Image via Olinda Services

Welcome to our Press And Mentions section, where we’ll show off some of our favorite mentions from around the web that feature GoAnimate for Business and our popular consumer site, GoAnimate.com, out in the wild!

In today’s post, we want to show off a nice mention in a post on Onlinda Services’ blog.

Read a snippet here:

Creating 3D animation videos with maximum effectiveness and minimum effort is a delight with GoAnimate. Cartoon and animation advertisements work wonders for marketing and this tool makes it all the more efficient.  The service is completely automated, with “drag and drop” functionality you only have to pick and choose from various rich template options. It has a very spontaneous user interface with a text to voice function with adjustable voice tone features. You can also import voices, sound effects and music. You never have to download anything on your disk and videos can be posted to YouTube to maximize reach.

-Ashwin, Olinda Services, April 26, 2013

To read the entire post, please visit http://ow.ly/l2e2Y.  Editor’s note: the link in this quote was correctly directed to our business site, at goanimate.com/business.

Have you read a great article about us, written your own post and mentioned us, or have a desire to guest post on Video Maker Tips? Send us a message at VMT@GoAnimate.com.

And to get the latest, please follow us on Twitter or fan us on Facebook.

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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In today’s post, we want to show off one of our favorite case studies that got picked up by .bizMarketing Magazine. This article is now live on their digital magazine.

Read a snippet here:

He reports that over the two-month period after Greystack posted the video, its website traffic rose 250 percent. Furthermore, according to Troia, Greystack’s leads have increased more than 40 percent as a result of people downloading the call to action mentioned at the end of the video.

“Visits to multiple pages on the site are up 200 percent since implementing the video,” he says, “and visitor time on our site is up about 400 percent since we added video to our pages.”

-GoAnimate, May 1 2013

To read all of our GoAnimate for Business Case Study on .bizMarketing Magazine, please visit http://ow.ly/kNWl7. Note you will need to subscribe for free. The article starts on page 40.

Have you read a great article about us, written your own post and mentioned us, or have a desire to guest post on Video Maker Tips? Send us a message at VMT@GoAnimate.com.

And to get the latest, please follow us on Twitter or fan us on Facebook.

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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Image vie e-Learning Stuff

Welcome to our Press And Mentions section, where we’ll show off some of our favorite mentions from around the web that feature GoAnimate for Business and our popular consumer site, GoAnimate.com, out in the wild!

For today’s post, we want to show off a great mention by James Clay on his blog, e-Learning Stuff.

Read a snippet here:

“I sometimes find that though I like a particular tool or service, finding a way to allow access for all our staff and learners, on the assumption that only a few would actually use it to begin with, is quite challenging. This isn’t just an issue with small companies such as Xtranormal, but also with software providers as big as Adobe. We now have a site licence for Adobe CS6, in the past we were quite restricted on how we could use other versions of Adobe Creative Suite as it was on a per machine basis.

So what am I recommending now?

Well it’s GoAnimate.”

-James Clay, E-Learning Stuff, April 24, 2013

To read all of  James’ post, please visit http://ow.ly/kEM0P.

Have you read a great article about us, written your own post and mentioned us, or have a desire to guest post on Video Maker Tips? Send us a message at VMT@GoAnimate.com.

And to get the latest, please follow us on Twitter or fan us on Facebook.

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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Email image by Shutterstock.

Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools in any marketer’s arsenal. Think about it. Your email list is invaluable – a database of customers or subscribers is a goldmine. Done right, sending your users valuable and targeted messages will result in higher conversion and engagement rates.

Aside from company newsletters, updates, and special deals, what else can you offer your mailing list? Start by thinking about your touchpoints. When do users interact with your products or services, and how can you capitalize on those interactions? There are opportunities to reach out to users after they sign up to offer a hand with setting up their account; to offer assistance after they abandon a session halfway through; or to offer a compelling reason to return after a period of inactivity by the user.

When it comes to choosing your email marketing software, don’t just take into account your current needs. Consider what other requirements you have in the future as your business grows or pivots. How big is your email list, and how fast is it growing? Will you need to track and follow up on individual emails? Automate certain responses? Integrate your email marketing with a separate customer database?

Most newsletter software offers built-in templates, often with drag-and-drop capability; built-in social sharing straight from an individual email; scheduling; segmentation; and analytics, often in real time. Many also let you remove their branding from mailouts altogether, or even take your RSS feed and automatically convert your blog posts into e-newsletters.

Here are 10 useful email marketing tools to consider.

MailChimp

With 3 million users, MailChimp is one of the kings of newsletter software. It’s also free to use if you have less than 2,000 email subscribers (minus a few premium features like autoresponders and social analytics).

With MailChimp, you can customize your signup form to match your brand for your website and Facebook. The mailout editor has built-in photo editing tools, visual and HTML editing modes, the option to create A/B split campaigns, and automated responses. MailChimp also integrates with Salesforce, Magento, and many more.

Finally, analytics reports tell you who’s opening, clicking, and coming back for more. Google Analytics offers insights into how your email marketing drives website traffic, while Tweet Trends gives you insight into your subscribers’ activity on Twitter.

Like MailChimp, GetResponse allows for personalized signup forms, image editing in-browser, and A/B splits. It also caters for the design-savvy, who can upload email layouts in zip file format or captured via a URL.

Within GetResponse, you can check how your mailout will appear in various popular email clients to ensure it renders perfectly. Contacts may be imported from 16 different services and mail clients, including Gmail, Outlook, and LinkedIn. And it integrates with a host of other platforms, including Zendesk, Salesforce, PayPal, Shopify, Batchbook and Magento.

On top of that, GetResponse offers a separate landing page tool, where you can create and publish promo pages and integrate them with your e-commerce and social media platforms.

VerticalResponse

VerticalResponse offers two payment options: a monthly plan, starting at $8.50, or a pay-as-you-go method, where you buy credits for the number of emails you need to send.

Feature-wise, it offers everything you’ve come to expect from an email marketing software client. It boasts a whopping 700-odd templates, plus you can automatically post your emails to Facebook and or build custom signup forms for your own website or Facebook.

VerticalResponse also plays in the event marketing space (helping you promote and sell tickets to functions) and social media space (helping you curate relevant content for your social channels).

Customer.io

Customer.io specializes in targeted behavioral emails and autoresponders. It lets you send newsletters to user segments using data from your site – no lists to manage. You can look up a customer and see all the communications you’ve had with them, including their site activity (in case they need help). The built-in analytics also make it easy to see how people respond to the different types of emails you send.

It’s free for companies with less than 100 customers. Bonus: the Customer.io blog is also packed with helpful hints to improve your own email marketing practices.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact covers all the basics of email marketing but touts its live help as a big point of difference, from daily live demos to local seminars. It also syncs with the likes of Salesforce, SugarCRM, Outlook, QuickBooks and more.

Event management and promotion is another area Constant Contact offers services in, from invitations and registration forms to tracking RSVPs, processing payments and issuing tickets. In addition, it offers users Facebook campaign building tools, mobile site optimization and digital listings on a range of online directories and mobile apps.

Plans start at $15 a month, and there’s a free trial.

iContact

Using iContact’s email marketing tools, you can publish your emails in a public archive on your site, conduct surveys over email, and design automated responses. And when collecting information about new users through a signup form (whether on your own site or Facebook), iContact’s custom form fields allow you to capture all kinds of data as your needs dictate. Integrations include partnerships with Salesforce and Magento.

iContact’s email marketing software is free for companies with under 100 subscribers. Add-on services include iContact’s in-house design team, whose services can be deployed by customers, or help with online marketing strategy from its advisors.

Cakemail

As newsletter software goes, Cakemail is slick, modern and design-minded. Choose from a visual or HTML editor, or upload pre-designed campaigns as .zip files. A/B and automated campaigns are available too.

Reporting options include Google Analytics and, notably, a nifty visual heatmap.

Cakemail’s free to use for those with less than 100 subscribers.

Contactology

Contactology’s email marketing software includes email survey options along with traditional newsletters and messages. Sync contacts and subscribers from your CRM (Salesforce, SugarCRM, ZohoCRM, etc) and design automatic responses or A/B split mailouts.

Among the mailout editing options are an internal photo editor and a handy URL grabber in case you’d like to send a complete web page to your email subscribers, complete with active clickable links.

It’s well equipped to cater to larger enterprises, including global customers, with support for international characters in languages other than English. And it’s free for users with under 100 customers.

Aweber

Aweber’s email marketing tools tick all the usual boxes, including autoresponses and the option to personalize your own signup forms, including custom forms to match the online version of your mailout.

It integrates with Shopify, PayPal, Magento, Eventbrite, and Rapportive, to name a few. Plus you can automatically publish your mailouts online for website visitors to browse.

Plans start from $19 a month.

Mailjet

Mailjet’s newsletter software offers a step-by-step, menu-based mailout builder. It’s built a reputation as a cloud-based provider able to manage emails in bulk.

Perhaps more importantly, it claims to monitor your campaigns and IP address dynamically to ensure your messages actually get delivered. Mailjet has come up with its own algorithms to route emails via he most effective IP address.

If you send under 6,000 mailouts a month, it’s free.

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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Now whether you’re training staff or simply telling your story, we’ll keep you OVER the weather by taking care of all your healthcare and medical industry needs with these doctor and patient Medical Services Actionpacks. Each has a healthy dose of actions with various industry-specific imagery sure to be the antidote to your video woes!

Log in or sign up at http://goanimate.com/business to take advantage of our Medical Services Actionpacks. Open the Business Friendly Video Maker. Once inside the studio, click on a character and hit “Learn New Actions” in the Actions Tab. Be sure to Add “Medical Services – Doctor” and “Medical Services – Patient” actionpacks to get started!

Preview what we’re talking about below!

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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Is there a recipe for going viral? It’s difficult to say. After all, while it appears adding babies and kittens seems to help, do you have any idea how competitive the market is for that?

What an audition for the next viral video looks like.

The truth is there is no sure-fire way to guarantee your video will become the next “Charlie Bit My Finger,” even if your aim is nothing short of saving all life on Earth. We know this because the following videos are among the best, most creative, and in some cases most hysterical public service announcements on the Internet, and they could potentially save countless lives if only they became as popular as the Star Wars Kid.

8. “The Majestic Plastic Bag,” by Heal the Bay
It’s hard to watch a video where the primary star is a plastic bag without feeling a little bit like one of the creepy neighbors in American Beauty.

More or less, you in a couple seconds.

However, the Jeremy Irons-narrated mockumentary “The Majestic Plastic Bag” is more than a clever spin on most nature programs. It’s one of the most powerfully effective messages you’ll ever receive about how even the slightest human interaction with the planet has tremendous consequences.

In all honesty, the “Trololo” song would probably work well with this video.

7. “Embrace Life,” by Sussex Safer Roads
There have been numerous campaigns to get people to wear their seatbelts, but how many of them have enjoyed the same success as the countless car crashes that most people watch and share across the Internet each day?

In all honesty, this is a pretty effective video on why not to drive a Pinto.

“Embrace Life” from Sussex Safe Roads changes all that. While essentially nothing more than a family playing charades, seriously… Just try watching this video without sharing it with your mother afterwards.

6. “Fatherhood Involvement – Cheerleader,” The Ad Council

We really got to hand it to the Ad Council.  Not only is their YouTube channel a veritable bonanza of Internet comedy, but you really got to hand it to them for thinking outside the box.

Let’s face it: We have all been in this picture at some point.

Case in point, how do you encourage people to be better fathers without coming off as a total jerk? By showing what fatherhood is all about if your little girl wants to be a cheerleader.

5. “Two Genders, One Planet – Shoe Choice,” Mirandum Pictures

“Two Genders, One Planet” is a public awareness campaign dedicated to making dating as simple as possible for the planet’s many teenagers. It’s not a message about drunk driving or birth control, but instead solutions to the really awkward stuff. You know, like whether to buy her flowers, whether he or she likes you, and, standing head and shoulders above the rest… shoe choice.

It has no presumption, no guilt, and total understanding.

4. “Pet Adoption – Cell Phone.” The Ad Council
Yet another stroke of genius from the Ad Council, which is apparently on a mission to cure more evil than Batman ever could.

Pictured: all of YouTube.

In this video, “Cell Phone” focuses on what it’s like to be a pet two decades into the 21st century. Yes, people are spending a lot more time on their cell phones these days, but as long as they’re adopting pets from the pound, who can complain? Just remember to feed them every now and then.

3. “Vinnie Jones’ Hard And Fast Hands-Only CPR,” British Heart Foundation
It’s hard to picture British actor and sometimes crazy-person Vinnie Jones in a position where he is not killing people, which is why he’s such an effective spokesperson to teach you CPR.

If Bullet-Tooth Tony can give CPR, surely you can!

The truth is the real brilliance this video is what a fantastic job it does teaching you how to administer CPR can be thanks to the Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive.” For the purposes of this video, the song could not have possibly had a better name.

2. “Wind,” Epuron
Wind energy is the type of thing that will always have a hard time catching on. Yes, it’s free and clean and safe, but wind turbines will always be one hell of an eyesore on Europe’s otherwise charming landscapes.

Ugh. Just look at it…

As such, Epuron could not have chosen a spokesperson to serve as their personification of wind.

http://www.furlined.com/bjorn-ruhmann/the-wind/

Honestly, we don’t know what it is about this guy, but we love him. His Charlie Chaplin hat, his French accent, his choice of wardrobe… you name it. All we know is not since the days of André the Giant were we instantly so smitten by an enormous person.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you sell wind energy.

1. “Obesity PSA – Zombie Apocalypse”
America, we have your cure for obesity, and it starts with the letter “Z.”

Brilliant. Just brilliant. And to think, this video may end up saving someone’s life when the zombies come.

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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Bahati Banks, Content Marketer, uses GoAnimate

Welcome to our newest section on Video Maker Tips: Spotlight!

Occasionally we’ll feature guest posts from real GoAnimate and GoAnimate for Business users who are using our product in an interesting way, as well as highlight industry experts and their use of online video.

Next up is Bahati Banks, who is loving her new path towards content marketing. Get the scoop on how she’s using GoAnimate here:

As an aspiring entrepreneur, I’ve been transitioning into a second career in content marketing over the last year. My journey to this burgeoning field has been anything but linear. I choose to revel in that fact, however, and have come to appreciate how not having a background steeped in traditional marketing can bring a novel and fresh outlook.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, according to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is:

A marketing technique that creates and distributes relevant and valuable content (i.e., videos, webinars, articles, apps) to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

The art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling.

Non-interruption marketing.

Not pitching your products or services, it’s delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent.

Boiled down to its essence, it’s storytelling.

Once I came to this realization, my enthusiasm and interest in the field started to peak because there are countless creative ways to tell a brand’s story. With the Internet and Web 2.0 being the catalyst for sites like GoAnimate for Business that allow you to create custom animated videos (i.e., commercials, trainings, and webinars), the opportunities are endless.

Of course, as a small business owner promoting the benefits of content marketing, I wouldn’t be worthy of pitching my services if I didn’t have a diverse pool of relevant content.

Most recently, for example, I wanted to create a series of webinars designed to educate small business owners about the benefits of content marketing. Rather than use the real Bahati as the presenter, I thought it would be cooler to use a virtual me. With the help of GoAnimate, I’ve had a blast producing an original, virtual animated call-in show called Engage. I’m not ready to apply to Pixar just yet, however, GoAnimate gives you a glimpse into what it’s like being the writer, producer, director, and composer of a mini animated show.

-Bahati Banks

Check out some of Bahati’s videos here and here.

Related Article: How To Do Content Marketing

To learn further how GoAnimate can help your business, visit http://goanimate.com/business.

Are you using GoAnimate or GoAnimate for Business in an interesting way, or know someone who is? We want to hear about it! Email VMT@GoAnimate.com, tweet at us (@GoAnimate) or send us a message on Facebook.

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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Your landing page is a specific resource designed to convert a visitor into a customer. That means it needs to focus on no more than one or two things. Otherwise, your message may get lost and you’ll lose a potential customer.

Below are 4 key elements to remember when building a solid landing page.

1. The most important is a nice looking and eye-catching headline, the landing page headline and advertisement should compliment each other.

2. A  very clear and concise secondary headline and blurb is the next important factor, this is one of the first things a visitor will read, it should be straight forward and compelling for the visitor to take a closer look.

3. A big, bright and strong call to action button that stands out, this conversion button should be placed below a call-to-action or have a call-to-action as the button.

4. Use images or videos that relates to the copy can have a very positive impact on viewers, it will give the visitor a more vivid idea of a product or service and perhaps look further into it.

Increasingly, a secret weapon of killer landing pages is the explainer video. Explainer videos are designed to help viewers quickly grasp the product or service at hand. Animated explainer videos are a great way to improve conversion rates, overall engagement, and best of all, they don’t cost the earth to produce.

Animated explainer videos work for businesses of all kinds, from e-commerce:

to technology:

Why add an explainer video to your landing page? Attention is at a premium online, so you’ve got to capture a user’s interest quickly and sustain it. If you can do that, you’re much more likely to convert that person into a customer.

Animated explainer videos hold attention for much longer than plain text or an audio file. A lot of people prefer to watch something rather than read the same thing – the majority of the population are visual learners. The visual aspect of a video keeps viewers interested and keeps them watching in order to see what’s next. Ideally, they should be between 1-3 minutes – long enough to explain the product or service, but not long enough to bore the viewer.

If you can keep people on your page for longer, that means more time for your brand message to be absorbed. And if company staff feature in your explainer video, you’ll be offering another reason for viewers to put their trust in you. Done right, adding an explainer video to your landing page can double your conversion rates.

You can increase the impact of your animated explainer video on your landing page with a little experimenting. Some viewers may respond better to a short, snappy video, while others prefer a more in depth version – it depends on your audience. And while autoplay can annoy users, it can also increase conversions.

Finally, use your explainer video to reinforce your call to action. You could have a physical cue within the video pointing toward the relevant button/link, or a voiced or written instruction urging viewers to take action. This should be presented at the end; videos do better when the user knows what to do after the video finishes playing.

Liked the look of the video examples above? They were all made using GoAnimate. Our tools make it easy to create professional quality videos for your business, with dozens of pre-made characters, backdrops, and music tracks, and you’ll have full rights to share and export your video as you see fit. Get started right away!

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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Here we’ll feature guest posts from real GoAnimate and GoAnimate for Business users who are using our product in an interesting way, as well as highlight industry experts and their use of online video.

First up is Anika Duvall, who uses GoAnimate for Business in her eLearning courses at work. Read more about how she uses her videos here:

As an e-learning designer and developer I am always on the lookout for new ideas that will keep my courses fresh and exciting for our learners. About a year ago I was feeling uninspired and in a bit of a rut with my designs, so I took to the Internet for some inspiration. This is when I came across GoAnimate for Business.

What drew me to GoAnimate initially was that I could build great looking animations without the need for programming or other special skills. Not only was it easy to learn, creating the videos was quick – and I am always pressed for time on my projects. It became clear that Go Animate videos could integrate into my e-learning projects and become a powerful new tool for me.

At first I started out small, embedding a quick video in an e-learning project here and there. But after a while, I realized I could get a little more creative. Here are a couple of ways I have used Go Animate in my courses:

1. Use a video as a test question: the questions I usually use are scenario-based where the character will introduce a problem and the learners have to choose the correct actions. For scenario-based quiz questions, I like to use a GoAnimate video for feedback as well – so I will create a short video with the character dancing if they get the question right and the character crying if they get it wrong (for example).

2. Create a branching scenario: allow the learners to choose different paths and watch the scenario unfold. Using animation rather than static pictures and words is more interesting and really brings the scenario to life. I use Adobe Captivate and Articulate Studio to create the branching scenarios. Both instances I download the video from GoAnimate and drop it into my course. I embed the video usually next to a button, hyperlink or question. The learner can watch the video (I leave the controls open so they can re-play as needed) and then they make a selection which will branch them to another video.

3. Create a character for help or feedback: create videos with a character offering help, providing an explanation on a topic or giving feedback on a test question. This is more engaging and motivating for the learners than audio or text alone.

4. Bring a concept to life: using animated videos to illustrate an idea or concept makes our e-learning courses more impactful and sets up our learners for success.

All of these uses have been popular, but my favorite use of GoAnimate videos has been to involve my co-workers in creating the animations. I seek out volunteers to provide a voice over for our videos. We build the character, play with voice over effects and record the audio together. Getting my colleagues involved in e-learning development helps increase buy-in, keeps the videos interesting and builds enthusiasm – we also have a lot of fun in the process. Overall, Go Animate has been a great addition to the tools I use when building e-learning. I am sure I will continue to find new ways to use animated videos in my projects.

-Anika Duvall, Training Specialist, Northwest Farm Credit Services

To learn more about how GoAnimate can help with your training or eLearning courses, visit http://goanimate.com/business.

Are you using GoAnimate or GoAnimate for Business in an interesting way, or know someone who is? We want to hear about it! Email VMT@GoAnimate.com, tweet at us (@GoAnimate) or send us a message on Facebook.

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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Logo credit: Phoenix Business Journal

Welcome to our Press And Mentions section, where we’ll show off some of our favorite mentions from around the web that feature GoAnimate for Business and our popular consumer site, GoAnimate.com, out in the wild!

For today’s post, we want to show off a great mention by Meredith Munger on the Phoenix Business Journal.

So how much does a fabulous animated video cost? It may be free, or close enough. Companies such as GoAnimate and Xtranormal allow you to build a basic video for free and then charge more for upgrades or enhanced monthly service. The highest fee I saw was $59 per month, but you could cut off service after three months. Compare that to the cost of a professional video with actors or, even cheesier, you and your employees. I’ve never seen a decent video cost less than $5,000.

-Meredith Munger, Phoenix Business Journal, October 4, 2012

To read all of  Meredith’s post, please visit http://ow.ly/hYqSX.

Have you read a great article about us, written your own post and mentioned us, or have a desire to guest post on Video Maker Tips? Send us a message at VMT@GoAnimate.com.

And to get the latest, please follow us on Twitter or fan us on Facebook.

Source: Tips for Video Makers by GoAnimate | Make Amazing Animated Videos

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