Meryl's Notes Blog

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You can do more with YouTube than posting videos of bloopers and sleepwalking dogs running into walls. Creating videos and uploading them to sites like YouTube and Vimeo provide writers with the opportunity to share expertise, promote a book and connect with others. Camera shy? You don’t have to be in the video. You have many possibilities with videos beyond being a talking head on camera!

Furthermore, YouTube has a lot of traffic. Alexa ranks it as #3 in traffic rank and comscore reports, “Six out of seven U.S. Internet users now view online video content in a month.” Verdict: Include video in your networking and marketing toolbox, writers.

Here are 30+ ways writers can benefit from creating videos and uploading them to YouTube and other video web sites.

Expertise

1. Show your public speaking skills by recording your presentations.

2. Share presentation slides. Apps like E.M. PowerPoint Video Converter can convert your PowerPoint slides into a video.

3. Interview experts related to your writing topic(s).

4. Create screencasts showing how to use a computer application, tool, web site (that’s not your product or service) — anything that is on your screen. Screencast by me.

5. Produce short videos of you providing tips related to your expertise.

6. Convert podcasts into videos to extend your reach. (Heck, turn them into blog posts, Facebook updates — get the idea?)

7. Join the conversation. Most video sites let you leave comments and good conversations happen there. No video production required.

YouTube Account Profile (Click to view larger)

Marketing and Promotion

8. Select a user name that reflects you and your brand. It’s OK if you already have an ID that doesn’t reflect your brand. See #9.

9. Edit your profile to include as much information as you can about you and your business. While you’re at it, review all your setups and options to make sure it’s what you want. Yes, upload a picture of you or your business logo.

10. Record customer testimonials to let them do the talking about your business. Easy to fake text testimonials. Videos — not so easy to fake.

11. Create a video that explains your business and services.

12. Create a trailer for your book or other products. Here is a book video from dear friend Cindy Ray, creator of The Stapler Caper. Another example: Witch Fire book trailer.

13. Put your video channel URL in your signature, in your social media profiles and on marketing collateral.

14.  Tweet your videos. Of course, don’t promote your stuff too often or in a row. Also, give people a reason to check out the video.  Ex: “Screencast: How to create Twitter lists.” Imagine the retweet (RT) possibilities.

15. Link to videos in Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media networks.

16. Show the results of a client using your product or service.

17. Record events — not just presentations — such as book signings, poetry slams and book readings, panel discussions and teaching. You can use these as edit pieces for other videos. Also, if you do multiple events, these videos can give people an idea of what you have to offer.

18. Introduce colleagues, if you don’t work alone.

19. Give people a tour of your office.

20. Hold a contest.

21. Add your company information in every video such as your name, company name, URL, phone number, Twitter ID and email address.

22. Add call-to-action overlays to your videos for potential web site traffic.

23. Create a channel to reflect your brand.

24. Connect with Facebook to share videos.

Customer Service

25. Create videos answering common questions you receive from clients. When someone asks a question, you can link to the video with the answer. Sometimes visuals do more than an email or a phone call can.

26. Create a podcast-style video of your videos for those unable to view videos.

27. Add captions / subtitles to reach those unable to hear your videos. (You’ll instantly have a fan in me!) Plus, add your video to 22frames, a web site that collects videos with captions or without spoken words.

28. Create how to videos for your products or services.

29. Embed videos on your web pages where appropriate.

30. Write a blog post where you can embed a related video for more support.

31. Create videos of solutions to common problems.

32. Post video of work in progress. Some writers do content for videos and other visual products.

How do you use videos in your writing business?

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