jiveSYSTEMS Blog

The Gap Between Email and CRM: Online Task Managers

Flywheel — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:08:09 +0000

There is a gap between what you can do with email and a CRM. To fill this gap, you have plenty of choices. I am currently tracking over 200 different online solutions whose solutions vary greatly in purpose and features. For the purposes of this post, I am only going to list the best two companies in each category.

Here are the main categories I feel these “gap fillers” fall under:

Life/Goals
To-Do List
Task Manager
GTD (“get things done”) Tool
Project Management
Micro-Blogging
Performance Management
Email Based

Life/Goals

Tools that help you define, track, and attain your goals.

To-Do List

This is the most basic form of task management – an online list of the tasks you need to perform.

Task Manager

Simply put, a task manager is a to-do list with management capabilities.

GTD Tools

Task manager based on the GTD method.

Project Management

Design for managing multiple projects.

Micro-Blogging

Online task manager with a micro-blogging twist.

Performance Management

Robust solutions used my large corporation to manage people and talent.

Email Based

Mashed to your inbox for uber effective task management. These two systems are truly unique.

Conclusion

There are a lot of choices, and you don’t have to pick just one. You may use a Toodledo for small tasks for an assistance (personal and business), combined with a project management tool for your team. Or, you could use GoalsOnTrack for your personal and business goals, and another tool for your team. The exact recipe is largely dependent on your management style, use case, and desired workflow.

With so many companies competing in these niches, you have plenty of options.

If you have questions or would like assistance with choosing a solution, leave a comment below with your use case and I will do my best to help.

[rocket2profit] Deriving More Revenue From Your List Without Burning It

Flywheel — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:03:35 +0000

In this short video, Lou and I explain how to derive more revenue from your list without burning it. Our strategy is rooted in anticipating your prospects and customers (your list’s) needs.

Effective cross-promotion and affiliate marketing isn’t about selling, it’s about anticipating needs.

Tech note: I am using the Sony HDR-SR11 and I just discovered a glitch with the auto-focus feature (it’s over-active and catches anomalies). So, in certain parts of the video below (particularly the first few seconds) we are out of focus. I will be using manual focus next time.

Rocket2Profit is all about helping you sell profitably.

To learn more, check out our information packed 51 page eBook (it’s free!).

[rocket2profit] Blueprinting Your Company for Success

Flywheel — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:48:37 +0000

In this short video, Lou and I talk about some powerful principles of marketing and driver analysis. We also talk about the relationship between both topics. Marketing will drive your financial performance but you have to be able to measure your business performance. Driver analysis will not only blueprint your company but will also help you to identify and track the optimal performance measures from which you can design optimal management reports to measure and judge your business performance.

The theory of business and making a profit can be pretty simple. All you have to do is spend less than you take in. Rocket2Profit is all about helping you identify best practices that can be repeated and sustained to ensure that you do just that, make profits in both the shorter and longer term.

Another major principle in the theory of business is that creating and operating an effective and profitable business is all about planning and managing business financial performance, operating performance, customer value and employee value. Financial performance refers to such targets as revenue and profit, growth, margins and cash flow. Operating performance is keeping track of the “widgets” or sales units or services as well as the operating measures that generate your business financial performance. Operating performance drives financial performance. Operating performance is all about marketing, marketing and more marketing.

The best way to begin to optimize the theory of your business is to understand driver analysis and blueprint your company.

Rocket2Profit is all about helping you sell profitably.

To learn more, check out our information packed 51 page eBook (it’s free!).

[newsletter] Are You Using Web Video?

Flywheel — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:06:59 +0000

Web video is a multi-billion dollar industry that is expanding, unfazed by the economy. Following up a first phone call with a new prospect using a video email is a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition and establish trust. When you have trust, you have sales.

Who are you more likely to trust?

I don’t know about you, what I do know is that I am going with the guy on the right (the person that I can see). Using video email and web video to promote and grow your business is easy and affordable. At jiveSYSTEMS we are willing to give you the software, support, and training free for 30 days. All we ask is that you give us a credit card, so we know that you are serious. We can have you up and running in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, and our knowledgeable staff will assist you every step of the way.

Highlights

We launched a new section in the jiveSYSTEMS Blog called The Vault. If you are following our Tweets, or mine, you probably already knew. To launch the section, I published a comprehensive article, How to Publish Video to the Web.
I officially launched the Rocket2Profit eBook. I teamed up with a good friend of mine Lou (whom I have dubbed Lou “The Linebacker” Eyermann) to blend tried and true enterprise level management principles with modern marketing strategies. Lou and I have had our feet in both side of the pond: Lou specializes in management and leadership, and I focus on online marketing management and marketing.

This Month’s Posts

Understanding HD Webcams: Logitech Pro C910 / FV TouchCam N1

Learn the pros and cons of going high definition (HD). Logitech is definitely a leader in the market, and the TouchCam has a unique angle that may benefit you. In this post you will discover the facts about HD shooting and using HD footage.

Discover How to Make Killer Video with a Flip Style Camcorder

I have taken this course myself. As a member of Web Video University it was included as part of my monthly membership. In less than one hour he will teach you everything you need to know to create great quality video with a flip style camcorder for a one-time payment of $49.

How To Create Systems That Run Your Business For You

People refer to this topic as factory/system thinking in the corporate world. The information is only just starting to trickle down into the small business environment. This post is my reveals my particular flavor of system thinking.

Team News

Meet Teeny

Teeny, our Member Ambassador, recorded a video to introduce herself to you.

Teeny Intro

She has been reaching out to the members of jiveSYSTEMS (our video email and web video program) and connecting them with the appropriate team member in our company that can help them take their business to the next level.

Flywheel’s Studio

I have just finished building a studio in my dining room, of all places. Basically, that means I have hijacked the dining room, bought a few lights, and painted a wall with flat paint.

A studio gives me the choice of recording a video within the jiveSYSTEMS software or using my camcorder. Our software automatically encodes the video, creates a webpage, and allows me to add links the page for my call-to-action. I can literally record and email/embed a video within minutes (just like the one Teeny made above). So, you may be asking, “Why would you ever use anything else?” I am beginning to ask myself that same question. In truth, even though it takes me about 4hrs to film, edited, render, and publish a 5 minute video using my studio, sometimes the ROI warrants that investment (e.g. a longer duration video that requires editing, slides, transitions, etc).

Closing Thoughts

Taking your business to the next level is about doing the right things consistently. Video email and web video is one of those things.

How to Create Systems that Run Your Business For You

Flywheel — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:59:57 +0000

In this blog post, I am going to explain the way I create systems to manage our business. To keep things short and sweet, I am not going to go into a lot of detail. If you’d like more information, leave a question in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
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Let’s get started…

Define the outcome

Business is about producing an outcome, and doing it consistently. When creating a system, I start by defining the outcome I am looking to produce.

Invest the capital

To reap, you must sow. Based on the defined outcome, I decide how much capital (financial, social, and human) I am willing to invest to produce it.

Design the system

You can create more than one system that will produce the desired outcome. I always implement multiple systems because just like a show in the theater, a business must go on.

Monitor the performance

A system is made up of steps, each one of those steps has an impact of the outcome. I design performance metrics that monitor the performance of a step that affects the outcome.

Build the levels

Administrative tasks
Management duties
Executive report

My focus is to have as many of the tasks needed to sustain and grow my business reside at the administrative level. Profits are amplified geometrically by automating administrative tasks and management duties.

Automated & Manual Tasks

When creating automated tasks, my goal is to have the code or system execute them in real-time.

When creating manual tasks, my goal is the opposite: group the tasks into buckets, let them build up, and then assign them to be completed at a predetermined interval.

Interactions

Other items that I address are:

if the data is compromised
how the system affects and interacts with others already set up

.This is the process I use to map, implement, and maintain my business.

Discover Everything You Need to Know to Make Killer Videos with a Flip Style Camcorder… In Under One Hour!

Flywheel — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:47:25 +0000

Using a flip style camcorder is easy – point and hit the big red button. Then when you review your footage, the video is shaky, the light is all wrong, and the audio quality sucks. Does this sound familiar to you?

Let the journey down the rabbit hole that is web video production begin…

Wasted Time and Lots of Frustration

I have lost countless hours of work spent Googling and being frustrated with these problems. Producing web video is the combination of several skill sets: pre-production, production (including acting), post-production (aka editing), and publishing. A weakness in any one area is very apparent in the final product you deliver to your viewers. It is a tough problem to swallow, especially if you bought a flip style camcorder under the expectation it would be quick and easy.

The Cost of Not Knowing

Truth is, you cannot afford not to be using web video to promote your business. Plus, unless you have bottomless pockets or ridiculous profit margins, it will be cost prohibitive to hire a professional videographer. In case you haven’t checked into the costs, you are looking at upwards of $1,500 to hire a professional to produce a simple 3 minute video for you (a video in which you are the talent), and significantly more if you want to hire an actor.

Doing it Yourself

I love the DIY approach, but it’s easy to make it harder than it needs to be. I found myself doing things the hard way until I found Dave Kaminski (WebVideoUniversity). After a quick chat with Dave, we gave each other complimentary accounts to our respective services and became cross-promotional partners shortly thereafter.

The Difference Between jiveSYSTEMS and WebVideoUniversity

I have been a member of WebVideoUniversity for several months now. By studying Dave’s tutorials, I have learned how to film and edit video for the web. If you are familiar with jiveSYSTEMS, you may be asking, What is the difference between WebVideoUniversity and jiveSYSTEMS?

Our service is geared toward recording and sending video quickly, record and send simplicity, mainly geared toward webcam users.
WebVideoUniversity is for businesses that want to produce video for the web using a flip style camera or higher, and want to edit their video to have graphics and transitions.

For example, when I am sending a communication to an individual or group, I will use jiveSYSTEMS because I can record and send the video quickly. Whereas, when I want to produce a video for a high traffic landing page or blog post, I use my camcorder, lights, and editing software (which WebVideoUniversity taught me how to use).

Within 30mins of joining WebVideoUniversity, I could edit and render my videos to a web-ready format, a skill I wasn’t able to master after many days Googling. It’s in the way Dave breaks things down that makes his tutorials and coaching so special. He gives you just the right amount of information in an easy to understand and apply format. As a member of his coaching group, you get email access to Dave.

I email Dave regularly to troubleshoot questions like:

Does a matrox card accelerate encoding in Sony Vegas?
How do I attach a shotgun microphone and light to my camcorder?

Despite trying, I have yet to stump him. Dave has also provided guidance that has helped us improve the encoding engines for our video email and web video marketing software. He’s the real deal!

His coaching program is not for everyone:

it’s $100 per month to join
not everyone has a need to go that far down the rabbit hole

Because of this, Dave has created an inexpensive mini-course which is a one-time payment of $49: Everything You Need to Know to Shoot Killer Video With a Flip Style Camera… In Under One Hour!

Understanding HD Webcams: Logitech Pro C910 / FV TouchCam N1

Flywheel — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:08:58 +0000

Up until now, we have not found a webcam that can rival the Logitech 9000 QuickCam Pro, which produces excellent image quality and sound fidelity. I have been using a Logitech 9000 webcam for well over a year now and I am very impressed with its performance.

Two new webcams have caught my eye, and they record in high defnintion. In many cases, when using video on the web, (e.g. video email, video conferencing, and web video in general) HD is still not practical for most people because it is much harder to handle and the final output isn’t noticeably different than SD. This is because video needs to go through an encoding process for it to be usable of the web.

Encoding is a process that reduces the size of a video file so it can be transmitted over the web. In most cases, video encoding reduces the image quality. We call that lossy video compression. Lossless is the other end of the encoding spectrum in which no quality is sacrificed.

Let’s look at some of the major factors involved with the transition from SD to HD:

As internet connection speeds increase, larger video files can be used, and more bits can be steamed per second.
Video compression codecs are also improving, which means that smaller files sizes have higher image quality.
We must have the horsepower needed to encode the video. As a rule of thumb, it takes 4 times longer to encode HD video than SD video. If you don’t have enough horsepower to encode a video, it becomes choppy. This horsepower can be on the computer side or web-server side. When using a web sever to encode videos, the file still needs to get there, so internet connection speed -specifically your upload speed- comes into play.
The screen resolution that the viewer has also in a factor. Unlike your TV, web-HD can be viewed on any monitor that’s modern. As long as your viewer isn’t using a CRT monitor or an old laptop, they should have enough resolution to view the HD video properly. We mainly run into problems when their computer can’t handle processing the video, and the HD becomes quite choppy.

The transition from SD to HD is complicated business for the industry, and that filters down to you.

Now that we have gone over the ground work, I am going to keep things as simple as possible when discussing the value proposition of the Logitech Pro C910 and FaceVsion TouchCam N1.

For both webcams, you need a high speed internet connection (cable, DSL)

Logitech Pro C910

The Logitech records in 1080p and it will produce a higher quality picture, both initially and as a final viewable file. This is because higher quality source file will always result in the higher quality final file, when going through the same encoding workflow. Logitech also has excellent sound quality. Due to this webcam recording in 1080p HD video, your going to need a fair amount of computer horsepower to capitalize on its capabilities. Logitech recommends at least a 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of RAM on their website. I would push that to at least 3GB of RAM.

FV TouchCam N1

The FV TouchCam only hits 720p, and is not noticeably different on most people’s computer monitors. It also has on-board hardware to reduce the load put on your system to transcode the video before transmitting it. A Core 2 Due processor is still recommend by the manufacturer, but 1GB of RAM is listed as the minimum requirement.

Both webcams cost just over $100.

Bottom line:

If you want superior image and sound quality, in my opinion, you should go with the Logitech C910. However, you must have a computer that can handle the encoding process, 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo and 2GB of RAM or higher. If you don’t have a computer that meets the requirements, consider purchasing the Logitech 9000, which records in more than adequate SD, or giving the FV TouchCam N1 a try.

Q3 Zoom: Finally, a Camcorder with Awesome Audio Quality

[newsletter] iPad and iPhone Support, New Member Ambassador

Flywheel — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:52:26 +0000

We’ve been busy bees over here at jiveSYSTEMS!

Since our approach to teaching people and businesses how to leverage our video email and web video marketing software is heavily focused around training and support, we have added a Member Ambassador to our team of video coaches. Also, due to the rising popularity of the iPad, iPhone, and android phones, we have been working diligently to have our encoders and player automatically support them. We are performing the final tests of the new jiveSYSTEMS software and will be rolling it our to our members in the coming weeks.

Highlights

New Tutorial – Learn how to integrate jiveSYSTEMS with your email marketing program
New Webinar – Concept to Profit 4.0 is now available on demand

Summary of Popular Posts

3 Building Blocks of Success with Video

Understanding why you fail is just as important as knowing why you succeed. This is why Flywheel did an investigation on why some of our members sign up, never use it, and then leave. What he discovered was very interesting.

F irefox and Chrome – the Death of Internet Explorer

Do you know how to browse the web quickly and safely? This post from the Propellerhead reveals the flaws of Internet Explorer. It doesn’t stop there; in this post you will also learn about the two alternatives to Internet Explorer and how to use them. For those of you who haven’t made the switch yet, this post is for you!

Team News

Member Ambassador

We are welcoming a new team member. Her name is Christine.

Christine, or Teeny for short, brings considerable skills to the team. Her background is in theater and business, working side by side with colleagues as young as 6 and as old as 60 – she’s very personable. She’ll be reaching out to our members, so feel free to reply to her emails and let us know if there’s anything more we can do to assist you in leveraging video email and web video to automate and grow your business online.

Closing Thoughts

If you haven’t already, get the low down on Flywheel’s new program Rocket2Profit.

Time, energy and imagination are the key to lasting success, not a big marketing budget. If you want to learn how to make your company memorable and generate buzz around your products and services on a shoestring budget, keep reading!

[webinar] Concept to Profit 4.0 – Learn How to Produce and Distribute Video Content Online

Flywheel — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:45:14 +0000

Watch the video presentation below to learn how to produce and distribute video content online. We would like to thank Tim Wackel (The Sales Expert) for his webinar on how to enhance the new Concept to Profit 4.0 presentation.

On this presentation you will learn:

Stats & facts about video email and web video marketing
Equipment needed to produce web video
6 Best ways to leverage video email and web video
Top 4 challenges of running a small business and how web video solves those challenges
Video sharing sites versus paid web video services

Find out more, watch the 31:05min video below:

Side note: Just as we did with version 3.0, we recorded this presentation in Camtasia using a MXL .007 condenser mic. We feel that when you record a live presentation within web conferencing services, the resulting file is too large and the audio quality is compromised. In addition, the original live presentation was 60 minutes – quite long for an on-demand presentation. Lastly, we shrunk the presentation on our display prior to recording it, and then sized the recording window to match our blog’s width. This not only reduces the file’s size making it load faster, it also keeps the image crystal clear as it does not go through any resizing when exporting the final flash file.

Thank you for taking the time to watch our presentation. Please leave comments, feedback, and any questions you have below.

[webinar] Concept to Profit 3.0 – Learn How to Produce and Distribute Video Content Online

Flywheel — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:18:44 +0000

**We have a new version of our Concept to Profit webinar, let’s go learn>>

Watch the video presentation below to learn how to produce and distribute video content online. A big THANK YOU goes out to Mike Brooks (Mr. Inside Sales) for his suggestions and guidance in creating Concept to Profit 3.0.

On this presentation you will learn:

Top 4 Challenges of Running a Small Business and How Web Video Solves those Challenges
Stats & Facts About Video Email and Web Video Marketing
Equipment Needed to Produce Web Video
Video Sharing Sites versus Paid Web Video Services
6 Best Ways to Leverage Video Email and Web Video

Find out more, watch the 29:39min video below:

Side note: We recorded the presentation in Camtasia using a MXL .007 condenser mic. We feel that when you record a live presentation within web conferencing services, the file is too large and the audio quality is compromised. In addition, our live presentation is 60 minutes – quite long for an on-demand presentation. Lastly, we shrink the presentation prior to recording it, and then size the recording window accordingly. This not only reduces the file’s size making it load faster, it also keeps the image crystal clear as it does not go through any resizing when exporting the final flash file.

Thank you for taking the time to watch our presentation. Please leave comments, feedback, and any questions you have below.

Firefox and Chrome – the Death of Internet Explorer

Propellerhead — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:18:08 +0000

If you’re using Internet Explorer to read this post, please read on.

Before always-on internet connections, I used AOL, Netscape, or Internet Explorer to access the internet. Those days of poorly constructed internet browsers are over. Companies are producing polished programs for us to browse. These programs not only look good, but increase the speed, security, and ease of browsing the interwebs.

Browsers should be organic; they need to have a natural flow, just like designing the layout for a room in your home. Anything that is superfluous needs to be discarded. Let’s take a look at IE and it’s default homepage.

There are so many things here that we don’t need in a browser – a lot of blank unused space in the top of the browser, a poorly placed favorites menu, and those controls on the top right (page, safety, tools) that don’t need to be there. There are ads all around the default MSN homepage, and silly news stories that I really don’t care about. The browser is bloated, slow, proprietary, and attempts to look flashy to make up for it’s shortcomings.

Why would a company as large as Microsoft have a browser that is agreeably poor? One answer is that they are spreading themselves thin. Think about it – Microsoft makes and maintains the following:

Windows
office software
hardware
internet browser (IE)
search engine – Bing
servers
Xbox
video games
clothing
Windows Mobile
email service (Hotmail)
virus scanner (Windows Defender)
media format (.wmv)
media player (Windows Media Player)

For a large company, that list in itself isn’t long. However, think of how much variety those things have; operating systems, video games, and internet browsers are not all that similar. Let’s compare that list to Google…

Chrome OS (in development)
Google Phone
search engine
Gmail
Google Docs
Chrome
Google Earth
Other companies they own (YouTube, Picasa, etc.)

…and Mozilla, the makers of Firefox:

Firefox (browser)
Thunderbird (email)
Lightning (calendar)
Sunbird
Seamonkey (dev tools)

Overextended

It appears that Microsoft has a bunch of things on their development plate, and I’m left to question how many resources and how much focus they can devote to their internet browser. When you control over 90% of the home computer market, why bother making an amazing internet browser? In this case, the browser in and of itself is not going to bring in a sale.

Competition

Seeing this lack of any really great browser, companies that devote their time to web products jumped into browser development. Mozilla came first, with a platform built off the Netscape architecture. With Firefox as their main product, they put all their efforts into making it an amazing program – Firefox was the first browser to bring tabbed browsing into the mainstream and allow for modular add-ons from third party developers.

Chrome was released in late 2008, and incorporated all the great ideas from Firefox. Chrome is different in small ways from Firefox, and since Google is such an internet goliath with years of making great products and services, it’s as good of a browser as Firefox.

Internet Explorer is Awful

With these other companies that devote their time so much to developing the perfect browser, it’s clear that Microsoft probably can’t compete. Based off of my testing and opinion, and supported by many other sources, IE is slower, more prone to attack, less updated, poorly laid out, and not as good looking as these other two browsers. Both Chrome and Firefox are constantly updated with not only bug fixes, but new features and looks.

That’s enough arguing my case, let’s look into how to install these browsers.

Before we go further, please keep in mind that having more than one browser installed is a waste of space. [Unless you're a tech person like me and you need to troubleshoot issues in multiple browsers.] If you download both of these browsers to test them out, that’s great! Just make sure that once you’ve made your decision, you uninstall the other one.

Firefox

First off, Firefox is the browser I use on both my Mac and Windows machines, so if you’re looking for the official Propellerhead Recommendation, here it is.

I recorded a screencast of how to install Firefox:

Firefox Install

Firefox has an amazing depth of customization and ability. I’ll expand on some need-to-know features in later posts.

Chrome

Again, I do love and recommend Firefox over Chrome, but that’s not to say that Google has made themselves a really cool browser. Chrome took all of the best aspects of Firefox and really made them their own.

Here’s how to install Chrome:

Google Chrome Install

Which browser do you use? IE, Firefox, and Chrome are the largest three browser out there, but there are still others such as Opera, Safari, and more. After switching from IE to one of these browsers, how do you like it? Let us know in the comments below.

Thumbnail image courtesy of: www.neowin.net

3 Building Blocks of Success with Video

Flywheel — Tue, 11 May 2010 11:53:25 +0000

For the past few months, I have been conducting some research to uncover why people sign-up for jiveSYSTEMS, and then leave. I feel this information is just as useful as knowing how the top 20% of our members are using the system.

I expected that people would be complaining about the overall usability of our software, and I was pleasantly surprised at how few people actually complain about it (we are talking less than 1%). I was shocked when I uncovered the really reasons people were canceling their membership. A resounding number of people said they simple don’t have enough time, which is a load of cobblers. Recording just one evergreen reusable video to follow-up a first phone call with a new prospect saves you time and shortens the sale cycle (saving you even more time in follow-up).

Baffled by the excuse people are using to leave our service, I rolled up my sleeves and delved deeper looking for anything that could link them together, or that differentiated them from our Top 20%. And then it struck me like a light bulb going off in my head – the answer which has been in front of my eyes since day one: our successful members (seen in our success stories) have a suitable location to film, they are/feel camera ready (appropriate attire, hair, etc.), and don’t have camera anxiety. The people that are having the most success with our system can fire up our software and hit record and then send anytime they want. On the flip side, pretty much all of the people that cancel there membership rarely have: a suitable location to film, feel they are camera ready at a moments notice, or would say they feel comfortable in front of a camera.

If you are thinking about or currently using web video to promote your business, a surefire way to increase the probability that you will be successful is to ensure you have the 3 Building Blocks of Success:

Dedicated Location to Record

I use a laptop on my kitchen table the majority of the time. Behind where I sit is my big whiteboard. My webcam sits on top of our monitor. All I have to do to send someone a video email is fire up the jiveSYSTEMS video email software and then hit record. The background of my video is always professional (view of my big whiteboard). I am not saying you have to build a studio, you just need a location that is suitable for filming behind your where your compute resides. If I didn’t have a whiteboard I would buy one of those privacy screens, the ones you always see James Bond’s new squeeze changing behind in the movies just before they have an in-depth conversation about the birds and the bees.

Being Camera Ready (Attire, Hair, etc.)

Even though I am an underpants entrepeneur, which means I rarely have to go into the office, I feel camera ready most of the time. I bought 12 black t-shirts that are all exactly the same, so I always have a clean one ready to wear. The standard viewing area for a webcam on top of computer is chest up and a black t-shirt is suitable for almost every occasion. The goal is to be able to switch on your webcam with the least preparation possible when you are working.

Free From Camera Anxiety

For some this comes easily, for others it takes a little time. However, as with anything new, being comfortable on camera is a skill and it can be learned. If you do get anxiety before filming, take comfort in the fact that if you make a mistake on camera, you can always do another take. It took me a couple of months to be really comfortable on camera and feel that I was communicating my message clearly and concisely. In hindsight, I realize I could adjusted much quicker, if I had sent more videos. If you are new to video, I recommend that you create a list of family, friends, and your best clients, send them videos regulary and ask for feedback. People love to help people, over the course of this learning process you will become closer to you family, friends, and best clients. If you would like more information about overcoming camera anxiety, you should check out the blog post I made earlier this year, How to Beat Your Inner Critique.

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I hope you found this post useful. If you have any questions, comment, or suggestion please leave them below.

[newsletter] It’s All About Having a Good Team

Flywheel — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:22:25 +0000

We have been working diligently behind the scenes to provide you with all the information you need to automate and grow your business efficiently and effectively, not just with video email and web video, but overall.

The feedback we’ve been receiving has helped us hone in on the specific elements that will help you Rocket2Profit. This is the fitting name of my new project that will help you do just that: Rocket2Profit! Learn more about Rocket2Profit.

Summary of Popular Posts

Inside-look at Our New Member Tutorial #1

This is the first video a new member in our video email and web video marketing coaching program receives. The video goes over the overall theory and application behind implementing video email and web video in your business.

The Hierarchy of Computers

Our resident propellerhead, Reed, has written another uber useful post. This one is a crash course in understanding all the different types of computers from desktop to smartphone.

Team News

We are saying goodbye to Level Juan, our level 1 jiveSYSTEMS Video Coach, who just so happens to be named Juan. He is going into the Army to be a 19D Cavalry Scout with a 40 option. This job means he’ll be going out with a small team of snipers and scouting for them. The 40 option means that he will have the opportunity to go straight into Ranger School to be an Army Ranger. We are sad to see him go, but happy that he is on the way to fulfilling personal life goals and dreams. We welcome your positive thoughts and good wishes for Juan. Please feel free to leave a comment for Juan at the bottom of this page.

We are welcoming two new team members, Tiny and Jim Gribble.

Tiny, aka Keith Pottinger, is our new Level 1 video coach in training. He has a strong background in computers and video production. Tiny can actually build a computer from the ground upward and he is a magician at fixing them when something goes wrong. We stole Keith from EA Sports where he was a lead computer game tester. Needless to say, we keep a vigilant eye on Tiny to ensure he doesn’t have World of Warcraft open in the background.

Jim specializes in Affiliate Program Management and has done so since the dawn of time. Well, maybe not the dawn of time, but he’s a pioneer in the field. He is now managing our rarely spoken of affiliate program which we, for all intents and purposes, keep hidden. We are thankful to add Jim’s expertise and experience to the team. Now that you know about the opportunity, what will you do with it?

Software Updates

We upgraded our web-based flash encoder and the quality now competes with that of our desktop software. In the background we’re well underway with mapping out the new user interface for our software, along with the transition to full H.264 encoding and streaming.

Closing Thoughts

Business is only as difficult as you make it out to be. Ask the right questions to the right people at the right time, and you will be amazed at how simple business becomes.

Jon’s Video Email and Web Video Marketing Success Story

Video Coach — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:58:55 +0000

Name: Jon
Business: Online Clothing Retail
Member Since: February 2009

Jon\'s Video Email and Web Video Marketing Success Story

“Overall, it’s just been incredible. It’s a great solution. It allows me to really reach out and touch our customers and communicate with them in a revolutionary new way.”

We help online marketers, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs leverage video email and web video to automate repetitive tasks and shorten their sales cycle by nurturing better relationships with their prospects and clients, even if they have a face for radio and are completely terrified of technology.

Find out more, take a 30 Day Test-Drive.

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