Here is my quick low down to get you started making videos for your fabulous biz. (Don’t miss the free cheat sheet) Let me know in the comments below, which one of these tips was the most valuable for you (and why).
- Press record – It’s unbelievably important for you to start gettin’ your “practice” on. The only way to get better on-camera is by getting in front of the camera and just doing it.
- Decide how much tech you want to learn – Do you want to simply press record and post, do you want to incorporate music, lights, mics, and editing to pro it up? Get clear about how far you want to go. For equipment tips, check out the gear I use.
- Baby steps – A step-by-step mentality goes a lonnng way when making videos. Helps combat overwhelm. Take it one mini learning curve at a time.
- Start at the beginning – So often, entrepreneurs want to start at the end when it comes to videos. If you’re a mountain climber, you need to start from the base of the mountain and make your way up. The same holds true for videos. Start simply, and start at the beginning of your video journey.
- Do the “3 to 1 Recipe” – Whenever you press “record”, I want you to write down 3 things that you liked about what you did and 1 thing that you’d like to improve upon.
- Know when to outsource – Just about everything about your shoot can be outsourced. Some things cost more than others (such as editing). Learn what you want to learn, and then outsource the rest.
- Talk to someone – Yep, instead of talking to the camera like it’s a camera, try using it as a tool to talk to a specific person that you know and like.
- The background – Keep it simple and make sure it speaks to your brand. Uncluttered is key.
- Short n Sweet – Yep, you don’t need to make long videos. Try to aim for 5 minutes, max. Though, to start off, I challenge you to keep them under 3 minutes.
- Outside eye – Not sure if your video is postable? Get constructive and supportive feedback from people you trust.
- Bonus: Check out these camera sins to make sure you position the camera in the sweet spot.
Download these tips in a free handy dandy cheat sheet (no sign up required). Tweet these tips out to your peeps. Which of these tips gave you the biggest ah-hah? Leave a comment and let me know. 🙂 You. Can. Do. It. And as always… Dream up, 
Sarah Michelle Brown Your Virtual Video Director
Thanks for some great tips Sarah. I can’t really say which one stood out for me in particular – I think the sum of them all is great. I would be interested to hear more about the outsourcing part though. I’m on a mission to find out more about outsourcing generally for my biz and so if you have more advice on this I would love to hear it.
My pleasure Heather!! Outsourcing, ah yes. Here’s what I can say. Outsourcing is possible for virtually every aspect of making videos, however it can add up pretty quickly, since it’s so specialized. So I generally recommend learning what you can, and then outsource what you REALLY don’t want to do/learn. It’s a time vs cost kind of thing.
So examples of things you might want to outsource:
– your bumper (the graphics/music/titles thing that is at the beginning and end of your videos to make them look more profesh). Splasheo* is one example of peeps who do this: http://splasheo.com/?i=crq9LFyDQ5q
– you can hire a director/videographer to film the video ($$). They generally come with rentals of lights, cameras and mics. Yep, think of this as the premium end of things.
– hire a video coach (such as myself) 😉 so you can be smart about using the technology you have to fit your biz brand.
– hair + makeup
– wardrobe stylist
– editing (to start off with, I generally recommend using editors for your special videos, if you’re able to handle regular blog stuff, as outsourced editing adds up. Unless you’re simply ready to invest and want all your videos to kick butt).
– script writer
– someone to handle uploading to youtube/vimeo and all the tagging, seo type stuff
* affiliate link
These tips came just in time!! Woohoo. I probably have 2 videos on my blog — but I really want to get into creating more. I keep using lighting as my excuse. 😛
But, I’m determined to get one recorded this week! These tips are super helpful. Just push record….
Love to hear that Jennifer! Ah yes, the ol’ lighting excuse. 🙂
Just imagine, once you tackle that, you’ll be empowering your tribe and showing them how awesome you are to work with. (lol not-subliminal messaging)
You can do it lady. Press record anyhow. Practice is always a great thing when it comes to making videos.