Video publishing is one of the easiest ways to create a product for sale on the Internet, and it can be a very profitable business. Even though it's easier to publish a book than ever before, it's possible to create a video product in a fraction of the time required to create a book.
When you consider the amount of time it takes for a book by a new author to be accepted by a publisher, edited, manufactured, distributed, and marketed, several years can go by before authors see any revenue for all their hard work. Self-publishing is a good alternative for authors to consider, but the production and marketing costs can be very high. The creation of video products for sale on the Internet is a much easier way to generate a revenue stream.
The art of video publishing
If you're already convinced that the creation of video products is a powerful Internet marketing tool to drive traffic and sales, here are some important questions to consider before you jump into the production process:
Are you a good communicator? Can you tell a story? Can you explain how to do something in simple terms? Do you have specialized knowledge that can be turned into a product that gives value to customers? If you answered "yes" to these questions, you have all the knowledge and experience you need to create a video product that can generate a nice revenue stream. It takes experienced authors from six months to a year to write a book, but even first-time video producers can plan, script, film, and edit a professional-quality video product in six weeks.
Who will shoot your video? If you have a webcam with a built-in microphone, you already have experience shooting home videos. If you don't have a webcam, you can probably partner with someone who has a lot of experience.
Who will edit your video? Even a 15-minute video can take several hours to edit professionally. If you've been practicing with home videos, now is the time to show your skills on the Internet. If you've never edited before, you can find someone to look at your raw footage and teach you how to do some simple editing, which will improve the quality of the finished video product enormously. Video companies generally charge from $50 to $100 an hour, depending on the effects you want edited into your product.
The power of video products on the Worldwide Web
Video podcasting and vlogging are tools that offer unlimited potential for increasing traffic to your web site or blog and for creating revenue streams through the sale of video products. Individual video content producers can create revenues streams from successful videos that last for years. One video publisher I checked out has produced almost 30 videos that have given the producer a monthly income between $8,000 and $10,000 dollars for over four years. This video publisher reports that most of these videos are still selling-and not one has lost money.
The best video products always have a natural look; the action seems to unfold spontaneously. But as anyone who has ever worked on a professional video project can tell you, it takes great planning to produce a feeling of spontaneity. Experience teaches that most problems encountered during the creation of video products are caused by bad planning-or a total lack of planning.
You've probably seen the short videos that cisco.com is using in its campaign to promote the "human network." In one of the more memorable videos, a kid named Myles dances in his kitchen. An older male (probably his big brother) points a camera phone at Myles and says, "Do something cool." Myles performs some nifty dance steps as the spot shows people all over the world watching the 30-second video on their camera phones and laptops. Finally we see a child, about the same age as Myles, in a crowded street. He looks up in awe at the big screen in Times Square as the Myles video plays in the heart of New York City.
This is an excellent video. And what makes it excellent is that everything that goes on in it seems so spontaneous. Whenever this happens, you can be sure that a lot of careful planning went into those 30 seconds. I hope you get the chance to see this video. If you haven't seen it yet, just go to www.cisco.com. If you are thinking about creating your first video product, you can learn a lot from studying spots like the Myles video.
If you're serious about creating video products for sale on the Internet, one of the best things you can do to learn how to plan and produce great material is to consciously study and analyze your favorite videos. If you have it in your blood to create video products, I'm sure this is something you've already been doing. If you're just starting to think about how to create your first product, develop the habit of watching your favorite videos from a different point of view. You're no longer a consumer of video products-now you must watch as a producer or broadcaster would watch. When something works, always ask yourself why it works. And when something flops, ask yourself why it didn't work.
Before we leave Myles and his road to Times Square, the first thing you should do is plan a 30-second video product. Approach the project as seriously as if you were doing it for hire. Shoot it with your camera phone-or with somebody else's camera phone if you don't have one-and do it for the purpose of posting it on YouTube or any of the other video sharing sites. The important thing is to get started.
When you think about how easy it is to get started as a creator and publisher of video products, you can't afford not to take advantage of the power of video to drive traffic to your web site or blog. With a little practice you'll soon be selling professional quality video products on the Internet.
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