Simple Vlogging Tips

From What You Wanted To Be To What You Are Now

Jendi — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:09:07 +0000

Video Blogs can help any career!

Lynsey gives questions you can answer about your career/business with the Monday Mingle Business Edition. No matter what business you are in it will help you get video content on to YouTube and your site. Customers need to trust you before they buy from you – especially online; and videos build trust much faster than type.

The link-up is hosted at The Party Plan Coach.com and everyone is invited. Thankfully, I can type her name (Lynsey) easier than saying it; the proof is at the end of the video. This week’s topic:

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? And does that play a role in where you are in your life today? Do you think there are some of the same attributes from your career choice that are present in your Small Business?

You’ll notice that I just left the green screen green. (Sounds like a song or something…) Not every blog post you write is going to be perfect, and not every vlog you upload will be totally polished. I’m going to go ahead and use this video as content, and work on making next week’s better. Don’t let the fact that your content is not “perfect” stop you from getting content out – especially video.

Sometimes when I embed videos they do not show in the reader. Visit Simple Vlogging Tips to see the video. Have you signed up to my mailing list to get updates about shows and anything exciting that's happening? Sign up today!

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How To Edit A Video With YouTube Editor

Jendi — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:01:26 +0000

Sometimes you just can’t get WLMM or iMovie to work for you in your computer – that’s a good time to check into the YouTube Editor. You can access it from any internet connect computer to edit your video. YouTube has a built-in editor designed to create simple videos in a short period of time. It’s easy to learn and its entire interface is drag-and-drop. In addition, there are a number of copyright-free videos and audios that you can add to your music.

Here’s how to use the YouTube editor

Step 1: Drag and Drop Your Media

Choose which videos you want to appear in your timeline. Drag them and drop them into their proper place.

At first, Google will just have one video slot open. But once you drag and drop your first video, a new video slot will open. New slots will continue to open as you drag and drop more videos.

Step 2: Adding Creative Commons Video

In addition to your own videos, you can also add Creative Commons videos to your movie. Creative Commons videos are basically videos that have copyright reuse permission granted by their creators.

To access the Creative Commons videos, click on the “CC” symbol in the top navigation.

You’ll see a list of all the Creative Commons videos you can choose from. Click and drag them to your timeline.

Step 3: Adding Music

YouTube also has a number of copyright-free music for you to choose from.

Start by clicking the music button along the top.

Click the “Play” button next to any piece of music to preview it. Use the dropdown menus of “Genre” and “Artist” to find specific pieces.

Once you find the music you want to use, either drag and drop it into the timeline or click the “Plus” button on the right.

Step 4: Adding Transitions

Transitions make switching from one clip to another smoother or more fun.

Start by clicking the “Transitions” button along the top.

The images over the transition name will give you an idea of what the transitions will look like. Select the one you want to use and drag and drop it between two video clips. The transition will then play in the switchover between the two clips.

Step 5: Publish

Once you have your videos and music set, click on “Publish” to have YouTube render your video.

It’ll take YouTube a few hours to have your video processed. Once it is, it’ll show up in your videos just like any other video you uploaded.

It’s that easy to use YouTube Editor to put together your own clips, add other clips, add music, add transitions and create a video. Go for it!

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My Business Why | Monday Mingle Business Edition

Jendi — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:44:06 +0000

So I really should follow my own advice and jot down a simple outline. But no…I thought, “It’s just one question.” I can do this. Then I totally got sidetracked and told more the how then the why. I switched the order of the videos in editing and left my how in – & my realization of it for some laughs.

If you want to join in the Monday Mingle Business Edition just visit The Party Plan Coach.

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Chat In Google With Video

Jendi — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:30:52 +0000

Google+ Hangouts is one of the newest video conferencing platforms on the internet. The big difference between Google+ Hangouts and other video chat platforms is simple: Google+ is completely free.

Making video conferencing completely free opens up a whole host of uses that just wouldn’t have made sense with other services.

Here’s how to start a Google+ Hangout, along with a few creative ways you can use Google+ Hangouts to market your business.

How to Start a Hangout

Starting a hangout is easy. Just click “Start a Hangout” in the right sidebar in Google+.

Choose which circle(s) or specific people you’d like to invite. Then click “Hang Out.”

Ways you can use Google+ Hangouts to market your business.

Discuss Your YouTube Videos, Live

If you’ve uploaded YouTube videos to your list, one powerful use of Google+ would be to use it as a live discussion platform.

Google+ allows its users to share a YouTube video screen. That means you can all watch the same video at the same time, then share discussions about that video.

Host a Class or Workshop

You can also use Google+ Hangouts to host a class. If you make the class free, you can draw quite a crowd.

People often feel like they get more out of a learning experience if they can actually see someone’s face and interact with them. Interacting with you live over video is going to be a more rewarding experience for most people than just seeing you on video or reading text written by you.

Host a Q&A Session

If you’re an expert on a certain topic, you can use Google+ Hangouts to create a Q&A session.

Unlike other Q&A systems, hosting a discussion on Google+ allows people to see your facial expressions as you answer. It also allows you to get the subtext of what people are really asking.

Again, the best part is that it’s all free. People who wouldn’t necessarily pay for a video conference can still come online to ask you questions.

Use it to Interview a Well Known Guest

If you have an interview guest that your audience would love, why not host them on Google+ Hangouts?

Having them interviewed live will allow your guests to interact with them in real time. Your guest also benefits as he or she will be able to actually look into your target market’s eyes and gauge how responsive they are to what’s being discussed.

Host a Press Release

Let’s say you have a handful of bloggers who you’re close with. You’re about to release a new product that’s going to be a big deal in your community.

Instead of answering questions one by one over email, why not just host a Google+ Hangout press release instead?

This will allow bloggers, website owners and journalists to interact with you directly, face to face.

They’ll also feel more of a sense of connection and bond with you, which increases your chances of getting a positive review.

Create a New Product

Finally, you can use Google+ Hangouts to create a new product.

Using a screencasting tool like Camtasia, you can record everything that’s going on in your screen in video form. Your whole presentation, as well as any questions that are asked can be captured for future viewing.

This whole conversation can then be turned into a CD, DVD or virtual product.

In the meantime, everyone who’s on the chat can benefit from learning from your class “in person.”

These are just some of the many ways that Google+ Hangouts can be used to market your online business. As you can tell, the fact that Google+ Hangouts is 100% free allows marketers to use video conferencing in ways that just wouldn’t have been possible in the past.

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Business Videos For Monday Mingle

Jendi — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:53:29 +0000

Lynsey from The Party Plan Coach has a great new idea! I love it. She is doing a type of spin-off of Monday Mingle. It is the Monday Mingle Business Edition. Can I get a woo-hoo!?

I enjoy interacting with other vloggers and participating in the Monday Mingle but I was always in a quandry. It was daily life stuff in the video, but because it was a vlog – and vloggers – I wanted to have it on this site instead of my daily life site. I eventually just dropped the whole thing. But now there is a solution! I can participate in the daily life Monday Mingles on Jendi’s Journal and the Business Edition MM on this site.

So without further ado here is my first video for the Monday Mingle Business Edition explaining what my business is:

Lynsey has explained all the rules for MM Business Edition – don’t worry they aren’t difficult – on The Party Plan Coach. The videos for this mingle should be a bit more professional – they are for business after all. If you want to do casual vlogs I highly recommend checking out the Monday Mingle at EightyMPHMom.

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iPhone Video Course

Jendi — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:30:41 +0000

I love simple video tips that make a big difference and the iPhone Video Hero course gives a bunch of them!

He – former MTV and BBC TV Director Jules Watkins – suggests that you go through the videos in the order he has them listed. I’m confessing that I jumped to one in the middle first, was impressed, learned something, and then went back and started at the top of the list. Now I’m half-way through and still enjoying it EVEN THOUGH I don’t have an iphone. I agree with all the tips I’ve heard so far and even learned some new tricks that I love.

One of the things I heard him mention is to delete any clip you don’t like right away – well he said “straightaway” because he’s British and all that. I think that’s a great practice to get in to. I do it myself, but haven’t heard others recommend it. That’s just a very small, simple tip he mentions to save room on your phone. He tells tips about lighting, holding it steady, microphones, and more! Common sense things that help make your video extraordinary.

If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, or just want to make better videos with your iPhone then you need to watch Jules’ video at iPhone Video Hero.

Disclosure: Those are my affiliate links. If you buy through them I get a commission. Opinions are 100% my own because I think it’s a great eproduct that would benefit many of my readers.

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SEO How To For Videos On YouTube

Jendi — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:20:59 +0000

Increase YouTube Views With These Simple Optimization Tips

YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine, larger than even Bing or Yahoo. It’s by far the world’s largest video search engines.

A well optimized video can easily get you tens of thousands of viewers – Each. A video that goes viral can get hundreds of thousands and even millions of views.

First you have to upload a video to YouTube. Then follow these steps to optimize your videos for YouTube.

Step 1: Determine Target Keyword Volume

Much as you would if you were optimizing for search engines, the first step to optimizing for videos is to determine both the keyword volume and the competition for each keyword phrase.

Use the Google Keyword Tool to compile a list of potential keywords. You should target a variety of keywords, some of them high volume and high competition, others lower volume with lower competition.

Step 2: Determine Strength of Competition

How strong are competing videos? Do as search for your target keywords and analyze them by:

Number of views
Number of comments
Number of replies
Number of likes
Number of video responses
Percentage of people who liked the video, out of total viewers
Channel subscribers

To view the number of likes, just open a video. It’ll be right under the view count:

To count the number of comments, click on “View All Comments” at the bottom of the page:

The comment count will be right above the comment box:

You could put all this data, along with the total number of views, into an Excel spreadsheet. Check at least 20 keywords.

Match up the number of views to the strength of the competition. Look for the weakest competition, as compared to the highest number of monthly searches. Then select the keywords with the best volume-to-competition ratio to optimize for.

Step 3: Write a Keyword Optimized, Attention Catching Headline

The headline has two jobs:

To get the video to show up when someone searches. Google uses a relevance check to make sure the videos that show up are relevant to their search.
To convince people to actually click on your video once it shows up in a search.

The most important thing in writing the title tag is to make sure your main keyword is in the title.

The second most important thing is to make sure that your title has well written copy that gets people to click.

Step 4: Get as Many Favorites, Likes and Comments as Possible

There’s a reason that the most popular “YouTubers” always say things like, “Thumbs up this video!” “Leave me a comment!” etc.

The number of likes, favorites and comments you have are some of the most heavily weighed factors for search engine rankings. The more likes, favorites and comments you have, the more YouTube is going to think you have a good video.

How can you increase your number of likes, favorites and comments?

One method is to ask people to do so in your video. You can either hard code into your video, or you can do it in annotations.

To do it in annotations, click on “Annotations” when you’re in your YouTube video manager.

Click the drop down box next to “Add Annotation” to choose what kind of annotation to add.

Finally, craft a mini-sales message to get people to add comment, like or add your video.

Step 5: Ranking for Related and Suggested Videos

Two potentially lucrative sources of traffic to your videos are related videos and suggested videos. What are they?

They’re the videos that show up when someone else finishes watching a similar video, or the videos that appear on the right hand side of any video you’re watching.

How do you get your videos to appear for on related or suggested videos? Especially other high trafficked and relevant videos?

First, work on the credibility of your own video. The more views you have, the more comments you have and the more likes you have, the higher your likelihood of showing up in suggested or related videos at all.

It’s hard to get a new video to show up in suggested or related videos. But after you have a few thousand views, it really makes sense to try to get them to show up.

Start by copying all the keyword tags that other videos in your industry are using. Having closely related (but not identical) keyword lists tells YouTube that your videos are on as similar subject.

Then, try to also duplicate the same keywords they target in their title. Of course your title tag should be completely different, but having the same main keyword can really help you land in suggested or related.

Finally, make sure you pick a good video snapshot for your video. In addition to your title, your snapshot is what others will judge your video based on. Most YouTube users have a limited choice of three thumbnails, but sometimes one is a lot better than another. The higher the click through to your video from a related video, the more YouTube will think your videos are related and the higher your video will show up in the future.

Step 6: Getting Backlinks

Much like getting rankings in the SEO world, getting rankings in videos requires getting backlinks. The more backlinks, the higher your video will rank.

How do you get backlinks?

The first and most important thing is to have a truly original and high quality video. If you create a video like that, it’s only natural that other people will want to link to your video as a resource.

In addition however, you can do quite a bit of manual link building.

Use sites like Squidoo and Hubpages to get high quality, relevant backlinks. Link to the video from your own site(s). Use distributed articles to get a high number of backlinks.

To wrap things up, it’s important to remember that the majority of YouTube users never try to deliberately get their videos to rank. If you’re focusing on video rankings, you’re already in the top 1%. In time, if you follow the tips outlined in this report, your rankings will very likely beat your competitor’s.

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Gift Guide For New Video Bloggers

Jendi — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:36:59 +0000

Video Blogger Gifts That Don’t Break Your Budget

If you know someone that wants to start vlogging there are lots of possible Christmas presents to give them. Maybe you are someone that wants to do more vlogging – feel free to forward this post to anyone that might buy you a present.

Maybe a webcam is all that’s needed to get started – and eliminate the step of loading video into the computer:

Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 USB 2.0 Webcam – 2MP - Logitech has a variety of webcams under $70.

If they want to step it up a notch ore record on the go here’s some Pocket Camcorders for under $200:

Kodak Zi10 PlayTouch Video Camera - has a microphone jack for better audio!
Kodak PLAYSPORT Zx5 Video Camera - if you’re worried about water this one is water proof and designed for an outdoor active lifestyle.
Sony MHS-TS20 8GB Bloggie Touch Camera - a small compact camera that’s easy to slip into a pocket or purse. It also switches from still to video very easily.
Flip Video UltraHD Video Camera - great cameras, but the company is not making them anymore. It is possible to get a device to attach an external microphone.

If the plan is to conduct interviews on the go this is the handheld microphone I have. It works well to hold in between two people and pick up both. Azden WHX-Pro VHF Handheld System [around $165.00]

If you just need good audio for one person a lavalier microphone is a good choice.

Audio-Technica ATR-35S Lavalier Microphone - this is $25 wired microphone. Even a cheap microphone makes a big difference in sound.

Beginners can use free editing software that comes with their computer - either iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. However, a nice editing program would be a great gift.

Pinnacle Studio HD Video Editing Software - for Windows
Apple Final Cut Express 4 Video Editing Software - for Mac

One more option: What if a smart phone is the recording device of choice? Former MTV and BBC TV Director/Cameraman Jules Watkins has an ecourse titled iPhone Video Hero full of tips and tricks for making great video blogs from the iPhone.

Disclosure: These are affiliate links; thank you for supporting this site. Many link to BHPhotoVideo.com because I love that site! We have found good prices and service there.

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Upload A Video To YouTube

Jendi — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:21:47 +0000

YouTube is by far the most popular video sharing website on the internet. In addition to hosting all your videos for free, getting your videos on YouTube can help you get in front of a lot of new viewers.

Here are some YouTube statistics:

Third most visited website.
Second most used search engine.
500 YouTube links are tweeted per minute.
Average visitor stays on the site for 15 min a day.
It averages 3 billion video views per day.
48 hours of video get uploaded every minute.

Here’s how to upload a video to YouTube.

This starts after you have registered and signed in.

Step 1: Click Upload

Click on “Upload” in the upper right corner.

Step 2: Click Upload Video

In the box that pops up, click “Upload Video.”

Step 3: Select File to Upload

Choose which file you want to upload from your computer.

Once YouTube begins the upload, you’ll see a status box like this:

Step 4: Enter Video Details

If your account has been enabled for monetization that information comes up first. You’ll have to click the arrow beside “video information” to drop down the boxes you need to fill in.

Enter the title, description, tags, category and privacy settings for your video. This can be done while the video is uploading. Once you’re finished, click the save button and wait for the video to finish uploading.

This is where you can decide who will be able to watch the video. You can change the setting later.

Public – Anyone that can get online can watch it – through any type of device.
Unlisted – You can send the link to specific people or through your social media sites. General YouTube searches will not be able to view it. You will still be able to embed the video on your blog and let your readers watch it that way.
Private – You have to specify email addresses or YouTube accounts of people that can watch the video.

You can also pick which license to use.

Standard – lets you control the rights to a certain extent. Know that if you put your video out there people can get it.
Creative commons – is you giving permission for other video creators to add it to their video. This opened up after YouTube added the editing feature. Video creators can search for types of video to add to their final video. YouTube set it up to automatically give credit to the original uploaded video.

That’s it! It’s simple to upload a video to YouTube. Once your video is finished uploading, give YouTube some time to process your video. Next you can embed it on your blog and share it with the world!

There’s some simple things you can do to get more views on your videos.

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Online Videos Reach Every Demographic

Jendi — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:15:11 +0000

Check out this infographic that Yoly from Cuponeando Live shared, and notice the statistic about YouTube. This is only one small section of YouTube users! Whatever your target demographic is – you can connect with them via online video.

P.S. Yoly – you are doing awesome with your videos!

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