A couple weeks ago I talked about the importance of doing video marketing in your business.  If you missed it, click here.

Today I’m talking about some tips to help you produce a better quality video.  This post is going to assume you’re doing a “talking head” do-it-yourself type video.

Equipment

You can use your laptop’s built-in camera, additional camera on your desktop, small video camera, or even your cell phone to shoot your video.  You don’t need an expensive camera, but you also don’t want to go cheap.  Make sure you are using a digital camera and not analog.

Audio

Be sure that you’re not shooting your video in a noisy area where you’ll get a lot of distraction from the outside noises.  If you’re outside, make sure it’s also not windy.  Having a poor audio will ruin an otherwise good video!  If you’re shooting at your computer or using a camcorder, you may need to have an external mic.  You want to make sure that your listeners will be able to easily hear you.

Lighting

You don’t need to buy expensive lighting, but you do want to make sure that you’ve got the best quality you can get.  Having a window behind you can cause some backlighting issues.  A regular light bulb won’t put off enough light.  I recently replaced my regular bulb with a higher quality bulb that imitates natural daylight.  The bulb also helps treat Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Ready, set, record

It sounds silly, but you want to smile.  When you start recording, sit and smile at the camera.  Then as you’re talking, remember to keep smiling.  You may feel like you’re doing overkill and smiling too much, but it won’t come across on the camera that way.

Look at the camera.  This is the hardest part for me!  I always want to glance at the monitor and see how I’m looking, but I continuously remind myself to focus on the camera and talk to the person who is watching me.

Be animated.  Just like the smiling, you may think it’s overkill, but if you’re  lively and active, it comes through on the camera as much more natural and your watchers won’t see you as being stiff and dull.

Relax!  You don’t want to sound like you’re reading from a script. You want to shoot your videos and appear conversational.  Did you start to say something and change your mind?  It’s okay, that’s just like real-life.  Your video does not have to be perfect!

Test

Before you spend an hour trying to get the video you want, do some testing.  Make sure the sound and lighting are good.  Shoot a quick video, watch it, and ask a couple of close colleagues to critique.  You may need to move your camera or get a different mic.

And more important than anything else, just get over your fears and do it!  Share your comments with me below.