We’ve all been there — staring at a blank screen wondering if we’ll find the right words to communicate with our audience on video. Especially if you are new to scriptwriting — you might not know where to start.

It’s important to stay aligned with your authentic voice, so it’s best to focus on language (not jargon) that your potential customers are familiar with and share from your unique experience. Using AI tools like Jasper.ai instead of cultivating your voice could be a potential problem — you may end feeling like an imposter because you didn’t really hone your message to put your energy signature in your video script.

While AI video scripts might not be for everyone — I do believe they are going to be more widely used so it’s best to try it out. With AI Video Scripts, all you need to do is input a topic and the software will take care of the rest. You’ll get a well-written script that will save you time and you can decide whether to keep tweaking it.

You’ll be able to take the guesswork out of writing video scripts and make sure that yours are up-to-date, well researched, and engaging. There are three ways you can experiment with AI scriptwriting and still maintain your authentic voice:

1. Informational research — If your script includes a lot of facts and figures you can see what Jasper.ai generates for you instead of searching all over Google.
2. Brainstorming — The hook and introduction of a video needs to capture your audience’s attention quickly. Most people on social media will keep scrolling if the first 5–10 seconds isn’t interesting to them. You can use Jasper.ai to generate various combinations of hooks and introductions — just as a starting point for your writing. You can further refine the tone of voice for your hook and introduction once you are set on a specific set of ideas Jasper.ai has generated.
3. Identify problems — Writers often feel like they are working in a vacuum. How do we know if the writing is coherent or contains the right information to emphasize a POV we are advocating for? Writers can feel so attached to their own writing — they can’t see blind spots without hiring an expensive writing coach. When a script is written by AI — a writer can have emotional distance from it and start to identify patterns that need adjustment.

Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash

AI-generated scripts are becoming more accurate as the technology improves and humans provide feedback. AI scriptwriting is like having a loyal, smart assistant with you at all times.

Maybe it’s time to let go of letting our brains do all the information and creative processing— and let computers do a portion of the work. AI can certainly help us churn out the massive amount of content we need to produce for marketing purposes every day.

Click here to watch the 10 minute demo video on Jasper.ai 

Relationship marketing is a well known type of marketing that builds loyalty with your potential clients. I like to think of relationship marketing as building long term friendships. Most business owners have the experience of developing a friendship with someone who shares your interests and gets to know what services you provide. Often those friends will turn into clients because you’ve built a relationship on solid like-ability and trust.

Normally friends enjoy hearing from you often — if they feel ignored or you are not showing up for them the friendship starts to dwindle.

Here are four benefits to releasing consistent, compelling video content that deeply resonates with your target audience:

1). Brand Awareness

As you likely already know, in order for people to do business with you — they need to know, like, and trust you. Every social media network these days favors video in their algorithm because audiences crave video content more than anything else. So, by using video marketing, you give audiences the chance to decide whether they like your unique personality and whether they align with your business services. Over time, your audience will crave the video content you share because they trust your knowledge or simply enjoying hearing from you.

In everyday life, it’s hard to believe you are cared about if your friend never shows up. When you show up on video you increase the opportunity for your audience to see you shine. Showing up with a photo post on social media or a graphic post will not generate a huge reach like video content does, so your audience may not believe you truly care about the problems they want to solve.

2). SEO

Video is great for SEO (search engine optimization) and it’s free. By making videos that harness the power of SEO on YouTube — you can show up on the 1st page of Google search results. I’ve had several of my videos show up on Page One of Google within 24 hours of posting a video.

It could take months or years for a website or blog post to show up on Page One of Google. Plus, when you are a small business owner, you may not have a large budget for advertising. By using YouTube keyword research on your videos you can increase the chances of showing up on Google. Lots of aspiring YouTubers make the mistake of never putting time into SEO. I completely understand that video creation takes a lot of time and energy — therefore it is a waste if no one gets to see your videos.

Your potential customers are searching for you — video SEO helps you get found much quicker to get in front of people you can directly serve.

3). Storytelling

Storytelling is a primal way for people to connect with their “tribe”. People are attracted to brands that they feel emotionally attached to. A brand story video can help create that emotional bond with your audience.

Build an emotional connection with your audience by sharing what your brand stands for, why you were inspired to build your business, and why others should join your mission. When you share from your heart, you are more likely to attract your most ideal clients who really care about your mission.

4). Lead Generation

You can use videos in your social media ads to generate leads for your business. People on social media are more likely to engage with videos. They engage with videos more often than other types of content via organic posts — so of course they are more likely to engage with your video ads.

You don’t have to actually “promote” a product or service you have in your ads. Your video ads can be educational videos that help people with valuable information and still generate leads from those video ads.

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Relationship marketing and video marketing are about playing the long game. When you choose to implement video marketing consistently, your audience will develop a bond with your brand and become an advocate. You’ll be discovered by a new group of people everyday because videos don’t disappear quickly — your video content can be discovered for weeks or years on end (depending on which social media website you are using). They will be waiting for your next piece of video content because they understand your business is best suited to solve their issues.

Lots of entrepreneurs and small business owners who are making marketing content for their audience intend to convince their potential customers to buy from them by simply sharing the features and benefits of their product/service. But, storytelling is the single most powerful way to attract loyal customers. 

In a recent video on my YouTube channel, I shared about why storytelling in marketing works - essentially it is about making a strong emotional connection with your audience. When you tell the story of your business, it is like a magnet that attracts the right audience to pay attention to what you offer. 

You don’t need to create an award-winning story. It takes time to make great movies like Stephen Spielberg or George Lucas. But, you do need to be able to connect with your audience in the way they wanted to be spoken to.

But here are the four parts of storytelling you need to know: 

#1 - The customer is the hero 

Effective storytelling only works if you can engage with your customer’s story. You have to put yourself in your customer’s shoes - remember they are on a journey towards greater fulfillment and you as a heart centered wellness business owner show up at just the right time to guide them on the right path aligned with their vision. 

Now don’t read that the wrong way: You are the guide. The customer is the hero. 

#2- Tell the right story 

The right story will drive engagement and retention. The story you need to tell to engage your potential clients is about a main character who wants something. What is it that your potential clients want? How can you communicate what they want when you tell the story about your main character? Remember you are the guide and your customer is the hero. The right story illuminates how your hero needs to go on a journey and points out how you can help them get there. So, make sure you’re framing is correct so you can tell the right story.

#3 - Identify the problem 

This is super important: the problem drives the story! Sit down with a pen and paper and identify the types of obstacles your customer faces: external, and internal. You need to talk about the problems they face that shows you understand the gap they are facing - what are they lacking? What do they need to have that you can offer to them?

#4 - Show them the path to succeed

In every great story, the hero meets a guide who helps them find a path to reach their goal. So, in order, for your customer (hero) to trust you as their guide you have to show empathy AND authority. After you’ve already talked about how you understand their frustration and have been able to identify the solution that is needed for solving their problem - you need to clearly state the path they need to take. Remember that every hero has resistance to their path - your customer (the hero) will be the same. But, once you’ve painted the picture in their mind of the path you can call them to action to setup a call or fill out a form to work with you.

So, those are the 4 steps you need to take when telling an effective story in your marketing.

Leave a comment below and let me know: what is the problem that you will solve for your hero (the customer)? We’d love to know.

Do you need help with your video strategy? Signup for a free 30 minute strategy session today.

If you want to learn more in-depth information about creating your business story script from scratch, I walk through this in my course called “iphone Video Mastery” - you will learn how to create business videos with your iPhone. 

There are several mistakes you need to avoid in order to have compelling branding on your YouTube channel. If you are serious about growing your YouTube channel then you need to make a great first impression with your viewers.

First you need to hone in on the target audience for your YouTube channel: Have you decided what niche you are speaking to? Who are you making videos for? Does the look of your channel attract your niche?

The reason I ask these questions is because it’s important before you dive into your YouTube journey that you really think about the audience you are serving. YouTube is a huge video ecosystem with 1 billion hours of videos viewed every day. So, how are you going to attract even a small fraction of those viewers?

So, let’s talk about those mistakes you want to avoid.

(Watch the video for more info on these tips)

#1 — Not having a channel banner

When people land on your YouTube channel one of the first design elements they will see is your channel banner. Be sure your channel banner clearly states what your channel is all about. Include your logo, a photo of yourself, and your business tagline.

#2 — Not uploading thumbnails with an appealing design

Your thumbnails really need to stand out and have design elements that attract your target audience. So be sure to have your branding colors in the thumbnail and match your design to overall branding (on your website and social media).

But, also be sure the photo you include of yourself or of a scene in your video is appealing. People are most attracted to faces so try to take an expressive selfie.

By expressive I mean with an over the top expression. You literally have about 1 second to impress someone coming across your videos on YouTube — so these days animated photos can get higher click through rates.

Here’s a statistic that isn’t talked about a lot:

More than 70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices.

Think for a moment about your own habits scrolling apps on your smartphone. In order to pay attention the thumbnail needs to really appeal to you, right?

Here’s a pro tip: Every time you make a video do a search on YouTube for the title of the video you are making. Look at the thumbnails on the videos that appear in the search results and try to make your thumbnail look a little different.

So if the thumbnails don’t have people smiling — take a selfie for your thumbnail with a big smile or a “surprised” expression to make yours stand out.

#3- Not uploading a Video Watermark

Your video watermark is what you see on the bottom right hand side of any video on YouTube. To change your Avatar follow these steps:

• Go into YouTube studio
• Click on customization
• Under channel customization select “branding”
• Scroll down to “video watermark” and upload your logo here

#4- Not having a channel trailer

So if you think of your YouTube channel like walking into a shop . The channel trailer is introducing people to what you have to offer.

This is everything your channel trailer needs to convert viewers into subscribers:

• Quick intro of you and your channel
• Overview of the types of videos you publish
• Highlight reel of your video content
• Posting schedule (optional)
• Call-to-action to subscribe

Don’t be intimidated by all of these steps to get your channel branded appropriately. It’s super important that you just get started with making videos and not get into a perfectionistic mindset. Start implementing the tips that you can do now then integrate more in the future. You’ll soon find that your channel starts growing and the best part is you are attracting the right fans who will keep coming back.

Soapbox by Wistia is a Chrome plugin that allows you to record, edit, and share videos from within your browser. 

So, to use Soapbox by Wistia all you need to create a great video is a Chrome extension, something to say on video, and a webcam. You can show yourself on screen, do a full screen share, or use a split screen. You can create personalized sales videos to help grow your business.

Here are some of the main features of Soapbox (paid version):

• Download your videos for sharing, sending, or posting
• Track engagement, conversions and receive notifications
• Customize your video pages with your company logo
• Book meetings directly from your video

I hope you can see the potential of Soapbox to really improve your sales process, customer retention or even relay important messages with your own team. 

Soapbox by Wistia makes it easy to create relevant and timely content.  Soapbox is easy to use - so get started today. 

What can you envision using Soapbox for to improve your sales + customer support process?

For more video production + video marketing tutorials every week, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

These days so many people are participating in online meetings and virtual events. You want to make a great impression, right? Whether or not you are the host of a online meeting or event, you now need to be sure you look professional so people in virtual rooms aren't turned off. With one simple plugin, you can drastically change how you appear on a webcam.

If you're on a MAC, iGlasses is a Chrome plugin you can use for video effects and style adjustments to achieve your perfect webcam look. It will help your videos look better on Zoom, YouTube Live, Facebook Live, and Google Meet. So, for example if you don’t have the best lighting in your apartment iGlasses can help improve your webcam image.

Watch the full tutorial here. I give a step-by-step review of iGlasses to show you the features/benefits on this Chrome plugin.

You will even learn how to insert media (i.e. lazy cat) so you can do "in-camera" style editing to make some cool social media videos.

Important note: There appears to be an issue with iGlasses plugin being used with MAC OS Catalina. I have no problems using it because I am still on an older OS - but according to my research Ecamm (the maker of iGlasses) has not updated their plugin for Catalina.

You can use the iGlasses free trial or purchase the plugin for $19.99. Purchase iGlasses by Ecamm.

I hope this info was helpful to you. Leave a comment below and let us know if you plan to use iGlasses in the near future.

For weekly tutorials on video production + video marketing- subscribe to the Blue Lotus Films' YouTube channel.

(watch the video above to learn more about the tips in this article)

Most business owners these days understand the power of video marketing, but they still get tripped up when thinking about creating their own video content.

Video increases the chance 5300% of appearing on the front page of Google.

It may be because you know video is effective that fear naturally arises over the thought of being highly visible.

When you think about talking in front of a camera do you feel nauseous? Have you tried making videos but dislike what you’ve recorded?

I’ve been working in video production for nearly 20 years. I’ve worked with CEOs of large companies, startup CEOS, and entrepreneurs. No matter how successful someone is — they still exhibit some level of nervousness being on camera.

When making your own videos, you only need to know the 5 tips for confident video marketing to overcome these hurdles. When you learn these 5 tips and implement them as a regular practice — you’ll soon be able to confidently make some great videos for your business.

1. Focus on service

To get over fear of being on camera, it’s best to get in a headspace of being of service to your audience so you aren’t ruminating on having your video look perfect or delivering your message perfectly. So many business owners start to get nervous because they are too focused on every aspect of their production being perfect — instead of focusing the ‘why’ of creating your video. When you focus intently on your passion and purpose, you will notice fear starts to dissipate.

       2. Preparation

To help reduce fear of being on camera, you need to be sure you’ve taken measures to prepare for your video shoot. You need to prepare your script, scope out a location, and secure all the equipment you need for the shoot. Don’t just turn on the camera and hit record.

        3. Quality Equipment

Be sure to test your equipment and focus on making your video look good. You also need to be equally concerned about sound quality. Once you have the right equipment, you can relax and feel more confident.

        4. Location

There are so many variables to consider when shooting a video. Location is crucial for your shoot because you want to have some level of control over the background of your video and the sound quality. Scoping out your location in advance can help reduce fear and worry that things will go wrong during shoot.

       5. Editing

Post-production (editing) skills will help you make comfortable being on camera. You’ll have less fear during the shoot that you need to do 20 takes to make the video look right. When you understand editing — you will know what creative tools you can use to make your video look better without going overboard during your shoot.

Stop letting so many emotional and tech hurdles keep you back from making great videos. Embrace the fact being on camera is a learning curve and develop a strong intention to practice the 5 tips for camera confidence. You’ll soon be on your way to making successful video campaigns that raise the visibility of your business.

Video marketing is using videos to promote  your product or service, increase engagement on your social channels, educate your customers, and generate leads for your business.

Video is a digital marketing trend that is here to stay, with online videos making up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022 (Cisco).

Since consumers want video content it is important to provide enjoyable content that engages your audience. The New York Times recently wrote that we are living in a “post-text” world - consumers prefer to not read walls of text or receive dozens of aggressive sales emails. 

84% of marketers say video has helped them increase traffic to their website. (Wyzowl)

Video is a powerful asset at any stage of your marketing cycle because it’s measurable and gives insight to your sales and marketing process. Among the most valuable information you can have in your business is specific data about which leads are most valuable moving forward. 

81% of marketers say video has helped them generate leads. (Wyzowl)

94% of video marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service. (Wyzowl)

Here are the top 5 reasons video marketing can help your wellness business:

#1 - Video builds trust

Video is powerful medium because it allows you to connect with your target audience on an emotional level. Creating an emotional bond is what makes a person want to do business with you. Wellness businesses need to build likability and trust for their brands. Wellness consumers are looking to invest in products/services that could potentially transform their lives. By building likability and trust with impactful videos the chances of winning a new customer are much greater.  64% of consumers will make a purchase after watching branded videos on social platforms,⁵ showing trust built through video, leads to sales.

#2 - Improves SEO

Search engines love video. A website is 53 times more likely to reach the front page of Google if it includes video. Why? Video is the #1 piece of content that engages site visitors - so they are more likely to stay on your site. YouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine (owned by Google) so videos are favored by Google in their search results.

#3 - Creates a return for your marketing investment

Making an effective video may seem like a big investment, but the cost of creating a video marketing campaign is nowhere near what it used to be twenty years ago. A well produced video combined with a strategic marketing plan will always provide a return on your marketing investment. According to Hubspot, including a video on your landing page can increase your conversion rate by up to 80%.

#4 - Video drives traffic and purchases

A high quality, powerful video will help to impact consumer behavior, driving qualified leads. Including videos in your marketing cycle provides robust data about how your potential customer interacts with your brand. This data is essential to execute a successful strategy that brings wellness consumers through the buyer’s journey.

64% percent of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos (via tubularinsights). 

93% of brands got a new customer because of a video on social media. (Animoto)

#5 - Engagement

Marketers know that engagement is one of the key ways to measure whether you are making content that resonates with your audience. Engaging your customer means a lot more than just getting them to watch or like your video.

Social video generates 12 times more shares than text and images combined.

When you make videos that are innovative and interactive - you will get audiences excited to interact with your brand. When customers engage with your video content there is a high likelihood they will remember your brand because you’ve created a memorable experience for them.

Video has asserted its dominance over all social platforms. Now more so than ever before, consistently using video across all social media platforms is crucial to the success of your overall marketing activities. Start thinking about what you can do in 2020 to integrate videos in your marketing campaign. While there are so many marketing options available, it is clear that video is highly effective to get results.

A lot of business owners want to grow their YouTube channel, but they aren't aware of what it takes to successfully build their subscriber base. Putting a bunch of videos on YouTube that showcase their work  is one of the biggest mistakes many business owners make. In this article, I am going to share how to build your YouTube channel from scratch.

Recently the Blue Lotus Films' channel reached 100 subscribers so I figured it would be a good idea to share my own journey. While 100 subscribers may not seem like a lot, it is important to celebrate every milestone because the journey to reach 10,000 is going to take a lot of legwork.

Prepare for the journey

You might want the quick, easy solution to building your YouTube channel fast in 2020. I hate to break it to you - but unless you have thousands of people on your email list, who love reading your emails, you are going to be in the valley of YouTube for awhile. Just ask any YouTuber who has a large subscriber base - overnight success is very, very rare.

I honestly started the Blue Lotus Films' channel as a way to showcase the work produced at my video production company. You can see I uploaded several videos that we produced for clients several years ago. I was really busy with 1-on-1 client work and never really had the goal of building my YouTube channel until a couple years ago. So, a couple years I started a podcast and recorded all the interviews on Zoom then uploaded those interviews to my channel.

This year, my main intention is to make video tutorials that help wellness business owners create high quality videos, build their own YouTube channel, and market their videos across social media.

Here are the top 4 strategies I’ve used to gain 100 subscribers:

1). Keyword research

You need to use a keyword research tool like Keywords Everywhere, Tube Buddy, or VidIQ to understand what your ideal customers are already searching for. What knowledge are they looking for? What topics interest them most? Keyword research will give you a clear understanding of how you can create videos that reach clients where they are at - instead of shooting in the dark (pun intended) and creating videos no one except you and your BFF want to watch.

2). Promoting videos via newsletter

Always send out your YouTube videos via your newsletter. Summarize the video and be sure to include the video thumbnail so people have a visual reference. Provide several links to the video and specify how long the video is so people will be enticed to watch. Your newsletter subscribers are much more likely to click on the video link vs. reading all the text in your newsletter. They will be grateful that you provided an easy way for them to consume the information they need.

3). Promoting on social media

Create a short teaser video (30 secs- 1 minute) to entice people to view your full video on your YouTube Channel. Typically I create a teaser video for Instagram and Linkedin that includes captions and include the YouTube video URL so they can watch the full video. The teaser video is simply a short portion of your full YouTube video that entices the viewer to check out what you are doing on YouTube. Also, be sure to send out the link (by sharing it directly from YouTube) on Facebook and Twitter. Watch the video for my full explanation of Twitter promotion.

4). Promoting in FB groups

You can try begging all your Facebook friends to subscribe to your channel, but you might lose some friends. Instead, promote your YouTube videos within Facebook groups that offer a promotional day. Many groups for business owners have specific days when group members can promote their YouTube channel or promote a recent content piece. Take advantage of this because you'll be surprised how much exposure this can bring you. Fellow business owners are always looking to support likeminded people and you might make a longterm fan by using this strategy.

These are my top 4 strategies for building your YouTube channel from scratch. Of course, you can try paid advertising and lots of other social media promotional strategies. But, these are the top strategies that have worked for me.

I hope this information was helpful to you. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you can get new video tutorials every week to improve your video marketing and gain more clients.

I'd love to hear about your YouTube journey, so please comment below with any questions or info on what strategies are working best for you.