Why do I like this so much and want you to watch and study it?

Because I’ve been teaching the SAME things for 3 years!

Watch the video below and then follow along with my thoughts and observations (and leave a comment!):

Click HERE to watch

OK…here are some key points:

1. Notice Andy’s audio quality. Top notch! It’s a major contributor to the “professionalism” factor!

2. This entire video includes music tracks. Notice I used the plural “tracks”. Listen to how each track instantly conveys a very specific “feeling” and changes the dynamic of the presentation. See if you can pick out the “emotions” Andy is trying to convey with each track change and how it ties into the message he is delivering at that moment. This is powerful subconscious stuff!!

3. Within the first 10 seconds, he pulls us in with a compelling “reason to watch”. The “Fastest way to create powerful sales videos”? Heck ya! I want that! It’s the first 10 seconds that are critical to getting your message watched.

4. At :20 we get a nice dose of “social proof” in the way of comments from the first video in the series to further whet the appetite. The video is wrong, there are 1,087 comments as of this writing! Placing this scene here is NOT by chance. It’s there so we will “validate” our reason for watching it and feel like we will be “missing out” if we leave. More powerful subconscious stuff…

5. I believe that Andy probably changed the opening minutes of this video from his original script. And I believe he did that because of the feedback in the comments from the first video. Notice how he listened to what his viewers were telling him they wanted and adjusted the content to even further give us a reason to watch. TIP: ALWAYS keep your eyes open to what your viewers want and reflect that back to them in your content! Using simple footage grabbed from his comments page ended up being simple, quick, and very effective.

6. Oh…and the cool “sideways 3D-looking” effect he used in the scene? You can do this with the Camtasia “Tilt” Pan & Zoom feature. Notice he uses it sparingly for maximum effect but he uses it because it is a visual eye grabber. More on that in a bit…

7. Step 1 talks about using a…<gasp>…script! OMG! Really? Ya. Because if you are delivering a message, what you say, when you say it, and how you say it are important. I create an actual script for literally every video I create. I love his advice here: “The better the script, the happier the viewer!”

8. A sales page contains almost everything you need to plan & script a killer Camtasia sales video. I talk about this planning concept in the Screencast Profits Course in several places. Have you seen the free Affiliate Marketing Module from the Screencast Profits Gold Member level? It’s a good compliment to Andy’s content! Specifically, check out the “Getting Started Right” Chapter in this module.

9. At 3:43 Andy does an easy little trick. Can you tell what it is? It’s a slow Pan & Zoom. He takes the capture (it might even just be a static image) and slowly makes it move. You can do this in Camtasia using the Pan & Zoom feature and just set the Zoom Duration to a higher value like 5 to 8 seconds! This is effective because we are conditioned to seeing things “move”. Watch a documentary on TV sometime. You know, maybe something about history where they show old paintings or photographs? You will never see anything “standing still” for more than a couple of seconds. It will move…because a hundred years of film production experience has shown that movement keeps the viewers attention.

10. At 4:15, the Little Boss FAB technique is solid gold. It’s a variation of the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) method I teach in Screencast Profits only more focused to the most important elements of a good sales message: Features & Benefits. TIP: It’s the benefit that sells!

11. At 5:29, you’ll see a pretty funny graphic. Again, not a random thing! It’s called a “Pattern Interrupt” and is there to jolt you back to the message. This is another thing I talk about in the Affiliate Marketing module in the Product Demos chapter. In fact, I also use a FailBlog.org image just like Andy used to demonstrate the concept!

12. Another concept I teach is at 7:09. “People love to buy but they don’t like being sold to!" Great advice…

13. Andy uses Apple’s Keynote to create his presentation. Arguably, Keynote is much cooler in the effects department than Microsoft PowerPoint! But…I don’t own a Mac (yet) so I use PowerPoint. FYI, the beta for the next version of PPT is out and I’ll be checking it out to see if there are coolness enhancements.

14. I highly recommend all the template, image, and other resources Andy mentions. I use them all!

15. At 10:12 – Using pictures & sound for maximum “emotional” benefit. Pay attention here! Watch any of my videos and you’ll see this concept used constantly. Key point:

Use text and then relevant images to reach beyond logic and help them understand the emotion of what you’re trying to say.

But you’ll never hear me use any Yani…lol.

16. At 17:30 we get to hear about another of my pet peeves. Rehearsal! I’m just going to say this about that: “Kick ass videos are rehearsed. Lame videos are not…period.”  Winging it has a time & place but don’t become an expert in mediocrity by doing it all the time! Thanks for the validation Andy…

That’s it for this video review. Can’t wait for the next one!

Oh…one more thing:

There are download links for each of Andy’s videos on the page that has the video.

Download them!!

I want to hear what you think and what you have questions on! Please leave a comment!

Lon

FYI: The link to Andy’s video above is my affiliate link and I’ll be compensated if you buy. I’ll have my thoughts on what I think of the product after the 4th video of his series.

Tweet This Post

I’ve studied him for several years now and always marvel at his style (which is very similar to mine I think) and his video marketing philosophy. In fact, at times, I find it absolutely scary how much we think alike in terms of how and why to use video on the internet.

I got to meet Andy in person (finally) at Mike Filsaime’s Affiliate Appreciation event in Vegas the end of January and it turns out that his personality is pretty much the same in person as it is in his videos. I knew this when he gave me a big bear hug! LOL…

I’m totally jazzed to see that since breaking away from StomperNet that he is now coming out with what will surely be the top video marketing information around.

His new thing is called The Video Boss.  I’m sure it will be great ‘n’ all…but probably not for everyone…and probably pretty pricey.

So, why am I telling you about it and why am I psyched?

Because, if Andy is true to form with the launch of this product (and I’m sure he will be), he is going to provide a TON of absolutely incredible information during the process for free.

I highly recommend that you opt-in to watch and study these videos!!!!

CLICK HERE AND WATCH THESE

I can literally promise you…it will be well worth the time.

Post your comments here and let’s discuss the tactics he teaches. You could try to also leave a comment on Andy’s first video page but…there are already 572 of them! Yikes…

Enjoy!

Lon

Disclaimer: Dear FTC, The links above are my affiliate links and I’ll get rich if you use them but I can’t promise you will if you buy anything,

Tweet This Post

I really started into the whole thing when I joined his private mentoring group called I5 Gold (at 500 skins a month!) with some other unknown newbies: Alex Jeffreys, Tim Brocklehurst, and a guy named Bob “The Teacher” Jenkins.

Since then, I’ve watched in amazement as Bob turned out product after product, success after success…the guy is a machine!

So, when Bob announced that he was hold his first live seminar event I wasn’t surprised. And I’m very happy to report that I will be one of only 4 featured speakers presenting with him in Wilmington N.C. Feb. 26-28th, 2010.

It’s called S.I.M.P.L.E. – School for Information Marketing Profits Live Event.

CLICK for Details

You see, Bob “The Teacher” was a real life teacher before making a full time living on the net. His ability to, well, teach is nothing short of amazing. Ask any of his current “students” and you’ll find nothing but respect and admiration from them as well.

The one other thing I will mention is that if you are in this business and never been to a live event, you’re missing one of the most impactful things you can do. The relationships and friends I’ve made in these face-to-face forums has been the single biggest factor in growing my business.

Hope to see you there!

Tweet This Post

It’s called Easy Video Player and as the clever name suggests it creates video players…easily.

The product was developed by Josh Bartlett and is a standalone piece of software that is installed on your web server so it’s accessible from any computer…Windows or Mac

And what it does is make the rather complicated task of creating very useful customized video players…ummm…easy!

Here’s what I got:

This player includes some very interesting things especially relating to video marketing…

The actual “player” itself is an open source piece of work called Flow Player.

I like this player and have used it before…it looks good and has lots of your standard “nice to have” player features…

So…what does all this have to do with the Easy Video Player software?

You see, it’s all about taking your video produced in either FLV, MOV, MP4, or M4V and easily…

Putting it into the Flow Player WITH…a bunch of cool additional features!

And what are those?

Here’s what it will do for you:

Here are a few sample reasons why this software has grabbed a spot in my video toolbox.

1. Opt-in Form in Video

Normally, if you want to collect a name and email after presenting your compelling video content you need to put an autoresponder opt-in form somewhere on the page that contains your video.

That usually works ok but means a lot of work creating the page with proper formatting and all that and if I post the video on a blog, I have to be very specific about where the form is…

It can be quite a formatting and html or php challenge!

With this player, you can embed the opt-in form right IN the video player itself…so you can have any video, placed on any web page, act as it’s own listbuilder!

This is…NICE!

I’ve created a sample video of this feature below:

I’ve created a special mailing list where I’ll be sending out more tips and tricks on using EVP as I work more with it…

Just watch the very short sample clip and try out the form. This list will ONLY get video tutorials on EVP…how I’m using it, how to use it with Camtasia and WordPress, what my results are, stuff like that.

2. Buy Button code right inside the video.

No more messin’ around with watch this video and scroll down and click the buy button…boom!

Right there…done!

Again, the real power of this is that you can create “stand-alone” sales videos.

Sample video: Help Buy Lon a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT? Please?

3. Automatic Redirect Sample.

In this video sample I use the Redirect feature to automatically send the viewer to a sales page. Notice how I tell the viewer what’s going to happen at the end of the video…

The Cons

I haven’t really found much that I don’t care for in this product. Most of the things are limitations of other software or platforms like WordPress. For example:

* If you use the Visual Editor in WordPress after pasting your player code into the HTML view, WordPress strips out the script code rendering your video unviewable. Uggg….the workaround is to NOT use the visual editor ever. You can use any external HTML editor to write your posts and then just copy / paste the code into the HTML view on WordPress…or…my preferred method, use a plugin like EmbedIt.

* The software “times out” and will log you out. I guess that’s a security feature but it’s kind of a pain if you are working on uploading, customizing, and messing with getting the player just right and all of a sudden…boom! You are logged out! Be sure to save early and often to keep this from affecting your workflow. I’m not 100% sure what the timeout period is but it did hit me a couple of times in the beginning…

* Some things may not be cons…I’m just not sure about them yet. For example, I don’t see a way to increase the preload buffer time to make sure enough of the video is pre-loaded to ensure smooth streaming and playback. I’ll let you know what I find out. This, again, may be a limitation of FlowPlayer and not EVP…

* Not really a drawback but something to be aware of: If you want videos with a Table of Contents I haven’t seen a way to configure that. In this case, you’re better off using Camtasia’s player or the JW player.

The Value

The product currently costs a one time fee of $127. There is a Mastermind membership that you get to check out for free and then continue with if you like but this is completely optional and you can quit at any time! The software may also go to a monthly cost structure in the near future so grabbing your own copy quickly to use as much as you like might be a good idea.

Considering all you get and what it will do for you, I think this is a great value. Compare this to the JW Player which is about $80 per website and doesn’t really do any of the embedded marketing functions…

Overall, nothing in this list is anywhere close to a show-stopper for me and I can heartly recommend this player.

Here’s what you can do next:

To check out all the features and grab your own copy before it goes to a monthly fee to use it, just click the graphic below:

Have a comment or a question?

Post it and I’ll see if I can help!

Thanks,

Lon

Tweet This Post

For the 3rd installment of my Holiday Giveaway Series, I’m giving all Free level members of ScreencastProfits.com a complimentary upgrade to Silver Membership.

This member level gets you all the Gold Member Bonuses including my award winning “Ace the Audio” 94 minute video tutorial on how to sound great in your videos and my brand new “Video Settings in Plain English” tutorial…a must see.

There are also royalty-free music tracks, graphics you can use in your projects and more.

Watch this video to find out how to claim YOUR upgrade:

Sorry, but this is a strictly TIME SENSITIVE offer and if you show up after 12/24/2009 you will be to late!

If you’re NOT a free  member of Screencast Profits yet,  you can sign up at:

Screencast Profits FREE Membership

Enjoy and feel free to leave your comments!

Lon

Tweet This Post

Well, they said it might never happen and I must admit I’ve had a
few doubts over the last 2 months but…

Screencast Profits v2.0 will go live this week!

And for my valued members, I’m happy to announce that you get a special pre-launch shot at upgrading to the Gold member level at the current price…

AND…being “grand-fathered” in for all the new modules and bonuses that will cost 50% more later this week!

Yep. ALL Gold members get upgraded access to all the new stuff like:

* New Screencast Profit Modules – Specific ways to profits with screencast videos:
- Affiliate Marketing
- Product Creation
- Sales & Marketing videos
- Growing Your Business with video

* New bonuses
- Royalty free music tracks
- Cool custom callouts
- A most excellent course called “Video Settings in Plain English”

I’ll be throwing in a few more unannounced goodies as well.

So…if you’ve thought about it and forgot or if you were going to
but didn’t…

NOW would be a VERY good time to get your Gold member Screencast
Profits Course.

Just log in at the top menu (or join if you’re not a member):

http://screencastprofits.com

You will see your available upgrade option and can check out the
current content.

I’ll have full details at launch time of course but by then it will
bee too late to get this special deal…this is folks who take
action and pull the trigger.

I’ll be in touch soon!

Thanks!

Lon Naylor

Tweet This Post

1. As I get ready to launch Screencast Profits version 2, I wanted to find out what kinds of things were giving members problems, You know…what questions did they have. The best product value I can create is providing answers to those kinds of questions and solutions to problems people are having in creating Camtasia videos!

2. I get questions all the time and thought that having a live event where I could just address issues on the minds of my members would be fun and a good way to say “Thanks for being a member”.

The event went great except for one little (OK…maybe a big) hitch.

About 50 minutes into the deal my brand new, wiz bang, Intel I7-3TB of disks-12GB of RAM-64-bit, laugh in the face of death, live on the razor’s edge computer….BLUE SCREENED!

Ouch! I did manage to salvage the recording up until that fateful moment so here’s what I got:

Resources From Webinar (in order of discussion):

Logitech ClearChat Wireless Headset – This is the mic I am currently using for my webinar events

Camtasia 6 In-depth Review - Not sure if Camtasia 6 is worth the upgrade price? I did a full review of new features and why I decided to upgrade.

Camtasia Version Comparison page - Here’s a page that will let you compare your current version to the latest Camtasia version side-by-side.

Jing – This handy little tool probably won’t replace Camtasia but for short videos in High Quality for upload to YouTube the Pro version ($14.95 per year) is interesting. Plus, you can do screen image captures.

Kiosk Web Hosting – I use Kiosk as my web host. Great service & support make a big difference!

Amazon S3 – I store and deliver my video content on the mighty Amazon servers for pennies.

Sony Vegas Movie Studio Pro – When it comes to editing videos, Camtasia is OK…but quickly hampers my ability to do real editing. I reach for a full featured video editor to do almost all of my work in the edit bay.

Wacom Bamboo Graphics Tablet – Great tools for adding some interesting visuals and interactivity to your work by “drawing” on the screen in a whiteboard fashion.

Annotate Pro – I use this tool with my graphics board to select pens, colors, boxes, arrows, etc. for writing & drawing into my video content.

Give Away of the Day – Everyday, a new piece of free software. Sometimes there are really nice utilities & programs you can add to your toolbox.

Cool Iris – Wow. I’m playing with this awesome app to create some dramatic visual effects.

Audio Technica AT202 USB Studio Microphone – A great value, outstanding quality. When you’re ready to get serious about your voice narration without complicated external gear, a studio quality USB condenser mic is hard to beat. 

More Help?

Screencast Profits!

Techsmith Technical Support

Techsmith User Forum

Camtasia Users Group Social Media Site

Lon on Twitter – Follow me on Twitter ’cause I send out some pretty sweet tweets!

I’m ALWAYS interested in what you think. Please leave a comment about this webinar or what you would like to see from me!

Thanks!

Tweet This Post

If you have ever tried to get your Camtasia videos on a web page before, you know that it’s not really very easy. Copying and pasting code can lead to mistakes and complete frustration. Ask me how I know that!

This method uses a pretty straightforward bit of HTML formatting called an IFRAME. A real headache saver…

To check it out in full quality and have access to links to all the resources mentioned in the tutorial, check it out here:

Embed Camtasia Videos Tutorial

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment!

This is a sample preview of some really great, user-requested content that will be in the soon-to-be-launched Screencast Profits version 2 Platinum Members Area!

If you think this might benefit others you know, why not Tweet It with the button below? Thanks!

Hope this helps,

Lon

Tweet This Post

Screencast Profits Version 2 will be very focused on user requested content!

So…

What can I show you?

What can I help you with?

What drives you crazy about using Camtasia?

What am I currently providing that you like or what could I do better?

I’d love to hear any and all comments you might have so just drop a note in the comments section!

And…this Thursday, June 25th, at 6PM Pacific Time (9PM Eastern) - I’ll go over comments and questions on a LIVE webinar session where you can ask whatever you like!

To catch this free, open discussion just click this link to register and I look forward to chatting with you then!

REGISTER—> Camtasia Q & A Webinar Session with Lon Naylor

Lon

Tweet This Post

Version 2.45 launched!

What does version 2.45 include? They’ve closed over 40 tickets in their development ticket system for version 2.45 (squashing bugs is always good!). Some of the more notable features include API updates, Captcha on forums, updated Vidgets, and a bunch more.

You can read an entire summary about What’s New in 2.45 on their blog .

New navigation!

Andrew Smith, Viddler’s Lead Designer, designed and built the latest version of the navigation system on Viddler.com. A lot of thought went into the new navigation and so he took the time to jot down the thought process behind it.

Jump into the designer’s seat and read his post about the new navigation on their blog.

New Vidgets features!

One of the things covered in the 2.45 blog post is some enhancements to Vidgets. Included are some key updates to the Vidget builder like tag sorting, metric sorting, and even sorting by dates!

Build a Viddler Vidget!

Tweet This Post