How to make a talking-head style video BETTER in 4 easy steps.

If I can clarify one point first … I’m not an advocate of using the talking-head style video for a sales video.

They’re GREAT for testimonials.  That being said … let’s move on.

TRANSFORM YOUR TALKING-HEAD VIDEO INTO A POWERHOUSE.

There are four steps to this process.  You’ll see how to do it yourself … or if you’d rather have me do it for you, please let me know.  The best way to reach me is on FACEBOOK.

Step 1.

If you have already recorded your webcam video and there is background noise, the best way to remove the noise is in an audio editing program.  My favorite is Adobe Audition.  Others will do the job just fine.  Select a NOISE REMOVAL TOOL.  Most of the time you’ll find this in the effects plugins.  When removing noise, be careful to always do a BEFORE & AFTER comparison because it’s easy to remove too much noise, and make your audio sound like it’s garbled or under water.  Generally speaking DON’T remove ALL the noise.  Sometimes even a 30% to 50% removal is enough to make it sound significantly better.

Many audio programs will open a video file.  While you can’t edit any of the visuals, it WILL allow you to tweak and edit the soundtrack for your video.

Step 2.

Jim’s new video opens with some MOTION VIDEO ELEMENTS from volume 8.  They are available here.  He used a blue background for the video, from the same collection.

These were added to the timeline in a video production program (just about any one will do the trick).

The original (talking-head) video was added to the timeline … this time with the cleaned audio track.

A CALL TO ACTION was selected also (from MOTION VIDEO ELEMENTS) and added to the end of the video.

Step 3.

A little high energy music was added.  A 30-second clip through the intro, and the same one was faded back in at the end of the video.  This piece is available at PLR MUSIC.

Though the cleaning of the audio (step 1) was done in an audio editor, the music was added in the video software.

Step 4.

For some customization, Jim added his URL to the bottom of the entire video, and a few CUSTOM MOTION VIDEO ELEMENTS.  (Video Elements used in packages can be ordered as a custom edit – YOUR WORDS from an EXISTING TEMPLATE.)

DONE!

Upon completion, the video was checked, and then rendered (output from the video program into a watchable video clip).  From there it can be added to your web site, shared on FaceBook, or uploaded to YouTube.

HERE ARE THE BEFORE & AFTER VIDEOS.

Before:

After:

HOW TO GET YOURS:

Option 1:

If you’re a “do it yourselfer” and want to transform your videos into a powerhouse like this one, you can check out MOTION VIDEO ELEMENTS Volume 8.

Option 2:

For three people only … I’ll fix your fix up your video and deliver your transformed version, ready to go.

Or if you aren’t sure where to start – we can start from scratch.  I’ll do it WITH YOU or FOR YOU. (Your choice).

Details here

Tweet

Follow

Seven Ways to make money from online video marketing In terms of consumer products, we’ve just wrapped up CES 2012, the tradeshow where many of the new gadgets are not only revealed, but where you’ll find out the competition is scoping what everyone else is doing.

Cool New Gear ALWAYS changes things.

In 2012 many are speculating this will be not only the year of the iPad, but the year where handheld and set-top gadgets will unleash a lot of cord-cutting for cable subscribers.

Opportunities exist for many marketers, because most households still do not yet have the tech gadgets that allow cord-cutting to happen.  We’re doing more and more multi-media on our smartphones.

• Mobile video viewers will reach 54.6 million in 2012
• Smartphone video viewers will reach 51.2 million in 2012

So WATCH.  Pay attention to the tech.  The coming year will REVOLUTIONIZE online marketing. 

If you’re not yet full of ideas on how to benefit from this flood of traffic, here are some ideas to get you started.

7 Ways To Make Money From Online Video Marketing:

1.   Learn to make sales videos.  You’ll need to be able to create video anyway, so you might as well learn it NOW.

2.  Build a blog or web site that targets the consumer who is researching methods of connecting their handheld gadgets to their media library (and to their television sets).  This type of site could be monetized with some simple advertising.

3.  Create some HOW-TO videos for YouTube, showing how to set up a home theater system with connectivity to the internet.  This market will EXPLODE this coming year.

4.  Learn Video SEO.  Since a YouTube video ranks QUICKLY into Google’s organic rankings, you can benefit from this yourself as well as make your video seo services available for hire.

5.  Create videos for entertainment.  Silly videos that exist for PURE FUN are often shared are become viral into the hundreds of thousands.   If you’re a YouTube partner, you can earn a share of advertising revenue.

6.  Using video on your squeeze pages increases optin conversions anywhere from 200% to 700%.  But it’s GOT TO be GOOD!

7.  Video Testimonials.  Talking-head style videos (the kind shot by a web cam) offer credibility in the highest form.  Adding these to any of your sales pages will increase sales conversions.  Guaranteed.

Tweet

Follow

90% Of All Web Traffic Will Be Video

Some big bold claims were made by YouTube’s Robert Kyncl, the head of global partnerships, took the stage this year at CES 2012, citing that 90% of all web traffic will be video. Isn’t that enough to get any marketer off the couch and using video in their arsenal of marketing tools? Fact remains, that in 2007, 51% of google searchers were looking for video, and now in 2012, online video is part of our daily diet.

90% of all web traffic will be video. That’s just a huge, gaudy number designed to do one thing: get your attention. In my case, at least, mission accomplished.

But he didn’t stop at just that.

YouTube also logged a trillion hits in 2011. A trillion… with a “tr” in front. I love when YouTube drops statistical bombshells like this.  Plenty of new statistics are now out, and fact remains that video is IT.  PERIOD.

Video Or Die?

There’s no guessing what that means. It means video is not only the content variety of the moment, it’s the content variety of the future for years to come. It means video is everything, and any business–big or small–that refuses to believe that is taking a huge risk of being forgotten. Publishers are becoming brands, brands are becoming publishers… and it’s all video.

Tweet

Follow

How to make YOUR sales videos GREAT!  Here’s 10 tips for you.

Music used in this video is called Magnitude (c) 2010, Ginny Culp.

Tweet

Follow

NOT JUST AUDIO!

Television producers have been using motion video loops and elements for years. Ever see those notices that warn about “viewer discretion is advised” etc?

To save time, they don’t make these from scratch.  They use PRE-MADE motion video loops.

And now that many internet marketers are producing their video advertisements, video demos, and video info-products, you’ll find many of these same VIDEO MOTION ELEMENTS in their arsenal of tools too.

MORE INFO

Tweet

Follow

In recent blog posts, I’ve talked several times about online video.

For several years now it’s been increasing by leaps and bounds … it CONTINUES to do so in 2012.

Here are some more statistics for you.

More info here

Tweet

Follow

The experts are
ALREADY
saying
that in
2012 …

• Online video viewers will reach 169.3 million in 2012
• 53.5% of the population and 70.8% of internet users (up 7.1% from 2011) will watch online video in 2012
• Mobile video viewers will reach 54.6 million in 2012
• Smartphone video viewers will reach 51.2 million in 2012

That being said, here’s a little bit of HOW TO GET STARTED in VIDEO MARKETING!

In a recent post I mentioned some different categories of videos … one is the CAMCORDER VIDEO.  This is video you have shot from your smartphone, camcorder, or digital camera.  It’s MOTION VIDEO as opposed to a video primarily made up of photos (still images), and text.

Often the audio is removed (or sometimes partially removed) and music is added.

The purpose of this type of video varies greatly.  It can be as simple as a home video you would like to share with your friends, or a moment that you managed to capture (whether on purpose or by accident) that will appeal to a wide audience.  If your starting point is from your own inventory of home video footage, then you’re ready to begin.

STEP ONE:  What portion of the video do you want, and how are you going to edit it?

Once you have decided what clip you’ll be using, you will need a way to edit the video clip.  Some video cameras connect via USB, Bluetooth, or wireless, and you can easily copy the file onto your computer hard drive for editing.  Other methods include a memory card that you remove from the camera and insert into your computer’s memory card reader, and the other method is to connect the camera via firewire, and the video production software will CAPTURE the video and turn it into a raw video file.  Often the video format is AVI or MOV, and you’ll end up with a very large file, depending on the length (running time) of the video.  So be prepared to have plenty of hard drive space.

If your video is on DVD or video cassette, you can still work these video files too.  But you may need some video capture hardware such as a dazzle card.  In essence, you hit PLAY on the playback device, and RECORD on the computer.

Editing your video is generally done in video production software.  A few examples include Pinnacle, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut, and Sony Vegas.  Of course there’s much more than just these few mentioned examples.  If you’re lucky enough to own a Mac … then you’re all set since Macs come preloaded with iMovie.

A very short description of what to do next, is to edit the video using your video production software, add some text overlays, sound effects, music (and maybe a voice over), and then render the finished video.  Rendering means to export the edited version into a watchable file.  Preview your finished video, and when it’s perfected you can upload it to youtube and other video sharing sites.

Here’s an example of a CAMCORDER VIDEO that was shot on an iPhone 3GS (in poor lighting conditions), and quickly edited using Final Cut, and then posted to Youtube.

Of course I made this video for personal reasons.  Gunner’s a cute dog (well really what dog isn’t? *grin*), and I wanted to share this video with friends and family.

But in my case it was also an opportunity to promote myself and what I do.  As a producer of music for online marketers (the kind of music every youtube user needs), not only did I include my own music as the audio backdrop to this video, but I also added information about how someone can get some music for themselves … and with a PLR license.

Makes sense right?

But even if you don’t promote a product or service within YOUR video, there are also advertising opportunities for generating some revenue for your hard work and video masterpiece.

STEP TWO: Share your video

Gone are the days of needing to place your finished masterpiece onto video cassette or DVD.  Today, you can share it with the world in minutes by using video sharing sites such as youtube.

Here are more videos produced by Ginny … on youtube

Tweet

Follow

Do you find Video Marketing an UPHILL BATTLE?

According to Online Video Marketing Statistics, adding video to small business profiles:

• Increases number of business profile views more than 100% (I think that is a conservative estimate)
• Increases number of profile clicks more than 30%
• Increases number of calls generated by more than 18%

Impressive statistics right?  So if that’s your business profile, then what about sales pages and squeeze pages?

In my own experience, I have seen the simple addition of video to a sales page increase sales by 600% or more.  So if these numbers are true, then why doesn’t EVERYONE use video EVERY TIME?

The fact is that video production requires a little more time, thought, tools and skills as opposed to text and graphics alone.  PLUS, I’ve even had comments on this blog where the readers have ASKED for more video.  So yes, I’ll work on that for you

If you’ve never created a video, then you might be wondering where you start.  In my case, I started creating PRODUCED home videos.  In other words, I took the home video we had shot with our digital camcorder, imported it into the computer, did some quick editing, added text overlays, some background music, and voila … a more interesting video to watch.

It’s a great place to start, and of course you can post your videos to facebook and video sharing sites such as youtube (and so forth).  And once you’ve got the hang of it then you can move onto the professional arena of creating a video to demonstrate or promote a product that you’re selling either online or offline.

Video production tools come in two varieties.

• There’s the kind that is software on your computer (sometimes free / sometimes expensive),
• and there are the web sites that generate video FOR YOU.

What categories of video are there?

• Motion video shot from your camcorder or smartphone (later on edited and produced)
• Screen capture videos that allow you to SHOW HOW to achieve XYZ task
• Photo montage videos that are a sequence of stills put to music
• Power point style … one screen after another of text, with a voice over message in the background
• Animated videos

Each of these categories of videos require different tools, different still sets, and of course they have a different purpose.  But in all cases, be sure to use material that YOU OWN, not images, video, or music, that you aren’t licensed to reuse.  If you have created the material yourself … then you’re good to go!

Tweet

Follow

Did you know …

• Online video viewers will reach 169.3 million in 2012
• 53.5% of the population and 70.8% of internet users (up 7.1% from 2011) will watch online video in 2012
• Mobile video viewers will reach 54.6 million in 2012
• Smartphone video viewers will reach 51.2 million in 2012

If you’re marketing online and you aren’t using video … you’re missing a MASSIVE audience that keeps growing.

Tweet

Follow

Eliminating Noise In Your Voice Over Recording Environment

A common problem that internet marketers run into is that they create an audio or video product … run straight through the recording … and discover in the end that in spite of their hard work that the audio is isn’t the masterpiece they had hoped for.

Most often the causes are room noise (or echoes), noise from interfering equipment, and too much distance between the microphone and the subject.

Sadly once the recording is committed to tape (or nowadays your hard drive), it’s locked in.  Since attempts to remove the background noise or room noise are often not successful, it’s best to eliminate the noise BEFORE you start the recording.
If you have a very large room with lots of ambiance, consider adding a baffle or reflexion filter.  It is positioned behind the microphone and will help you produce a DRY vocal recording.  Alternatively, add a curtain rod close by, and hang a blanket to help isolate you from interfering noises.

All electronics will produce noise ..and the most likely culprit to give you trouble is your computer.  And if you’re recording to it … you can’t turn it off.  The solution is to either isolate it in an insulated cabinet, or to cover it with a heavy blanket when you record.  Most cooling fans make a lot of noise, and they’ll be part of your recording.

Don’t forget … turn off your cell phone … and tell your family “I’m recording.  Please keep the dog quiet and don’t knock on my door.”

Tweet

Follow