Video to Web 101

For Internet marketers, the most powerful aspect of video that has been invented in recent months is the software and know how to create video products. Yes, video that you could actually watch from your monitor screen. Video that is accompanied by audio commentaries, which seek to inform, teach, sell, and to entertain. But, how do you pull it off?

Internet marketers still use the tried and true PDF eBook for products but more and more are graduating into video to promote those products. Some marketers are very effectively using a combination of video and ebooks to generate more sales than ever.

It's fairly obvious as to why video is growing in popularity.

We respond more to what we see and hear, rather than what we merely read.

We are more stimulated by a total visual and sound presentation.

Some information which can be tedious and confusing in print can actually be more clearly demonstrated with video presentations.

Video presentations present information in a clearer, and often, more concise manner.

Video presentations are viewed as more professional simply because we live in a visual information age and it is what we prefer when it comes to gathering information and entertainment.

For "old dogs", the problem that most Internet marketers experience with this medium is the seemingly complicated process involved in their creation. How can one capture the information in a 100 page ebook and put it into a video that not only conveys the information but makes it entertaining as well?

The fact is, there are a lot of terrible videos circulating the net because most people are not professionals at this or did not take the time to learn the essential steps. They simply slapped something together and it shows. One of my biggest complaints is videos being voiced by folks whose first language is not English. I am in the USA so accents are really difficult to understand especially when the audio track is muffled or recorded at too low a level. This is fairly common and a waste of your time and effort.

Hire someone to voice your video if English is not your first language and you are marketing in the USA. Your response rates will skyrocket.

Another poor presentation technique is one that uses text only as a video and the voice simply reads what is on the screen. I can read it for myself. No one has read to me since my mother read bedtime stories to me. You need to demonstrate what you are talking about! Video is a show and tell medium!

I was a TV News anchorman for many years. Imagine how bored you would get just watching me on camera reading the news to you without having any video of the story. Just watch any news program and you will see what show and tell really means. Apply the same show and tell principle to your promotional and instructional videos.

Here is how to do it right:

Pick a subject in which you are an expert.

Show how your information can help. A step-by-step tutorial works best. It should be about something engaging and helpful for your future customers.

Prepare an outline. What are the steps? How is each carried out? What are the advantages to the potential customer?

Do your research before you write your script an start shooting.

If your subject involves a certain off line niche, get a digital camcorder and record the relevant material. An example might be a course in dog training. Actually show a dog being trained. You may choose to add your audio in real time, that is, while you’re filming your footage, or later on, during the editing process. I suggest editing the audio later so you can correct any mistakes and so you can control quality.

If your subject involves a on line niche, download the free screen capture program at www.camtasia.com . This would allow you to capture your computer screen’s movements in .avi format. Camtasia would also allow you to record the audio in real time, or you may prepare a different audio file via Windows Sound Recorder and synchronize both formats later on, the method I strongly suggest.

Edit the materials using a video editing software program.

There are many of these for sale, but if you want something readily available, Windows XP comes with a Movie Maker program built in already. If you are going to offer your video product for download, Movie Maker converts your file into .wmv format to compress its size.

If delivering the video through an on line download intimdates you, an easier way to handle sales of video products is to choose physical delivery, that is, burn your video product on CDs or DVDs, and ship them to customers. Then you could market your product directly without the need for a on line download process. This eliminates one or two technical layers in the process.

Whether you choose downloads or physical delivery, adding video components to your sales page is a must do step. You will definitely increase your response rate and sales by showing a short demo of your product to give potential customers a taste of what you can do for them.

As for the product you might sell, the possibilities are endless and limited only by your imagination. Video gives you a powerful tool to persuade potential customers to become buyers.

Jim DeSantis