Shownotes
Motivational Quote
Video Insights
The challenge of a small business owner [5:01] Why is video important to business [7:17] [27:02] How to get a video made [7:50] The first video you should make [10:41] The 3 most important elements of a video [13:55] The PEACH Principle [16:53]Success Trait
His ability to communicate effectively and explain things in a way that people can understand and put to actionProductivity/Lifestyle Tool
Evernote – A cross-platform, freemium app designed for note taking, organizing, and archivingValuable Book
The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott
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Transcripts
Gift biz unwrapped episode 33.
Speaker:You don't have to have a camera.
Speaker:You don't have to ever touch a computer.
Speaker:You don't even have to be in front of a camera
Speaker:if you don't want to be.
Speaker:Hi, This is John Lee,
Speaker:Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,
Speaker:and you're listening to the gifted biz unwrapped,
Speaker:and now it's time to light it up.
Speaker:Welcome to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop
Speaker:and grow your business.
Speaker:And now here's your host,
Speaker:Sue Monheit and welcome Unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Whether you own a brick and mortar shop sell online or
Speaker:are just getting started,
Speaker:you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your
Speaker:business. And today I am thrilled to have joining us.
Speaker:Alfred por of desktop of wings incorporated.
Speaker:Alfred has been a solopreneur for more than 30 years and
Speaker:has a particular interest in effective marketing strategies for very small
Speaker:businesses. He's a graduate of Harvard and has built his career
Speaker:on explaining complex concepts to people in ways that they can
Speaker:put to practical use.
Speaker:Alfred is a full-time professional speaker and writer,
Speaker:and is author or co-author of more than a dozen books,
Speaker:including power marketing for small business,
Speaker:how you can boost sales with low cost video.
Speaker:And that is one of the reasons why I wanted to
Speaker:have him on today.
Speaker:And we're going to get into a lot about that.
Speaker:So stay tuned on the personal side,
Speaker:Alfred is a sailor and a musician playing mandolin in a
Speaker:bluegrass band.
Speaker:That sounds incredibly interesting.
Speaker:Welcome to the show,
Speaker:Alfred, thank you so much.
Speaker:So I'm glad to be here.
Speaker:Is there anything you'd like to add or expand on,
Speaker:particularly with the plane mandolin People who've known me for a
Speaker:long time,
Speaker:10, 20 years keep discovering new things about me.
Speaker:So it's always a challenge for me to write a bio.
Speaker:So do you Always see it with new things each time?
Speaker:Not always,
Speaker:But things slowly rise to the top,
Speaker:depending on the situation I acted on the same stage as
Speaker:bill hurt.
Speaker:Oh, a long time ago.
Speaker:Yeah. Like I said,
Speaker:there's all kinds of interesting things that I've managed to do
Speaker:over the years and had a lot of fun doing them.
Speaker:Wonderful. And so I just have to know,
Speaker:do you have a lot of content left to reveal down
Speaker:the road?
Speaker:I, I Don't put it all out at once,
Speaker:So we're going to have to keep following you so,
Speaker:so we can see as,
Speaker:as time goes on.
Speaker:Yeah. Buy me a beer and I'll share a few of
Speaker:them. Oh,
Speaker:There you go.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Well, that's easy enough.
Speaker:As our listeners know,
Speaker:we like to align the conversation around the life of your
Speaker:motivational candle.
Speaker:The light shines on you while you share your stories and
Speaker:experiences. And in this case,
Speaker:you're going to be sharing all about video and low cost
Speaker:video at that.
Speaker:So Alfred,
Speaker:are you ready to light it up?
Speaker:The pilots say I kicked the tires and lit the fires.
Speaker:So let's go.
Speaker:Alrighty. So guess what?
Speaker:You are a gig with your mandolin in the bluegrass band
Speaker:and the venue has candles all around.
Speaker:There's just one candle that catches your eye that you really
Speaker:like. What color is that candle?
Speaker:It's a sky blue candle.
Speaker:And what is it about sky blue?
Speaker:To me,
Speaker:it's one of the things about blue is it's sincere.
Speaker:It's a natural color,
Speaker:light blue,
Speaker:as opposed to a dark blue,
Speaker:I think is more accessible and more engaging and,
Speaker:and more personal,
Speaker:which I think are some of the traits about myself that
Speaker:I like to believe are part of my strengths.
Speaker:Wonderful. And if there was a motivational quote on that candle
Speaker:that really resonated with you,
Speaker:what would that be?
Speaker:It's a quote from Peter Drucker that I take to heart
Speaker:in many settings,
Speaker:Peter Drucker said efficiency is doing things right,
Speaker:but effectiveness is doing the right things.
Speaker:And how do you apply that?
Speaker:I'm very good at,
Speaker:in my career.
Speaker:I've been good at doing the wrong things,
Speaker:coming up with products.
Speaker:One of my favorite mistakes is to come up with a
Speaker:product that I think people need and not necessarily the product
Speaker:that people want.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:it's a,
Speaker:it's a problem.
Speaker:That's common.
Speaker:A lot of people have it.
Speaker:And for me,
Speaker:it's an easy one for me to repeat.
Speaker:So I struggle with that,
Speaker:but I think that's part of what Drucker's messages,
Speaker:just working harder on the wrong things.
Speaker:Isn't going to bring success,
Speaker:right? If you work on the right things,
Speaker:yeah. You can be as efficient as you want,
Speaker:but if you're being efficient at something,
Speaker:that's not going to bring your result.
Speaker:What good is it in the first Place?
Speaker:It can feel like you're working hard,
Speaker:which can feel good,
Speaker:but you're not going to make progress until you sit down
Speaker:and answer the hard questions about,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:what what's really important and what are the things that need
Speaker:to be done.
Speaker:Right. Exactly.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:You talk a lot about online video being the most powerful
Speaker:and cost-effective solution that someone can use.
Speaker:Why do you say that I've been a solopreneur for 30
Speaker:years, freelance writer and a speaker and book publisher.
Speaker:And so I,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I know what it is to wear all the hats and
Speaker:be making all the decisions and everything.
Speaker:So one of my starting premises is that small business owners,
Speaker:really small business owners don't have time and they don't have
Speaker:money. They're pulled in all sorts of different directions and they're
Speaker:trying to make ends meet.
Speaker:And, you know,
Speaker:they have to make a lot of tough choices.
Speaker:And in many cases,
Speaker:marketing becomes the poor stepchild.
Speaker:Most people,
Speaker:especially, I know in the,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:in the crafts and gifts kind of feel people were drawn
Speaker:because they're creative.
Speaker:They want to make things that people love and they get
Speaker:all kinds of satisfaction out of this.
Speaker:This is something I'm very familiar with.
Speaker:My wife as a Potter has been a Potter for 15,
Speaker:20 years.
Speaker:And so,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I've seen her business grow,
Speaker:but you know,
Speaker:very often you're putting all your efforts into the creation and
Speaker:the managing of the business and marketing falls by the wayside.
Speaker:You put up a website,
Speaker:you maybe build a mailing list,
Speaker:but you know,
Speaker:there's not a whole lot of focus and effort on it.
Speaker:You sort of do whatever you need to get it done
Speaker:and let it,
Speaker:you get The basics done and then move on to something
Speaker:else and never really capture the power that marketing can bring.
Speaker:Exactly. I get that because you don't have a lot of
Speaker:time or energy or money that you can focus on this.
Speaker:And one of the things I've discovered over time is that
Speaker:video is just remarkable in terms of how powerful it is
Speaker:and how effective it is and how little it costs in
Speaker:both time and money.
Speaker:So for someone who's sitting and listening right now and saying,
Speaker:yeah, but,
Speaker:oh my gosh,
Speaker:that is a huge hurdle in terms of technology and figuring
Speaker:out how to do it.
Speaker:I'm probably going to need a lot of equipment,
Speaker:all of that.
Speaker:I'd rather just do print ads or just stick with my
Speaker:Facebook page or whatever the current mode of operandi is.
Speaker:Sure. Yeah.
Speaker:And, and I totally get that.
Speaker:And that's one of the reasons that I'm out here promoting
Speaker:this concept,
Speaker:because I think a lot of people put up barriers that
Speaker:aren't there.
Speaker:What I'm talking about,
Speaker:you don't have to have a camera.
Speaker:You don't have to ever touch a computer.
Speaker:You don't even have to be in front of a camera
Speaker:if you don't want to be.
Speaker:There's all kinds of things you can do with video.
Speaker:And the craziest thing of all is it is just wildly
Speaker:inexpensive. Most people will spend more on a simple local postcard
Speaker:mail campaign than they would spend on a video.
Speaker:And with the postcard campaign,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:that 90% of those are just going to go straight into
Speaker:the trash.
Speaker:They'd go out once and then they're gone.
Speaker:The video stays on your website forever.
Speaker:And so it's an investment in marketing terms,
Speaker:we call it a long tail.
Speaker:You get a benefit from it over a much longer period
Speaker:of time than you would get from that little flash of
Speaker:a postcard mailing or an ad in the newspaper,
Speaker:that sort of thing.
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:So you're selling me here.
Speaker:The thing I'm intrigued about is you're saying that you don't
Speaker:need to have a camera let's get into what is the
Speaker:equipment that you need.
Speaker:Okay. Okay.
Speaker:If you can figure out a way to get onto Craigslist,
Speaker:that's probably all you need.
Speaker:Let's talk about how you get a video made one way
Speaker:to do it is to do it yourself.
Speaker:And that's a perfectly reasonable thing to do if you're inclined
Speaker:that way.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you've got some creative skills.
Speaker:You're curious about learning how to do audio and video editing
Speaker:and all the stuff that goes along with that.
Speaker:And really,
Speaker:if you have almost any digital camera or even a lot
Speaker:of smart phones can do a good job of capturing a
Speaker:high definition video.
Speaker:So, you know,
Speaker:that can be done and you can get some good,
Speaker:low cost editing software under a hundred dollars to edit it
Speaker:with whether you're on Mac or PC,
Speaker:but it takes a lot of time.
Speaker:So that the expense isn't very big,
Speaker:but there's a big time investment there.
Speaker:Another way you can go is to go to a professional
Speaker:agency and have them develop a marketing plan for you with
Speaker:it includes video and put that together.
Speaker:And that can cost thousands and thousands of dollars.
Speaker:What I'm advocating is sort of a middle road where you
Speaker:figure out what it is you want to do and what
Speaker:kind of message you want to give.
Speaker:And then you rent the professional help that you need to
Speaker:get it done.
Speaker:And in this case,
Speaker:it's very,
Speaker:very simple.
Speaker:You just go out and you get a videographer who will
Speaker:shoot it and edit it and come back with a file
Speaker:that you can upload that would probably even do it,
Speaker:upload it onto YouTube for you.
Speaker:You're hosted on YouTube for free YouTube.
Speaker:It's very easy to grab the little piece of code that
Speaker:you can drop into any website,
Speaker:especially if it,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:if you have a WordPress site or something like that,
Speaker:where you can easily drop in a piece of HTML,
Speaker:you don't have to know anything about programming.
Speaker:You don't have to know anything,
Speaker:just drop that code in.
Speaker:And you've got video on your website.
Speaker:If you don't know how to do that,
Speaker:find some 14 year old in the neighborhood who come over
Speaker:and do it for you.
Speaker:That Is true.
Speaker:And just don't let what Alfred's talking about.
Speaker:Stop you in your tracks,
Speaker:anybody, because once it gets up to YouTube,
Speaker:it is so easily shareable.
Speaker:And the HTML code that he's referring to is like two
Speaker:clicks away within your YouTube account.
Speaker:And you just copy it and you paste it.
Speaker:And many,
Speaker:many people can do that for you.
Speaker:So that's not a problem As you say,
Speaker:so it's not technical at all.
Speaker:You don't have to understand anything about what it's doing.
Speaker:It's just a cut and paste.
Speaker:Just a way to get the content over to your site
Speaker:so that it's going to be viewable right on Your site.
Speaker:And it's there forever And it's there forever.
Speaker:It's evergreen.
Speaker:So the nice thing about that,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we are all time stressed as you were talking about the
Speaker:time and money are the big challenges for people in smaller
Speaker:businesses. And to be able to put your time into something
Speaker:that then would be content that is going to benefit you
Speaker:for a long time in the future.
Speaker:Makes a lot of sense in terms of timing.
Speaker:But I have a question for you.
Speaker:I have a question for you Alfred,
Speaker:if someone has never done video before,
Speaker:what type of content and,
Speaker:and let's just talk,
Speaker:let's take this in such baby steps that it really seems
Speaker:achievable for somebody.
Speaker:What would be the best first topic of a video.
Speaker:If they're just going to have one video on their site
Speaker:to See there are two extremely powerful ones,
Speaker:but the easiest one to get started with is clearly the
Speaker:how to a demonstration video.
Speaker:So you're demonstrating something that your company produces.
Speaker:It could be all kinds of things.
Speaker:It could be related to what you produce.
Speaker:If you're a Potter as my wife is you might just
Speaker:do a short video of showing how you make a,
Speaker:a mug,
Speaker:just a quick two,
Speaker:three minute video of showing you at work,
Speaker:creating your pieces,
Speaker:showing them going into the kiln and coming out glazed people
Speaker:love to see how things are made For them to be
Speaker:intending, to be a Potter,
Speaker:but for them to see what was behind the scenes producing
Speaker:the result that they might purchase,
Speaker:Right? That's one way to go.
Speaker:Another way to go would be a simple project related to
Speaker:what you do,
Speaker:but something that the viewer could actually do and make themselves
Speaker:a simple little project,
Speaker:which would at once be sort of a gift to them
Speaker:and help feed their creative instincts.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:one of the things I find working the craft shows with
Speaker:my wife is people have all kinds of creative feelings,
Speaker:but they say,
Speaker:oh, I could never do that.
Speaker:And so a video to show them something simple that they
Speaker:could do and feel good about is going to be thanked
Speaker:for you.
Speaker:And it also,
Speaker:if it relates to the kind of products you make,
Speaker:it helps them get a better appreciation of the skill and
Speaker:the creativity that goes into your company's products.
Speaker:Got it.
Speaker:So What I hear you not saying is this,
Speaker:isn't a video that says,
Speaker:hi, I'm so-and-so.
Speaker:I have all these qualifications to be in the business that
Speaker:I'm in.
Speaker:I've been in business for X number of years,
Speaker:none of that type of thing.
Speaker:It all should be from the interest level of the person
Speaker:who's going to be watching so that when they get to
Speaker:the site,
Speaker:they really want to click the video because there's curiosity,
Speaker:cause it's a how to video or they're looking at something
Speaker:like, yeah,
Speaker:maybe I could even do this myself.
Speaker:Exactly how to videos are probably the number one most effective
Speaker:at converting,
Speaker:turning into sales.
Speaker:And again,
Speaker:keep in mind that a lot of people think commercials,
Speaker:TV commercials,
Speaker:which have to fit in a 32nd window or at most
Speaker:a minute,
Speaker:and they're very active and lots of flashy stuff going on
Speaker:and you don't need that in an online video.
Speaker:You're not trying to yell at the consumer.
Speaker:You're trying to engage them in a conversation.
Speaker:And so you know how to video.
Speaker:You don't even have to talk,
Speaker:just put up some title screens and explain some tech screens
Speaker:to explain the different steps.
Speaker:And somebody can just video you while you work.
Speaker:And you know,
Speaker:you don't have to feel awkward about saying something on screen
Speaker:or anything like that.
Speaker:It can be just having a nice little soundtrack running in
Speaker:the background.
Speaker:And by the way,
Speaker:YouTube has a ton of free soundtracks that you can put
Speaker:behind your videos at no cost.
Speaker:No royalty can just use them for free think in terms
Speaker:of giving them a gift of content.
Speaker:There You go.
Speaker:And it doesn't have to be such a professional video either.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you want it to make it look nice and classy,
Speaker:but it doesn't have to be so professional going back to
Speaker:what you're talking about with the commercials,
Speaker:because people like seeing the real person behind a craft or
Speaker:the shop or that type of thing,
Speaker:would you agree with that?
Speaker:They want to see organic.
Speaker:They want to see personality.
Speaker:They want to see honesty.
Speaker:The whole thing about this is trying to build credibility.
Speaker:So I would agree you don't need to have Hollywood production
Speaker:values. However,
Speaker:it is extremely important that you shoot in high definition in
Speaker:technical terms,
Speaker:it's either seven 20 P or,
Speaker:or 10 80 P resolution,
Speaker:because it really looks better.
Speaker:You want to make sure that whoever's doing the shooting is
Speaker:aware of the lighting because bad lighting is a turnoff and
Speaker:people will bail on your video.
Speaker:No matter how good the content is,
Speaker:if it's just too hard to watch.
Speaker:And then the third most important factor in your video is
Speaker:the audio quality.
Speaker:So if you're going to be talking,
Speaker:if there's a soundtrack,
Speaker:whatever you want to make sure that the audio levels are
Speaker:good. And again,
Speaker:a good videographer can take care of that in the edit.
Speaker:And so with all of these points,
Speaker:that's why you suggest a middle of the road,
Speaker:videographer, meaning not in terms of the quality of the videographer,
Speaker:but in terms of the services that you ask for.
Speaker:Because if you are putting together what you think the content
Speaker:already is,
Speaker:that's not something you have to pay someone else to do.
Speaker:Exactly. So you're just want it to be the shoot really,
Speaker:Right? So you're just hiring them for the shooting and the,
Speaker:and so if you go to an agency they're going to
Speaker:want to put together the whole campaign for you.
Speaker:But if you know what you want to have for your
Speaker:video, you can go out and get a videographer.
Speaker:You will be amazed at how little it costs.
Speaker:I've done this,
Speaker:just going to Craigslist.
Speaker:I put out a call for videographers and I got one
Speaker:guy who had an Emmy.
Speaker:I had one guy who had worked with ESPN.
Speaker:I had somebody who'd worked with Stephen King.
Speaker:And the amazing thing is that with the exception of a
Speaker:couple outliers,
Speaker:they were all five to $600 for a half day shoot.
Speaker:And the editing,
Speaker:which is nothing.
Speaker:When you compare it to the price of,
Speaker:again, a simple postcard mailing,
Speaker:you'll get to $500 easy.
Speaker:Yes, very reasonable.
Speaker:Because this is again,
Speaker:is not a one-off.
Speaker:This is something that you're going to be able to use
Speaker:for years.
Speaker:Exactly. If you're looking for a videographer,
Speaker:like again,
Speaker:look on Craigslist,
Speaker:look for wedding photographers because all wedding photographers now do videography.
Speaker:One of my secret weapons is if you want to find
Speaker:an inexpensive videographer,
Speaker:one of the best places to go is your local guitar
Speaker:store. Interesting.
Speaker:Think about it.
Speaker:Turns out if a rock and roll band wants to promote
Speaker:themselves, they have to have a video,
Speaker:right? And if you think small businesses have limited budget,
Speaker:wait till you talk to a garage band,
Speaker:they've got nothing.
Speaker:And so this $500 for a video is a totally reasonable
Speaker:target. Some people say,
Speaker:well, what if I'm in some expensive place?
Speaker:Like New York city?
Speaker:Well actually in New York city.
Speaker:Yeah. The price is different.
Speaker:You can probably get it done for about three 50 in
Speaker:New York city because the competition is so high.
Speaker:Sure. All right.
Speaker:So we've convinced everybody that a video is something they should
Speaker:consider. We've also convinced them that there is a way to
Speaker:do it.
Speaker:It's an achievable thing for them to do.
Speaker:And you've mentioned a number of different ways and tips on
Speaker:getting the lowest price and the quality that you need,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:What about the content?
Speaker:What about the content?
Speaker:So again,
Speaker:one of those explainer videos,
Speaker:either how you do it or make your own product or
Speaker:some sort of project that other people can use,
Speaker:that's probably the best choice to start off with,
Speaker:especially if you're in a gift or craft kind of market.
Speaker:In my book,
Speaker:the power marketing for small business,
Speaker:I've got what I call the peach principle.
Speaker:And peach is an acronym.
Speaker:Each letter stands for different kinds of message that you could
Speaker:use in your video.
Speaker:And so peach stands for position,
Speaker:educate, attach,
Speaker:compete, and help that he educated.
Speaker:That's what your demo video would be.
Speaker:You teaching them either how to do something or teaching them
Speaker:how you do something,
Speaker:giving them some information,
Speaker:how to solve a problem,
Speaker:how to accomplish something.
Speaker:Position is more where you describe what your business is about.
Speaker:Kind of a credibility play,
Speaker:maybe a credibility play,
Speaker:but it's not comparing yourself to others.
Speaker:It's just saying,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:this is what we care about.
Speaker:This is our quality.
Speaker:This is why we care about quality.
Speaker:And this is some of the things that we're concerned with
Speaker:that are important.
Speaker:Would you say this is a good video for your about
Speaker:us page.
Speaker:That would be a great video for your,
Speaker:about us page.
Speaker:Yeah. And then the a is for attach at one level
Speaker:attaches basically you're attaching yourself to somebody else's reputation and what
Speaker:it really comes down to is social proof.
Speaker:A lot of the reasons you see celebrities,
Speaker:endorsing products is because it provides proof to the buyer that
Speaker:it's a legitimate product and it's worth their attention for as
Speaker:a customer,
Speaker:you can attach to all kinds of reputations.
Speaker:One of the things you can attach to our local celebrities,
Speaker:maybe there's a program at the high school that you're involved
Speaker:in. You could have a video about you working with the
Speaker:students on their projects or something like that.
Speaker:At another level,
Speaker:the social proof can just simply be testimonials,
Speaker:just have people talking about how much they love your products
Speaker:and what they do with them or how they make them
Speaker:feel. And you don't even have to be on the camera
Speaker:for this.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:you just have somebody else talking about you and get that
Speaker:on video.
Speaker:Yeah. These are some great ideas I've never thought of before.
Speaker:Really great carry on Then.
Speaker:So C is for compete.
Speaker:Here's where you show your difference.
Speaker:Okay. So say you make reeds and we're coming up on
Speaker:the holiday season.
Speaker:Well, you might be able to say something like we soak
Speaker:our, we use all natural greens.
Speaker:However, we soak them in a special solution that we use
Speaker:and it causes the needles to stay on 50% longer than
Speaker:if we didn't treat them.
Speaker:And nobody else we know does this.
Speaker:So this is a competitive advantage that we have.
Speaker:You're not going to get from anybody else,
Speaker:vintage ribbons that we've collected all over the country from the
Speaker:early 19 hundreds.
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:There are different kinds of things that you could do,
Speaker:but that's where you would make your claim to uniqueness compared
Speaker:to your competitors.
Speaker:This is a big point.
Speaker:Let's use Reese justice.
Speaker:You're talking about,
Speaker:there are very creative wreath makers all over,
Speaker:but so how are you different?
Speaker:What are you bringing that a consumer is going to get
Speaker:from you that they're not going to be getting from anybody
Speaker:else who is making the creative wreaths?
Speaker:And this is a perfect way to do it through a
Speaker:video. Just like you're saying,
Speaker:show them,
Speaker:yeah, show them.
Speaker:And it also portrays your personality and nobody can copy your
Speaker:personal. Exactly.
Speaker:And then H from peach,
Speaker:the H is for help.
Speaker:And it actually has nothing to do with your product.
Speaker:H is about how you give back.
Speaker:Maybe you're involved in a volunteer program.
Speaker:Maybe, you know,
Speaker:you do meals on wheels.
Speaker:Maybe you go into senior centers and do craft projects with
Speaker:them. It's not about your product.
Speaker:It's about you and your business.
Speaker:It adds another dimension to it.
Speaker:It adds a level of credibility and realism.
Speaker:And also it shows that you're giving back.
Speaker:And that's something that people definitely relate to.
Speaker:So if you can show something that you're doing,
Speaker:that's good in the community,
Speaker:that's a huge plus.
Speaker:And that's the kind of video that people really like to
Speaker:watch. Absolutely.
Speaker:So gift biz listeners.
Speaker:I want you guys to remember this acronym,
Speaker:peach P E a C Alfred calls it his peach principle.
Speaker:And really honestly go back.
Speaker:If you are not at a place where you're taking notes
Speaker:and review all of these elements,
Speaker:because there's some really,
Speaker:really good and different ideas that Alfred's put forth,
Speaker:that you should consider for your business.
Speaker:And so let me just stress that I'm talking about using
Speaker:one of these,
Speaker:one of these five different topics as the focus for your
Speaker:video for Each video.
Speaker:So one video would not incorporate all of these.
Speaker:It would only incorporate one,
Speaker:Right? You don't try to do them all.
Speaker:You, you make one,
Speaker:your focus and again,
Speaker:you only need one video on your website to make a
Speaker:big difference.
Speaker:Did you realize that adding a video to your homepage makes
Speaker:it 52 times more likely to show up on the first
Speaker:page of a Google search?
Speaker:I've heard of the power of video a lot.
Speaker:And I believe that just think of how we,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:when you go Google something,
Speaker:if there's a video there,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:especially people who are on mobile now,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:they necessarily can't even see the screen,
Speaker:right? And so a video is so much easier in terms
Speaker:of capturing content And the majority of consumers now say company
Speaker:websites should have a video on it.
Speaker:And so we're now on the cusp of leaving the point
Speaker:where having a video is an advantage and we're entering the
Speaker:era where you pretty much need to have a video to
Speaker:be competitive.
Speaker:It keeps stepping up,
Speaker:doesn't it?
Speaker:It does.
Speaker:It does.
Speaker:Well, thank you.
Speaker:This has been really,
Speaker:really great information,
Speaker:Alfred. I appreciate it so much.
Speaker:We're going to move now into the reflection section.
Speaker:This is a look at you and how you've been successful
Speaker:along the way.
Speaker:What would you say Alfred?
Speaker:That's one natural trait that you have that has helped you
Speaker:to be so successful in your book,
Speaker:writing and video production.
Speaker:And all of that.
Speaker:I like to think that one of my skills is I've
Speaker:learned to communicate effectively with people.
Speaker:A lot of people get all tensed up when it comes
Speaker:to writing or speaking.
Speaker:And for me,
Speaker:when I'm doing something like this,
Speaker:or when I'm writing a book or an article,
Speaker:I'm pretty much feeling like I'm sitting down across the table,
Speaker:in the kitchen with a cup of coffee,
Speaker:with a friend,
Speaker:and they're saying,
Speaker:well, what do I need to know about this?
Speaker:And so I try to not dazzle them with my brilliance
Speaker:and not confuse them with a whole lot of unnecessary detail,
Speaker:but tell them what they need to know and how they
Speaker:can use that right away.
Speaker:I think that's one of the skills that's brought me this
Speaker:far, the ability to explain things in a way that people
Speaker:can use.
Speaker:And what is a tool that you use regularly To help
Speaker:you keep productive?
Speaker:Oh, Evernote,
Speaker:no question of attic because I deal with all kinds of
Speaker:content and a whole bunch of different subject areas.
Speaker:All at once.
Speaker:I once had a secretary who gave me a sign for
Speaker:my desk and said,
Speaker:please don't clean up my desk.
Speaker:I won't be able to find anything I'll be ruined.
Speaker:So I am not the tiniest person when it comes to
Speaker:the managing paperwork,
Speaker:but a tool like Evernote allows me to just throw stuff
Speaker:into different folders as I come across it on the web
Speaker:and wherever and my email,
Speaker:and then be able to find it again and be able
Speaker:to call on it when I need it.
Speaker:His, if you've never used Evernote or don't know Evernote,
Speaker:I am just beginning to dive into it in true fashion.
Speaker:It's a little bit different than you think of with a
Speaker:filing cabinet and files because everything's notes,
Speaker:but really,
Speaker:really fabulous,
Speaker:just like Alfred sane.
Speaker:So I recommend that you check it Out.
Speaker:Well, the features that I like particularly about it is one,
Speaker:it plugs into your browser,
Speaker:your email software,
Speaker:whatever. And so you can just,
Speaker:when you're looking at something,
Speaker:you can just click on an icon and it will grab
Speaker:the stuff that you want from that and stick it in
Speaker:your Evernote.
Speaker:Another thing I like about Evernote,
Speaker:all the information is stored locally on your computer,
Speaker:which I'm old school.
Speaker:I like that.
Speaker:But at the same time,
Speaker:it syncs to a free account.
Speaker:You have up in the cloud on servers,
Speaker:on the internet,
Speaker:it's kept safe.
Speaker:So if you happen to have a problem with your computer,
Speaker:all that information is still safe because it's up on the
Speaker:cloud. Amen.
Speaker:But the third thing that is absolutely brilliant and incredibly important
Speaker:to me is that you can have it on your smartphone,
Speaker:on your laptop,
Speaker:on your desktop computer.
Speaker:And as long as you're logged into your account,
Speaker:anything you saved gets saved to all three devices.
Speaker:It will automatically sync up your records.
Speaker:So you don't have to worry about I'm out in the
Speaker:field. And I came across this thing,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:I want to be able to remember to save it to
Speaker:Evernote. Well,
Speaker:you can do it right there.
Speaker:And then when you get back to your desktop,
Speaker:it's there already talk about a time-saver what's a time-saver and
Speaker:an energy saver for me.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:not having to think about things,
Speaker:saves me a whole lot of effort.
Speaker:Agreed. Great.
Speaker:I appreciate your telling us the uses to that gives everybody
Speaker:a real good insight.
Speaker:What book have you read lately that you think our listeners
Speaker:could find value in?
Speaker:Well, it's kind of big,
Speaker:but it's very well written and very accessible.
Speaker:It's actually not all that new.
Speaker:It's a few years old,
Speaker:but it's a book called the new rules of marketing and
Speaker:PR. And it's by a gentleman by the name of David
Speaker:Meerman Scott.
Speaker:It's a fantastic book because for me,
Speaker:the essence of the book is it pulls together all the
Speaker:flashy stuff about blogging and social media and online video,
Speaker:and trying to get things to go viral and all that,
Speaker:and pulls it all together in a really common sense accessible
Speaker:way. And what it did for me was it got me
Speaker:out of the old way of thinking about marketing and realizing
Speaker:the incredible potential of the internet and the digital tools that
Speaker:we have old marketing used to emphasize outgoing messages,
Speaker:where you would try to interrupt the reader with a newspaper
Speaker:ad or a television commercial or whatever,
Speaker:and try to grab their attention today.
Speaker:The big focus on the internet is inbound marketing.
Speaker:When people have a question,
Speaker:they do a Google search and they're asking a question and
Speaker:they come to you looking for information.
Speaker:They're already asking,
Speaker:looking for the answer is a whole new way of doing
Speaker:things. Is it responding to their question with content and engaging
Speaker:them in a conversation about what it is they're interested in,
Speaker:rather than you trying to interrupt what they're and try to
Speaker:get them interested in what you want them to do.
Speaker:And circling back to the whole topic of today with the
Speaker:videos, if someone lands on your site and then looks at
Speaker:a video and you're giving them the information that they were
Speaker:coming to your site to see in the first place,
Speaker:you are one step closer to the sale,
Speaker:they might as well just take out their pocketbook.
Speaker:Exactly. And different studies show that adding video to your website
Speaker:causes visitors to be anywhere from a hundred to 300% more
Speaker:likely to make a purchase.
Speaker:Ooh, I like that.
Speaker:Yeah. I didn't know that.
Speaker:I didn't know that stat,
Speaker:so that's really good.
Speaker:Those are good numbers.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker:We'll give biz listeners just as you're listening to the podcast
Speaker:today, you can also listen to audio books with ease.
Speaker:I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to
Speaker:get an audio book just like Alfred is mentioning for free.
Speaker:All you need to do is go to gift biz,
Speaker:book.com and make your selection.
Speaker:Okay. Alfred,
Speaker:we're winding down,
Speaker:but I have one more big question for you.
Speaker:It's our dare to dream question.
Speaker:I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.
Speaker:It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.
Speaker:This is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable Heights
Speaker:that you would wish to obtain.
Speaker:Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.
Speaker:What is inside your box?
Speaker:Well, it would be a bridge from Pennsylvania to North Carolina
Speaker:that I could get across in a minute or two.
Speaker:Oh, and what's on the other side.
Speaker:Well, I have a son and a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren
Speaker:up here in Pennsylvania and I have a daughter and her
Speaker:husband and another granddaughter down in North Carolina.
Speaker:My current goal is to get my business to the point
Speaker:where traveling back and forth there won't be any need to
Speaker:be concerned about making the decision.
Speaker:Just go whenever we feel like going from one place to
Speaker:the other.
Speaker:Now a magic bridge that would shorten that trip would be
Speaker:lovely to have.
Speaker:But the main thing is I'm happy that I'm,
Speaker:I think I've got it under control that I'll be able
Speaker:to work and make the,
Speaker:at least the,
Speaker:the back and forth part happen when we need it to,
Speaker:well, we're All rooting for you to be able to do
Speaker:that as frequently as you can.
Speaker:So Alfred,
Speaker:how can our listeners get in touch with you if they
Speaker:would like to talk with you further?
Speaker:I have a website that covers some of these small business
Speaker:marketing issues.
Speaker:That's called the center for small business.com
Speaker:and you can reach me there.
Speaker:There's a link there,
Speaker:but you can also email me@apooratverizon.net
Speaker:or you'll find me on Google or Twitter or Facebook.
Speaker:And I'm Alfred poor everywhere.
Speaker:And as you all know,
Speaker:if you jump right over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com, you'll see Alfred's show notes page,
Speaker:and there I'll have all of the links,
Speaker:including the link to his book,
Speaker:power marketing for small business,
Speaker:how you can boost sales with low cost video.
Speaker:And I'm sure that expands even further based on what we've
Speaker:talked about today,
Speaker:right? Alfred,
Speaker:absolutely. Wonderful.
Speaker:Well, thank you so much for all of your really,
Speaker:really unique insight things that I haven't heard before and ideas
Speaker:that I know our listeners can really use.
Speaker:I appreciate your taking the time sharing all of your knowledge
Speaker:today and may your candle always burn bright,
Speaker:Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your business.
Speaker:Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business
Speaker:and life.
Speaker:It's our gift to you and available at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrap.com/tools. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for
Speaker:the next episode.
Speaker:Today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company,
Speaker:looking for a new income source for your gift business.
Speaker:Customization is more popular now than ever grant your products with
Speaker:your logo or print a happy birthday,
Speaker:Jessica ribbon to add to a gift right at checkout,
Speaker:it's all done right in your shop or cross studio in
Speaker:seconds. Check out the ribbon print company.com
Speaker:for more information after you listened to the show,
Speaker:if you like what you're hearing,
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