In April, she began posting her "girl next door meets Martha Stewart" videos on YouTube under the name AskTheDecorator, and the clicks started coming. Her 87 tutorials include how to make a bow (81,000 views) and how to fold towels so they look just so (43,000 views).

"That one really surprised me," Ms. Carter said of the towel folding video. "We were playing with new cameras and did it for fun. Out of nowhere, it skyrocketed in popularity."

Ms. Carter is following in the footsteps of her father, Tim Carter. Mr. Carter's Ask The Builder franchise, which is more than a decade old, includes a nationally syndicated newspaper column, TV appearances and a popular Web site. Ms. Carter has a long way to go to catch up, but she is upbeat about her prospects.

"It's not a real income kind of money," Ms. Carter said of the advertising revenue that YouTube shares with her. "But I have no doubt it is going to take off at some point. We hope that in three years we will have a critical mass of videos that will help us turn a substantial profit."

Sites like ExpertVillage and Howcast are approaching the production of how-to videos as something of a manufacturing process. Working with hundreds of independent video producers around the country, ExpertVillage has created 90,000 how-to videos and is adding about 12,000 every month. Its "channel" on YouTube has 73,000 videos, far more than any other.

"It's what the Internet screams for," said Byron Reese, founder of ExpertVillage. "People get up in the morning and type, `how do I treat a sprained ankle?' `how do I get a bee sting out of a kid's arm?' "

Last year, ExpertVillage was acquired by Demand Media, a Los Angeles-based company whose chief executive, Richard Rosenblatt, was the chairman of MySpace's parent company before it was sold to the News Corporation.

Freelance video producers, like Paul Muller of Miami, sign up for assignments on ExpertVillage's Web site. Mr. Miller's favorite topics are performing arts, martial arts and fitness. He said he often used Google to find experts on any subject. Since he earns $20 a clip, the trick to making money is figuring out how to do multiple clips quickly. "I prepare the expert ahead of time," he said. "It is crucial that they have a list of 15 to 20 short segments."

The qualifications of the so-called experts vary widely. Michael Sanchez, a 34-year-old stand-up comedian and video producer from Chicago, found out about Howcast on Craigslist. He picked up a handful of assignments to earn "a little extra cash here or there," he said.

Mr. Sanchez says he does not drink and does not cook much, but that did not stop him from creating clips on how to cure a hangover (25,000 views on YouTube and 1,000 on Howcast) and how to make brown rice (only 465 views). He also enlisted his girlfriend for a video on how to kiss with passion (227,000 views on YouTube and 4,600 on Howcast).

"I'd be curious to know why people are clicking on them," Mr. Sanchez said. "I would never go to a Web site to watch how to do things. I'm more apt to read about it."

But Stephen Chao, the chief executive of WonderHowTo, a site that aggregates instructional videos from across the Internet, says many of the clips are as much for entertainment as they are for instruction.

"To me, it is a window into something I never thought about," said Mr. Chao, who helped create shows like "America's Most Wanted" and "Cops" when he was a top executive at Fox. "I find it the most thrilling combination of video that I can find." For Mary Leon, 35, of Salinas, Calif., ExpertVillage has become a source of both entertainment and instruction. She said she had used the site to learn new hair-cutting techniques, crocheting, how to decorate and paint her new home, how to set a table and how not to overpack for a trip to Spain.

"Oh my gosh, I've watched a lot of videos," Ms. Leon said. "They are not trying to sell you anything. It's just how-to. That's what I love about it."

It is not clear that the genre will turn into big business. But some media executives suggest that how-to videos may be just the thing in a slowing economy.

"People want to do more things for themselves," said Wenda Harris Millard, president for media at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. "It is kind of timely."