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Web Video Goldmine

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Over the years internet marketing has evolved. Today one of the most important facts of it is web video. You should really be using this in your marketing strategy. In this article I will why YouTube and web video marketing is useful for taking your business to the next level.

One site, YouTube has become the top site in the world for watching online video content. The growth of the site has been staggering to say the least. The huge number of videos uploaded each day to YouTube is simply phenomenal.

As of January 2012 it has been reported that 86,000 hours of footage are uploaded each day to YouTube.

Don’t you think it is time you were part of this phenomenon by making your own web video to advertise your products? By not doing so you are missing out on a huge traffic source which could attract millions of people to your website. If you want to increase subscribers and profits then get involved with video now.

Predictions have stated that 90% of internet content will be in web video format by 2014. This can only be good for any business that has an online presence.

An important factor in the growth of internet video is how people view their online content these days. There has been an explosion in portable devices such as the tablet computer, smartphones, iPads etc. All these new devices are used by people to look at internet content.

There is no better way to get your point across than by using web video. Instead of simply telling everyone about your product, why not show them visually also?

Around ten videos a month are produced and hosted on YouTube by the average Fortune 100 company. A Burson-Marsteller study conducted not so long ago stated that these companies would rather use this video strategy than write seven blog posts in the same period.

Have a think on how web video can be used to promote your products or service. Keep in mind the cost of doing so will be quite low and you won’t need to use any professional video company. These services would cost you thousands of dollars, but there are other ways to produce quality video content.

If your competition is not using video and you can produce at least one video a month then you will be keeping ahead of them. To make a TV commercial would be really expensive. To advertise with a video on YouTube will cost a lot less.

Web video content costs

Always a consideration for any business is whether or not a venture is going to be cost effective. Online video is in fact a low cost form of advertising compared to other marketing strategies you may have considered. Yes you need a camera of some kind, but this can also be done cheaply. For example, a smartphone or Flip type camera can create very good quality video.

Web video marketing tools

A camcorder is my preference for creating video as I find it serves my purpose better. You will need a computer for editing the video and also some editing software.

There is free editing software you can use such as Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, but this may be too simplistic for your needs. For many standard videos it will be adequate. There are different web video formats so make sure you have an understanding of this and select the correct one.

You will also need some experience in editing web video and this can be time consuming. You may find you need to give more attention to other areas of your business. If this is the case then consider outsourcing your video needs to someone who is keen to handle this for you.

There is a process which needs to be followed with online video. What may take the time for you is creating the video, editing it, uploading it and optimising it for the search engines. You may find someone to take care of some or all of this for you. There are a few web video content places around worth considering.

Plan of action

Before going ahead with web video marketing you need to decide upon what it is you are trying to achieve. What is your video going to be about and how long is it likely to be? You should aim to make your content run for around two minutes otherwise people may become bored. Have some kind of storyboard ready.

Do you intent to appear on camera? It is not always necessary and you could simply use narration and text in the web video.

Are you filming the computer screen only? If you do go down this route then there is software available that can help you with this. Some of it can be pricey however and some of it is free. I would not recommend the free software though as the results just don’t look professional.

Are you intending to demonstrate your product or service? If so then you will need to rehearse exactly what it is you are going to say. It would be worth filming the web video many times until you are happy with the results. It is possible, although unlikely that you will get it right the first time you do it so don’t be afraid to make changes.

Web video delivery

How will your potential customers find your video? If you host it on a video site such as YouTube then you can get customers this way. You may want to consider creating a blog or website however. You could deliver your video to existing customers via email. The potential for follow up sales here is good as people like the fact that you’ve sent them a personal video email.

Maximize search engine optimization opportunities

It will help with search engine optimisation if you get involved with video marketing. Web video is 53 times more likely to turn up on Google page one than any other form of media.

When you type into Google a search term such as ‘Cats’, you will get a list of web pages returned in the results as well as videos. Are you starting to see how a video marketing campaign can be beneficial for your business? You may be thinking creating, uploading and using online video is going to be expensive for small business internet marketing purposes. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is hard to see how other media can compare to the effectiveness of YouTube these days.

Conclusion

If you are not using web video in your business now then it may be something you could look at. The potential is enormous and it just might be the missing link between having a successful business or one that fails. See what video can do for your sales today.

 

Myths About Being Self-Employed and Why They’re Not True

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Being self-employed allows you the kind of freedom that working for someone else does not. You get to run your business whichever way you please. You also don’t have to ask permission to go on vacation and you can work from where ever you want. However, many people are either not aware of these benefits, or they think there’s too many disadvantages. So, I thought I’d create a list of the disadvantages, and why they’re actually not that bad. Here are the top five reasons people believe entrepreneurs have it tough and my take on them:1. It’s too much work to manage a business on your own. People think that it would be much more stressful working for yourself than for another person. Having the responsibility of managing a business on your own may seem intimidating, but it’s less daunting than you would expect. Being in control of your career actually makes your life less stressful. Why? It allows you to express yourself and unleash your creativity. When you’re at your job do you get to tweak it to better suit your liking? Are you allowed to share ideas on how you think the company should be run? Probably not. But when you are your own boss, the sky’s the limit to how originative you want to be at work.2. There’s a chance that your project will fail and then you will be without work. Thomas Edison failed more than a thousand times before inventing the light bulb. Sylvester Stallone got rejected more than a thousand times before he got a part in a movie. The point is these people didn’t give up until they got what they wanted. That’s the kind of mindset you want to have when starting your business. If the first second or even third project doesn’t work out, keep trying anyway. And that business that didn’t work out may spark another idea that leads to the career of your dreams.3. Working from home will make you lazy and eventually you’ll stop caring about your enterprise. Not if you love what you do. If you put your heart into your work then that flame will never die. Once you start making sales and getting feedback from buyers, you won’t want to stop working. As long as you’re inspired, you will constantly be coming up with new ideas for your work. Actually, that’s the whole reason to be self-employed: To have a job that pays well and makes you happy.4. You won’t be able to retire on the money you make being self-employed. I can safely say that I’ve read enough inspiring stories about entrepreneurs retiring at a young age to deem this one false. The truth is, you can actually retire much faster being self-employed compared to working for someone else. The reason for that is because when you work for someone else, your future is in their hands. The company you work for could go out of business or your boss could fire you at any time. And you also don’t have control over how much you get paid. Working for yourself gives you an opportunity to steer your career in the direction you want it to go.5. Being self-employed is risky and your income is inconsistent. It’s true that your income may be unpredictable at first. That’s why it’s recommended that you keep your day job until your income becomes dependable. However, once you get good at promoting your business, you will start to get steady profits. And isn’t trying anything new a bit of a risk? Think about something you’re talented at now that you weren’t that great at before. Since you are such a pro at your skill now, obviously that means that you didn’t let the risks out- weigh the benefits of achieving your goal. That’s the kind of attitude to have when developing your business; you can’t let the fear of it being too risky scare you. Just because you may not be making many sales at first, doesn’t mean it’s always going to be like that. If you give it a chance, your business could take off and become successful. Remember, confidence is key when pursuing your career.

Good Health and Fitness is Key

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Exercise possesses central importance in the progress of good health and fitness. Those people who do exercise tend to have a happy, active life and they remain safe from various lethal diseases including heart attack and stroke. Exercise can take many shapes and forms, such as joining a gym and performing heavy exercises. However, those exercises would be beneficial in the long term only if they are performed regularly and correctly. The regularity in exercise is mandatory rather than taking heavy exercise that is done irregularly. There are many different tools available to help in your quest for fitness, but in general simplicity is best. The simpler the routine, the more likely you are to continue it and that is really the key to lasting fitness and good health. In your quest to keep things simple, you may wish to have a regular routine of brisk walking or jogging rather than spending the money for a gym membership or buying home exercise equipment, having to make time to drive to the gym, etc.An ideal method to lose some pounds is to start a regular cardio program & do it four times in a week for a minimum of 30 minutes. Select an activity that you enjoy so that you may look forward to exercising. Consider that working-out will benefit not only your physical, but mental & emotional health also. Actually, the aerobic exercise and the weight lifting will help your body produce endorphins, thus naturally making you feel happy. According to psychiatrists, working out increases level of some important antidepressant chemicals in the body like dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. As levels of all these chemicals rise in your body, you will get an overall feeling of well being. Your regular exercise routine doesn’t just burn fat & increases muscle, but it relieves your stress & depression. Duke University research revealed that for some people exercise will combat feelings of depression – without any prescriptions & side effects.Begin slowly with a short time period devoted to the program daily. Even 10 minutes is a good start and the key is starting the program as well as sticking with it. Sticking with it is where the motivation factor comes in. The motivation factor is tricky & its very different for everybody. Lots of people have been motivated by doing something very small and building on that. That’s why it’s so important to set small, realistic goals at first, and move in baby steps. Remember, first you crawl, then you walk, and finally you run towards your goals!