All you really need is a good idea and a goal.

Think It Through

The big caveat to this post is that you shouldn’t do video because:

1. you think it’s cool;
2. everyone else is doing it; or
3. for kicks.

While this post outlines some easier entry points to using video to help you do your job or grow your business, it still takes time and effort. You should only embark down the road of video if you think it will ultimately help you achieve your goals. Ask yourself the following questions before getting started:

• Is video a relevant medium for my communications needs? Do I have something visual to share?
• Will I be able to create a quality product?
• Is this what my audience wants — or needs?

The Tools

There are millions of cameras out there, 98% of which are probably more “camera” than you need if you’re just starting out. The Flip line of cameras produce good video and are highly portable. In the same vein (but slightly more powerful) is the Kodak Zi8, which retails for approximately $150, or its cousin the PlaySport. Invest in a memory card, a table tripod and a small electret condenser microphone (good video is about 75% good audio) and for about $200, you’ve got a powerful starter video kit.

Online Video Editing

If you don’t have the budget to purchase video editing software (or if you aren’t completely confident in your skill set), there are a few good online video editors that are both easy and free. YouTube recently launched YouTube Editor, a simple and intuitive web-based tool that allows you to edit together clips you have already uploaded to YouTube. JayCut and Kaltura are slightly more robust online video editors with additional options, such as Kaltura’s video-PowerPoint syncing.

That said, if you have a Mac, iMovie is already at your disposal and is an easy and powerful editing tool. You can also purchase Adobe Premiere Elements or Final Cut Express at relatively affordable prices.

Simple Does It

Not every video has to be a complex production. Sometimes, simple says it best. Just sitting in front of the camera and sharing a story can be powerful — or better yet, sitting someone else in front of the camera and have them share their story. Have two people interview each other or discuss a topic. Interview your boss — or your intern. Describe why you want a job in your chosen industry, maybe sharing a personal anecdote or two. Do a quick demo of how a product works, or give a tour of your office, neighborhood or production facility.

Stay short — two minutes is a good guideline — and sketch out a preliminary script or storyboard before you flip the on switch. Even if you don’t have editing capability, a raw video can be powerful as well…if the content is good.

Video Hosting

So, your video is all done. Now, where do you put it? YouTube is the most popular video hosting service, though the majority of users cannot upload videos longer than 15 minutes. Vimeo is another popular service that is known for the high quality of its video display, and it offers an affordable Pro account option. Blip.tv is more geared around episodic content, while the TubeMogul service can distribute video content across multiple platforms. You have a multitude of choices, so decide which one suits your video (and your business) best and get it uploaded.

Text Is Still Important

Let’s say you’ve created the perfect little video. You upload it to YouTube… and nothing happens. No hits, no buzz, no nothing. The first thing to check is the text you published with the video. What’s the title? Description? Tags? Category? People watch video on YouTube, sure, but they find video through searching. Make sure the text around your video is appropriate to help people find it. Add relevant links to the description field. Also, if you have a blog, Twitter account, e-mail newsletter or other channel, share the link to widen your audience.

Search Stories

Do you want to create a quick, slick high-impact video for absolutely no cost? YouTube offers one option with its Search Stories feature. You may remember the Google commercial that ran during the Super Bowl detailing, through Google search terms, a Parisian love affair — that was a Search Story. You can pick your search terms and types and select from a varied library of quality background music clips.

Skype Video Conferencing

Skype is a software and service that allows you to make voice calls over the internet, but another key feature of Skype is video conferencing. Tools like Vodburner or IMCapture let you capture Skype video conversations to video that you can edit and publish later. This can be helpful if you want to preserve video of a long distance teleconference or record and publish a discussion between two individuals who are in separate locations.

Screencasting

If you have a software product or a website you are trying to market or teach, screencasting is a method of capturing on-screen activity to a video file, so you can create video walk-throughs of website or software features. TechSmith’s Camtasia or Jing software can do this well, as can the open source CamStudio and the higher-end Adobe Captivate. Most screencasting tools allow you to perform basic edits on the captured video. It is also possible to capture video from videoconferencing services such as WebEx and GoToMeeting.

Webcasting

If you have a webcam — preferably one not built into the laptop — you can publish live, streaming video of an event. Services such as Livestream, UStream and Justin.TV provide platforms at a range of price points. Some services couple moderated chat alongside the live video so you can offer your audience an interactive experience.

For a simple laptop setup, you probably don’t want to webcast anything too ambitious, like a large seminar. But if it’s your boss announcing a new product launch or company name change, that’s simple enough to do. Be sure to acquire a condenser mic to plug into the mic jack of your computer, since good audio is critical.

Don’t Worry About Viral

If you go in planning to create a viral video, in all likelihood you will not end up with a viral video. The producer does not define viral; the audience does. The best (and only) thing you as a video producer can do is create great content that speaks to your audience. The rest is out of your hands. But if your content is good, you’ve set yourself up for a possible success.

Want to Learn More?

Videoblogging pioneer Steve Garfield’s book “Get Seen” is a good entry-level overview of how businesses can use video.

Can video help you do your job, find a job or build your business? Let us know if it can – and how it can – in the comments.

FreelanceSwitch

What to Do When a Client Kills a Project

So, there you are, working away on a project, and oh, is it a good one. You’re having fun, the client’s loving your work, and then…

…the whole thing comes to a screeching halt.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying, Love My Job — And Leave It

Ever wonder how your fellow freelancers ended up where they are today? What goes through your head when you realize you’re not happy in your traditional career? Cassie McDaniel tells her own inspirational and surprising story on how she made the jump from full-time employee to freelancer.

Real Home Offices from FreelanceSwitch Readers

Forget the pristine glass surfaces and spotless, useless office set-ups. We take a look at home office photos submitted by fellow FreelanceSwitch readers–find some real world inspiration for your own home office!

14 Resources for Free and Premium Fonts

You can’t deny that typography is important in design. You could have the most beautiful illustrations in the world, but if you use a font like Jokerman, your entire design will look iffy. Use these tools and resources below to help you find the perfect font for your next project.

When to NOT Invest in Your Freelance Career

There’s no shortage of opportunities to invest in freelancing, whether it’s in coaching, e-courses, college courses, books and e-books, or even retreats for entrepreneurs. But not all freelancers are good candidates for these products and opportunities, and not all times are the right time to invest. Here’s when not to spend your hard-earned cash on career development.

The Netsetter

An Effective Marketing Plan: Getting Started

Neil Tortorella: A well-conceived and properly implemented marketing plan is the foundation for your business’ success. You might be the best at what you do, but if nobody knows about you and your offerings, and why they’re of value, then that shingle you hung up is going to come tumbling down.

Just How Popular are List Posts?

Collis Ta’eed: Magazines have always known the power of a good list. Look at the covers on your local newsstand and you’ll see plenty of “5 tips to shed your winter pounds” or “10 ways to save on your home loan” type headlines. This style of content just works, and if you’re a blogger, you’d be wise to pay attention.

Does More Posts = More Traffic?

Collis Ta’eed: Yesterday in a post discussing the popularity of list-style posts in blogging, a commenter asked me to look at the frequency of post types in relation to the traffic they bring. Following this comment I put together some statistics and ended up wondering a slightly different question, does having more blog posts mean you end up with more traffic?

How to Search Engine Optimize WordPress

Abhijeet Mukherjee: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to making your website easily accessible to search engines, and helping them understand and read the content so that they can rank it high up in their index.

How to Get Started as a Web Entrepreneur

Collis Ta’eed: In the last four years of building up Envato I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot about growing and building web companies. So I decided to put some of my learnings into a presentation I gave at WebDU 2010 earlier this year.

WorkAwesome

Making Ideas Happen with Scott Belsky: Book Review and Interview

Scott Belsky has been making ideas happen for some time now, whether it be at Behance, through the annual 99% Conference or with the creation of tools like the Action Method. He’s now made a book happen as well.  Peter North not only does a review, but conducts an interview with the author in this article.

Why I Stick to Pen and Paper for Goals and Tasks

While some people are right at home electronic organizers and smartphone apps, others find technology either daunting – or even inconvenient – resulting in a slowdown in productivity. Ana Da Silva discusses why she sticks to the tried, tested and true productivity tools known as pen and paper.

Should You Switch to a Health Savings Account?

Health care has been one of the hot-button issues in the United States over the past year, and there’s a lot to consider when choosing how to manage your (and your family’s) health. Bob Bessette offers his own insights as to whether or not you should go with a Health Savings Account – and why he did just that.

28 Creative PowerPoint and Keynote Presentation Designs

Powerpoint and Keynotes can be boring. In fact, they often turn out that way. We’ve collected some of the best presentations on the web to help you make sure that yours don’t.

7 Reasons to Switch to the Dvorak Keyboard Layout

Ever wished you could increase your typing speed? Wondering why you end up pecking at the keyboard instead of churning out words at a decent pace? It might not be you that’s the issue – it could be the QWERTY keyboard layout that’s holding you back.  Red Tani offers seven reasons why you should switch to the Dvorak layout in this piece that has drawn a lot of comments…both for and against the notion.

An absolutely hilarious web comic on working from home by The Oatmeal. And it makes sense too!

Launch Programs from the Windows Start Menu More Quickly

A nice trick discovered by Amit from Digital Inspiration that saves time when launching programs from the start menu in Windows.

9 Ways to Never Be Late Again

The Dumb Little Man blog has some useful tips on how to avoid being late.

Living Self-Employed Online: The Manual They Forgot to Give You

Glen from ViperChill gives an account of 13 lessons he has learnt in his 18 months of working from home.

Pragmatic Brainstorming for Productivity

Georgina from Web Worker Daily throws light on some of the best ways to brainstorm in order to enhance productivity.

Might Priority Inbox be the answer?

Time will tell. So far, it assumes that frequency implies importance, and that’s not necessarily the case for me. Sure, I like getting Google Alerts and Groupons daily, but those messages aren’t nearly as important as the less frequent ones from clients and editors. I’ve been marking a lot of emails as “important” (or not), so hopefully that does the trick.

I’ll report back in a week once I’ve had a chance to test drive Priority Inbox a bit more. In the meantime, let us know in the comments if you’ve tried it out yet. What are your initial impressions?

TechCrunch looks at the Priority Inbox and notes:

“Of course, this introduces a new dynamic to the way a lot of people are going to be reading email. Email intros will become ever more important, because you’ll want to ensure that your message gets marked with coveted ‘important’ tag. It also has much broader implications. Increasingly, content will be displayed to you based on its importance rather than its time stamp — not just when it comes to browsing email, but for social networks and other content as well.”

Does this create a branch of SEO for email now? I know this only applies to Gmail. But if Priority Inbox proves to be a hit, other email providers will create competing features. To make sure your emails are marked important, will you have to learn how to write optimized emails?

Sounds easy, right?

From poor work performance to fighting with a spouse, your financial health can easily affect every area of your life.  Household finances top the list of sticking points for many couples. Marriages have ended, jobs and homes have been lost, and folks have committed suicide because of money woes.  Bank accounts have been wiped out and credit ratings have been ruined because of overspending and financial irresponsibility.  If you have trouble managing your finances, it won’t matter if you earn minimum wage or a six-figure salary—if you don’t know how to handle money, you’ll always feel as though you’re scrambling to pay off your debt and peace of mind will seem a long way off.

More companies have started offering financial literacy workshops to employees as part of their corporate wellness programs to help individuals get a better grasp of their spending habits.  In today’s shaky economic climate and stagnant job market, it’s more important than ever to make your salary go as far as possible.  Below are a few tips to improve your financial fitness:

1. Develop a budget.

Getting a handle on your finances starts with taking a hard look at where your money goes and seeing what you can reduce or cut out completely.  Sit down with your bills and see what you pay for everything each month.  Account for your basic living expenses first, then see what you accumulate in “extras”—your morning coffee fix, dinners out, vacations, etc.   When you see your expenses laid out in black and white, it’ll be easier to see where you can cut back.  You might be surprised at how much you’re forking over for things you can easily do at home for much less money.  Invite your friends over for a nice dinner rather than go out.  Brew your own coffee—splurge on a gourmet brand if you must, but use it sparingly and make it last.  Trim your shopping habits.  Instead of hitting the mall for some new things, dig into your closet.  You probably have more than a few things in there you’ve forgotten about or have never worn.  Get out the iron and start putting together some new outfits.  No one will ever know you got those pants three months ago.

2. Open a savings account.

I’m always surprised to hear how many people I know do not have any type of savings account.  They’ve either never had one, or whatever money was in it is now long gone.  I think of my savings as a safety net, and don’t dip into it unless absolutely necessary.  I reserve that account for larger one-time purchases rather than a regular source of cash flow.  Try to set aside a little bit from every paycheck for your savings account and resist any urge you have to withdraw funds from that account.  Let it accumulate and keep it as your nest egg for emergencies.

3. Don’t rely solely on credit cards.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is paying for everything with plastic. Use the card for larger, one-time purchases, such as some new furniture or a vacation.  Many people start running into trouble when the bill comes and they see their interest payment.   The longer you put off writing a check, the more interest you’ll accumulate.  This is how credit card debt can easily snowball.  Pay those credit card bills, even if you can only manage a minimum payment every month.  Apply for a store credit card only if you’re sure you’ll be able to pay the balance due.

4. Pay your bills on time.

No one likes to see the window envelopes filling up the mailbox, but sadly, bills are the reality of life.  Budget enough to cover your expenses every month, even if it means putting off that new pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing for months or the new iPhone you were planning to buy.  The electric company doesn’t care about your newest gadget or how cute your shoes might be—they care about you keeping your power on (and you should, too).

5. Live at – or below – your means.

This is really the key to smarter spending. Once you’ve listed all of your expenses and have devised a budget, it’s important to stick to it.  If you have a weakness for brand name or high-end anything, wait for end-of-season sales or seek out deals online.  Of course everyone wants the best of everything, but the reality is that many people simply can’t afford it and often dig themselves very deep into debt trying to maintain that sort of lifestyle.

There are a lot of resources out there to get you going on the path to better finance. Share any tips or strategies you’ve put in place in the comments.

Sense of Progress = Feeling of Motivation

The findings were based on information received from 12,000 end-of-day diaries, and after reviewing the content, the researchers were able to measure the relative motivation of the workers.

When the workers said they were having their very best days, these were the 5 factors that influenced their level of motivation the most.

1. Making progress = 76%
2. Collaboration = 53%
3. Organizational Support = 43%
4. Interpersonal support = 25%
5. Doing important work = 19%

The funny part about this report is the management was asked to rate what they felt the most important factor for motivation was, and they determined it was recognition for good work.  A sense of progress came in as the least important factor, in their opinion.

So if you are a manager, talk to your team and find ways to remove the barriers preventing them from moving the project forward.  If you’re a worker, share this report with your manager, so they can see that what they may think is motivational is not quite as important as getting the job done.

Before the Training Session

1. Put together detailed documentation with screenshots.

Providing documentation at the start of the training session is very important. People learn more easily when they have hardcopy material to follow during the class. You should also provide a section called Notes at the bottom of each page so that the students can add additional information.

2. Reserve the room, as a separate meeting, ½ hour before the training session.

I’ve seen people try to set up the projector and hand out the training material with the students already in the class. If you reserve the room, for yourself, ½ hour before the class, this will give you plenty of time to hit the ground running when the students arrive.

3. Ask them what they expect.

Send an email to all participants a few days before the training class. Ask them what they expect to get out of the training session. This could help you prepare the curriculum and gear it more toward that particular group. It should also ensure that the participants aren’t expecting something you’re not prepared to deliver.

4. Test drive.

Find a co-worker and give them a test drive of the training session. It may be an abbreviated version but ask that person to take notes and ask questions as you are presenting. This should help you work out the kinks and will give you practice presenting the material.

During the Training Session

5. Lose the phones and PDAs.

Paying attention is all you can really expect from your students. The last thing you want someone to be doing while you are presenting is texting, answering a phone, or checking email. Bring a small cardboard box and ask each student to turn off and place their phone or PDA in the box while the class is in session. During breaks they can use them.

6. Give ‘em breaks.

Along the lines of paying attention, it is very difficult to expect your students to keep their attention span for more than one hour straight. I have a hard-and-fast rule to give the class a 15 minute break for each hour of class time. This break will certainly refresh the students and allow them to get coffee, use the bathroom, or check their phones and email.

7. Be comfy.

It is much easier to present your training material if you are wearing comfortable clothes. Wearing comfortable shoes will also help if you’re on your feet the whole day. Being comfy will help you relax and, as a result, will help your audience relax.

8. Stay hydrated.

Nothing will give you dry-mouth faster than having to speak a lot. You may find that five minutes into the training session your mouth is dry as the Sahara. Bring a full water bottle with you that is easy to dispense. You may also want to have a couple of pitchers of ice water in the back of the class with plastic cups for the students as well.

9. Make it interactive.

Always allow your audience to ask questions at any time during the training session. People want answers at the time that the material is being covered. Asking a class to wait until the end of a particular section to ask questions doesn’t really help. If you don’t allow a question to be cleared up as soon as it comes up, you could lose the class.

After the Training Session

10. Evaluate.

Hand out a set of evaluation questions at the end of the training session. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy list but you want to hear how the training was received by the students. This should help you refine the material based on their input.

11. Provide an electronic copy of the material.

Even though you handed out hardcopy training material at the beginning of the class, always provide an electronic copy at the end. These days everyone wants to have an electronic file. Gather the email addresses of the participants and send it out via email after the class.

Conclusion

Training others is not an easy task. If you heed these simple steps, you just may make the experience more enjoyable for your class and for yourself.

Luckily, WorkAwesome has just been given 1000 invites to give away (thank you, Baydin)! Use the promo code b4gbeta on the link below and you’re good to go…

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