The unlimited potential of video products

Video publishing is one of the easiest ways to create a product for sale on the
Internet, and it can be a very profitable business. Even though it's easier to
publish a book than ever before, it's possible to create a video product in a
fraction of the time required to create a book.

When you consider the amount of time it takes for a book by a new author to be
accepted by a publisher, edited, manufactured, distributed, and marketed,
several years can go by before authors see any revenue for all their hard work.
Self-publishing is a good alternative for authors to consider, but the
production and marketing costs can be very high. The creation of video products
for sale on the Internet is a much easier way to generate a revenue stream.

The art of video publishing

If you're already convinced that the creation of video products is a powerful
Internet marketing tool to drive traffic and sales, here are some important
questions to consider before you jump into the production process:

Are you a good communicator? Can you tell a story? Can you explain how to do
something in simple terms? Do you have specialized knowledge that can be turned
into a product that gives value to customers? If you answered "yes" to these
questions, you have all the knowledge and experience you need to create a video
product that can generate a nice revenue stream. It takes experienced authors
from six months to a year to write a book, but even first-time video producers
can plan, script, film, and edit a professional-quality video product in six
weeks.

Who will shoot your video? If you have a webcam with a built-in microphone, you
already have experience shooting home videos. If you don't have a webcam, you
can probably partner with someone who has a lot of experience.

Who will edit your video? Even a 15-minute video can take several hours to edit
professionally. If you've been practicing with home videos, now is the time to
show your skills on the Internet. If you've never edited before, you can find
someone to look at your raw footage and teach you how to do some simple
editing, which will improve the quality of the finished video product
enormously. Video companies generally charge from $50 to $100 an hour,
depending on the effects you want edited into your product.

The power of video products on the Worldwide Web

Video podcasting and vlogging are tools that offer unlimited potential for
increasing traffic to your web site or blog and for creating revenue streams
through the sale of video products. Individual video content producers can
create revenues streams from successful videos that last for years. One video
publisher I checked out has produced almost 30 videos that have given the
producer a monthly income between $8,000 and $10,000 dollars for over four
years. This video publisher reports that most of these videos are still
selling-and not one has lost money.

How to create great video products

In the last year we have seen an explosion in the online video market. Try
these tips if you want to create great video products for sale on the Internet:

You'll be more successful if you show how to solve a problem. Forget about
trying to impress people. Forget about trying to look good. Be natural, be
yourself, and show people how you solved a problem in your own life. Then give
your viewers tips for applying these lessons and strategies to their lives.

Focus on action. Always think about action-about what you want your audience to
do. Then build your video around that action. As the Roman statesman Cato said,
"Find the message first and the words will follow." Failure is the result of a
lack of focus. To be effective-for people to remember your message-focus on a
single power point and present it as truthfully and as entertainingly as you
can, rather than presenting a series of topics in a single video product.

The power of structure

Keep this basic structure in mind as you create your video product:

* Start with a powerful, attention-grabbing lead. Clearly state your theme in
  the first minute.

* Use smooth transitions to link one segment to another.

* Use action verbs. Change verbs in passive voice to active verbs. Keep
  adjectives and adverbs to a minimum.

* Give viewers a few suggestions to help them apply what they've learned to
  their lives.

* Be yourself. Use short words and sentences. If you're stuck and you don't
  know what to say next, explain it the way you would to your best friend or
  spouse.

* Connect with your audience. Wrap everything in human terms-make it something
  your next-door neighbor can relate to.

* Finish with a satisfying conclusion that reemphasizes your theme.

When you have an idea for your video, you'll know it's the right one if you can
answer "yes" to each of the following questions:

* Does this need to be done? Am I the right person to do it? Can I see the
  world from the point of view of my audience? Can I think their thoughts?

* Can the market I'm targeting understand my video? Can I express the idea
  better in half the time? Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, "Perfection is
  attained, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing 
  left to take away."

* Does the idea hold together from start to finish? Does it move smoothly? Does
  the video make sense as a whole rather than just as the sum of its parts?

* Am I willing to say what I think is true, no matter what?

Now you're ready to create a great video product. As you develop your video,
keep this checklist handy at all times. It will let you know what elements in
your video product need more work, and it will let you know when your video is
ready to be distributed and sold on the Internet.

How to get started in the business of video product creation

Television is moving online. In the last year Internet TV has grabbed the
attention of the biggest media corporations in the world. Disney has entered
into a partnership with Brightcove and the BBC has partnered with YouTube. And
this is just the beginning-what you see today is the tip of an iceberg that
will keep on growing for years to come.

Anyone can be famous, as the promo for Cisco's "Human Network" campaign says.
Anyone can be a producer today, and that's only half of it-anyone can be a
broadcaster of video content on the Worldwide Web. Video sharing sites like
YouTube have created a sort of producing frenzy in the video world, and to be
honest about it, there is an enormous amount of junk online. But don't let that
turn you against the medium. New technologies and new business models make it
surprisingly easy for companies and individuals to market and deliver video
products on the Internet today.

Even if you have experience with video product creation in traditional formats
like video cassettes, CDs, and DVDs, you may not be fully aware of how new
tools available on the Internet can take your business to the next level. Here
are some tips on how to get started:

* Don't quit your day job-you don't have to in order to test products on a web
site. Some of the fastest growing sites on the Internet today were launched by
people who had full-time jobs. They entered the market gradually by testing
sales of new products and services on the Internet. When they were convinced
that a niche market was there to sustain them, they plunged into the Internet
business full time. Your numbers will tell you when to quit your day job.

* One of the best ways to build a niche market is by selling video products on
the Internet. Look at the types of videos that other people are selling. Which
ones would you want to buy? Which ones add something of value to your life?
Look around. When you find something you like, go ahead and buy it. If you have
never purchased a video download on the Internet, you'll be surprised by how
easy it is. This is important preparation for you as a future marketer of
online video products.

* The video you just purchased may be the best investment you ever make. Watch
it from the point of view of a customer. Did you get your money's worth? Would
you buy another video product from the same site? If you aren't completely
satisfied, can you get a refund? Then watch the video from the point of view of
a creator of video products. Why does this video work? How does it connect to my
experience? And if the video falls flat on its face, why doesn't it work? Why
doesn't it connect to me as a viewer?

As you provide answers to these questions, you will start to discover concepts
that can be developed into your own video products for sale on the Internet.
When you're ready, all you need is a webcam, a computer, and a connection to
the Internet.

To create great video products, start with a plan

The best video products always have a natural look; the action seems to unfold
spontaneously. But as anyone who has ever worked on a professional video
project can tell you, it takes great planning to produce a feeling of
spontaneity. Experience teaches that most problems encountered during the
creation of video products are caused by bad planning-or a total lack of
planning.

You've probably seen the short videos that cisco.com is using in its campaign
to promote the "human network." In one of the more memorable videos, a kid
named Myles dances in his kitchen. An older male (probably his big brother)
points a camera phone at Myles and says, "Do something cool." Myles performs
some nifty dance steps as the spot shows people all over the world watching the
30-second video on their camera phones and laptops. Finally we see a child,
about the same age as Myles, in a crowded street. He looks up in awe at the big
screen in Times Square as the Myles video plays in the heart of New York City.

This is an excellent video. And what makes it excellent is that everything that
goes on in it seems so spontaneous. Whenever this happens, you can be sure that
a lot of careful planning went into those 30 seconds. I hope you get the chance
to see this video. If you haven't seen it yet, just go to www.cisco.com. If you
are thinking about creating your first video product, you can learn a lot from
studying spots like the Myles video.

If you're serious about creating video products for sale on the Internet, one
of the best things you can do to learn how to plan and produce great material
is to consciously study and analyze your favorite videos. If you have it in
your blood to create video products, I'm sure this is something you've already
been doing. If you're just starting to think about how to create your first
product, develop the habit of watching your favorite videos from a different
point of view. You're no longer a consumer of video products-now you must watch
as a producer or broadcaster would watch. When something works, always ask
yourself why it works. And when something flops, ask yourself why it didn't
work.

Before we leave Myles and his road to Times Square, the first thing you should
do is plan a 30-second video product. Approach the project as seriously as if
you were doing it for hire. Shoot it with your camera phone-or with somebody
else's camera phone if you don't have one-and do it for the purpose of posting
it on YouTube or any of the other video sharing sites. The important thing is
to get started.

When you think about how easy it is to get started as a creator and publisher
of video products, you can't afford not to take advantage of the power of video
to drive traffic to your web site or blog. With a little practice you'll soon be
selling professional quality video products on the Internet.

Tips for video product creation

The revolution in Internet technology has made video publishing possible for
anyone with a camera phone, a broadband connection, and a few widely available
tools that in many cases are completely free. And what a revolution it is-we
used to be producers of content, but new technologies and platforms are
empowering us to be broadcasters of video products for distribution and sale on
the Worldwide Web. Here are some simple tips to keep in mind when you create
your video products.

Why your choice of topic is so important

The most important factor in determining the success of your video is your
choice of a topic. If you can't cover the topic in 30 minutes or less, you need
to focus on a single theme within that topic.

Always remember that your goal is not to show people everything you know about
a subject. Your goal is to identify one problem, one thing you think your
viewers need and want to know how to do, and then focus on showing them the
best way to solve that problem. Don't add on another topic-keep it for your
next video product. Strip away all the excess baggage until you narrow the
focus to a single topic. Then give it to the viewers without going in other
directions at the same time.

Keep it simple -- Keep it moving

Once you have chosen a topic, you'll need to consider the length of your video.
The most successful videos are no longer than 30 minutes, which is a good rule
of thumb for thinking about how long you'll be able to keep the viewer's
attention.

Pace is very important in video production. You know more about pace than you
think-just imagine all the times you've switched away from a slow-moving TV
program, or all the times you've fallen asleep during a movie. When you start
wishing that a movie or program would move faster, you have identified a
problem with the pace of the show.

It's hard for experienced professionals to maintain an interesting pace for 60
minutes. Keep this in mind when you're planning your video-don't try to handle
more than 30 minutes on your first attempt. Keep it simple; a shorter video can
be much more powerful and effective if you are careful to keep it moving at an
interesting pace. A lively 15 to 20-minute how-to video will be much more
successful than a longer product that seems to drag on and on. A lot of short
videos (10 to 15 minutes) sell for up to $14 or $15 dollars on Internet sites.
Longer formats (60 to 90 minutes) sell for anywhere from $40 to over $100.

If you already have experience with short formats and want to try a more
ambitious project, set your sights on a sixty-minute video. Think of ninety
minutes as your maximum duration for a how-to feature, but only after you have
been successful with shorter video products. In all cases, start small and work
your way up to longer formats.

Tips for video product creation -- Choose the right content

Customers know fluff when they see it-nothing makes us angrier than discovering
that we've paid money for a lot of hot air when we expected to receive content.
Just think about the last time you walked out of a movie theater before the end
of the film-you felt cheated. Don't ever make your customers feel cheated, and
they will repay your efforts and your time with their loyalty and their
testimonials.

Choose the right topic

What do you know how to do that would add value to your customers' lives if you
could show them how to do it? If you can teach people how to build a cabinet,
for instance, you have a great subject for a video product to sell on the
Internet. If you lost weight and got into shape following your own exercise
routine, or if you stopped smoking and have helped others to stop smoking, you
have a subject for a video product that customers will want to buy.

If you have a gift for inspiring people with stories or motivational talks, you
have a product that can give tremendous value to someone's life. In short,
whoever you are, whatever you do, you probably know how to do something that
thousands of people would want to know how to do, too-if the product existed,
and if customers knew where to find it.

If you don't have an idea for a video product, but you have a strong desire to
get into the business of video publishing on the Worldwide Web, you can partner
with someone you know. Your partner provides the talent and you provide the
management, which after all is the business model that allows almost all large
video and film projects to be developed, produced, marketed, and distributed.

Believe in yourself and the customers will follow

Believe in yourself-be sure to guarantee your paid videos. Have the courage to
do this, and you'll start to build the type of customers that become a
volunteer marketing force for your business. Let customers know they can get a
refund if they aren't completely satisfied. If you give your customers
information of value to them, and if you have delivered the content in an
enjoyable and entertaining format, your guarantee of customer satisfaction will
act as a powerful marketing tool to boost sales.

Never try to cover up a lack of content by adding surface production values for
cosmetic effect. No matter how good a video product looks to the eye, it will
make customers very unhappy if they don't find anything of value in the
content. And never add on footage just to make the product longer so you can
justify a higher selling price.

Give your customers a product that adds value to their lives, and they will
become loyal repeat buyers and customer evangelists for your company or your
blog. Believe in your video products and your customers will believe in them,
too.

Simple tips for scripting great video products

When you finish the research for your video product, it's time to start the
script. Don't let the research drag on too long. Many people fall into the trap
of thinking that they need to go on gathering information before they can begin
to write a script. This is one of the deadliest forms of procrastination; we
feel like we're working all the time, but when the day is over we haven't
gotten anything done.

The only way to avoid this trap is by setting deadlines. Establish a clear time
frame for your research. It's always good to give yourself not quite enough time
to get the job done-then start writing the script. During the scripting process,
you will make new connections that show you how to enrich the script by adding
to it or taking away from it. Invariably I find myself needing to do new
research in the middle of a script as new ideas push their way to the surface.

The more I work at this, the less up-front time I spend researching a project-I
know that the scripting process will trigger new insights that call for new
research as discoveries are made, so how do I know what to research before I
get it all down on paper? The bolder I become as a writer and project
developer, the less time I spend on research before I write a first draft of my
script.

People with little experience in business-and I'm talking about any business,
not just video production-believe in the myth that good decisions are based on
facts. All successful entrepreneurs and business people know that good
decisions are based on opinions. Start with a hunch based on experience and
intuition, then apply your skill and ability to develop that concept into a
script. The best time to research your facts is after you've finished a first
draft of your script.

Depending on the type of video you decide to create, you may want to write a
storyboard along with your final script. A storyboard is a visual
representation, drawing by drawing, of what the key scenes in your video will
look like. A storyboard helps you see the whole video in your mind before you
shoot it, and it is one of the best ways to trigger your creativity. Cartoons
and animated films use very detailed storyboards, of course, and many directors
of live action also use storyboards.

If you are planning to hire the services of a production company to create your
video, make sure to work closely with them during the planning process. If you
are creating a how-to or motivational video in your area of expertise, you are
the best person to write the script. Concentrate on getting your ideas on paper
and then work with the production company to arrive at a final script.

One last tip: Use humor whenever the script allows for it. Laughter is one of
the best ways to connect to your audience and build a bond of trust.

How to create great inspirational video products

The revolution in Internet video has been triggered by video sharing sites like
YouTube, where amateur content producers have the same power to broadcast their
products as major media corporations. Individual content producers and Internet
marketers are connected to potential customers as never before. "Welcome to a
network where anyone can be famous," says the voice over in the Cisco
promotional campaign. "Welcome to the Human Network."

All right, so now you're convinced that you need to create video products for
sale on the Internet, but you don't have any ideas. Where do you get ideas for
concepts that can be turned into video products that customers will want to pay
money for?

The best ideas come from your own experience. If you know how to do something
that can add value to someone's life, you have a concept for a video product
that can generate a revenue stream on the Internet for many years. If you have
ever solved a problem that vexes other people, you have the material for an
inspirational or motivational video that can generate revenue over and over
again through your web site.

If you are confronted with a problem today, you have an opportunity to create a
video product that can earn revenue on the Internet for years. Think about a
problem you had with a product or service. Can it be improved? Can you think of
a way to help people do something better, faster, or cheaper? Any of these
questions can be the starting point for developing a concept for a successful
how-to video.

To see what I'm talking about, check out Sanders Says
(www.sanderssays.typepad.com). Tim Sanders is a marketing and product
development expert who hosts this advice blog that concentrates on business and
relationship management. Tim has developed video projects for clients at Yahoo
(and at broadcast.com, before it was acquired by Yahoo).

Visit Tim's site and listen as he tells the story of Paul Galvin. Paul was a
hard-working man from a small town who wasn't afraid to make mistakes. In fact,
Paul learned early in life that wisdom is born from mistakes-his first three
business efforts ended in failure. You have never heard of the first three
businesses that Paul Galvin founded, but everyone has heard of the fourth one:
Paul called his new venture "Motorola." The rest is history; the company
founded by the man who refused to give up gave birth to everything from
wireless phones to one of the earliest computer chips.

Tim Sanders is a wonderful storyteller, and he uses this story to illustrate
how great leaders inspired others. (You can also find this video on YouTube:
just type "Paul Galvin story" in the search window on the YouTube home page.)

As the story of Paul Galvin illustrates, all great leaders inspire. Think of
stories you can tell to inspire people. Use these concepts to create video
products and start to reach a bigger customer base for your Internet business
today.

How to create a great video product -- writing your script

If you've been thinking about creating video products for sale on the Internet,
you've probably been throwing around more ideas than you know what to do with.
This is an easy trap to fall into. It's important to do some brainstorming for
concepts initially, but always be sure to put a limit on your concept
development stage. If you let it drag on, you'll never get anything done.

Set deadlines for yourself even when you think you don't have to. Don't fool
yourself into thinking that you're making progress toward your goal when in
fact you haven't gotten anything done.

The failure to focus on one project and carry it through to successful
completion is a clear sign that you're procrastinating. If you get a brainstorm
for creating a different video product every day, but you still haven't created
a finished product to sell on the Internet, make up your mind to do something
about it today.

Narrow your focus and set a day to shoot Suppose your friends all say you're a
natural comedian. You've been playing around with the idea of creating a comedy
routine or skit. The only way to get it done is by setting priorities, sticking
to a plan, and setting deadlines.

Set a day to shoot the video. You have to do this and stick to it. Approach
this as if you were doing a project for hire. When you force yourself to get
things done, you'll start to notice a big difference in the results you get.
How much time you give yourself depends on how much time you can actually spend
working on the project, of course. If you're doing this at night or on the
weekends, you obviously need more time than a full-time Internet marketer who
is planning a promotional video for a web site. Get up one hour earlier if
that's the only way you can find time to do it. Approach it as a job for one
month. Set your shoot for one month from today. Stop thinking about it and
start writing a script.

People who get things done know that there is never a perfect time to start.
People who wait for inspiration before they start a script never get started.
As Jack London said, "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it
with a club." You have to get something down on paper to trigger connections
between ideas. My best ideas always come during the writing process-never in
the "thinking about what to write" stage.

Experience has taught me to just start writing and get it all down on paper.
When I have a first draft in front of me, I get inspired. I see all sorts of
things I never would have seen without the stimulus of the thoughts that came
seemingly out of nowhere as I was working on the first draft of my script.

So stop thinking about it and get a script on paper. Then revise, shoot it, and
put it up for sale on the Internet. But get started today.

How to choose a production company for your video product

The tools for creating a video product are so inexpensive today that anyone can
be a producer and broadcaster. If you're serious about producing videos to
generate additional revenue streams for your Internet business, or if you're
planning to launch an Internet site dedicated to the sale of video products,
you need to learn how to do as much of the work as you can. Video production
can be very rewarding and enjoyable work. On the other hand, if you have
decided to outsource the development and production of your video product,
there are many production companies online and in your area with talented and
experienced personnel.

I have successfully completed several video products with production companies.
Working with industry professionals has been a wonderful learning experience for
me, and I have found that people who work on your projects are happy to teach
you what they know. To quote a price for your video product, the production
company will need to know the following:

* What is the target audience?

* Do you need to use on-camera actors or will you record voice overs?

* Will you write your own script, or will you outsource it to the production
  company?

* How many locations will you have?

* What is the length of the video?

* Do you need animations or graphics added to your video product?

The production company will provide the crew for your video. The crew for a
simple video will include a producer, camera operator, and a sound technician.
For small projects the producer will double as director, and for the simplest
projects a one-man company can take care of all the aspects of creating and
producing your video product. If you plan to create a more sophisticated video
with on-camera talent, you will need a production assistant, lighting
directors, make-up artists, and possibly other technicians.

Make sure that the production company can complete the entire production
project; your video will cost more if you hire one company to produce it and
another company to edit it. As with any outsourced project, you will want to
get quotes from several different companies. It's important to do the planning
before you talk to the production company-they can't give you a quote without a
clear idea of the scope of the project.

Here are the questions you should ask production companies:

* What type of productions do you specialize in?

* Do you have experience in the type of product I'm planning to create?

* What will I need to contribute to the project?

The production company may need to schedule and coordinate different phases of
the project with you or someone else from your company. Share your vision with
the production company when you talk to them the first time. Good producers are
experts in the technical aspects of production, but great producers are also
passionate about the projects they work on. When you find a production company
that can get excited about the vision for your video project, you need look no
further.

How the Worldwide Web empowers producers of video content

The cost of creating video products has come down enormously in the last few
years. Internet technologies like video podcasting let you sell downloadable
content without the need to produce your own cassettes, CDs, or DVDs, and
without the need to maintain an expensive inventory. The Internet has made it
possible for anyone with a computer, a few simple tools, and a broadband
connection to be a creator and broadcaster of video products.

The best thing about the creation of video products in today's market is that
you don't need a huge capital investment to get started. You can produce
high-quality video products with a consumer-level camcorder. And if the only
recording device you own is your new Bluetooth video phone, you can get started
with that.

There's a growing online market for video products There will always be a
healthy online market for instructional and inspirational video products. It's
a mistake to think that individuals cannot compete with big media corporations
in the areas of production, distribution, and marketing of video products-the
audience for Internet video is growing so fast that there simply isn't enough
material online to satisfy the tremendous demand. The explosion of video
sharing sites like YouTube is evidence of how fast the market is growing. In
fact, amateur producers of video content already share space on YouTube with
professional content from media giants like CBS and BBC.

Many of these large corporations hesitate to put their expensive resources to
work on small projects that require highly specialized knowledge. That's where
you come in-if you can identify an area where you are the right person to
provide informational content to a niche market, you will find customers for
your video product on the Internet.

Add something of value to your customers' lives What you need to understand is
this: Your profit depends on producing valuable information-not on the overall
viewing experience, as is the case with feature-length films and commercial
television productions. Your customers won't care about your packaging if you
deliver high-quality content. In fact, delivering video content on the Internet
even lets you do away with the packaging completely. This allows you to focus
all your energy on creating and marketing the best product possible. Your
customers will appreciate the added value in your video products that your
increased focus brings.

If your goal is to produce the best video ever made on the subject of
cabinet-making or gardening, for instance, you can compete with any studio in
the world. People will do almost anything to find meaning and rise above the
limits of their ordinary lives. Connect with your viewers on a human level,
give them insights for getting more out of a career or a hobby, and they will
come back to your Internet site often.

If you choose your topic well and approach it with passion and focus, you can
achieve a level of sales that lets you turn video production into the core of
your Internet marketing efforts.

Four key elements in the creation of a great video product

The type of video you decide to create will largely determine the other
elements that you use. Keep these four key elements in mind during the planning
and production of your video products:

* Target Audience: This is the most important decision you need to make. Who
are you trying to reach? You have to think about demographics: age,
socioeconomic level, gender, nationality, educational level. It's no good to
jump into the planning process with vague statements like, "I want to create a
video product for sale on the Internet that will appeal to everybody,
everywhere." First define your niche market, narrow your target audience, and
create your video with a specific type of person in mind. When you set out to
create the kind of video product that one specific person will want to buy, you
increase the likelihood that a lot of people will want to buy it. Always wrap
your language in images that your target audience can relate to.

* Participants: If you decide to shoot a how-to video on an area in which you
have expert knowledge, you are the natural choice as host. If you decide to
create a do-it-yourself video in an area where you don't have expert knowledge,
you will need to take great care when choosing a host. Once you've decided on a
subject and a host, you will need to work together on the script. And always
remember that video is not just a format-it's a language. Never say it if you
can show it. The viewers will understand much better when they see it being
done, so don't just explain things while the camera focuses on you. The rule of
thumb is: Whenever you can present a visual image of something, show it instead
of talking about it. Instead of explaining how to do something as you talk into
the camera, always show a demonstrator (whether it's you or another person)
carrying out the action as you describe what's happening. You'll quickly become
an expert in the use of "voice overs"-speaking off camera as the audience sees
action taking place. Do-it-yourself, educational, and promotional videos should
be full of voice overs.

* Length: The type of video you decide to make will determine the best length.
A great promotional video can be done in as little as 3 to 4 minutes, and
should rarely be longer than 7 to 8 minutes. A do-it-yourself or educational
video will be from 10 to 30 minutes.

* Props: If you're doing a how-to video, the subject matter will determine what
props you're going to need. Even if you plan to be your own host or
demonstrator, make a list of all the props you'll need. Lay out the shoot
before you do it and walk through it several times with your camera operator.
This will keep the shoot from turning into chaos-even experienced studio
professionals work with a prop list every time they shoot.

Focus -- the key to creating great video products

Lack of focus is the main cause of failure in business. This is true no matter
what business you're in. Focus acts like electricity-you can't see it directly,
but you can see how it affects companies and people when it's running through
them. To be a successful video producer and Internet marketer, you must make
yourself an expert in one field or niche-the best way to do that is by
sharpening your focus. Before you start to create your next video product,
consider these simple tips to put the power of focus to work in your business:

* Focus increases your self-discipline. Focused people are able to distinguish
between the jobs that bring them closer to their desired goals and the daily
demands that only waste their time. They don't get overwhelmed by all the
urgent but unimportant jobs that demand their attention.

* Focused people know where they want to go. When you have a focus, you have a
vision of what you want to achieve. Above all, focused people concentrate on
reaching their goals. Focus helps you measure your results and readjust your
game plan when necessary.

How to increase your focus Post reminders for yourself. Hang your favorite
motivational signs where you'll see them when an idea for a video product seems
to be going nowhere. Written reminders can help you recover your focus.

Set daily priorities. Be sure you have an action plan for every day. As you
become more skilled at video production and as you learn from your mistakes,
this will become second nature to you. But you will always need to do this.
Always go back to your list of priorities before you jump into a new task.

Complete the video project you're working on before you start a new one. We all
want to create as many revenue streams as possible-this is a basic part of what
we do as Internet marketers. But you'll only make money by getting video
products online one at a time. People who lack focus find themselves getting
excited about a new idea before they have finished a project. If you have
fallen into the habit of leaving projects undone, you suffer from a lack of
focus.

Keep an idea book with you. When you're working on an idea for one video
product, it's not uncommon to get a stream of ideas that could be a starting
point for other great video products. Don't let your next "great idea" cause
you to lose your focus. Jot it down and keep working on the first project-stay
focused on one project until it's completed. Don't start work on another idea
until the last project is up and running on the Internet.

Stay focused on your vision. Write the vision for your video product where you
can see it every day. Remembering your vision will keep you from drifting. If
you get stuck, narrow your options and choose a single point to talk about. If
you find yourself throwing out all types of different solutions and ideas at
your viewers, you'll only create chaos.

You don't need to be a professional to create powerful video products

The explosion of Internet video proves one thing-you don't have to be a
professional producer of video content to reach a huge audience on the
Worldwide Web. If you have expert knowledge about something that can benefit
customers, you can be the star of your own how-to-do-it video product line.

Decide what kind of video product you want to create: educational,
motivational, inspirational, "how-to-do-it" and comedy are popular genres of
video products for sale on the Internet. Don't pick a genre just because it
sells for other people. Pick something you're passionate about. Your passion-or
lack of it-will always show in whatever you produce, and this is true whether
you're standing in front of the camera or behind it.

Suppose you build houses. You may want to create a promotional video to
persuade companies and individuals to hire your services. This is the type of
video product that you want potential customers to access freely at your web
site or blog. Another type of product that can create a good revenue source is
an educational video. As an independent contractor, you know all the ins and
outs of the business. An educational video product aimed at teaching customers
everything they need to know before choosing a contractor and beginning a
construction project can give people valuable knowledge that they are willing
to pay for. And of course the do-it-yourself home improvement market is one of
the largest revenue producers in the United States.

Let's take the example of an independent contractor one step farther. Every tip
that you can present and package in a 15 to 30 minute "how-to" video can
generate a significant revenue stream that makes money for you over a period of
several years. Think of how the do-it-yourself home improvement market has
exploded on television over the past few years. The Internet opens up this huge
market to anyone with a camera, a computer, and expert knowledge of how to do
something that adds value to consumers' lives.

Always remember to talk about benefits When you stress the benefits that come
with successfully completing a project, you add value to your customers' lives.
And when that happens, you create a force of "customer evangelists"-people who
are eager to tell others about how you created something of value for them.
Whenever you make customers happy, always ask them to give you a testimonial to
use for promoting your product or service. Businesses know the value of written
testimonials, but think about the benefits of filming testimonials to put on
your web site.

In fact, if you have no experience in the creation of video products, a video
testimonial from a satisfied customer is a great way to start. You don't have
to go out and look for acting talent-the best talent is a real person who can
be natural in front of a camera and just talk about the benefits of your
product or service. Post this as free content on your site and watch your sales
increase.

Why you need to focus on video product creation

It's easier than ever to create a video product for sale on the Internet. All
right, I know you can't compete with the big media corporations if your dream
is to produce the next Lord of the Rings Trilogy. (In that case, your goal
should be to get a job at a production studio and work your way up.)

But creation and distribution of online video products has become so easy-and
so economical-that anyone with an Internet connection can become a broadcaster
of video content for the Worldwide Web. (The faster your server connection, the
better-a broadband connection is ideal for uploading video content to the
Internet.)

As an Internet marketer, you need to be aware of what you can achieve by
creating video products for sale on the Internet:

* The sale of video products lets you launch an online business with a minimum
  cash investment.

* If a video product is unsuccessful, it's easy to pull it off the market
  without running up losses-you don't have to invest in inventory to launch an
  Internet video business.

Find a vision for your video product. The keys to creating a successful video
product are the same as the keys to success in any business venture: establish
priorities and stay focused on your goal. Your vision must be to create a video
product that adds something of value to your customers' lives. Inspirational
videos and how-to videos accomplish this goal-one of these areas is a good
place to start. Keep these simple tips in mind as you start to develop a video
product for sale on the Internet:

Focus on your strengths. Find one thing that you do well and build your video
around it. Don't spend a lot of time trying to fix your weaknesses-we all have
them. Successful people spend most of their time doing what they do best-they
concentrate on their strengths.

Stay in touch with your customers. Businesses fail when they stop listening to
what their customers are saying. Always approach your video business as a
system that needs to be constantly improved to maintain your advantage over the
competition. Stay focused on your customers. Concentrate on creating a video
product that adds something of value to their lives.

Test the market. You don't have to quit your day job to start creating video
products to sell on the Internet. Most people think that great companies are
established by entrepreneurs who risked everything to test a business idea. The
truth is that many successful Internet entrepreneurs launch and test their
business systems without quitting their jobs. You can create a video product
without leaving your job, test the market on your web site or blog, and tweak
the business system until the profits tell you when to plunge into the new
business full time. Your chances of success can be greatly increased by making
a gradual entry into an Internet video business.

Why video product creation is so easy today

If you have a camera phone and a computer, you can create a video product and
distribute it on the Internet as free or paid content. Video podcasting is the
simplest and least expensive way to create and distribute a video product on
the Internet. Anyone with a broadband connection and some simple tools can
create an Internet channel today to broadcast content to a potential audience
of millions.

Produce your video The easiest way to capture video content is to shoot it with
a digital video camera or camera phone. If you want to create the highest
quality, you can use a webcam. And if your digital still-camera has a recording
feature, you can shoot video clips with it, too. If you have a Mac, you can use
iMovie or Final Cut Pro to capture a video directly from your camera. If you
have Windows XP or Vista on your PC, you already have all the basic video
capture and editing software you'll need, so you can get your feet wet without
investing additional money in software. If you decide to invest in software,
Adobe Premiere Pro is the best program to use to upload video to your computer.

The marketing power of viral video The majority of video content on the
Internet is transmitted virally and downloaded freely, so you may want to
consider the advantages of producing viral videos as well as paid video
content. Viral videos can dramatically increase traffic to your web site or
blog. Popular viral videos featured on the YouTube homepage can bring millions
of new visitors in just a few days to the site that the video links to.

Viral video is one of the most effective and powerful tools that you can use to
increase traffic to your site. If you've designed your site to achieve a good
conversion rate of visitors to sales, then you should always consider the
creation of viral video content as one of your key marketing strategies. People
come to your site because they liked one of your viral videos; when they visit
your site, they find out about paid video downloads, eBooks, and other products
and services you offer.

You can post your video content on YouTube and Google Video for free. Include
your web site or blog URL at the beginning of the text description of your
video. If viewers like it, their comments will achieve a high ranking for your
video. When your ranking increases, you may find it featured on the YouTube
home page. Other web sites and blogs will want to link to your video,
individual viewers tell their friends about it, and then you have a popular
viral video, which spreads over the Internet to an audience of millions. This
can bring a dramatic increase in your traffic and sales.

Build your community of users first, talk to advertisers second. When you have
more traffic, be sure that you know your demographics. When you know how many
people are visiting your site-and something about them-you're ready to show the
figures to advertisers.

Why rehearsing is important in video product creation

Even if you're only planning to create a 30-second video clip to post on
YouTube, never underestimate the power of rehearsal. Rehearsing gets the actors
relaxed enough to be themselves, or to take on the specific personalities called
for in the script. If you plan to be the host or demonstrator of your own
motivational or do-it-yourself video, rehearsing will let you become
comfortable in front of the camera. If you have decided to create a how-to
video, the hardest task is learning how to be yourself in front of a camera.
Rehearsing is the best way to get over your nervousness and connect to your
audience effectively.

Rehearse in different ways to find out which style of delivery works best for
your project. Talk as you move and stand on the set, sit and talk, talk as you
show how to do something, and talk in a voice over as your actors demonstrate
how something is done. And remember: Whatever type of video product you decide
to create, it's important to make sure you have good lighting and plenty of
space. Rehearse in different types of lighting to see what works best, and move
around the set to make sure you have enough space.

When hosts stand or move on the set as they talk to an audience, they can
transmit great energy and power to viewers. A host will sit and talk to create
a laid-back atmosphere that encourages the audience to relax and feel at home.
Just think about the most popular programs on television. What is the
difference between a great host and an average host?

All great hosts stand as they deliver an opening monologue to an audience. They
know how to use their hands, and they know how to keep their bodies poised to
communicate exactly what they want their audience to remember. The best way to
create great-selling video products is to study popular hosts and powerful
speakers. Learn from them, imitate their techniques, and practice in front of a
camera.

Ask your friends to give you their honest feedback. Were you convincing in the
video? Did you connect to your audience? Did they stay focused on what you were
saying? The most important question to ask your "focus group" of friends and
family members is: What message did they get from your video? What do they
think you're trying to say? What are viewers motivated to do after seeing your
video? Answers to these questions are the best measure of the effectiveness of
your video product.

Most of us are in for a shock the first time we carry out this experiment. We
think we have covered a topic completely, only to find that our audience cannot
say with certainty what that topic is. Leave your pride out of it and you'll be
on your way to learning how to create great video products. Listen to your
customers and potential customers. Listen to their feedback. Ask for
suggestions about how to be a more effective host or speaker. Practice,
practice, and keep on practicing.

What you need to know about video product distribution

We are witnessing an explosion in Internet video. If you have never created a
video product for sale on the Internet, trying your hand at a few simple viral
videos for free distribution is a great way to learn skills that add value to
your paid videos as you become better at using the tools available for creating
and distributing video content over the Internet.

Viral video is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful marketing tools for
boosting traffic to your web site. When you upload your video to YouTube, for
instance, you simply need to copy the code that YouTube gives you and paste it
into a new post on your blog. To distribute your video as a podcast, you only
need to attach an RSS feed to it. As soon as you do that, your video product is
ready to reach a potential audience of millions on the Worldwide Web.

Video podcasting is going to have an even greater impact on the Internet than
audio podcasting has had. Don't let the terminology throw you: Video Podcasting
involves nothing more complicated than copying and pasting code into your web
site or blog to make a video clip available on the Internet for other people to
view. With the tools available today, it has become very easy and inexpensive to
create and distribute video products.

The ease with which a video product can be uploaded to video sharing sites like
YouTube and Google Video is bringing about an explosion in Internet video.
YouTube started as a site where individuals could share home videos with
friends and family members. And although the bulk of the video content on
YouTube continues to be home videos produced by amateurs, the site is beginning
to attract professional content producers and large media companies. YouTube
recently entered into a partnership with the BBC, for example, which
illustrates how professional video content is beginning to move online.

How to distribute your video product on the Internet Once you have created,
captured, and uploaded your video to an Internet site, it's easy to distribute
your video content over the Internet. (Technically, a video product does not
become a "podcast" until it has an RSS feed attached to it.) Almost all
blogging software has built-in RSS capability, which is the easiest way to
distribute a video product over the Internet.

Once you post your content online, simply copy the "embed" code given by
YouTube, Google Video, or any of the other popular video sharing sites, and
paste that into a new post on your blog. You can then submit your RSS feed to
any of the video broadcast sites, and your video is on the Internet. By using a
free service like FeedBurner, you make it easier for people to find you and to
remember you. Whenever you post a new video on your blog, FeedBurner updates
your RSS feed and alerts all the video distribution channels, as well as your
blog's subscribers.

Video product creation can take your online business to the next level

Vlogs really began to take off around 2007. An explosion in Internet video
began to take place, and in large part it was an explosion based on video
blogs. A massive online industry is gearing up around video sharing sites like
YouTube and Internet video platforms like Brightcove.com. Television is moving
online, and Internet TV may soon replace your favorite TV programs.

If you're an independent producer of video content or an Internet marketer
interested in learning how to take advantage of the revolution in Internet
video technologies, a good site to visit is Rocketboom (www.rocketboom.com).
This site is marvelous in its simplicity; it has already grown into one of the
most popular sites on the Internet. Rocketboom focuses on what's happening in
the world of Internet news and technology. Its content is presented in a light
and highly entertaining format.

The quality and simplicity of Rocketboom illustrates how fast the revolution in
Internet technology is transforming delivery systems. Licensing and distribution
costs used to require an investment of millions of dollars to get a broadcast TV
channel on the air. Rocketboom is created with a consumer-level video camera, a
notebook computer, and a simple set. It looks and feels like a commercial TV
broadcast, but it has no budget for advertising. The videos are produced on
simple sets, but the content is as smooth and as professional as anything
broadcast on television. The cost of storage and bandwidth space on the
Internet is so cheap today that a video channel like Rocketboom can be launched
with virtually no investment at all.

Like most popular video sites on the Internet, Rocketboom is distributed
through a technology called Real Simple Syndication, or "RSS." This technology
lets viewers subscribe to your channel and receive alerts every time you make a
new video product available on your site. And like so many other new
technologies that are connecting people on the Internet, RSS is a free service.

Paid downloads of your video products is only one of the many revenue streams
that can be generated for online video content. When your audience grows and
you have the demographics to show advertisers, you will start to see what a
powerful force video is for driving your business. Offering both free and
subscription services is a good way to build a large community of users around
your video products.

If you aren't creating video products for both free distribution and sale on
the Internet, you aren't reaping the full benefits of connecting your business
to the Worldwide Web. You may be impressed with how Internet has become a great
tool for gathering and transmitting information, but creating video content for
a potential audience of millions on the Internet is the best way to take your
business to the next level.

Check out Rocketboom and then come back to this article. When you do, I think
you'll be ready to create your first great video product for sale on the
Internet.

The importance of strategic storytelling in video product creation

One of the most valuable things you can give people is a purpose. That's why
inspirational and motivational videos are always at the top of the
charts-demand for encouragement will never be exhausted. No matter where you
live, what you do for a living, or what your spiritual beliefs may be, we are
all hungry consumers of inspirational content. What Dale Carnegie did with his
books in the early years of the twentieth century can be done on a much larger
stage today, thanks to the power of the Internet. There are over a billion
people online today. A popular viral video can be viewed by millions of people
around the world in just a few days.

Popular video products are successful because they connect with their target
audience. The most powerful way to connect with viewers is by telling a story.
Every successful song, every successful movie, every successful book, and every
successful online video product accomplishes the same goal-it connects with an
audience through a story.

You can visit Sanders Says (www.sanderssays.typepad.com) to get a better idea
of what I'm talking about. Business and relationship specialist Tim Sanders
explains that people are more likely to hear your message when you transmit it
through stories that connect to the experiences we share as human beings. The
key to being understood and remembered is your ability to tell stories that
connect with your audience's experiences. When we aren't emotionally connected
to what a speaker is saying, we tune out. We always listen closely to someone
who is able to tell engaging stories.

Effective meetings and sales presentations take advantage of the power of
strategic storytelling. When you bring listeners into your story by connecting
to their experience, you create a space where they can start to trust you and
want to find out more. Sanders Says is a great place to go if you want to
develop your skill as a storyteller. The better you become at connecting to
people through the stories you tell, the easier it is for customers to remember
your message.

Tim Sanders is working on his third book, and he asks visitors to his blog to
submit their stories for possible submission in the book. If you have a story
about someone who identified a social need and got a company or organization to
attack it, you have a great concept for a story. Sanders hopes that his stories
can inspire people to "save the world at work." To submit a story idea, simply
post your concept as a comment on www.sanderssays.typepad.com, and you'll hear
from Tim.

While learning about Tim Sanders' blog, you have probably connected with your
own experience and thought about people and events that would make a good
concept for creating your own video product. If you have, turn on a webcam or
have somebody point a camera phone at you, tell your story in a way that people
can relate to as if it were their own experience, and you will have created the
type of motivational video product that millions of costumers are searching the
Internet to find. When your video product is online, let me know where to find
it-I'm anxious to take a look.

The importance of research and planning in video product creation

Any genre of video product can be enriched by informational content. When you
choose to include factual information in your video, check at least two
reliable sources for everything you want to include. Remember: Wikipedia is not
a reliable source. Yes, I often click on Wikipedia to get my bearings in a
hurry. But I won't stake my reputation on what I've found in a Wikipedia entry.

When you create video products to sell online, you base your business on your
ability to establish a bond of trust with your customers. Don't risk losing
their trust by taking shortcuts in your research. Go the extra mile and your
sales will speak for themselves.

If you're using on-screen talent to film your video product, make sure the
actors have all the background information they need to understand the topic.
If you'll be asking someone questions in the video, be sure to practice your
interviewing skills. If you want to create an unforgettable interview, use
open-ended questions to get your subject talking. The best interviews always go
in directions that no writer could have scripted.

If you use copyrighted music in your video, be sure to obtain the necessary
permission. If your video is not for sale, you may not need to obtain
permission. If you plan to sell your video, you will need to obtain all the
necessary licenses and copyright information. If you are filming anyone other
than yourself, you need to obtain signatures and releases. If you film a
pedestrian or shopper, for example, you need their approval to use the footage
commercially in your video.

Logistics of a successful shoot Logistics is one of the key elements of every
successful video project. If you plan to shoot any footage in a commercial
space, such as a shopping center or store, you'll need to call for permission.
Tell the manager exactly what you want to do; store personnel are generally
very helpful and willing to participate in any way they can. Be sure to give
the store a credit in your video. You may need a city permit for certain
locations. Go to the location to rehearse the shoot before the shoot. There are
lots of things that can go wrong when you just show up and start shooting.

No matter what type of video product you decide to create, you'll need to think
about your set or location. A set can be as simple as a wall with a background
that makes the speaker stand out. If you plan to create a promotional or
educational video, you probably have some simple props that can be part of the
background and keep viewers thinking about the product or service you want to
promote. A chair in front of your background is all you need on the set if your
video will have just one host or demonstrator. If you plan to create a
motivational video or a comedy skit, you'll want the host to stand and move
around the set, so make sure you have enough space.

The best marketing and delivery system for your online video products

In the past year it has become easier than ever to launch an online video
business-or even start your own niche TV channel. Brightcove.com is the best
package available for marketing and selling your online video products. This
site provides Internet publishing services, which means that you can create
your own Internet channel on Brightcove.

Brightcove includes everything you need to sell video content to your
customers: digital rights management support, payment processing, download and
delivery, and customer service support. You set rental and sale prices for your
video downloads. (You can rent video downloads for one, three, seven, or thirty
days.) Brightcove lets you launch an Internet video channel on your own web
site and grow your channel into a thriving online video or TV business.
Brightcove also lets you grow your business through syndication to affiliate
web sites. This is Internet video at its best.

What makes this site so special is the Brightcove business model. Members can
select one of various revenue streams and control where their content appears
on the Internet. One revenue option is to allow Brightcove to add their
advertising to your video-when this happens, they split advertising revenue
with you. (No ads are run on paid video downloads.) Brightcove gives producers
control over how ads appear in their videos. A company can even choose to host
its content on the Brightcove platform and set its own rates for advertising.

The Brightcove Platform for professional content providers and marketers allows
you to set up video channels on your own web site and syndicate your video
content to affiliate sites. As your audience increases, your revenue from sales
and advertising will also increase.

A free Brightcove Network account gives you unlimited access to video
broadcasting, storage, delivery, and distribution services. As soon as you
register, you can start publishing your videos and set up your Internet
channel. The best thing about Brightcove is how it empowers users. You used to
be a creator of video products for the Worldwide Web-Brightcove gives you the
power to be a broadcaster of online video products.

Concentrate on what you do best One of the most powerful aspects of the
Brightcove Platform is how you can use it to create a community of users around
your site. Brightcove lets you create what is essentially your own YouTube niche
site. You can encourage viewers to put their own videos on your site, just like
users do on YouTube. You control all aspects of this process, of course-review,
approval, and publishing of videos uploaded by your viewers.

The greatest benefit of Brightcove is that it lets you concentrate on what you
do best-creation and marketing of video products. This is astonishing; it is
now possible to launch an Internet TV channel without the huge capital
investment traditionally required for putting a show on the air. Brightcove is
a platform that can scale to handle whatever you give it, and it is already
hosting content from some of the largest media companies in the world.

How to turn the "power of us" into a great video product

What's the secret of a great video product? As Edison said, "Genius is 1%
inspiration and 99% perspiration." It requires vision, determination,
self-discipline, and a daily commitment to concentrate on the project. Getting
started is usually the hardest part. Once you've started to make progress
toward your goal of shooting a video for sale on the Internet, a fountain of
energy is created around the project that will carry you through to successful
completion-as long as you stay focused on your daily goals and priorities.

Many people simply never get started. If you want to create video products to
sell on the Internet but don't know how to get started, think about a story
that you can share at www.cisco.com. You may have seen Cisco's promotional
campaign for the "human network." Cisco (www.cisco.com) is the company behind
development of what has become the standard for virtual communication: Internet
Protocol (IP). Cisco's new platform, TelePresence, offers network services to
link partners, coworkers, and customers over a worldwide IP network.

If you've been thinking about how to harness the power of video for boosting
your traffic and sales, the Cisco homepage is a good place to get some ideas.
They are running one of the most effective promotional campaigns I've seen in a
long time: "Welcome to a network where anyone can be famous," says the voice
over in the Cisco campaign. "Welcome to the Human Network."

Here's how it works. Cisco wants you to share your story-talk about how the
"human network" has helped you make something extraordinary happen. Describe
how network technology helped you connect with other people in new ways to make
something happen that never could have happened before. Talk about how this
experience changed you-what has changed in the way you live, work, or learn how
to do new things? Focus on how your experience illustrates the "Power of Us"-how
does it illustrate the power that is created when people are connected? How can
your story benefit other people? Describe the technology that brought these
benefits to your life.

When you go to the Cisco page, you'll quickly see where to enter your story in
text form. I recommend that you also script your story and shoot it with a
webcam or camera phone. Inspirational videos are the one of the biggest-selling
genres on the Internet. This exercise can help you get your feet wet. You never
know what might happen-a motivational video may grow out of your script that
creates a great video product for sale on the Internet.

Time Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year was "You." Business Week did a report
on "The Power of Us." Many centuries ago the Roman statesman Cicero said, "If
you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings, and
speak my words." The more things change, the more they remain the same-connect
with other people and you'll never run out of ideas for great video products to
sell on the Internet.

How to market and sell video products on the Internet

Internet TV is here-its name is Brightcove.com. Have you been asking yourself
what TV will look like when it moves online? It already has, and you can see
for yourself by visiting the Brightcove.com site. Although Brightcove is
marketing itself as the ideal host for all producers and marketers of online
video products, at this point it seems to be more appropriate as a platform for
creators and marketers of professional video content. If you're an Internet
marketer who already has a successful site and who needs a platform to manage a
line of video products, Brightcove is the perfect choice for your business.

How to launch an online video business at Brightcove.com

You can launch your own Internet channel on Brightcove for marketing your video
products. Brightcove offers video content producers two options: the Brightcove
Network and the Brightcove Platform. With either option you can create a free
account that lets you create your own video channel, upload and sell your video
products, and insert videos from Brightcove.com on your own blog or web site.

The basic format is called the Brightcove Network. It's free to use and simple
to understand. What can you do with the Brightcove Network? The Brightcove
Network allows independent content producers to:

* Publish video products for free

* Let Brightcove manage your advertising

* Keep half of the advertising revenue

* Sell downloads of your video products

Brightcove makes it easy to encode and upload your videos. You can add
thumbnails, text descriptions, or video stills to make it easy for customers to
find the titles they're interested in. You can even organize your videos into
lineups to control how they are viewed. Your channel is published for free on
Brightcove.com, and you can embed codes in your blog posts to place content on
your own site. Brightcove takes care of the hosting and delivery of your
content. Major media corporations are already using Brightcove to host millions
of video streams. Brightcove helps you reach an audience with your video content
by listing your videos in the major Internet search engines. SEO features built
into your Brightcove channel get your videos listed and ranked in the major
video search engines, as well as in traditional text-based search engines.

The Brightcove Platform is designed for media companies, broadcasters and
Internet marketers. The Brightcove platform allows you to choose your preferred
format for creating a revenue stream from your online video products. By paying
a user fee to publish your videos, Brightcove allows you to:

* Sell your own advertising or choose to run no ads at all

* Keep all revenue generated from your advertising

* Sell downloads of your video products

When you market your product with skill and determination, customers will find
you on the Internet. And when customers find what they're looking for, they
don't care if it's being delivered by a big production studio or by an
individual entrepreneur with a webcam.

How to get started as an online video publisher

If you haven't heard about the revolution going on in the world of Internet
video publishing, you've probably been living in a cave for the past year.
Video sharing is the hottest thing on the Worldwide Web today. Brightcove.com
is making a strong bid to build the platform for the next generation of video
sites, and it's a great place to get started as a publisher of online video
products. Brightcove has great tools for driving traffic to your video channel
and boosting sales:

Create revenue streams on Brightcove from video downloads: You can sell and
rent video downloads on the Brightcove.com and directly on your web site.
Brightcove takes care of payment processing and live customer support. You
control the terms of use and the price of each download product, of course, and
keep 70% of the revenue generated from your sales. A tracking tool lets you
monitor how your channel is performing on the Internet. You can measure your
viewers and video streams on your affiliate sites as well as on your own web
site. This tool also tracks your earnings from sales and rentals.

Be a live broadcaster of video products: Your channel appears automatically on
Brightcove.com, making it easy for customers to find and buy your video
downloads. As a broadcaster of video products, you can use Brightcove to build
a community of users around your niche market. You can encourage your viewers
to share your videos by enabling email links ands setting up subscriptions to
video feeds. At all stages of the process you control how viewers share your
videos-or if they can share them at all. This allows you to market content
virally if you choose.

Video syndication to other web sites: Brightcove lets you create and manage
your relationships with affiliates who want to syndicate your video products.
You retain full control over programming and branding. Brightcove has entered
into a partnership with AOL Video that creates an additional option for content
distribution-as a Brightcove user, you can distribute paid downloads of your
video products through AOL Video. The AOL platform lets you sell your video
downloads directly to the huge audience at AOL.com.

Advertisers want to underwrite Internet video content: Online video publishers
are generating significant revenue streams. Popular vlogs make money by selling
subscriptions to users, by offering paid download content, and by attracting
sponsors who want to enter into partnerships with creators of popular video
products. Brightcove gives even free users the opportunity to earn advertising
revenue from their video content. Newly launched channels are reviewed for
inclusion in the Brightcove Ad Network. If your channel is included, you receive 
half of all the advertising revenue. Even if no ads run on your content, you 
still get free Brightcove service.

Brightcove's customers already include Newsweek, Sony, Discovery Network, and
the Tribeca Film Festival. Brightcove is one of the most exciting developments
on the Worldwide Web today. You can stay informed of the latest developments in
Internet TV by visiting their blog at http://blog.brightcove.com.

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