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How to Build Your Business At "Mind-Boggling" Speed Using Video Marketing

Written by: AWAI’s The Golden Thread

Article Overview: AWAI Staff Writer, Jason Gaspero, talks about how web video and video marketing are the latest and greatest strategies you should use to boost your online marketing efforts.

How to Build Your Business At "Mind-Boggling" Speed Using Video Marketing

Only Yahoo and Google get more traffic. However, marketing your business on today’s #3 most visited website in the world couldn’t be a more promising idea than it is right now …

“This is the future … ”
– CNN

“The future of online video advertising is promising … ”
– Forbes magazine

“Web video – and video marketing – are here to stay.”
– Jessica Kizorek, award-winning international videographer

I’m talking about marketing your business on YouTube – the insanely popular video-sharing website. And now’s a great time to get on board.

All you need are a few simple tools, a good idea, and some step-by-step instructions to follow … and you’ll be well on your way to producing and broadcasting great videos … and getting you and your business noticed.

You might even make some money while you’re at it. In some cases … really good money!

How much?

Take Blendtec, for example. Blendtec sells a super-powerful industrial blender that spins at a mind-boggling 330 mph. (It spins faster than the deadliest tornado ever recorded!)

Blendtec developed a viral-marketing campaign called “Will It Blend,” which consisted of a series of short videos demonstrating the awesome power of the blender. It blended marbles … golf balls … sealed soda cans … a six-foot garden rake … and even a brand-new iPhone! Check out the video …

The videos became a smash hit. As a result, traffic to the Blendtec website skyrocketed … and sales increased into the millions. Not only that, but the company’s founder, Tom Dickson, even made national television appearances on NBC’s The Tonight Show With Jay Leno as well as The History Channel.

And this is just one of many, many examples.

Thousands of budding professional video marketers are already building their businesses on YouTube … and now you can, too.

Here’s how.

First, you’ll need a few simple tools …

To get started, you’ll need a desktop or laptop computer. The good news? You’ve obviously already got this sorted out … or else you wouldn’t be reading this!

Next, you’ll need a video capturing device. And there’s a good chance you’ve already got this, too.

Any of the following will work:

- A “webcam” that can capture video.
- A digital camera with video-recording capabilities. (Most new models have this feature these days.)
- A mobile phone with video-recording capabilities. (Again, most new models have this feature, but the quality may not be that great … depending on the model. Test it out first.)
- A digital video recorder or “camcorder.” (These are the most expensive, but will produce the highest-quality video when you know how to use them correctly.)

Once you’ve got your video-capturing device, you’ll then want to make sure you’ve got adequate lighting. This is crucial. The room may look bright to you while you’re filming … but when you take a look at it on your computer monitor, it may come out much darker.

How do you ensure adequate lighting? You can place a lamp on either side of your computer … but this may come out a little harsh. After all, you don’t want a big shiny spot on your forehead in your video!

Experiment with different lighting until it looks acceptable to you in your videos … before you broadcast. Try different angles. Or maybe different lightbulbs. Whatever it takes to get it right.

If none of that works to your liking … you may want to consider investing in a professional-quality video-lighting kit. Starter kits on the Internet start as low as $49.95 … and go up considerably from there.

Next, you’ll need video-editing software. And here’s more great news … you’ve already got this, too!

If you own a PC, Windows ships with a free video-editing software application called Windows Movie Maker. It’s not the most sophisticated video-editing software available today, but it’s free! And it’s relatively easy to learn, too. So it’s a great way to get your feet wet and learn the basics of video editing.

If you own a Mac, you’ll have iMovie installed on your computer. I’m not a Mac user, but I have heard that iMovie has gotten rave reviews … so it’s definitely worth trying out if you’re a loyal Mac user.

By the way, both Windows Movie Maker for the PC and iMovie for the Mac come with an extensive help/tutorial section. Take the time to learn the application’s features before you get into filming and editing. You’ll be glad you did.

OK … now you’re ready to go!

Here are 5 simple steps you can follow to get your video recorded, edited, and broadcast in no time flat.

STEP 1 – Determine the topic you’d like to cover. Is there a particular topic that interests you … that you’ve got experience in … and that you’d like to teach people how to do as part of your business? Maybe it’s “How to get the best deal on a new car?” Or maybe “How to cook the perfect fried egg?” Or maybe even, “How to teach your dog to catch a Frisbee.”

You’re absolutely unlimited when it comes to topics here.

Just check out some of these recent YouTube submissions:

- How to fold a T-shirt in 2 seconds …
- How to piss off a telemarketer …
- How to be a Ninja …
- How to escape from handcuffs …
- How to moonwalk like Michael Jackson …
- How to make cheese …
- How to turn your iPod into a Taser …

As you can see, you can produce “how-to” videos on just about anything.

Or, like Tom Dickson did with his Blendtec blender, you could produce an interesting demonstration video. Or, you could even produce something completely different if you wanted to.

The choice is yours.

Simply decide what kind of subject you’d like to cover in your video … and go from there.

HINT: One of the easiest ways to get started is to see what other people are already doing on YouTube … and simply do what they do. Only better!

For example, if you want to produce a video on how to get six-pack abs (a very hot and lucrative sub-niche right now), go to YouTube and type in “how to” then “six pack abs” and hit return. You’ll find HUNDREDS of videos teaching you how to get the kind of abs that look like “steel raviolis.”

Take a look at as many as you can, borrow what you like from each, and use this information when you write the script for your video.

STEP 2 – Write the script for your video. This could be the most critical step of all. You see, you’ve only got a few seconds to grab the viewer’s attention and persuade him to keep watching. Every second counts. Bore him or confuse him for even one second, and that’s it. He’ll click off and check out another video.

“Every good marketing video needs a good script,” according to award-winning videographer Jessica Kizorek (JessicaKizorekAWAI on YouTube) and author of "Marketing With Video Online for Profit." “A solid understanding of video marketing and what goes into the creation of a video-marketing script will put you ahead … ”

You must plan out your entire video script from start to finish. Again, to make things easier for you, just take a look at what other people have already done and use that for ideas. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.

STEP 3 – Film your video. This is when you actually film the video. You’ll probably want to do a few rehearsals at first. Not only is this totally fine, but it’s highly recommended. You’ll be able to pinpoint any areas of improvement upon review and make the necessary adjustments later on.

HINT: While you’re filming, make sure nothing else is in the room that can disturb you or interrupt your filming. There’s nothing more frustrating than filming a segment that’s going perfectly until one of your family members barges in the room without knocking and demands to use the computer … or your hungry cat jumps onto your keyboard and demands dinner … or your mobile phone rings at the worst possible moment … or whatever else may happen.

Make your filming area “interruption-proof” before you hit “record” and you’ll be fine.

Next …

STEP 4 – Edit your video. Once you’ve done all your filming, it’s time to put your video-editing skills to use. Open your video editor of choice (Windows Movie Maker for PCs or iMovie for Macs) and start editing away.

There’s an art to editing videos … and it’ll take some time (but not too much time) before you start doing it well. Again, this is when it pays to simply emulate what others are doing. See how they edited their videos and do something similar.

Don’t rip them off completely, of course, but follow a similar structure and you’ll be on the right track. Finally …

STEP 5 - Broadcast your video. OK … You’ve come up with an idea for your video, written the script … filmed it … and edited it … Now it’s ready for broadcast! All you need to do now is sign up for an account on YouTube, follow the directions for uploading a video and then upload it.

That’s it! Now your video is online for millions and millions of people to see.

And if you’ve covered a hot topic and done a great job of filming, editing, and marketing your video, you will very likely see explosive growth in your business in the near future.

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Article Tags: award winning international, cnn, deadliest tornado, forbes magazine, garden rake, golf balls, google, history channel, iphone, jay leno, national television appearances, promising idea, simple tools, soda cans, tom dickson, tonight show with jay leno, video advertising, video marketing, viral marketing campaign, youtube



Related Forum Posts
Re: Great start, but no finish - My advise is FOCUS on your business. Focusing is the main factor to succeed on business. If you have a great idea, then follow it only, don't look anywhere else. It is especially essential in an online business. Because there are a lot of mind blowing sales letters promising millions dolllars or overnight success, people find it difficult to concentrate on one business and they lose their energy. Concept is simple. 1- Have a good idea; 2- Build your business on it; 3- Monetize your business; 4- Promote it; 5- Build list of responsive customers; 6- Maintain You Business. Focusing and not fearing from competition (instead you can learn from competitiors) are main tips of billionaires ,BTW. Orxan
Re: SES Toronto Next Week - In that case, how about the following? Track: Get Me Up to Speed * State of Search Marketing in Canada Track: Practical & Actionable * Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online Mentions Track: Advanced * User Search Behavior * Social Media Success * Web 2.0 & Search Engines * Giving Credit Where It’s Due: Which Campaign Sold What?
Re: Are Business Owners too Old School to be Sold by a blog - I think this question needs to be redefined. Is it the the senior demographic that you're posing this question to? There is a wide range of business owners young and old. Some of the older folks can grasp the quick changes occurring on the net and go with the flow, while others have lost interest. I see blogs as next generation websites... they are superior than websites in so many ways. Sophisticated webmasters are cloaking their blogs to look like websites, so it's hard to discern whether it's even a blog, yet it has all the great functionality of a blog. Business owners need to embrace the internet regardless of their industry. Currently, I see the ideal combination looking like this: Build a static website, add a navigation link to a 'current news' feature or the like, which is your blog, and get the best of both worlds. Or as I said, build a blog that looks like a website. Finally - If the Marketing message is well done, then I don't see why it shouldn't be effective regardless of the format.
Re: Fill in the blank: The best decision I ever made with my bus - Focusing on my Internet Marketing Business
Dramatized the product - Tough one... It's going to have t be a mix of different media. 1. Testimonials of current owners of the product and how it's helped them. This can be done thru Video and print 2. Somehow I believe there will have to be Video of it being "dramatized" 3. People of influence will have to support or sponsor the product. just some that came to mind..


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