Video marketing is hot. There’s no denying it. Videos show up better in Google rankings, and face it, they’re more compelling as a medium.

So how do you do videos, what equipment do you need, and how do you get over that fear of being in front of the camera?

Before I answer the above questions, let me tell you a little bit about my experience. In 2010 when I first started doing videos, I was petrified. I was actually teaching a class to high school students on making videos. I had to learn REAL fast.

I took a webinar course from Perry Lawrence and Carrie Wilkerson. This got me started! I also entered a video contest to win a free conference ticket. Although I didn’t win, it showed me what I needed to improve upon.

So the first videos I did were very awkward. It took me many tries to get anything remotely good. I was never happy with my backgrounds and my favorite camera broke, causing me to learn on a whole new one. I discovered that following scripts just don’t work, so I learned how to ad lib.

The main thing is, I just tried and tried again. Today when I do videos, I have my set up exactly how I want it, I can turn my camera on, and just start talking. I may have to edit out a few things, but on the whole it’s much easier than it was two years ago and I’m much happier with the results.

So what can you do to make your videos the best they can be?

1) Find a background that is not distracting. Don’t have a bunch of clutter in back of you. Don’t have a bunch of doorways in the background. I like to use my fireplace. This seems like a natural environment since I am a work at home mom. I also have used bookshelves for homeschooling topics and my garden to illustrate a point about stress.

You can make a background, too. This is one of our many home projects for this Spring. I am going to purchase some nice powder-blue curtains and my husband’s going to hang them from a soffit in my office. So then when I want to do a marketing video or instructional video, I can just pull out the curtains, point my camera or webcam, and go for it.

Most cameras nowadays shoot from a wide angle lens. Make sure your background is long enough to fit you in. This is especially important with two people in a video.

My husband and I shot quite a few videos of us in front of a green curtain. It just wasn’t wide enough and I was constantly having to crop the video. Start with a wider background and you will avoid much frustration!

2) Use natural lighting as much as possible. It’s important to not have a bunch of harsh lights facing your camera. Your light source needs to be in back of your camera. It’s best to put your camera facing away from a window. Then you will get what’s called “catch-light” in your eyes–your eyes will sparkle so you come alive. If you have no light in your eyes, you will appear flat and look uninteresting.

Also, watch shadowing when you do videos. Don’t have your face half in and half out of the light. This is distracting.

3) Be aware of composition. People want to see faces, not a bunch of space from your head to the ceiling. Think about how you can fill up most of the lens. Think about it like art. Composition is filling up the space in a pleasing manner. Do this in your videos, and you will have a much more professional result.

Okay, so I’ve given you a few ideas to get you started! Like I said, video marketing is a hot topic, so I will cover more on this later!

But apply these ideas now, and your brand will stand out above the crowd. In fact, it will sizzle!

Want to learn more about how to make your brand sizzle? Take my FREE 10 day mini-video course and read my free report!

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