First business video tips

I made my first business video in 2009!

It was the early days of online video and I knew next to nothing about making videos at the time.

Don’t laugh.

Half way through, I almost gave up.

I’m glad I didn’t. Read on to find out why.

Let’s Rewind

Recording, editing and embedding a video to play on a website in 2009 was no easy task.

Video editing software was expensive. Cameras were basic.

I don’t even know where or what audio equipment I need. Even if I did, I probably could not afford it.

I almost gave up half way because it took so long.

But I wanted a competitive advantage so that people know me before they even meet me.

I knew enough that I need to record in high definition, HD and it must have decent audio. A camera that records video at 720p cost a bit of money.

Why did I attempt to do this first video?

Shorten The Sale

My aim was to shorten the sales process so that it will be easier for me to complete a sale. I hate to waste time.

If you know the sale process, you know that your prospective customer must feel comfortable dealing with you.

In other words - they must like and trust you before they buy.

This was the time of websites and blogs before social media made a real entry.

So I thought to up the ante by having video on my site.

I had a website that rank well in Google. Prospect were already contacting us.

Marketing sites were saying video was helping increase sales.

It Was Tough

It took me over 10 hours to make a video 1 minute and 9 seconds to introduce my business and myself.

Part of the reason was trying to focus and sync video to audio.

Besides looking for suitable video editing software. There weren’t that many choices.

I was lucky when one company released a new version of their software and gave the old one out for free!

After making that video and getting it up on my website, I was so tired I gave up making anymore for quite a while.

Did The Video Work?

My normal practice is to make an appointment over the phone to fix a face to face meeting. The meetings were usually at a restaurant or cafe convenient for the both of us.

When I arrive at the place, I looked for the body language of people around and try to identify my customer.

On most occasions, my customer will walk up and ask, “You must be James?”

One occasion stood out.

The customer walked right up. Introduced himself and confidently greeted me by name.

I was surprised and asked, how did you know I’m James?

He replied, “oh I saw your video on your website!”

I had forgotten about the video because I was half embarrass about the video and had buried the page 2 levels down.

What the customer said changed everything!

It made me realized the effectiveness of video!

Looking back, the video probably helped me make more sales. It is possible more customers saw it but didn’t mention it to me.

Not Getting Results With Video

Today it is so simple to make video. Whip out your phone, hit record. Upload.

On the other hand, it has gotten a lot more competitive as well.

If I post up my 2009 video today, it would likely made me look bad because videos today are much better.

Without a properly made video, you will not get results.

I see this often when a business owner have many videos on YouTube, but hardly any views.

Good effort for trying but effort doesn’t pay the bills.

Because it is so easy to make a video, you may not give much thought to making the video effective.

A lot of small businesses are either:-

  • not doing videos
  • stopped doing because felt it is not worth it
  • are doing videos but not getting results

I’m sure a few are doing great.

If you are not using video for your business this means you are not using one main marketing channel.

Just like any form of marketing, you have to do it right.

Common Mistakes With Video

There are many mistakes you could be making in your videos.

There are many common mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes are very minor and can be rectified if someone points it out.

It could be as simple as wrong camera height giving the perception you are looking down on your customer or looking up at them.

Maybe the lighting is too dark giving a gloomy feel to the video. Most people do not realize how much light you need to make the video look normal.

Others fail to amp up their energy on camera.

There are many things that can ruin a video and with it, the first impression of your business.

It would be bad to give a generic advice and let you run around trying to figure it out by trial and error.

I have done straight forward videos to drive traffic to my own courses and well as affiliate offers. I know videos can work for online as well and offline businesses.

The content of your video and the sequence matters a lot.

If video isn’t working out as you expect, I can do a quick audit of your videos to give you some feedback.

The reason is in a lot of cases, a few small tweaks can help improve your results.

Since this takes time and I can only offer to do this for a limited number of people, you will need to apply for this.

This is free for the moment so take advantage of it.

Click here to apply.

What Happens Next

After I received your application, I will look through the video you sent.

I will give you a list of thing you did well and also some actionable items to improve on.

It is up to you if you want to implement my feedback.

Note : I reserve to right to NOT audit your video. Either way, you will receive a reply from me.