making money if you launch a quality Web show.

4. Brands increasingly will produce online video content for their sites.

5. If you have an expertise, reach out to like-minded brands, companies or marketers. They’ll be leaning on Web video more in these lean times.

Mr. Luye will continue to host and produce “Bottles, Blends and Brews.”