YouTube is the 3rd-highest trafficed web site on the Internet, according to Alexa.com.

That is, by any stretch of the imagination, a ton of traffic. But YouTube is much more than just a place to kill a slow afternoon at work. It’s much more than a place to lose yourself watching home movies of entertaining pets or old music videos from the 80′s.

It’s also a place that offers a great opportunity to make money.

Yes, you can leverage YouTube’s massive traffic and worldwide appeal to generate revenue for YOU. From my point of view, one of the coolest things about Youtube is that it’s entirely possible to use it to build a successful, profitable business or generate some decent “bonus” income without having a web site, selling a product, or providing a service of any kind.

How?

There are two ways I can think of right off the top of my head…

• Monetize your own videos. If you’re already putting up videos of your cats, dogs, kids, or whatever, why not monetize them?  I’m sure you’ve seen the “in-video” ads that appear over top of certain videos while you’re watching? These are Google “Adwords” ads (since YouTube is owned by Google).

  Adwords is Google’s in context advertising solution, and if your account qualifies for monetization, you can agree to have relevant ads placed on your videos. Google will then split the profits of  the ads with you, and mail you a check every month. While it sounds ridiculous, the “everyday” pet videos thrown on YouTube are incredible popular. For example, the one I posted earlier of the German Shepherd puppy has received over 500,000 page views (at the time of this writing). This simple video of a Dobermann guarding a baby, has received 4.7 million views. That’s nearly a million views per year since it was uploaded in 2007.

  Now suppose Google’s ads were displayed on this video. Let’s also assume a modest 2% click through rate and earnings per click of $.50. So… 4,700,000 X 2% X $.50 = $47,000! Not enough to live on when it’s divided up over 5 years, to be sure, but not bad for just throwing a video on YouTube.

• Create a YouTube “Affiliate” Channel: Many people review products on YouTube and include an affiliate link to the merchant in question. For those of you that are not aware, affiliate links contain a special tracking code so that if the person who watches your video decides to buy the product in question, the retailer pays you a percentage of the sale.

  People like to watch video reviews, and Google likes to give YouTube listings prominence in its search results.

  That`s a WIN WIN.

  Of course, you have to perform a genuine review; you have to own and be intimately familiar with the product in question in order to effectively point out its benefits and possible shortcomings. You also have to be entirely genuine and have your viewer’s best interests at heart, or you won’t make a penny. That’s because unless you have chosen a very specific niche/product, lots of other people will be doing the same thing.

  You just have to do it better, or alternatively, do it well, but come up first in the search results.

So there you have it; 2 ways to use YouTube to make money online without having your own website.

Yes, there IS a downside to building an income solely from YouTube; you never truly own your own business. If Google decides tomorrow to stop displaying ads on your videos,  for example, your income disappears. Or, if they stop directing traffic to your videos the same thing happens. For this reason, marketing with YouTube is best thought of as one part  of a more comprehensive plan. You really need to diversify (i.e., get your own web site) if you want to have a secure, dependable income.

I talk a lot about video marketing on this web site.

One resource which I recommend consistently throughout the course of these video-related discussions is Dave Kaminski’s Web Video University (WVU).

I recommend it for a simple reason; it is a fantastic, thorough and extensive resource for anyone serious about creating high quality web videos. I know this because I’ve been a member of Dave’s program for over 6 months now – I discovered Web Video University after purchasing Dave’s Screencast Secrets, which is a program that teaches you how to use the combination of Camtasia and PowerPoint to create incredible screencasts. I was so impressed by the product that I signed up for WVU immediately.

I wasn’t disappointed.

You’ll understand when you see for yourself, but this product really is a labor of love. There are no shortcuts anywhere. All the material is meticulously scripted and presented and every possible topic you could possibly need to know about creating great quality video is covered. Yes, from green screens, to DSLR cameras, to ideal bitrate settings, to two pass flash encoders, to hosting your videos on Amazon S3 and delivering them in a custom player on your web site – all this and a ton more things are covered.

Of course, one thing I should point out before continuing is that this product is not for everybody.

Membership is $99/month (it sounds like a lot but it’s an amazing value – wait until you see the video) and you’re going to have to invest in Sony Vegas video editing software (for Windows machines) or Final Cut Pro (for Mac users). I bought the $120 version of the Vegas software, although the “pro” version Dave uses in the course is about $600. In all the exercises I learned, there were only a handful of occasions when not having the $600 software was limiting. You can download a 30-day free trial of Sony Vegas, but it’s hardly worthwhile if you do not intend to purchase it in the end.

Ultimately, if money is tight and all you want to do is put together some video you captured from your family’s Christmas vacation, make it into a movie and send to Grandma, this is not for you.

If, on the other hand, you want to use web video to leverage your business, your online presence, or to sell more product (either of your own or as an affiliate)…

Then yes – this is for you, because the success of any of these ventures is dependent on delivering quality video content to your audience. The better it is, the better you’ll do. Plus, you’ll earn a significant ROI (return on investment) for the money you invest in the course.

With that said, I figured it made more sense to show you Web Video University, rather than talk about it. Click the image below to watch the video (it’s lengthy – about 15 minutes. I recommend you watch it all!)…

Well, hopefully I’ve done my job and by this point you have a pretty good idea whether Dave Kaminski’s Web Video University is for you.

If you found this review and video helpful and are interested in learning more about the course, you can do so here! Highly recommended!

What’s the best Windows screencast software?

That’s a question you’re very likely asking yourself if you’re considering making the leap to delivering video / screencast based information online. There seems to be so many options… what solution are you going to choose?

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options…

1) Camtasia: Although what constitutes the “best screencast software” will be somewhat dependent on your needs and skill set, TechSmith’s Camtasia is considered the industry standard.

This is what I use, and I can say that for the most part, I have been extremely pleased with the product. It’s fairly easy to use, there isn’t much of a learning curve, and everything is laid out pretty intuitively. There’s lots of help available too – plus loads and loads of instructional videos to get you up and running fast!

Technical support is fast and friendly, although they were not able to resolve the problem I occasionally experience on my 64 bit Windows 7 machine; instead of your screencast, you end up with a recording of a black screen. I never got too worked up about this, since rebooting the computer seems to fix this glitch. The major pain is that you lose whatever work you’ve completed in that last session.

Camtasia, of course, is not free. It costs money to develop and support good products, so it should not surprise you to learn that Camtasia commands a $300 price tag.

Yes, I understand; $300 can be a fair chunk of change if…

• You’re just starting out with video marketing online and you’re not sure of the outcome.
• The current recession has left you cash strapped and hesitant to spend a penny more than you absolutely have to – on anything.

In my opinion, however, investing in good software is always a smart move as it provides you with the tools necessary to do the best job possible – which always pays off in the long run. Most people I have encountered who have an interest in learning how to screencast have some sort of business application or monetization idea in mind.

If this is the case with you, you really cannot afford to do anything “half-assed.”

Creating the best product possible leads to more sales, happy customers, more credibility for you and / or your business, and in the end, more money in the bank. After all, it’s a bit difficult to represent yourself as a professional if you’re creating your screencasts on budget or free software.

That said, TechSmith does offer a 30-day free trial of Camtasia (it’s fully functional), which I highly recommend you investigate, regardless of whether or not you can afford the tool at this time.

If you do decide to go with Camtasia and want to get the most of it as quickly as possible, I highly recommend Dave Kaminski’s Screencast Secrets (which will also teach you the basics of PowerPoint as well, so you can use its features in your screencasts). I own this product, and it’s what I used to create the PowerPoint videos you see on this site. Highly recommended!

2) Screen-O-matic: As a Camtasia user, I really haven’t done much more than play around a little with Screen-o-matic online and watch a few of the instructional videos (of which there are plenty, thank you very much!).

It’s a browser based solution that offers a “free” or a “pro” paid option. At $12 per year for the “pro” version, there’s absolutely no reason to use the free option at all, especially since you’re limited to doing browser-based screencasts and have no access to editing tools.  The “pro” version allows you to use the tool offline, out of the browser, and provides a suite of tools for video manipulation.

From what I can see from my limited noodling, Screen-O-Matic absolutely rocks at this price point.

The problem once again, is that despite the incredible value if offers, it’s nowhere near as comprehensive a tool as Camtasia (nor was I expecting it to be at this price point) which means you won’t have the same flexibility when creating your screencasts.

Nonetheless, Screen-o-Matic is worth a look if you have limited technical requirements or are short of cash. If nothing else, spend the $12 and get the full version. Experiment with it and the trial version of Camtasia and see whether the limited editing options severely hamper your ability to create a great screencast. If they do not, then maybe Screen-O-Matic is for you.

Only one way to be sure though; experiment!

3) Prezi: This one’s a little different. It’s not true screencast software like either of the aforementioned options. It’s more like presentation software. Think of an “easy to use”, “funky” online pseudo-PowerPoint.

If you don’t need live video footage of your screen, but instead want to present your information in a “video presentation” format, have a look at Prezi. Best of all, there’s a free option to experiment with before you commit to a paid membership (prices range from $59 to $159 per year – pretty affordable).

Once again, I don’t have a ton of experience with this tool, but from what I’ve seen of it so far (and heard from friends) it’s a very cool tool for doing what it does!

Hopefully this article has given you some ideas and helped you select the best screencast software for you. If you’re not yet sure of what your requirements are going to be, all three of the above listed options offer a free trial. Be sure to use them to determine which solution is the best for you and your customers.

Once your video is completed you’ll want to market it effectively, by squeezing every last drop of promotional opportunity from it. This might, depending on your situation and the topic of your video, involve submitting it to video sharing sites other than YouTube. There are, after all, all sorts of these online.

YouTube is the king of video sharing sites. By a country mile. Nothing else even comes remotely close to delivering the number of potential eyeballs. But there are TONS of YouTube wannabe’s. Since so many video sharing sites exist, it’s important to keep this truth in the forefront of your mind…

The law of diminishing returns applies very quickly to the video submission process.

While it definitely makes sense to submit your video to the top 3, 4, or perhaps even 5 video sharing sites, after that, your time is probably better off directed to creating new videos (or new content of any sort) rather than wasting time submitting your video to web sites that may deliver a handful of viewers a month.

So what are the video sharing sites worth submitting to?

Aside from YouTube of course, you may wish to consider…

• DailyMotion.com
• MetaCafe.com
• Break.com
• Vimeo
• Revver
• Yahoo Video

Personally, I’ve only ever seen any success from the combination of YouTube, MetaCafe and Daily Motion. To demonstrate this point, check this out (click for a larger view)…

This is a screenshot of the performance reports in my TubeMogul account (more on TubeMogul in a moment). As you can see, almost 95% of the views my posted videos have received have been generated by YouTube. Only two other services (MetaCafe and DailyMotion) have delivered enough views worth mentioning.

To me, nothing more clearly demonstrates the laws of diminishing returns when it comes to posting your videos on other sites.

You can, of course, opt to use a service like TubeMogul, which automates the submission process – it’s a video distribution and tracking service. TubeMogul used to be free, but is now only free for non-commercial ventures, which pretty much rules you and I out.

TubeMogul is a great service and a real time saver, and a must have tool… if you have a ton of quality videos on the sort of topic that generates a lot of interest from viewers.

I have not upgraded to the paid version of TubeMogul (which means any new videos are not submitted from the service), because I don’t have enough videos to generate the number of views required to make it possible to recoup the monthly cost of the service. In other words, if I submit my videos manually to YouTube, DailyMotion and MetaCafe I get 99% of the views I would obtain by submitting to ALL the video sharing sites.

In my opinion, using a service like TubeMogul makes sense when…

• You have enough high performing videos that the extra 5-10% of views gained by submitting to all the smaller video sharing sites generates enough business to cover the $75/month fee.
• You are on the look out for backlinks of ANY sort (most links from these sites are “no follow” but that doesn’t mean they don’t offer any value; Google knows about these links, they just don’t allot any outgoing Page Rank / authority to them) .
• Your product or service has a high profit margin and conversion rate.

Of course, there are always exceptions.

My personal recommendation is to submit manually to DailyMotion, MetaCafe and Vimeo (in addition to YouTube, of course) until such point as a subscription to TubeMogul makes good financial sense.

One thing that makes learning how to screencast SO attractive to marketers is that they are easily bundled up and sold – via ClickBank and an affiliate program, for example. Video based products (and your audience doesn’t really distinguish between screencasts and video – they are one in the same to her) have a high perceived value, so they convert well and command a decent price.

Not surprisingly, this means many people have rushed onto the market with hastily-prepared, shoddy screencast-based products.

I know.

I’ve bought a few.

Now to be fair, in the cases where I have been less than pleased with the quality of the product I have purchased, it was not the content I was annoyed with. It was usually “fine”.

To me, “fine” means I learned enough from the product to justify the cost of the purchase. If I can get that much out of a product, I never ask for a refund.

So if it wasn’t the content, what was it?

It was the presentation and the delivery.

In one particular case I can think of, the author was clearly “flying by the seat of his pants”. It was easy to tell, since the discussion was not structured and linear enough to have been lain out beforehand. On top of this, the author was overly “chatty.”

All in all, this resulted in a series of videos that were at least 3 times longer than they needed to be.

So what, you say?

Not really. Yes, the author covered all the bases and definitely knew his stuff, but for me, time is my most precious commodity. I am not interested in listening to idle chatter from some guy I don’t know who lives half way around the world. Forgive me dude, but I really don’t give a rat’s ass. Show me what I need to know, and then let me get back to the 8 million other things that I have to accomplish in a day.

In other words, your audience needs a product that delivers the relevant information professionally and in as little time as possible. The author who does so demonstrates respect for your time, as well as a commitment to the quality of his or her products, because she clearly took the time to do it right.

If you’re selling a screencast based product, you can get away with rambling to some degree – after all, your audience is not going to leave; they paid for your product (your content better be darn good though, or you will get refund requests).

But if you’re providing free screencast content to your audience, you’d better do it right. After all, statistics show that surfers are notoriously fickle, and will start clicking away within 10 seconds if they are not captivated by your content. You cannot afford to do anything but get straight to the point.

So let’s talk about the two things you absolutely must have if you really want to know how to create great screencasts…

1) A script.

Yes, you need a script. Or – at the very least – if you happen to be one of the few people who can talk naturally without one – a series of “talking points” laid out in sequential order, so you can move naturally from one point to the next. I use a script for all the videos and screencasts I do.

Here’s the script (click for a larger version)…

And here’s the screencast/video done in PowerPoint…

Yes, I am simply reading off the script as the screencast plays. Now whether the video topic interests you or not, you have to agree that…

• There is no filler in this video.
• All the pertinent points are made clearly and in a sequential manner.
• There is no “venturing” off topic.

This is what a script does, and that’s exactly why you need one, if you want to learn how to create killer screencasts.

You’ll notice the script above has plenty of scribbles and so on. That’s normal. Since you’re talking, you’ll need to revise your text somewhat to make it seem more “conversational” (as opposed to just reading words off a piece of paper).

You’ll also want to note where natural pauses occur within the discussion and highlight them for emphasis when you read. Some material will get dropped, and some will get added. Using a script makes it simple to keep track of everything and ensure you’re consistently delivering all the necessary points with each “take.”

In addition to a script, you’ll also need…

2) A storyboard.

Even if your screencast is quite  simple image-wise (like the one I demonstrated above) it’s actually easier to put things all together with a storyboard.

A storyboard, of course, is a simple two section outline of your screencast, where you simply document what images are appearing when, and what voice over or audio material will correspond with it. Here’s the storyboard for the screencast video above (click for a larger version)…

As you can see, in the left hand columns, I document the images and text content that is going to appear on the screen, and on the right, the text that will correspond to that slide (since I’ve done this using PowerPoint and Screencasts). You can, of course, get creative and draw your images in the left hand side box, but I just wrote mine down (as you can see, my handwriting is barely legible; imagine what my drawings would be like? ).

The storyboard is a very helpful tool in laying out any video content, not just screencasts. And you can modify your storyboard and document your project however you like; by scene, by slide, by image, etc, etc.

Where do you get a storyboard?

They are easy enough to put together in a program like Microsoft’s Word, but I’ve uploaded mine for you to download here (right click and choose “save target as”), if you like.

And there you have it – the two elements of a great screencast!

Be sure to implement them both into your videos, and good luck!

Implementing  a YouTube marketing strategy to leverage your business – whether it be online or off – is a smart idea for numerous reasons…

1. YouTube is – at the time of this writing – the third most highly trafficed site on the Internet. That’s a lot of potential eyeballs for your marketing message.
2. YouTube is owned by Google, and Google is happy to feature relevant videos prominently in its search results. This exposes your videos to a “non” YouTube audience, and since Google is also the most trafficed site on the Internet, that’s one heck of a large audience.
3. As an “informational medium” most people prefer videos over text. It is, after all, what most of them are used to. Plus, when it’s done properly, it’s more engaging and viewers are more willing to respond to your offer.

So, given that you’re going to investigate marketing with YouTube, how can you squeeze the most out of your listing? Here are 6 tips to get the most out of YouTube…

1) Keep videos short, to the point, and if at all possible given the subject manner, entertaining.

Consider, for instance, this relevant data from a 2010 Visible Measures report…

• 20% of viewers click away from the video within 10 seconds because it doesn’t keep them interested.
• At 30 seconds, almost 33% of your viewers have stretched, yawned, and moved on.
• At 60 seconds, 44% have high-tailed it for greener pastures.
• At 2 minutes, 60% are gone. Ciao, baby!

If this data was compiled only from YouTube (and it was not) I would be willing to bet the data would be even worse. There are, after all, millions of videos to watch, and YouTube will display related videos to the right of your video, so your viewer can browse other offerings while she’s watching your video. You have only seconds to capture her attention, and if she’s not interested… au revoir, mon ami!

Ideally, therefore, your videos should be 2 minutes or less.

So don’t waste time with idle chatter – get right to the point.

There are always exceptions, of course. If you know you have a very specific, dedicated, and qualified audience, your videos can be longer. But if the whole point of marketing with YouTube is to attract a new clientele, than you have to keep it brief.

2) Craft your video’s title carefully.

Much like search engines (SEs) use a web page’s <TITLE> and <META> description tags to determine what that page is about, your video’s title plays a critical role…

• It “tells” the engines what your video is about.
• It tells potential viewers what your video is about.
• It is an important ranking matrix, contributing heavily to the amount of direct traffic generated by keyword searches – performed either at Google or YouTube.

Of course, while you want your title to be compelling, and contain your most important keywords, you also want it to be accurate. It’s not viewers you’re interested in so much, but qualified viewers.

Sure, your video might generate a lot more interest if your title reads, “Brittany Spears Naked”, or “Rhianna Naked” but all you’ll do is piss people off, since that title is not an accurate representation of your content. I realize this is an extreme example, but it illustates my point; you only want viewers interested in your products or services. A huge number of “views” (the number of times your video has been watched by a visitor) is great for your ego, but only worthwhile if it translates into new business.

Important Tip: People searching for video content on YouTube will often precede their search with “video:”. So it’s not a bad idea to include the word in your title…

“Video: The Title of Your Video here!”

3) Put your keywords EVERYWHERE.

Videos, of course, aren’t text. The search engines have relatively little material at their disposal in order to effectively rank your video, so you need to make the most of everything you have. So put your keywords in your title, your description, your video’s tags, and even the filename of the video file itself.

4) Use a “Call To Action” (In fact, use several).

You wouldn’t believe the number of YouTube videos I’ve seen that work so hard to keep the viewer engaged and entertained, and at the end of it all, don’t tell them what to do!

Don’t make this mistake.

Every video you upload to YouTube should have a MWR, or a “Most Wanted Response”. This is the action you “most want” your viewer to take upon completion of your video. (If you don’t have a MWR, than why are you bothering? Go back to the drawing board and determine what action you’d like from a potential viewer before going forward).

If your MWR is to get a prospect to your web site for more information on your products or services, than you need to make sure your video is designed to achieve that. Your URL should feature prominently at the end of the video, and the narrator (if you’re using one) should instruct the viewer to visit it.

Your video’s decription should UPsell the benefits of a visit to your web site, and include a direct link as well!

5) If possible, use incentive marketing.

Can you offer a coupon code for a product discount, a free download or anything at all to tempt your visitor into completing your MWR? If you can, it’s a smart strategy to have your narrator use that bonus as a “carrot” (i.e, as an “incentive”) to tempt the viewer to remain watching until the end.

Your incentive should be featured prominently in your video’s decription, as well.

6) Encourage viewer interaction.

By viewer interaction, I mean using YouTube’s “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” single click voting system, or leaving a comment. There are two reasons for this…

1. It’s hard to imagine that both YouTube and Google factor do not factor to some extent the measure of a video’s activity and popularity into their ranking algorithyms.
2. Active video pages give viewers the perception that your video is worth watching. After all, something is very definitely happening here!

Initially, of course, you won’t have much activity, since your video is brand new. In this case, encourage friends, family, co-workers, colleagues and anyone you can think of to vote on the video or post comments. Hopefully this will gain you some critical mass.

And there you have it; 6 tips to marketing effectively with YouTube. Done properly, using YouTube as part of your overall marketing strategy can really leverage your business! Plus, it’s likely your competitors are already doing it, so there’s no time to waste.

Better get going.

Lately, most of my video creation work is done using a combination of PowerPoint and Camtasia, or in Sony Vegas. So although I do maintain a “Pro” Animoto account, I haven’t actually logged in and had a look around for a while.

That changed last night after my girlfriend Marilyn pulled me aside to ask me what I thought of the video she put together for her web site, Flowers-By-Marilyn. I was blown away.

Check it out – just click on the screen image to open the video…

Not bad for a total “non-techie” video solution, huh?

Seems in my absense, Animoto has a released 28 themes upon which you can build your videos. Now you can go much further than creating “slideshow” videos that feature simple transitions between photos with a soundtrack playing in the background.

The themes vary greatly, of course. The one featured above works well for Marilyn’s subject matter, but it certainly doesn’t for mine. But there appear to be plenty of variations in the provided themes, so likely there’s something there for everyone.

Of course, I’m not suggesting Animoto is for everyone. But these new themes really do turn things up a notch, ratcheting up the level of professionalism in your videos.

The bottm line, therefore, is simple…

If you’re looking for an easy, tech-free, plug and play solution to video creation, sign up for Animoto’s free service and give it a whirl. If it works for you, you can upgrade to the Pro account later.

Very cool!

As you no doubt have figured out, if you have spent any time on this site, I’m pretty stoked about video marketing, and how to leverage it for my businesses going forward. We are, after all, in its infancy.

One great “fit” I see for video marketing is for non-internet based local offline businesses (this is in addition to just about every other online business on the planet). Utilized properly, even the most elementary videos, positioned the right way, can be used to  dramatically increase leads, sales, business and revenue.

To illustrate why, one need only to consider a few salient points from a post I made a few days ago (“7 Reasons Why Video Marketing Is Critical To Your Business“). In it, I explain that videos…

• Engage viewers.
• Build trust and credibilty.
• Establish a personal rapport with your audience.
• Increase the likelihood of a purchase.

Let’s apply this to an offline business.

For example, suppose you need to hire a plumber or an electrician.

What’s the first thing you do?

That’s right; you ask friends, relatives and colleagues for a personal reference. A lot of the time, you don’t get one – only horror stories of flooded basements, broken pipes, switches that don’t work, a fuse panel that no longer seems to function the way it used to, and surly, unpleasant staff. Oh yeah – and bills that exceed the quoted price by double.

So where do you turn next?

More often than not it’s the Internet, not the yellow pages section of your local phone book (if you’re still checking the telephone book for your service providers, you’ll find smart advertisers will refer you to their web page for more details).

As you know, most local businesses have a web site. Usually they are not particularly effective at converting prospects to customers, or establishing trust and credibility though.

After all, owners are too busy immersed in the day-to-day tasks of running their businessess to be able to find the time to research what it is they actually need, so they rely on their local web developer. He or she is happy to oblige and throws up a standard, “here’s who we are”, “here’s where we do business”, “here’s our commitment to our customer”, and “here’s where you can get a hold of us” web site.

Just like every other web site.

Not helpful at all if you’re trying to find a credible service provider. The only difference between this message and the one provided by the ad in your telephone book is that this one is not constrained by size.

But consider how using video marketing could make all the difference here…

Suppose one business’ web site features a video; a message from the company owner.

She (or he) is friendly, personable, and apparently, credible. Better yet, the message she delivers goes right to the heart of your concerns; how do I find a qualified service provider? How do I know I’ll be treated fairly and will receive good value for my money? How do I know you guys really do know what you’re doing and that I don’t have to worry about my basement flooding or my house burning down?

All things being equal, who are you going to call?

That’s right; the company that delivered the message that resonated with you – the one that used video marketing.

So what’s the take home lesson?

Offline business can really benefit from the most elementary online video marketing (the video can be as simple as a “message from the company president” filmed with an employee’s camcorder), and really should be looking seriously on how to implement it on their web sites.

If you’re a web developer, this is definitely a service you’ll want to offer to your customers. If you own a small business, you’ll want to investigate the video marketing opportunity further.

I rest my case!

If you want your screencasts to be informative and engaging, you’re going to have to add your own audio, most likely in the form of a voice over. If you are doing a simple screencast, you’ll record your audio as you demonstrate “whatever it is you are demonstrating” on the screen.

If you’re combining PowerPoint and Camtasia based content in your screencasts, you’ll record the  audio for both segments seperately.

And of course,  to do this properly, you’ll need a decent quality microphone. A $20 headset from BestBuy isn’t going to cut it, I’m afraid. You need something better to deliver a quality recording. Plus, since you’ve already invested in Camtasia – maybe even PowerPoint – it doesn’t make sense to compromise quality now.

The good news is a decent quality USB microphone – one that you just plug into your computer’s USB jack – can be had for an extremely reasonable price.

I use the Samson COIU condenser microphone, and I purchased the complete podcasting kit from Amazon.com, which includes a stand, pop filter (that’s the screen “thing” I have placed out of the way in the shot below; it eliminates pops from words with “p” and other similar sounds) and a spider mount system…

You don’t need to buy ALL this stuff – you can buy the microphone by itself of course, but you really do need both the stand and the pop filter, so it’s probably smarter to buy the entire kit, right?

It’s dead easy to use too – plug it into your computer’s USB jack, and you’re pretty much good to go. If you’re using Camtasia, you won’t need any additional audio recording software – it’s built right into the tool.

As an example, check out the audio portion of a video I created for a post I made a couple of days ago…

That’s the Samson microphone pictured directly above. Not too bad, huh? Crisp, clear, clean… you’t can’t beat it.

You can spend more money on a USB microphone for your screencasts, but I’m not sure why you’d want to; the Samson mic delivers great “bang for the buck” value.

Highly recommended!

In yesterday’s post, I outlined 7 reasons why video marketing is critical to your business.

Today, I’m going to talk a little bit about why your videos really need to be compelling, too. Whether your video is designed to PRESell, educate or to entertain, you must do everything possible to ensure that once your visitor clicks the “play” button, she is going to stick around to the end.

Because statistically, odds are she is not.

Consider this pertinent data from last year’s Visible Measures report…

• 20% of viewers of online video click away from the video within 10 seconds because it doesn’t hold their attention.
• At 30 seconds, approximately 33% of your viewers have moved on.
• At 60 seconds, 44% have left for greener pastures.
• At 2 minutes 60% are gone.

To me, this data suggests a couple of things…

1) Is low tech better than “no tech”?

While low tech, plug and play video creation solutions (like Animoto and ArticleVideoRobot) allow webmasters with limited financial and/or technical resources  to establish a video presence online, I would argue that this presence doesn’t gain you a whole lot if doesn’t contribute to your bottom line.

One thing I’ve always said about ArticleVideoRobot, for example, is that while the tool works splendidly, it doesn’t exactly create riveting videos. And while your chest might puff out in pride as you view your own personal YouTube channel, your efforts are probably better focused on creating well-researched keyword focused content pages if no one is actually viewing your videos through to the end.

2) Video needs to be used strategically if it is to have impact.

Creating videos and throwing them onto YouTube just for the sake of having a video presence is probably not going to do a lot for you. First off, unless your business targets an extremely esoteric niche, you’re going to be going up against a ton of competitors, many of whom have the necessary resources to create videos that blow yours “out of the water.”

All things being equal, of course. If you have some unique or humorous take on things, sometimes that wins the day… regardless of how professional your competitor’s offerings are!

What I recommend, therefore, is to create video specifically for use on your own site – to enhance your existing content. If you remember from my post on why video marketing is critical, videos increase conversion rates, time on site, and reduce the likelihood of a refund request. Better yet, they further boost your credibility and establish you as an expert in your own industry.

This is true even if you don’t have your own products, but are operating an affiliate business. Videos PREsell, too!

And, you can control your visitor’s experience much more effectively on your own site. If you stream your own videos, and your visitor is not viewing the content either on or from YouTube, she is not distracted by the option to view any of dozens of other videos on a similar topic (or unrelated topics; you know how easy it is to end up on a wild goose chase on YouTube – you visit with the intention to learn something useful, but end up watching videos of a hamster swimming around in a bathtub while the Village People’s “YMCA” plays in the background).

Additionally, since your visitor is highly qualified (likely arriving as a result of search engine query for one of your relevant keyword terms) she is going to be very interested in viewing your video, especially if you can integrate it into your content so it truly enhances the discussion.

If you want to view an example, check out my recent discussion on “How To Screencast.” I use a short video within the discussion to demonstrate why PowerPoint can play an important role in screencasting. After you see the video, you’ll agree it clearly makes the point much better than any text-based discussion could. After all, my viewers can now “see” what it is that I am talking about.

Any videos you create can (and should, if it makes sense to do so) be placed on YouTube and other video sharing sites, but only as a “covering all the bases” strategy. If you’ve got the content, you may as well leverage it as best you can, even if it will likely bring middling returns.

So let’s return to the main issue of this article (why you must create compelling videos) and sum things up…

First, while the affordability of low-tech video solutions might be appealing to you, it may be wise to devote some time learning how to create the sort of videos people are actually going to stick around and watch (my #1 recommendation for doing so is Dave Kaminski’s Web Video University). If you can’t commit to this, you can…

• Investigate low cost, low-tech video creation options (like Animoto and ArticleVideoRobot), but be diligent in tracking your results. If they leverage your business, great. If not, it doesn’t make sense to allocate your time to projects that don’t bear fruit.
• Continue to create lots and lots of keyword focused content pages. Sure video is great, but it’s never going to replace text-based content entirely.

Second, you can greatly increase the likelihood your vistors will watch your videos to their conclusions if you use them on your own site to leverage existing content and expand current discussions. Your conversion rates will experience a significant boost too!

What’s not to like?