Recently, a clever entrepreneur sent out this video in an email with the subject line: “can you spare 88 seconds.”  The video is addressed to highly targeted bloggers, it is short and to the point. It got their attention and it got covered.

Video is an excellent way to make your point. And, it is in increasingly high demand. In past years, a miniscule percentage of the journalists we survey annually told us they wanted video (and they were basically limited to broadcast journalists). In our 2009 survey, 35% said access to video was important/very important (nearly twice as many as in the previous year.) So what’s the difference? The demand for web content!

While a customized video sent to key targets is a great idea, all sorts of video can add to your story and increases the chances of getting covered—it is especially useful if you’re trying to garner on-line coverage. Here are a few ideas:

1. corporate officers speaking directly to the press/video of your press conference
2. new product ads
3. experts discussing the topic you’re covering
4. recipe tutorials
5. new product demonstrations
6. TV commercials
7. behind-the-scenes videos
8. movie trailers
9. sweepstakes instructions
10. press coverage

We’ve noticed that releases with video deliver higher metrics all around. (In general, the more content the better the metrics.) So, to make it even easier for journalists and bloggers to grab your video and put it on their site, we’re now sending video with code. (You can check out an example here.)

One note of caution, however: it is essential to design for video (you can’t simply drop it in your email—it will get spammed and show up looking awful to most recipients). The best way to send is to use a screen shot with a plain text link beneath it so that all viewers can see and access.