• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 12, 2008

Is there really a market for another how-to site online?

"Absolutely," said Jason Liebman, who has partnered with an old YouTube colleague, Daniel Blackman, to redefine the how-to space with the launch of Howcast.com.

"This is the perfect opportunity to build a brand around high-quality instructional content," said Liebman, who helped Google launch its killer AdSense product before eventually transitioning to its YouTube unit.

To stand out amid the current explosion in instructional and do-it-yourself videos, Howcast is operating a New York City production studio to guarantee quality and style consistency across 25 tutorial categories.

To scale its output, Howcast has launched a directors program for amateur filmmakers to create videos. In return for a $50 advance and a revenue-sharing agreement, pre-screened directors can contribute videos by downloading Howcast's production elements, including subject topics, how-to text guides, graphics, music, and voiceover tracks.

Also, unlike YouTube and other video-sharing sites, Howcast's destination site and video-player are specifically tailored to how-to content. Videos, for example, feature clear bullet points, and are broken into step-by-step segments for viewers to easily follow along. Videos can also be played in slow motion, zoomed in on, and shared and discussed with others online.

And Liebman isn't the only one who believes in Howcast's prospects. The company just raised $8 million in its first round of funding--led by Tudor Investment Corporation--and has signed JetBlue Airways as a premiere ad sponsor for its travel category.

Howcast is also working with Starcom USA to bring other sponsors onboard--many of whom already believe that the best way to reach a consumer is by offering them a valuable service, according to Tracey Scheppach, Starcom USA senior vice president and video innovations director.

"Howcast is a contact channel where helping and catering to consumers is inherent in the model," Scheppach said. The goal, she added, is to "find new ways to captivate consumers by providing them informative, useful content that they seek and value."

Along these same lines, opportunistic marketers like Apple, Sephora and HP are already prodigious producers of how-to videos for target consumers. Without naming particular brands, Liebman said Howcast will serve as a platform for this sort of content.

"We're in conversations with a lot of marketers, thinking up ways to showcase their content," Liebman said. "We haven't based our business model on pre-roll videos."

Still, there is no shortage of how-to videos and how-to video destinations competing for viewers' attention. Along with more established sites like YouTube, Metacafe, and DIYNetwork.com, start-ups are popping up left and right with names like 5min, Expert Village, Instructables, Videojug, and WonderHowTo.com.

To maximize exposure, Howcast is trying to line up as many distribution partnerships as possible. So, far the startup has agreements with MySpace, Verizon FiOS TV, Joost, Roo, Apple's iTunes, and, of course, YouTube.

As an ex-employee of Google and YouTube, can Liebman make sure Howcast videos rank higher in search results on the sites?

"No," said Liebman. "But, we wish."