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How to Make a Video Information Product

video productionHi, it’s Rick Nuske here,

People who know me know that I’m a huge fan of using video information products in my business for a number of reasons. And I’ve laid out a few of them below…not a comprehensive list by any stretch, but some key reasons include…

  1. They show who you are and help personalize your messages.
  2. They help develop familiarity in the eyes of your audience.
  3. They’re fast becoming the media of choice for marketers…and if you’re in business, you’re a marketer!
  4. They’re easy for your audience to access and consume. and so on…

But before you start creating your own video information products, you’ll need to know the basics. For example, there’s three main video products you can create and offer to your target market.

  1. Face to Camera products
  2. Screen Capture products
  3. Live Webinar Events and Webinar Replay products

And in this post I’m going to focus on the face to camera and screen capture options and I’m going to leave webinars and offering webinar replays for another time.

With the face to camera option, you’re essentially sitting in front of your video camera and recording yourself speaking into your camera lens.  And I know from personal experience, when you’re just getting started, the thought of doing this makes many people very uncomfortable. What I can say on that is that practice does in fact make a difference. You will get better at doing it the more you practice.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step”

So if you’re not comfortable in front of the camera, fortunately there’s no need to put yourself through that as you have other options available to you including direct screen capture which I touch on in a minute.

Another point is that when you do a face recording, you must pay close attention to the quality of your video and audio settings. This includes avoiding back ground noise, making sure you have appropriate lighting levels and so on.

So with this in mind, if you choose to do face to camera products, making sure to have this set up correctly first time not only will save you time, it will give you a better opportunity to produce a good quality product first time, every time.

As time goes by you might start to consider using other production strategies. This might include hiring an outsourced videographer to assist you with your shoot. A good videographer would supply all the equipment, set it up, deliver the shoot and then edit and deliver the final product to you on the media of your choice e.g. via a website, DVD.

Although this can be a costly exercise, if you think about how much your time is worth, this type of outsourcing will allow you to focus on higher value activities in your business. I think about this sort of expense as an investment which allows me to leverage the skills and experience of other people.

Knowing how to create leverage in your business is everything if you intend to grow your business and achieve more whilst working less.

The next option is to record using what is known as screen capture. This is a video you put together with software on your computer that records the activity on your screen along with your voice at the same time. That said, you can show your face during the recording if you want at the click of a button.

There’s an art to developing video information products which requires some software and content such as PowerPoint, written scripts and so forth. And given how deep this rabbit hole goes, I’ll put this topic aside for another time.

The use of screen capture is a very popular method used by thousands of people worldwide as it’s not cost inhibitive and most people can access the technology needed to create a screen capture video product. For example, although I’ve paid for my copy of Camtasia, I believe you can do a Google search for older versions of the software that are free. This is not my choice or recommendation as there’s no support or free upgrades for unpaid versions of the software….nevertheless, if you’re just starting out, this could be an option for you.

Now with editing, I edit my own screen capture videos, but what you’ll find is that often-times there’s no need to do any editing whatsoever. This is especially the case if it’s a product of low visual importance but your content is accurate.

The hardware [the physical equipment you need to create a screen capture] can be the same for all types of recording. More advance video productions require remote microphones and so on. Again, advanced video strategies are a topic for another time. Let me know if you would like me to cover them in an upcoming post.

But for now, to create your own screen capture products, I recommend that you look at the following two software options as they are proven performers and are comparatively very cost effective.

For PC users: check out Camtasia ($299 USD) 

For MAC users: check out ScreenFlow ($99 USD)

Click on the image below to learn more about Camtasia for PC & MAC…

Putting aside the fact that I’m a PC man through and through, I’ve heard good things about ScreenFlow for MAC, so if you’re an Apple lover, definitely check it out.

If you’re looking for someone competent to train you in the basics of video product creation, click CONTACT leave me your details and explain what you’re looking for. 

Finally, although I’ve really only scratched the surface of video information product creation here today, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the post, so feel free to leave your comments and questions below.