Just as everybody in Los Angeles wants to be an actor, it appears that everybody building our secret project wants to be a Vegas entertainer. We’ve already seen Wade’s dancing skills, so now it’s up to Rip and me to audition as well.
For my part, I butcher about three seconds of a BeeGee’s classic. Rip’s death-defying performance is much more impressive. In both cases, I’d suggest you not try this at home.
It’s been ten days since our last video, which demonstrates how busy we’ve been! It’s hard to shoot video when you’re a Builder Bob apprentice! And speaking of Builder Bob, let’s meet Rip Rippetoe, as he explains what we’ve still got to do.
In this latest behind-the-scenes video, we take an over-the-shoulder look into some of the steps required to build our 288 square foot stage. (We also feature the entertainment styling’s of one Wade Roberts.)
The latest video from our studio building project.
In today’s video, we learn how to set off a fire alarm without starting a fire and see first hand that I have lost all track of time.
For some time now, I’ve been working on a concept for a new type of offering from PodWorx. It’s an idea that I’m very excited about and one where the technology has caught up with the vision. It’s never been attempted here in Las Vegas and based on the feedback I’ve received from a group of very smart folks who’ve been briefed (after signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement), there’s a lot to be excited about.
To create the environment necessary for this new concept, I have to expand beyond my existing work environment. As a result, I have found myself in the land of commercial real estate. After a relatively-short search, I was connected with a great guy/landlord and a great space from which to launch this project.
After securing a small amount of funds from outside sources, on August 2nd, 2010, I accepted the keys to my first commercial property! A wave of excitement, fear, anticipation and the unknown washed over me. I’m not a Builder-Bob kind of guy, so I was nervous. Luckily, I have two GREAT friends (Rip and Wade) who are helping me build what I believe will be one of the coolest video studios in town.
The video above is the first of several I’ll be recording during the building process. We’re still in stealth mode but I wanted to share the process as best I can. Ten days into the project, I’ve learned a lot, spend a great deal of time at Home Depot and Ahern Rental, and feel as if my credit card is beginning to melt.
Stay tuned. . .
A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Frank Eriksen, who produces the All Things Boulder podcast (which is a really cool show, by the way). In the email, Frank asked me if I had any ideas why my podcasts sound “so much better sonically (louder/cleaner)” than his show. I listened to a few of Frank’s episodes, and here’s what I found.
Although Frank is using an impressive list of equipment (Audio Technica 4033 mic, Grace Design mic pre-amp, Pro Tools, etc.), I did find what I think was the issue. From my email to Frank:
The major problem I found is that you are not compressing/limiting your audio files. If you were to open any of my audio files in a program like Audacity or Adobe Audition (or any other audio editing software), you’ll find that the amplitude of everything is exactly the same. It’s set to -1.0db, which is just below distortion.
I provided Frank with a couple images–one that showed what his show looks like and one that shows what one of our Polycom on Demand episodes looks like.
Frank’s Show (as seen in Adobe Audition):
Polycom on Demand (as seen in Adobe Audition):
See the difference? It’s that roller coaster effect (LOUD. . .quiet. . .LOUD. . quiet. . .LOUD) that’s causing the problem.
Here’s the rest of my email to Frank:
I have a custom built Digital Audio Workstation I use for all my audio recordings (and audio feed to the Tricaster). For the main outs of my recording software (Cakewalk’s Sonar. . .which is the same software I used to record all my music CDs), I use a VFT plugin that is a mastering limiter. It adds gain when needed and at the same time limits the output to -1.0dB. That way, all content (me, my co-host, phone-based guests, Skype-based guests, audio-clips, sound effects, bumpers, songs, etc.) all are played at the exact same level. Also, because my voice is pretty deep/boomy as it is, I also add a 5.3dB gain of EQ at the higher end (1980Hz). This is done within the DAW software as well.
If you’re wondering why your audio isn’t as rich/full as you’d like, take a look at your waveform. . .are you seeing a roller coaster? If so, create an even better sounding file (and make it easier for your fans to comfortably listen as well) by applying some limiting/compression yourself!
(Thanks to Frank for allowing me to blog about this!)
Because of its watermarked logo, I’m not a huge fan of embedding YouTube videos on a website. However, from a social media perspective (including the fact that iPad/iPods can view the video), I understand why some folks (including our own Living in Las Vegas Podcast) do so.
Besides the watermark, one of the other complaints about embedding a YouTube video is that when grabbing the embed code from the YouTube site, you can’t have the video start automatically–when the visitor hits the page. Now, to be sure, there are arguments for and against doing so. To really understand the value of autoplaying a video, you should do some A/B testing to see which technique helps best improve the results of your call-to-action.
The good news is that you can autoplay a YouTube video. And it’s very easy to do. Simply add “autoplay=1” to the embed code. That’s it! Easy, peasy, 1-2-Threesy.
That’s the good news. The bad news, as is demonstrated by the embedded YouTube video below, is that I cannot set the volume programmatically. For me, I consider this a show stopper. There is something to be said for autostarting a video, with the sound off, to create curiosity. But, if I’m blasting audio to a visitor who did not ask for it, that’s a problem.
Besides autoplay, there are many other parameters available for embedding a YouTube video. For a list of all the parameters, go here.
(Speaking about iPad/iPod video delivery, my next blog post will likely be about that very subject. Specifically, what to use to deliver website video to the iPxx family of products without having to use YouTube.)
I think it goes without saying that web-based video has really begun to take hold in the business world. More and more often, as we land on a company’s home page, we’re greeted with a video.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that most of these videos come across to me as a little too commercial-ish. The scripted delivery, or paid spokesperson, or deer-in-the-headlights/teleprompter-reading presentation found in most corporate videos destroy any opportunity to demonstrate authenticity.
I wanted to share the formula for, and an example of, the type of video I like to see today. One that does away with the overly-produced videos I see and focuses on what’s important to the viewer.
You Bond With People on Their Problems, Not Your Solution
When we shoot a Web TV show, develop a podcast episode, or shoot one of our Vid·EEE·o’s (a new example of which is below) for a corporate customer, we take folks through a simple story-telling process:
- What is the problem facing our customers?
- What are they doing to solve it (that isn’t working)?
- What is the solution that fixes the problem?
The acronym is P.A.S. – Problem, Alternative solution, Solution.
1. Problem
By beginning our video (or podcast or Web TV episode) with the Problem, we bond with our audience. We help them understand that we know what they’re going through. By doing so, we establish our credibility not by claiming it (“we’re a world-class service provider of. . . .blah blah woof woof”) but by demonstrating it.
The video below is for UpMo, a career-management service in the Bay Area. The video begins with a brief review of the problems facing those looking for a job.
Video Time: 00:00 – 00:15
2. Alternative Solution
After the problem is addressed, we speak about the Alternative Solution. There are two goals in reviewing the Alternative Solutions with our viewer;
- Prove we are aware of the viewer’s efforts to solve the problem (which, in turn, shows that I recognize we have competition)
- Subtly poison that competition
Video Time: 00:16 – 00:37
3. The Solution
Once we’ve established our credibility by reviewing the problem(s) facing a client, along with the efforts they may have taken to solve it, I’ve painted a relatively bleak picture. To relieve that tension, I normally begin the Solution segment of my story with this statement:
“This is a problem we solve.”
Once I’ve said that, I am free to detail (in the short time allotted), how it is we solve the problems they face.
Video Time: 00:38 – 01:33
One More Step: A Risk-Free Call to Action
Once I’ve stated my case, I want to take a moment and invite the viewer to accept my Call to Action. (Not doing so is a mistake, I believe.)
Now, your call-to-action could be as innocuous as inviting somebody to visit a certain section of your website. Ultimately, the reason you do a web-based video (or podcast or Web TV program) is to either make money or motivate people to take action on your behalf. Now is the time to make that happen.
With this type of video, I’m a big fan of the risk-free Call to Action. It may be a bit hard to motivate somebody to part with their money after a two-minute video but, if you did a good job, you should be able to motivate a number of viewers to do something that will ultimately benefit them risk-free.
Video Time: 01:34 – 01:48
That’s it, basically. Although there is a bit more to it, this is pretty much the process I go through for every bit of audio/video content PodWorx produces. It appears to be very simple (it is) but is incredibility effective in differentiating yourself from the competitive herd.
I hope you find this “tutorial” helpful. If you have any questions or comments give me a shout or comment below.
Here’s the video:
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As a new Chamber member myself, I just recently received the March edition of Business Voice (my first!), which includes my article. For those thinking about whether or not a Live Streaming Video production might make sense for you and your business, I’ve reprinted a copy of the article below.
Using Live Streaming Video to Increase Website Revenue
It’s interesting…websites have been around for over fifteen years…yet the websites of today aren’t performing any better than the websites of the mid-nineties. The reason? We’re still creating what amounts to a bunch of electronic brochures. And nobody cares about our electronic brochure.
Here’s the rub – the goal of every business website is the same: increase the probability of engagement with your visitor while at the same time reducing the risk of “exit” – leaving your website, and heading off to the competition. Unfortunately, the average amount of time somebody spends on a website is ONE MINUTE, and half those people leave in eight seconds or less. (Which is bad news if you have a story that takes more than eight seconds to tell.)
There’s another bit of trouble as well. It has to do with a company’s perceived approachability.
Most people think approachability is a big-company problem. And it is. But it’s actually a problem for ANY COMPANY that has a website.
Why?
Before you had a website, if I wanted to learn about your company, I’d pick up the phone and speak to somebody who had been taught how to help me understand who you are, what you do, and the problems you solve.
Today, your website acts like a brick wall. I never have to talk to an employee when deciding whether or not your business will make my short list. Instead, I’ll judge your company’s capabilities based on the 8-60 seconds I spend on your website.
It’s a Question of Impact
Instead of doing the same thing online as your competitors, ask yourself this question — Which do you think has more impact on your customers and prospects – reading about how great your company is, or seeing and hearing from the very people who make it great?
A Live Streaming Video Production (LSVP), when done correctly, delivers the kind of personal one-to-one (or one-to-many) experience that has been the cornerstone to effective sales. It will separate your company from the competitive herd and completely change your website from “brochure-ware” to a tool that accelerates the sales process.
Video + Chat = High ROI
To get the biggest return on investment, your LSVP should include both live video plus live chat. Offering both human-enables your website and breaks down the wall between you and your website visitors. Imagine how much more effective your website would be if you could interact with your viewers in real-time–answering their questions, providing advice, and establishing your credibility, not by claiming it but by demonstrating it.
LSVP: What Are They Good For?
There is a long list of ideas that would make for a great LSVP. Here’s a few of the 40+ ideas we give to our customers:
- Enhanced Webinars
- Seminars/Conferences
- Trade Shows
- Distance Learning
- New Product Launch
- Talk Show
- Tips & Tricks
- Customer Interviews
The Transformation
The transformation we see when producing a professional-level LSVP is amazing. A few examples:
- Become Approachable Online: People want to buy from people they know. A LSVP human-enables your website.
- Accelerate the “getting to know you” phase of your sales cycle
- Reduce the chance of being skipped in favor of a competitor due to a lack of “connection”
- Extend Engagement Length: A LSVP gives you an opportunity to take your time and deliver a compelling, results-driven message.
- Increase time to move people from a passive need to an active need.
- Decrease risk associated with visitors only spending seconds on your website before moving on.
- Establish Credibility: Claiming your own credibility is the weakest way to establish it. A great LSVP allows you to demonstrate your expertise and credibility, the strongest way to establish it.
- Enhance perceived expertise in the eyes of your customers and prospects
- Lessen problems associated with trying to convince somebody they should work with you.
Ultimately, a great Live Streaming Video Production will allow your website to do one (or both) of the following:
- Make Your Business More Money
- Motivate Your Visitors to Take Action on Your Behalf
And when it comes to your website, wasn’t that the point in the first place?
Scott Whitney is president of PodWorx, Inc., an Internet broadcasting company that specializes in podcasts and live streaming video productions. Visit his website at www.PodWorx.com.
We worked hard to deliver a Pay-Per-View program that added a great deal of value to our viewers, but we wanted to further extend what we could offer people in need of this kind of content AND further increase revenue.
I just got a peek at the results of one of my favorite tips for increasing the revenue brought about by any Live Streaming Video production; that is, by creating an “available-for-sale” DVD.
By working with our DVD/CD manufacturing partner (Acutrack), Stronger Families took their Pay-Per-View episodes and packaged them into this retail-quality DVD seen on the right.
For the first four episodes we produced, they plan to create two DVDs—each with two episodes.
Doesn’t this look great?!?! They did a wonderful job putting everything together and have successfully created THREE revenue streams from the Stronger Families LIVE pay-per-view production:
- Live Pay-Per-View
- Post show Video-On-Demand
- DVD
Who is Buying?
What’s interesting about the DVD is an analysis of who is buying. As expected, people who attended the live event and wanted to preserve what they learned for further reference have purchased a DVD. But two other groups have been added to that first group of buyers:
- Live Pay-Per-View customers who attended
- Live Pay-Per-View customers who were unable to attend the live show
- People who missed the live event but still wanted the content
What’s great about this is that the investment in the live event will be paying dividends to Stronger Families for years.
Total Income Streams
If you add up all the income streams from this production, you’ll get a total of FIVE:
- Live Pay-Per-View
- Post-show Video-On-Demand (Non-PPV Signups)
[PPV Signups were allowed free access to the Video-On-Demand) - DVD
- PPV Attendees
- PPV Signup, Unable to Attend
- Non-PPV Signups
By adding a video-on-demand and DVD option, Stronger Families has tripled their income options for Stronger Families LIVE. Pretty nifty.
You Can Do the Same!
The key to increasing your revenue OR marketing value is to ensure you are recording your live streaming video production in such a manner as to allow for the reuse as either a high-quality video-on-demand offering or a DVD. This means that recording your live event as a FLASH video is not good enough. Be sure to record in a non-Flash format that is capable of being eventually rendered in a quality suitable for DVD.
As you can tell, I’m excited about all this. How about you? Are you considering producing a live streaming video production and adding a DVD component to the overall offering? Have you already done so? Let me know. . .I’d love to shine a flashlight on others with similar success (or concerns).
Many times during the day, I’ll catch somebody visiting the Living in Las Vegas Podcast website via a Google search for “Las Vegas Podcast”. From time to time, I’ll check out that person’s Google search to see how we’re ranking. . .and what other sites are being listed.
As I was checking out our ranking on Google this morning, I saw something fascinating. . .and VERY promising. Along with searching the web for “las vegas podcast”, Google also initiated on its own a video search for “las vegas podcast” as well. As the screen shot shows, Google found our latest video podcast episode, which is self-hosted.
This is huge.
I’ve experienced Google’s YouTube fixation. I have other search engine phrases that I’ve previously been ranked #1, only to slip down a spot or two because a YouTube video uses the same keywords. What I didn’t expect is that Google would be able to (or want to, for that matter) index a self-hosted .MP4 video.
When I clicked on the “Video results for las vegas podcast” link, I was further impressed.
For a select few videos, Google allows you to Watch Video Here. . .clicking it brings up the video on the right side of the search results, ready for play [see the graphic below]. Google also searches for other related videos and displays them as thumbnail graphics below the video being played. In our case, if found related videos on YouTube, LivingInLV.com, Ustream.TV and MeFeedia.com. [As seen below.]
Again, very impressive.
My guess is that the reason we’re seeing this happen is because our self-hosted videos are MP4 videos. We’re also using the jwplayer Flash player, which seems to be helpful as well. Regardless, this is GREAT NEWS! The fact Google is indexing this content demonstrates that when done correctly, embedded video does provide more content for Google to index.
What does that mean to you? Well, it doesn’t mean you should ignore YouTube. Google has much love for YouTube. But it DOES mean you should recognize that embedded video increases your probability of being discovered via Google.
The folks at the Technology Business Alliance of Nevada have asked me to deliver my “Cutting Edge Marketing in the Technology Age” presentation. It’ll take place next Wednesday, February 17th, at the Bali Hai Golf Club’s Cili Restaurant. It’s open to all folks and costs $35 pre-paid, $45 at the door.
Here’s the description of the presentation:
For many, the concept of developing an effective online marketing strategy is intimidating. As a result, we find companies unintentionally distancing themselves from their customers and prospects instead of bringing the two groups closer together. Fortunately, there are a number of online marketing techniques that will introduce the real value of your company to your prospects and customers, motivating these important people towards a new (or additional) working relationship with your organization.
This presentation offers those techniques.
Come to this session ready to look at your existing marketing efforts in a new, fresh way. We will share proven marketing techniques that take advantage of:
· Your Website
· Search Engines
· Email Marketing
· Social Networks
· Blogs
· Podcasts
You will learn new methods to reach out and grab additional business. Be prepared to take notes!
This is a very well received presentation as it delivers tips that can be immediately implemented.
If you’re a Las Vegas local, and you’re responsible for the effectiveness of your website, come take a listen.
While it is true that practice makes perfect, practice is also boring. Problem is, without practice, when the time comes to perform, more times than not, nerves get in the way from what could be a great performance.
This is true for the arts (music, acting). And this is true for your Live Streaming Video Production (LSVP).
As part of my weekly efforts, I take the time to check out other LSVPs. In doing so, an interesting trend has emerged. Of the last three shows I’ve watch, ALL OF THEM had a problem with the start of the show — video didn’t appear correctly, the sound wasn’t on, graphics didn’t work as expected, graphics didn’t match on-air content, etc. And in all three cases, the host feverishly tried to fix the problem while apologizing to the audience.
There is no question that your first impression sets the table for the professionalism of your show. My guess is that had each of these hosts rehearsed their opening 20 times, mapping out exactly what buttons needed to be pushed and what comes next, these problems would not have happened.
Buuuuuut, practicing is a bore.
Trust me when I say, the panic associated with a failed opening of your LSVP will make you wish you lived through a bunch of boring rehearsals. I get a little nervous before each live show we do, and we practice, practice, practice. I can’t imagine how crappy/scared I’d feel if I tried to start a live show “cold”.
So, get bored. Practice your butt off. Get your muscle-memory honed for that opening. And allow yourself to focus on what matters the most: entertaining or educating your viewers.