Email about videos leads to being featured in Columbus Dispatch

In early February I received an email from an individual who was searching for ideas on which to write an article and found my videos and homepage. It turns out that this person was Allison Ward who writes lifestyle articles for the Columbus Dispatch here in Columbus, Ohio. Allison shared that she found it interesting that someone working in healthcare I.T. developed a passion for Italian cooking to a level where I wanted to share it with others through my videos.

Of course I was excited! The two years of recording, editing and sharing videos, the endless hours of grinding to gain social media followers and the efforts to gain YouTube subscribers may get a boost from a short blurb in the Dispatch. A date was scheduled during which Ms. Ward and a photographer would stop by our house, do a short interview then stay while I filmed a new episode to see "how the magic happens".

There really isn't much magic. I have some clamp lights with daylight bulbs from HomeDepot on two tripods. For cameras, I have Mevo camera on a stand with a Rode VideoMic, a Nikon D5300 with a Rode VideoMic and a GoPro camera that I set up to capture different angles. It's definitely far from a professional looking setup with extension cords running to different outlets, but it does the job. I'm a one man show and crew, I set everything up, I do all the cooking prep, cooking the food, move the cameras between shots, tear it all down and carry it back to the basement. I do all the video editing, posting and promotion myself.

Allison and the photographer were onsite for a couple hours, one of which was for the interview, the second hour while I worked to prepare and start filming during which I made Pasta e Fagioli. She did have to leave before the food was finished. Allison did share that she'd like to speak with my wife (who had to work late that night), my kids and someone, not local, who had offered feedback, suggestions or been helpful with POV Italian Cooking to get some additional insight and information (Thank you Chef Jonathan Scinto!).

I was very surprised when the article was published! The article, titled Local 'Functional Cook' Transforms Self Into Online-Video Teacher of Italian Cuisine, was the feature on the front of the Life & Arts section and took most of the second pages along with two large pictures (see the online version of the artcle here).

It is incredibly difficult to find an audience on YouTube and social media because there are thousands upon thousands of people sharing recipes and great videos. So, I've spent many hours working to gain 500 subscribers on YouTube. As a result of this article, I gained over 125 new subscribers on YouTube and had a surge of new followers on all the social media platforms. I was also contacted by the New Albany Food Pantry and will be doing a pasta making class for one of their fundraisers.

So, I am truly appreciative that someone looking for article ideas happened to find my YouTube channel!