If you’re a content creator like me, someone who goes to great lengths to share your own knowledge and opinions via social media, you know how important it is to get the most mileage out of your original work.
Frankly, I’m always thinking of new ways to leverage and repurpose my efforts.
So as I was writing the posts in my “10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter” series, I’ll admit that I was thinking all along that they might lend themselves quite well to video. After all, I had already turned a number of blog posts into short clips that I had uploaded to YouTube, each of which featured me talking straight into the camera from a variety of different locations. I envisioned this series to be no different. What I didn’t anticipate was that it would take me more than a year to shoot all 10 of the videos, even though the scripts for each of them were already written and all of them except for the first one were less than three minutes in length.
Between my busy family life and crazy long work hours, never mind my efforts to run at least a few miles every other day, there just never seemed to be enough time.
That said, they’re done — finally. They’re recorded, uploaded and available for public consumption. And – hint, hint – the more views, comments, likes, shares, etc., of course, the better.
Despite the relative simplicity of these videos, they gave me a good opportunity to present myself as an experienced, enthusiastic copywriter, someone who has been living and breathing what he’s talking about since 1983. They also gave me the chance to put even more content out there, parlaying my written words into moving pictures that put a face to the thoughts and theories that I believe in so strongly.
As for the production of these videos, we’re talking bare bones and basic. The only equipment used was a Flip video camera, a Motorola Droid X smartphone, Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD 11.0 video editing software, a tripod and a few Sharpie markers to write up my cue cards.
Seriously, this was an amateur production on a shoestring budget. I just talked straight into the camera and shared my thoughts on what I feel are the secrets to success as a copywriter.
It was also a family affair. That’s right, I couldn’t have shot these videos without the cooperation and assistance of my two sons, Scott (standing alongside me in the photo at right) and Ben, and my wife, Barbara. Each of them went above and beyond in either holding the camera or the cue cards for me, putting up with my insistence on doing multiple takes of each video until I got my lines down just right. I thank them profusely and sincerely.
And finally, there were the locations of the shoots. In an attempt to make these videos stand out from from the competition for eyeballs and to give them a fun, little twist, I shot six of them amid a unique outdoor setting, not too far from my home in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
From the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge to Walden Pond to the Boston Common, we certainly covered a lot of ground.
See for yourself. Let me know what you think of my blog post on video series, “10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter.” What follows below is the last video in the series as well as individual links to all 10 of the videos, each of which was uploaded to my YouTube channel shortly after shooting. Please don’t hesitate to let me know what you think I could have done differently to improve the production value and overall effectiveness of these videos. And if you like them, please don’t hesitate to share them — or this post — with your friends, colleagues and especially any copywriters you may know in the business. Thanks.
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 1 — Dare to be Different
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 2 — Care Deeply about Results
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 3 — Walk in Your Readers’ Shoes
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 4 — Develop Strong Presentation Skills
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 5 — Keep Your Head out of the Sand
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 6 — Exercise Good Judgement
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 7 — Meet Your Deadlines
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 8 — Be a Team Player
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 9 — Sweat the Small Stuff
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part 10 — Use Social Media
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