Is your video bÖring?

(No, not a typo, I just like that character.)

If you’re going to be using video to market your business (and why wouldn’t you be?), try and make it not suck. It’s really not very hard.

Here are your

5 Tips for Making Your Video NOT Suck

1. Inject your personality:  You’re fun and interesting in person, so why is your video so boring? Because you forgot to include your personality in it. Just be yourself. In your voice over, talk like you’re speaking to your best friend, not some faceless YouTuber. Smile. Whether you are creating a “Talking Head” vid or talking over a PowerPoint presentation, people can hear your smile. Trust me, you’ll engage the viewer much better.
2. Add the unexpected: I’ll never forget the commercial that aired on The Super Bowl a few years ago where they rush some poor schmuck to the hospital with money coming “out the wazoo”. Even though they didn’t show his derriere, you could see the money flying out of it. Hysterical! That was really unexpected and it made an impression on me. You don’t have to do anything that dramatic, butt…you get the point. Unfortunately, as is typical with clever TV ads, I couldn’t tell you what the commercial was promoting. The lesson here is, if you’re going to go for the unexpected,make sure you keep the focus on the message you’re trying to convey. (Note: I just Googled that commercial and found it on YouTube [big surprise] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yFFyW4Ad8k)
3. Vary your voice: OMG! Do NOT speak in a monotone. That’s great for Steven Wright, but not for your well crafted video marketing effort. Change the inflection of your voice up and down. Highs and lows here people! Spend 10 minutes watching the Anchors on your nightly news program, they are well trained to speak in a voice that captures the attention. Now turn off that crap, it’s bad for your mind.
4. Keep ’em short:  This is the age of “Short Attention Span Theater”. For the most part, we all have some sort of ADD, so keep your videos short and to the point, unless you are sharing a whole lot of really helpful information that folks are dying for. Marketers like Eban Pagan, Frank Kern and Andy Jenkins can get away with it, but most can’t. (Probably cuz Andy Jenkins produces all their videos and he’s an Emmy award winning editor.) Start with short 2 to 5 minute projects and work your way up.
5. Edu-tain: Make your video fun and entertaining as well as informative. Remember to make them about your target audience. They’re always tuned in to WIIFM.

That’s it, use these simple tips and you’ll get a lot more response from your video marketing projects. Oh, and one final tip…always have a call to action at the end of the video. Get them to your website, Facebook page or squeeze page.

Speaking of which, head on over right now to http://wpvideoclub.com/ and sign up. The WordPress Video Club video marketing course will be launching soon, and we are offering some awesome freebies, even if you don’t buy the course.

There will be video awesomeness, so grab your spot right away.