Making videos has never been my strong suit.
It might not be yours either.
However, here’s the thing.
Just because we don’t like/avoid making videos…
…it doesn’t make them any less effective and powerful.
It just means that you and I are missing out BIG TIME.
Just like Lisa Irby said in her recent YouTube – The Untapped Traffic Generation Source? post at TGC:
“…And if you aren’t using it (YouTube), you are leaving traffic and exposure on the table.
Shame on you!
“
So this post is about the HOW of making a great video that actually converts and brings in sales and NOT purely for information purposes.
To give credit where credit is due, I learned (and successfully implemented) most of this stuff from Ryan Deiss’s Digital Marketer Lab, where Ryan freely shares all his true and tested and most up to date marketing strategies that make him a nice chunk of money.
The Video
Here is one of the videos I recently made following Ryan’s video footprint step by step.
How to Install WordPress in 2 Minutes
Now let’s see what makes this video an affiliate marketing dream come true.
Step 1. Introduction & Branding
Always, always, always make sure your public knows who you are.
I always start and end my videos with this slide:
I created it with in PowerPoint using my header and “prettied it up” with some of the options, like “mirror image”, etc.
Keep reminding them who you are throughout the video.
Even though I didn’t do it in this video, I learned from my mistake and now include my TGC logo in ALL my slides, like this:
This screenshot is from the fun little video I made over the weekend using one of my favorite scenes from the movie “Moonstruck”:
Also, make sure to tell your viewers:
- what your video is about;
- why they should watch it;
- (possibly) how long the video is.
Set expectations, in other words.
Step 2. Meet Expectations
I.E. give value.
You are not making this video to sell something; rather to teach something.
If you do everything else right, “selling” will come naturally.
Selling is a by-product of good marketing. 
Step 3. Multiple Calls to Action
Notice I put “give value” before “call to action”; however, our ultimate goal is to get our viewers to DO something.
Whether it’s:
- Click on your affiliate link;
- Subscribe to your list;
- Or even as simple as “Come to my blog!”…
…if you don’t tell them to do, they won’t do it.
Also, it’s important that you add your call to action more than once, like this:
Notice the time stamp for this screenshot: I added it at 32 seconds into my video and one more time at the end.
As long as you do a good job naturally weaving it into your content (which I believe I did in this video), your views won’t mind seeing it.
Affiliate link tip: since you can’t currently add active clickable links to your videos, make sure you create a memorable link for each and every video you make.
For instance, in this video I used Bit.ly URL shortner since most viewers will be familiar with it already; then added a simple customized extension.
Don’t forget to add your call to action in the description of the video.
And you got it: do it more than once!
Step 4. Recap with a Conclusion
Always sum up what your viewers just learned and most importantly how they’ll BENEFIT if they actually apply what they learned.
Step 5. Advise
This is a powerful psychological factor that many successful marketers use in their sales material:
Make it their decision!
Advise them of what they might want to do at this point, as in:
- “if you want to…”
- “I would…”
… but leave the final decision up to them – after all, it’s their decision to make, isn’t it?
Step 6. Another Call to Action
Your call to action should be the last thing you leave your viewers with.
Step 7. Linger
Drag your call to action a bit at the end.
Give your views a chance to digest and make a decision.
Encourage them to take action by saying something like:
Click on the link below to get IT / read it right now
How long should you linger?
Up to you, of course.
In my example video, I dragged for about 10 seconds at the end. Seems natural.
The Edge
Here are a few more tips I learned from Ryan Deiss’ Digital Marketer Lab.
Side note: the reason I love Ryan’s tips is the fact that he has an army of employees (his monthly payroll expenses are around $200,000, by the way; just imagine how much he must be making!) who constantly dissect, test, improve, and experiment – and I get access to all their findings without a hefty employee payroll price tag.
Engagement
If you don’t like being in front of the camera or have even avoided video marketing altogether because of it, you are not the only one.
Not only you are in good company, but you are also in luck.
According to Ryan’s research team, videos with people talking to the camera don’t convert as well as videos made with other tools.
Even simple PowerPoint videos.
Here are just some of the tools I know of to make fun and engaging videos:
- SlideRocket.com
- Sellamations.com
- Prezi.com
- GoAnimate.com
And, of course, there are many more.
Avoid Music
That’s right – background music can be more of a distraction than a benefit.
Plus you’ll avoid any possible copyright issues using someone’s music in your videos.
The Hack
In the end, your video and affiliate marketing efforts in it are only as good as the number of people who watch it.
And that’s where my main problem with YouTube marketing lies: ranking videos on YouTube and Google has never been as easy for me as some would lead you to believe.
That’s why I loved watching the following video that let me in on Ryan’s latest discovery:
Click on the video image to watch it for yourself.
And yes, this video is an introduction to Ryan’s new Social Tube, but you should watch it either way – it’s full of value.
And yes, I am putting his little YouTube hack (completely white hat, by the way) to work on my How to Install WordPress video I shared in the beginning of the post.
Marketing Takeaway
YouTube video marketing is not easy.
But it ain’t that hard either.
I believe this post contains ALL the tips you ever need to take your (first) crack at making and profiting from YouTube videos.
Take it or leave it.
Just don’t whine when your competition takes advantage of it. 
(That’s usually my best motivator; hope it is for you as well.)
Social Tubing,
PS Your last call to action: I would take a look at that Social Tube video now – just CLICK on the image:
{ 66 comments }