A few weeks ago, I put together a post on the growing popularity of online video. In it, I discuss how online video is exploding in popularity and why this surge of popularity has got me so excited. However, the majority of this article covers the logistics of video creation; what you need in the way of software and tools, and so on.
It doesn’t really address some of the really cool ways you can use video to leverage your web site, and its existing content. Since this discussion of video is near and dear to my own heart (I’m eager to find the best – and most efficient – ways to use it on my own site – UltimateFatBurner.com and Real-Customer-Comments.com), I’d like to share with you some of the more exciting avenues I’ve investigated, or am currently investigating.
When I decided I had to tap into the online video craze in late 2008, the first thing I did was to go looking for a “how to” manual; I figured there had to be a smart marketer out there who was already capitalizing on video, and who had documented the entire video-creating process in a manual (frankly, I’m the sort of person who figures if someone has already done it and perfected the process, why waste time doing the same thing yourself? It’s cheaper and more efficient to buy the manual than to learn new software and develop a system on your own).
After some major digging, I finally found both the manual and the marketer. The manual was called “Unleash An Avalanche Of Targeted Pre-Sold Traffic By Recycling Your Articles On You Tube” and it was written by Kevin Riley, an American Internet marketer who makes his home in Japan.
The concept of the manual is pretty self explanatory from the title; take existing material already in place on your web site, convert it into video format, “position it” (with the appropriate keywords and so on), upload it to the big video web sites, and divert “pre-sold” traffic directly back to your web site.
It sounded like a pretty darn good idea, so I thought I would give it a try.
After a little reflection, I decided I had the perfect article for the experiment, “The 7 Day Fat Burner Free Trial Scam & Why You Must Avoid It!” Since this article covers deceptive billing tactics, it would be perfect material to use to further establish the credibility of UltimateFatBurner.com and drive new visitors to the site.
So I bought the manual, and, following the step-by-step process documented therein, created my first video (which has received just under 18,000 views in a year)…
Needless to say, I learned a few things.
Converting a 400 or so word article into a video takes a lot more time than you think. Or at least, I thought. For instance…
- Your article does need to be re-worked somewhat, since you are now “talking” to the viewer. I found my article needed to be modified somewhat to make it seem more conversational and more like a video. I did not want it to seem like I was simply reading an article. I wanted to communicate directly with my viewer.
- When read in a relaxed and conversational tone, my article – complete with additions - ballooned into almost 7 minutes of audio. If you view my video, you’ll see that still photos accompany the spoken narrative. To keep the viewer entertained, those photos must change every few seconds. That’s a LOT of pictures that need to be sourced, sized, and inserted into your video.
In other words…
Even when you factor in that this was my first video, and accord significantly more time to the creation process than would be necessary in subsequent productions, it still turned out to be a major undertaking. If I am really going to be able to leverage the power of video, I’m going to have to be able to use it more efficiently, and create videos much more quickly. After all, I still have to remain focused on the regular day-to-day elements of running an online business; creating new content and so on.
Accordingly, I’m now working on a new video based on my review of the “hCG Protocol” over on UltimateFatBurner.com. This time, instead of sourcing still photos for the video, I’m displaying the text on the screen, so the viewer can read along with the narrative, which will provide an overview of the presented text.
The text will change with the narrative, so there will be plenty of visual stimulation. So far, it has taken much, much less time to put this video together, although it’s tough to tell how well it will be received just yet. I’m hoping to have it finished this week, and will post a link here as soon as I do. That way, you can check it out and share your comments with me.
I really love the “converting articles to videos” concept, but really need a way to do it faster. This may work. We’ll see.
Despite my reservations, I can’t fault Kevin’s manual; I honestly couldn’t have put this video together without it. He really does show you how to orchestrate the entire video creating process – from “story boarding your video”, to sourcing images and audio, to the actual step-by-step process of putting it all together with the Camtasia software. If this – converting articles into videos – is something that interests you, I have no reservations about recommending his publications.
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