How To Build Your Online Business Chapter 5 Get Started Shooting Video

All right, let's talk about shooting some video. Maybe you've done some video, maybe you've done none at all. I remember back when I got started how awkward it was. And it's still awkward to this day. I still get nervous when I turn the camera on, even if there's nobody in the room, which is the way I do 99.9% of my videos, as I can't have anybody in the room with me. And people say, well, that's weird. You're probably putting these videos out to people around the world, but there's something about being in front of the camera that just makes you feel really weird. And I remember when I got started, one of the keys was this group that gave me the training with the blog and doing videos. They just said, you know, be yourself. Just start shooting the video. Don't worry about making mistakes, because it makes you real. And I do believe that to this day, I mean, the beginning videos, I'll put a clip up now. You know, I'm in my trailer with all this debris in the background, unshaven. And, you know, those videos are even hard to watch to this day. I even have a hard time watching stuff that I shoot two days ago, but I really have a hard time watching the early ones. But what's neat about it is people see over time, they see how you improve. And that's the only thing, I guess, that makes me feel decent about it, is because as I get better and more confident, people see that and they make comments. Hey, you know, you're getting a lot better with your videos. And, you know, the quality is a lot better. The video is better, the audio is better, so people will notice. So when you get started, you just have to have the guts to start shooting the video. And I'm going to give you about 12 tips here of things that I've taken down from the people that I watch, the people that I learn a lot from and have learned basically pretty much everything that I do from today. And I've written down some of the big tips that I think are key. Eye level. Like right now, I have the camera directly about eye level. They say eye level is good, or maybe even a little above eye level, because that helps hide, you know, this area below your chin makes you look slimmer, makes you look younger. You know, they were talking about how some people are shooting video with their laptop in their lap with their webcam. So they're looking down like this, and the camera's going up their nose. So you want to have camera Eye level. Eyes on camera is the next one. I'm guilty of talking about things and looking off their direction. And I know that's one area that I have to work on. And I'm struggling to, you know, keep my eyes on the camera. You feel silly looking at a camera, but that's what you have to do. Framing. I showed you in the first video. Number one video in this training where I shot my first video and my whole head was in the camera. That's a big one that you hear a lot. Make sure that, you know, the cameras back away from your face. Don't have the whole screen, just your head. And one idea is hand on top of your head is a good distance for what should be above the screen in the camera. I look back and laugh now at those first few videos where my head was just filling up the whole screen. Backlighting. Don't stand in front of a window. Window seems like a good idea, but if you don't have the right lights pointing on you when you're in front of a window, it'll make your face look dark. And that's just not a good way to shoot your video. Use a front light to help light up your face. I have some videos when I go back now, and I have some that are really dark or I'm really shadowed on one side. The lighting that I have now is actually just the fluorescent lighting, but the ceiling in here is on an angle, and there are new lights with new covers, and the lighting seems to work pretty good in here. I've struggled over the years with lighting. There's all kinds of reasonably priced lighting kits out there, and most are pretty inexpensive background, not cluttered. I'm just shooting in front of my green cloth, which is my green screen. For right now, it's just a nice solid background. Nothing in the back, nothing cluttering up the screen. That is very annoying. Like I said with my videos in the beginning, I watch them. Now I'm like, oh, my God. I'm shooting them in my old trailer with all this nastiness in the background. And it just looks bad noise, you know, I shoot most of my video either on the weekends or in the evenings at the airport during the daytime. During the week, I try to do administrative stuff and do other things just because people mowing, airplanes coming and going, somebody knocking on your door. There are just so many distractions and so many noises that it's really something you got to put some thought into. And you may be shooting video at oddball times just to you Know, have a nice quiet background, how you dress, you know, today I'm just wearing a white T shirt. I'm comfortable in a T shirt. It's a Saturday. I feel like being comfortable today. Most of the time I try to wear a decent button up shirt. I use solid colors. They say, don't use shirts with designs or stripes because it's distracting. A nice solid color shirt. I know that a couple years ago I was doing some online training with some customers and I was struggling pretty hard at the time. And one of my best customers who had been with me from the beginning or best members called me up after a webinar and he said, kenny, man, you know, I love what you do and I want you to keep going, but you got to quit looking so tired and ragged out on the camera. He goes, it's apparent to people that you are working 12, 13, 14 hours a day and, and that you're wore down and you're tired and you're leading on that you're struggling financially. And he said, you know, nobody wants to go down with a sinking ship. And I put a lot of thought into that, you know, and he's right. And I've tried to take that advice over time and try to not be gloom and doom. And it is kind of like, I guess, theater. It is like you're putting on a show. Some days you might need to shoot some video for something specific and maybe you just don't feel like shooting that video that day. Sometimes you do put on kind of an act for the camera. Props. You want to use different things in your video. Like so far I've already been showing you the different equipment that I've used. I'm showing you different presentations. Those are props. Anything that you can bring in to make the video a little more interesting. Even if it's as simple as bringing in a video, bringing in a picture that you're putting into the editing program just to get away from you. Sitting in front of a screen talking to the camera helps break it up. Bio. Tell a little bit about yourself at the beginning of each video, or at least introduce yourself. I know when I first got started, people would email and go, hey, your videos are all right, but it'd be nice if we knew who you were, you know, or why don't you tell people who you are? You need to let people know who you are and what you're about. You need to have a story. I know some marketers that I've learned a lot from that, have taught me a lot of things. And one in particular to this day, I watch his videos and they go on for 10 or 12 minutes and I don't have any idea what he just talked about. So have a story, you know, know what it is you're going to tell them. Tell them what you're going to tell them, and then tell them what you just told them. You know, have a point. Have a point to your story. And then the last one, don't point. And I'm guilty of that. As I read that, I have to struggle to keep my hands down. I do get my hands up in front of the camera a lot. And when I'm editing and watching it later, I'm going, man, that's kind of annoying. It's very hard for me because I do talk with my hands and I am guilty of occasionally pointing. So those are some tips to just get you started. You may be ready to start shooting content for your membership site, if that's what you're going for, or if you want to start putting some videos out as kind of a marketing thing for your business. So bottom line, don't get too caught up in it. Just start shooting video. Don't worry about editing out every single mistake. I really and truly believe that it does help you seem human, makes you seem real, makes you seem authentic. So grab your camera now and shoot your first. During hovering flight. Also called tail rotor drift. It's one of the three T's that everybody screws up. Effective translational lift, transverse flow effect and transit. So you want to learn about an online business? Selling your information product online? That's what we're here to talk about. I'm going to show you all kinds of cool stuff and I'm going to tell you the story.