Posts By: LyleH
http://youtu.be/9sxc1aHqKnM
5 Reasons Business Owners Don’t Create Videos for their Business
They think the equipment is expensive.
There was a time when camera equipment, and broadcasting in general, was out of the hands of most people. That all changed when we started carrying around computers in our pockets.
When I got started making videos I literally had a fourteen dollar camera and a nine dollar video program. If you have a computer, you probably already have a simple video program. If not, Youtube provides simple editing including putting text on your video, chopping off parts of the video and a few more neat things…all for free!
This excuse is the easiest to overcome. Smart phones today are more powerful than expensive camera used to be. If you don’t have one, I bet you know a friend who has one that will help you get started. Or you can buy a cheap camera on a site like ebay or even use a webcam to do your recordings. Equipment should never stand in the way no matter what your budget.
They think they don’t have time.
#1 – Let’s assume you have a smart phone. You can pull out your phone, record yourself and have a video directly uploaded to Youtube in less than a minute. Time is not the issue. The issue is purpose. If you have a purpose for your video, then creating it will be simple.
#2 – If you are a business owner, I bet you have at least one employee who would be willing to shoot a quick video and upload it for you. You simply send an email with basic instructions then ‘empower’ that person to create the video for you. There is power in delegation and it did not take you much more time than creating an email.
They think they can’t edit.
The purpose of editing is to remove unwanted content. If you don’t like editing, shoot the video a couple of times till it looks like you want it. Then, you just upload it like it is. Taking time to plan out your video and putting some effort into making your message clear is important.
If you have to edit, Youtube has everything you need. Just shoot the video, upload it to Youtube, chop off the front and the end of the video, and boom, you are done. Editing does not have to be fancy. The key is to effectively communicate to your audience.
If you really want your videos to look good consider hiring a professional video company or just find a video student at the local college. They will gain valuable experience and you will gain valuable videos. Just keep in mind, they are learning and you really want to consider what you need them to do for your business.
They think they are not technical enough.
In today’s world, if you can get online, you can create a video. If you can operate a smart phone or even a modern TV, you are ‘techie’ enough to create a video. Creating a video is not about being techie, it is about effectively communicating. (I have heard that somewhere before!)
Your message will be more powerful than any lack of technical ‘know how.’ If you have a message, then it ought to be important enough for you to get outside of your comfort zone. Take a moment to learn something new about creating videos and challenge yourself to be better. Your message is important enough for people to hear it. (We can even provide you will specialized training if you need it. Just contact us on our contact page.)
They think they can’t be on camera.
I want you to think about your day today. How many times did you look at yourself in the mirror? If you can look in the mirror, you can be on camera. It is just getting comfortable talking. You already know your subject, probably your business, right? Now all you have to do is pretend you are telling an employee what you need to tell him. Or pretend the camera is one of your favorite customers, what would you tell her?
The point about being on camera is about having something to say. People see you every day, so whether you are online or now, you are seen. It is not about how pretty or ugly you think you are, it is about being confident about your message. Get it in your mind that the camera is just ONE PERSON that needs to hear from you. Talk directly to that person and you will do just fine.
Option: I mentioned creating a slide presentation and just using your voice. These can be effective videos and you don’t have to show your face. You can uses a free online program called Jing to record a video directly from your screen. Now all you need is a microphone. Create your presentation, start the online software, speak as you go through your presentation and save your recording. (Note: the free version lets you create a video for five minutes. If you have a longer presentation, break it into five minute segments!)
Why do you think you CAN do video. Share with us on Youtube or GooglePlus.
This is my take on a list from James Wedmore. He has some great videos if you want to visit his Youtube channel.
http://youtu.be/UUw9VBuw_Zw
Beginning Copywriting
If you don’t know what copywriting is let me make it easy and make sure we are talking about the same thing. Copywriting is effectively communicating with your potential customers in a way that persuades them to become loyal customers, or as I like to say, raving fans.
To effectively communicate you need three things:
- Know your audience: your target market or your ideal customer.
- Know what keeps them up at night: communicate emotion in their ‘language.’
- Know how to tell stories: connect to their life.
Like I said in the video, it is not necessarily about grammar. Grammar is important, but it is secondary. A good copywriter will take grammar into consideration, but will throw it out the window if it does not communicate with the target audience.
The words of any good company communicate in a way that enters the mind of the audience. They connect to the fears and desires of their target. They answer their questions before they ask them and solve the problems they have only thought about. Potential customers should be thinking, “Wow, that is just what I was thinking.”
Good copywriting uses emotions. Use words that are active and not passive. In other words, use action words. Use words that create urgency. People want to know what to do. People want to be lead. Make sure all of your copy is written in a way that tells the customer what they are thinking and what they should do about it.
Be upfront about the problem and how you solve it. You don’t need to be blunt or rude, but be authentic. Connect to your target audience. Cover the things they are thinking about by talking about value instead of price and talk about benefits over features. The key to copywriting is to have the customer imagine himself using your product or service.
Headlines you can use today.
One important part of copywriting is headlines. Headlines tell the audience whether or not they should bother reading the rest of your text. They catch attention and get the reader to pay attention. Thanks to SEM Rush I have included 20 of the most famous and effective headline here to help you as you think about the headline you need to connect to your target audience.
o _____ Money/Time Saving Tips for _____
o Everything You Need to Know About _____
o Top _____ Tips for _____
o _____ Ways to Boost Your _____
o How to _____ in _____ Seconds
o _____ Facts and Myths
o The Real Truth About _____
o The Secret of Successful _____
o _____ Facts You Need to Know
o Little Known Ways to _____
o All You Need to Know About _____
o Top World Cheapest/Best/Worst _____
o 100 Useful _____
o How to _____ Like a Pro/Boss
o _____ Creative Ways to _____
o _____ Expert _____ Tips
o _____ Reasons You Should _____
o What Everyone Ought to Know About _____
o _____ Do’s and Don’ts
o _____ Like An Expert in _____ Easy Steps
Use these headlines as a starting point. Don’t be afraid to step out of the box and use headlines that really grab your audience. Just look at your email and news headlines for lots of examples.
I could write a whole course on copywriting, but CopyBlogger has already done that and it is FREE. (Free is a great word to get attention, don’t you think?) I have not gone through their course, but I have been impressed with the information I have found on their page. I have no relationship with them, so I am just offering this as a benefit if you are really interested in learning more. You have nothing to lose, so check out their free course.
What copywriting tips have help you. Share with us on Youtube or GooglePlus.
http://youtu.be/WOj0X8V4wyQ
The ONE Video Your Business ABSOLUTELY NEEDS
Many people think that the one video they need to have for their business is a video on their main page. I don’t think so. The most valuable video you need to have is your story video. Your story video should be on your ABOUT page
Why an About page video is so powerful:
- When someone goes to your ABOUT page, they have a mental ‘buy in’ to who you are. New visitors want to know more about you than your business. They have taken the action to learn more about your, so reward them with an powerfully engaging video.
- The ABOUT page is the second most visited page on your site. (Check your stats and you will be amazed.)
- People connect to your story. People buy from people and they want to know the story behind what you do.
Your story video tells why you are in business and what drove you to create the value that you give to others. It is your passion and your past melded together into a wonderful story that connects potential customers to you.
When potential customers take the time to visit your About page and you blow them away with a powerful story, you will have a customer for life.
What do people want to see on your story video:
- Tell them about your struggles and why that drove you into your business.
- Tell them about the passion you have for your business.
- Tell them a funny story about how you got started.
- Tell them the person who inspired you to go into business.
- Tell them about your values and why it is important to you and your business.
This video should be between 2-5 minutes, but it can be longer if it is really engaging. Have some employees watch it to see what they think about the length. This will help them buy into your story and hopefully, they will be one of your biggest cheerleaders.
Creating a ‘Documentary Style’ Story Video
A documentary style video adds interest and keeps the ‘feel’ of the story moving forward. It is a powerful way of telling a story that goes beyond the story and into emotions of people who are watching. It is not hard to do, if you know some basic editing.
First, you want a good quality video. Keep in mind, this will take some editing, but most computers have the needed tools to do this. If you are not comfortable doing this for yourself, contact my business page and let’s set something up for you.
Quick Tips to get started:
- You want the words to be powerful: script it.
- You want the images to be engaging: photos and video should use good angles and lighting.
- You want the background to be accentuating: tell your story with your surroundings.
- You want the sound track to be relevant: audio should be clear with light music to accent the tone and feel of the video.
When creating a documentary style video, your first, ‘main’ shot, should be you talking directly into the camera. This should be the ‘complete story.’ You may shoot it in one, two or three sections: just keep the story moving forward.
I suggest writing a script, but do the video recording from memory. You don’t want it word for word from your script. You know your story. The script is just a guideline to make sure you include all that you want to include about your story. You want to talk to the camera like you are talking to a friend.
Then, you want to create a ‘B-roll.’ These are the videos and images that will go ‘on top of’ your main video. You may want a second camera to video you from the side while the main video is being recorded. You may want shots of you walking in a park, talking to people in your business, doing work at your desk…whatever is relevant to your story. (If you want to be fancy, you can create a storyboard based on your script and note video shots you want to include in your video.)
For example: Let’s say you are talking about how family is important to you. You are talking from your business office, and as you continue to talk, an image of you pushing one of your children on a swing fades onto the screen. The audio of you talking continues. Maybe, you want to be simpler and just show a picture from your desk is focused on showing you and your family.
I think that is a good quick understanding of how you can create your story video in a documentary style. If you want to know more, there are plenty of videos that can give you tips. I found some tips from another video professional here. Caution: if you do this video for yourself, make sure to get some feedback from people who will be honest with you. A poorly done video could hurt your business.
There are some training courses online you can pay for, but honestly it would be a better use of your money to pay for someone to help you create your documentary story. It will be more professional and save you a bunch of headaches. You can hire a college video student or you can hire a professional video company. Also, I have some basic video marketing training on a playlist.
I hope this helps.
If you create a story video, share it with me. If you have basic questions about creating your own video, ask me on on Youtube or GooglePlus. If enough people respond, we may create a training just for you!
http://youtu.be/zvk_DB0iuuU
10 Reasons small companies stay small
Lack of business planning
This is a simple fix, create a business plan. Even if you have been doing business for a while, creating a business plan will help your identify exactly what you need to do. You can do a simple exercise and write down what your business looks like in 1 year, 2 years and 5 years.
Lack of online marketing
We live in a digital world. . . well most consumers do. We are in a digital age and if you are not harnessing the power of a well designed web page and social media, you are mission valuable leads. Being online is about strategy and planning. Do you have a marketing plan? Does it include digital technology? If not, fix your digital marketing and meet your potential customers where they are.
Bad project management skills
There are a lot of good entrepreneurs who cannot manage their way out of a bag. If you are more of a doer than a planner, hire someone to help you. It is important that you bring your team along with you as your business grows.
Lack of structure and organization
Make sure everyone in your organization knows their roles. If you don’t have an organization chart showing what roles everyone has, create one. It is valuable to see these things in reality. As a matter of fact, at the beginning there may be seventeen roles and all of them have ‘you’ as the one doing those things. This gives you a picture of where you can start to grow your business.
Poor judgment in business diversification
Do what you do so well people want to buy from you. Many businesses get caught up doing so many things that they miss their original purpose for being a business. I have seen it time and time again. An entrepreneur sees a great opportunity and throws it in his business without thinking about how it fits his business. Don’t do that.
Keep the main focus of your business strong. If you want to add something, make sure it fits into what you are doing. As a matter of fact, it may be easier to have someone else do that same thing as you partner up with them to help each of your businesses grow. It is called cross promotion and is a valuable tool for growth.
Too much technical training, not enough sales training
If you know what you are doing, then keep doing it. You don’t need to relearn it over and over. Take time in your training to learn to sell what you are doing. Everyone is a sales person, so learn to develop those skills. Even if you hire a sales team, you need to know how to sell so you can lead them and help them develop.
Fear of failure
As entrepreneurs, we take calculated risks. We are not afraid of doing what other people can’t or won’t. However, there is an underlying fear sometimes that creeps in and tells us that we will not succeed. Embrace those moments of doubt and conquer those fears. It may be the resistance that you feel that will sling shot you to the next level of success.
Inability to scale project management
I have said it before and will say it again, you must have proper systems in place. You must have systems that work even if you are not there. These systems will help you when it comes time to scale your business to the next level. If you cannot put on paper what your systems are, then you don’t have systems. Actually, if you don’t have them written on paper, you don’t have systems.
Fear of overhead expenses
Remember, you are investing in your business growth. I have heard so many entrepreneurs say that it is too expensive to grow. That is backward thinking. IF you want to grow, it will cost money. As an entrepreneur, you must calculate the rewards on the other side of an expense. That is where your business plan comes into play. You can see the need for a particular expense to launch you to the next level of success.
Hitting the panic button too late
As an entrepreneur, you must be proactive. You must plan ahead for the good and the bad. You don’t want to be putting out fires; you want to be avoiding fires. The better you can ‘see’ ahead of you, the better you can prepare.
A simple motto to live by:
Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.
What other things have you seen that keeps businesses from growing? Share with us on Youtube or GooglePlus.
http://youtu.be/wFX9FgfUdYs
4 Step Sales System
Research
Get to know your target audience ahead of time. Anticipate and prepare for objections. Learn to talk their language.
Read
Read their personality and their situation. Present for them in a way that it they feel like you are reading their minds. Talk directly to their needs using their language based on your research.
Reveal
Internalize and understand where they are coming from. Script your presentation in a way to overcome objections and naturally follow through to the closing of the sale.
Recap
Go over all that you went over with them in a short version. Remind them of the key points. You can even hand them a checklist. Use this to close the deal by getting the customer to ‘buy in’ to what you have revealed.
Bonus: Review
Go over what you accomplished in your sales process. What can be improved? What worked great? If something needs to be improved, learn from other experts and get better. Read book, listen to audios, or watch videos. You have so much at your finger tips today to grow in your presentation.
What are your sales tips? Share with us on Youtube or GooglePlus?