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By Michael Street
I'm often asked, "I have no video training but I want to put
video on my website to help promote my products and services
what can I do?" Well the answer is simple. If you can shoot a
home movie you can put a video clip on your website. Now the
first thing is to not be scared of the camera. A good sales
person needs to be able to speak clearly and present their
product in a manner that everyone can understand and enjoy. So
with that in mind turn on your camera, cell phone, or whatever
video capturing tool you have and begin shooting. But here are
a few tips for making your shoot successful and getting it up
on your website.
1. Speak clearly, and so that everyone watching can understand
what your saying and what your product is about.
2. Make sure you have enough light so that you and your
product
can be seen. But be aware that you can also have to much
light.
So the best thing to do is to test your video and the area
your
going to be shot in. Make sure you look natural.
3. A microphone is important and you need to be heard. If your
using a mini-dv camera you can easily get a microphone that
can
attach from the camera to your clothing. Use make sure you
can't
see the wire that connects the mic and the camera during your
video.
4. Have FUN! No one wants to see a sour face on camera. So
make
sure you are having fun and that you SMILE. The better you
come
across on camera the more people would want to buy your
product
or services.
5. Don't use big words in your video presentation. Keep it
short sweet and simple.
6. Once you've finished your recording, watch it. Make sure
it's what you want and something that you'll feel proud to
have
on your website.
7. Now get the clip to your computer. Your camera will have
instructions on how to upload the footage. Now you can get
fancy and use one of the high end video editing products. But
those take a long time to learn. So if your on a PC use
Windows
MovieMaker and if your on a Mac use IMove and edit your clip
to
your licking. Don't use to make crazy effects keep it about
you
and your product.
8. Now once your clip is edited you need to output it to a web
file. If your on a PC then output the file to a WMV. And if
your on a MAC then output your clip to a .MOV file.
9. Upload it! If you don't have server space then use
Video.Google.com or Youtube.com. You can easily
upload your video to these services. Not only will you have
the
code to embed the file to your website but you will also allow
others to see your video and your product who haven't been to
your site yet. It will be as easy as CUT and PASTE to an HTML
page.
10. Promote your video clip. Include links to your clip in
your
weekly newsletters. Send your clip to your friends, family,
and
business associates. Let them see the work you've done and ask
them to pass it on to other friends. Son you'll notice that
you
have a ton of visitors watching your video and more traffic to
your website.
About The Author: Michael Street is the former Multi-Media
Manager for BET.com. He has produce over 10,000 hours
of
online video. He currently runs the urban travel website
www.GreasyGuide.com and is also a creative consultant
on
various online TV business ventures. He can be reached at
greasyguide@gmail.com for further assistance on getting
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