On the eve of 2015, in a burst of optimism while under the influence of champagne, I made six New Year’s resolutions. My last one was the resolution to add a video to my website in the coming year. The story below explains why Resolution #6 was worth keeping.
The fairy tale version of this story is that I started working on my video after the holidays. The real version is that I shook the confetti out of my hair, changed my wall calendar, and procrastinated. And then I procrastinated some more. My reasons to put off making my video were always good or at least justifiable, but I kept coming up with new ones.
Despite my best efforts to get in my own way, I updated my website in April and happily checked off Resolution #1. But, by September I hadn’t made any progress on the video and it looked like Resolution #6 would suffer the same fate as Resolutions #2 through #5.
Then one day, while walking around the lake, a thought popped into my head. It was some wisdom I learned early in my speaking career that I often quote in my coaching sessions.
The audience must buy you before they’ll buy what you are selling.Translation: when you come on stage, build rapport with your audiencebefore you dive into your content. Otherwise they won’t be invested in your message.
In that moment I realized my newly updated website was not fully engaging my visitors. If I wanted people to invest in what I offered, I needed to make a more personal connection with them. That meant letting visitors see the Who and Why behind my business.
That realization ended my inertia. In late September I started writing the video script. We shot the video in late October and it went live in early December. But the story doesn’t end here.
Immediately after posting the video on my website, I started getting results. More potential clients contacted me for 30-minute phone consultations in December than in any prior month. In fact, more prospects contacted me that month than in all the other previous months combined!
So, my story has a happy ending. But it also raises a question: “What business did I miss out on by putting off producing my video?”
That brings me to you and where you are with your video. Maybe you are resolved to make your video this year. Or maybe conceptualizing and script writing are bogging you down. Wherever you are in the process, I have two suggestions.
Suggestion #1: Work with a professional video production company. fLO Content Marketing produced my video and I am very happy with it. fLO content specializes in the use of online content tools, including video production. They work collaboratively, are very responsive, and know how to tell a good story on film. They also bring a background in theater and film, which helps clients (like me) reach their full performance potential on camera.
Suggestion #2: Get the support you need to develop a great script and excellent on-camera skills. Your words and what you project on camera — both verbally and non-verbally — must compel viewers to watch your video from the moment you begin talking through your call to action at the end. This is no small feat. Think about how often you watch a website video from start to finish!
To see my finished video and some of fLO Content’s other work you can:
- Watch my 2-minute video on the home page of my website. Just scroll to the bottom of the home page. http://www.standoutpresentations.com
- Visit their website at www.flocontent.com for more information.