MBA1519 How to Create a Demo Video for Your Product

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It could speed up the time that it takes the customer to fully understand what you offer and why they should buy. But many people don't know where to start. When it comes to creating a demo video, you want to make sure it's effective, it's professional, and it's short. It's not three hours long. That's exactly what you're going to learn in today's lesson. The steps. The exact steps that I take every time I shoot a demo video. Some of these steps might seem strange or unorthodox, but you're going to be surprised how they help you get that video out there in the world so you can sell more of your product or service. I'm going to give you the A to Z so you can implement immediately. So let's get into it, let's get down to business. All right, let's jump into step one. Step one of creating your demo video actually begins with, with a blank Google Doc or any kind of note taking app, whether it's Word or even just a tech stock or even, heck, you can use paper and pen if you wish. I like to use Google Docs. So what we're going to do is open a new document and we're going to write at the top product demo video. Right, that's the title. The first thing we're going to write is the purpose. What's the purpose of this video? What are we trying to accomplish with this video? This is really important to start with the same and it should be two or three sentences with where you just say, hey, this is what I'm trying to do with this video. This is what I'm trying to have as a result. So if I look at a typical demo video document from the past, something like this would be said at the top. It would say, the purpose of this video is to concisely and clearly highlight the unique selling proposition of this product, show the users how easy it is to use and give them a general understanding of what a great experience it is to use this product. Now, if you're doing a service, same thing, you want to walk them through what it's like to go through your service. We start with a phone call and then from there we get on a video call and then we take some notes and then we come up with a game plan. Whatever your steps are in your service or product, you want to make sure that your customers get to experience what it's like to be a customer of yours before they become a customer. If they can see themselves as a customer, they will become a customer. But if they can't imagine it, if they can't actually see it happening, if they can't understand what is actually going to happen. When I pay money and put my credit card details in, this is what demos really do. They're not really sales videos, they're more like show and tell. They're like, let me show you what this experience is gonna be like. So there are no surprises. So you could feel a sense of comfort and a sense of trust before you actually buy. So I just clearly state the purpose on the document at the top and it kind of frames my mind and it frames everything that's gonna go below that document. Now that I have a purpose, I know exactly why I'm creating This video. The next thing is I need to put the length of the video on the document. I need constraints when it comes to creating a video. Why? Because if I have no constraints, this video is going to be very long. And in my opinion, and in my experience, demo videos should not be longer than three minutes. If you can make a demo video one minute, two minute, that's even better. But any more than three minutes is just too long. People are not going to hang on and watch. If you feel like I can't get everything in three minutes, then break up your demo video into demo videos. Many companies like Intercom and Wistia, they break down their different features of their product into several different videos. If you're looking for an example, just head on over to webinarninja.com features there's a video at the top of that page and it's going to show you an example of a demo video. So I'm going to put a time limit. So I'm going to put, let's say three minutes as my time limit. This is the length of the video. The next step on the document is I'm gonna outline what are the things I want to cover in this video. What needs to happen on this video. This is the hardest part, but the most critical part of this step of this actual creation of the document. Now I want to pause for a second. You might be saying, hey, Omar, wow, we're doing a lot of writing here and we haven't even talked about software. We're not talking about cameras, we're not talking about sharing screen, all that stuff will come. But this is the foundation that's gonna make your video great. It's because you're putting down the rules, you're putting down the foundation to allow yourself to implement faster and for your actual video to be super tight. If you ever watch a great demo video or even a great sales video that just blows you away. There's a good reason why the pre production is done really well. They take the time, they invest into making sure that the foundation's great so that when they actually go ahead and do the video, it's all over the place. They're not winging it. So let's put the foundation in place. Let's work on this pre production phase in the document. So we're going to outline all the things we need to do. What are the things I need to cover in this video so that it actually fulfills the obligation of this demo? Now I might be shooting this demo video for a specific feature. Or a specific service in my product or in my business. Or it could be a general demo video where I just walk them through the experience in general. The point here is I gotta make some decisions, I gotta make some trade offs. I can't show everything, okay? I need to show the most important thing or the most common thing somebody will experience. Why would they sign up for your product? What's the main reason? What's the main problem your product solves? And focus on that in your demo. In the example I refer to at Webinar Ninja, our demo video, I could make this demo video really long if I showed every feature, but I just focused on the most important thing, like creating a webinar quickly highlighting that you can edit a webinar. I don't go into detail on how to do it, but I show them that they can do it. We talk about the live experience, how it is to run a webinar, as well as after the webinar, what happens really quickly. I highlight these things. I can't go into details of every single thing, but I want to kind of walk them through a quick tour. Think of this as like you're going to Italy and you're on a bus tour, right? The bus tour is going to take you to the most important sites, the most famous sites. The tour guide is going to, you know, talk about certain things as you're going through the streets and just saying, look to your right to look to your left and giving you some quick ideas and giving you an understanding of the most important things. The bus might stop for a bit to show you a monument or show you, you know, maybe a museum. But for the most part it's moving along, right? It's just showing you the highlights. So again, we're going to outline all the things that we are going to cover in this video. Make sure we are brutal about, hey, do we actually need this? Or can we just highlight it or just mention it as like a kind of a one liner? Now that you have an outline, you're gonna write a script. And this is really where the magic happens. You're actually gonna write down what you're gonna say when you're showing these things. Now the thing that makes this so important is that when you start writing, you start realizing, oh, I gotta be more efficient with my words. I need to make this shorter. I need to make this more concise, more clear, right? We gotta make sure it's clear. So I'd actually write down exactly what I would say to explain these features. Now while I'M writing the script, I'm imagining I'm actually showing this stuff on my screen. I'm sharing my screen. If it's a software or I'm sharing my screen, showing my website or showing a slideshow, showing people the experience they're having or will have as a client. The point here is that I'm writing a script with the understanding there are some visuals that will go along. I'm talking about certain things and I'm going to have some B roll, I'm going to have some things that are going to be shown the screen. But the words are the most important thing in any video, especially in business demo videos. The words you actually say, if they're crafted right, they're really going to be able to convey the message properly and make it as effective as possible. So the script is something that I spend a lot of time on. You know, I will go through it, I'll rewrite it, I'll rewrite it, a few revisions, I'll sleep on it, I'll wake up the next morning and look at it again, say, no, let's make some adjustments, I'll trim, I'll edit, I'll try to keep it as minimal as possible. Now, there are a lot of estimations in terms of word count versus time, meaning how long will it take me to read this script, to actually read this voiceover over what I'm going to show in the video. Why? Because I don't want to write too much. I got to edit this down to make sure it's under three minutes because I put that constraint on me. If you're going to read slowly and take your time, which I recommend because this is going to make it more an impactful video. If it's clear, a three minute video is gonna be around 300 words. 400 if you're kind of gonna be speaking the whole time, 300 if there's gonna be some gaps of silence in between of transitions. But 400 words if you're gonna be speaking the whole time during the video. So you could say three to 400 words is about three minutes. So your script can't be longer than that. Otherwise you're going over. Next, you're gonna record your screen and show the things in your script which, whether it's your software, your service or a slideshow, you need to, you may need to create a slideshow and add some visuals. But if you're showing off your course, you're showing off your website, you're showing off your app, this is where you need to Share your screen. And if you're on a Mac, you can use QuickTime. They have a share screen feature. And you can just record your screen and just read your script right over it. What's great about screen share and just recording your screen is that you're not on camera. So you can actually read your script on your phone or something else, a tablet, while you're going through the motions of the explanation actually on your screen. Now, this is my recommended technique. Whether you're using QuickTime to share screen or using software like Soapbox from Wistia, they have a great share screen software. Run through the video. Record the video with your actual script on your phone. Read it while you're going through the motions, while you're going through the explanation on your screen. Take your time. It doesn't matter. If it's over three minutes, it's okay. If this video is six minutes, it's okay because we're gonna edit it. The longer the better. Cause we can always trim and we can always slow down. But if we don't have enough content, that's a problem when it comes to edit. Now, when it comes to shooting the video, my highest recommendation is to use a quality mic that's close to your mouth. And I like the ATR2100 mic from Audio Technica. This is a great mic for this purpose and for any kind of voice recording. Next, I'm going to edit this video. And you can edit it in something like Imovie with your Mac, or you can edit in something like Camtasia. And by the way, Camtasia is also an awesome software for screen recording. I use it all the time. It's available on Windows and Mac. And you can also edit in Camtasia. So what I'm trying to do here is I'm looking at my visuals. I'm making sure my voice recording is matches the visuals perfectly. I trim the fat where it kind of drags. Now, what I do after I have this and it's on the editing block in the editing software, I rerecord the actual script as a voiceover. Now, I was recording my voice or reading the script on the first part because I was just trying to go along so that I have the timing right with the visuals. Now I want to make sure that I'm reading this crystal clear and my mouth is in front of my mic and not distracted by the screen and trying to follow the steps. I'm going to read the script one more time and just record the audio. And I'm going To record it and make sure I take my time. I leave gaps in between my sentences. So if I want to trim and move things around, I can. I take that recording and I pop it on the editing software. And now that becomes my clear voiceover. My one I'm going to use. I can rip off the other one that I used before. I can mute it. And now I'm just gonna make sure that my voice and my visuals match. So I'm gonna edit the visuals to match the voice and make sure that it all kind of times in together. After that I can save this file. I can render it, I can make it into an MP4 file and I have my demo video. I can upload it to something like Wistia or Vimeo or YouTube and I can embed it on my website. Dear McDonald's, your breakfast menu fire tens across the board. I could be happy with anything even though I ordered the same thing every time. Thanks for not judging me. I'll try something new next time.

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To wrap today's lesson, shooting a demo video starts with some pre production with your document and writing down all your notes and your outline, your purpose and all that kind of stuff. And of course the script. The script allows everything to just flow a whole lot easier because it's gonna tell you what to show on your screen. It's gonna tell you what comes first, what comes next, what's last. And then the magic happens in the edit. You can really edit things down to make it look smooth. And, and what's great about voiceovers is that you don't have to really match it up to your face and your lips because you're not on screen, you're not on camera, you're just sharing screen. So it's basically a voiceover. And there's a lot of great editing you can do to make sure your voice over your script is set at the right time with the right timing. So one more tip. Some people like to add some music to their demo. Something that's not overpowering, Something that's kind of low in the background, and that their voice is really the one that is in the foreground. It's really the voiceover is really what people hear, but the music's there in the background to make it kind of upbeat and nice. A great place to find some great audio, Great music for your demo videos is Audio Jungle. When you go there and look at the most popular tracks, you might recognize some of these pieces, these pieces of music. Like, wow, I heard that piece of music in a commercial or on a video on YouTube. This is where people find their tracks and read the licenses. It tells you what you need to buy if you want to use it for commercial use and all that kind of stuff. But this keeps you safe, right? So that when your business blows up and your company becomes this huge thing, a composer, a music writer doesn't take you to court. And of course, you don't have to use music. You know, I made the choice not to use music in the demo video for Webinar Ninja, but I've used music in the past. Thank you so much for listening to the $100 NBA show. If you love what you hear, hit subscribe right now so you don't miss a beat. By hitting subscribe, you get access to over 1500 episodes, our archives, all the lessons from the past. It's the only way to get access to it. So hit subscribe right now and whatever you use to listen to, podcasts, whether it's Apple podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, we're on them all. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. I love creating demo videos because it's a creative process. You get to start with nothing, literally nothing to some words on a page, to some screenshots and some, you know, video of your product, to recording your voice, to putting it all together. It just is amazing to kind of go through that process and see it come to life. It's one of my favorite things to do in business. I still haven't outsourced this yet. I still do this myself because I love it so much. So I'm doing it now for our business, But I know someday I'm gonna have to let go of it. So I'm enjoying it while I can. Thank you so much for listening and I'll check you in tomorrow's. Episode Q and A Wednesday. I'll see you then. Take care. Hey, Fidelity. How can I remember to invest every month?

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