This article was originally published on LinkedIn.

Two decades ago, when I first decided I wanted to be a journalist, I chose this career field because I loved to write.

I still love to write, but over the past few months, I’ve been building my skills as a storyteller in a new medium: short-form vertical video.

I’ve now made over 100 short-form journalism videos, doing every single step of the process entirely by myself. I come up with the story ideas, I report them out, I write the scripts, I set up the lighting and audio equipment, I present the information on camera, I edit the videos, and I publish them and monitor their performance.

That experience has taught me some valuable lessons that I think are worth sharing as more and more journalists like me with a background in writing move into this space. Here are my three biggest takeaways:

1. There is a demand for news in this format. I started with little experience in video and no preexisting audience. In a couple of months, I’ve gained more than 2,000 followers on The Blanket‘s TikTok, YouTube and Instagram accounts – and still growing. I’m not saying short-form video alone is going to save the news business. It’s not easily monetizable. But many news outlets are now relying on philanthropy, which seeks impact rather than a financial return on investment. And at a time of huge declines in search traffic, social video can be a powerful way to give funders more bang for their buck by expanding reach, impact, and engagement.
2. Good equipment and software aren’t prohibitively expensive or challenging to use. For a few hundred dollars, you can get good quality microphones, tripods, lights and editing software. Learning the technical side of production – how to light and frame a shot, how to adjust audio, how to add effects, etc. – isn’t as difficult as it might seem. There are plenty of free resources available, and you can learn a lot through experimentation.
3. Energy and presence matter. Unlike some of the technical skills mentioned above, being on camera is genuinely difficult for a lot of people. And it’s no surprise that viewers respond better to an engaging presenter. I’m certainly not a natural myself, and a lot of text-based journalists that I know are intimidated by the idea of filming themselves. It’s not easy, but there are general techniques you can learn, and over time you gradually figure out what works for you. I really believe that anybody can do this, especially if they’re well coached.

I’m still learning more every day, in part because doing journalism in this format involves listening to and interacting with my audience on the platforms where they watch my videos. That feedback helps me improve and helps me better serve the people I’m trying to reach.

I’m sharing these insights because I want to take what I’ve learned and use it to help other journalists and newsrooms that are making this transition.

If your newsroom is exploring short-form video, looking to expand its storytelling toolkit, or trying to adapt traditional news reporting for social platforms, I’d be glad to talk about what I’ve learned and how I might be able to contribute.