In a word.. yes! The people who hire you still like speaker preview videos. To those of you who are not familiar with these, they are six or seven minute videos that contain some clips of you on the platform.
Over the years, as you can imagine, I have seen some GREAT ones, and some less than great ones. In my mind a great preview video is one that sets a tone in the beginning. This is a simple thing to do, yet I find it is the one thing most don’t do. You need to “position” yourself at the beginning of a video. If you do, everything else following will make much more sense.
I worked with a very popular speaker a couple of years ago. Prior to working with speakers I like to review what they are using to promote themselves and their services. He sent me his video. Great production value! Wonderful lighting! Perfect audio! Terrific audience shots! Stage was perfect with draped background in several colors! A big screen above showing the speaker! What more could you ask for?????
How about letting me know what the heck he was talking about? His video was gleaned from two appearances. He had about four or five self-contained clips with stories. Problem? There was no context to the film. It was a mish-mash. A pretty mish-mash, but one indeed.
When we met, the first thing he said was, “I hope you like my video, I spent over $10K on it!” I gulped. He saw the expression on my face and hung his head. “Oh no!”
I told him it needed one thing. Just one thing added on the beginning of the film. A positioning statement! Something that defined by concept and outcome what he did for his clients. The upshot of this story is that he took the master back to the editor and recorded a voice over of a positioning statement we created. Voila! Everything was in context and it made great sense! Total cost – $100.
If you are thinking about making a standard preview video I suggest begin with your positioning statement. Then have a few self-contained points or stories. You can act as your own “master of ceremonies” and introduce each clip. (Or, you can hire voice talent.)
Make sure your video shows you delivering content within ten seconds. A bureau owner told me this. He said when a video didn’t; he pulled it and pitched it. He wanted to see platform time immediately.
At the end, sum it up with an action statement. Something like, “If you like what you see, I would love to work with you!” I suggest you not only have your video on your website and you tube, but that you also have some on CD’s so you can send if asked.
Many speakers have video clips on their sites. These are great! However, I think a formal preview video is something you should seriously consider. There are experts who can help you put together a terrific one, or, you can do it yourself.
If you have a great preview video it will pay dividends!
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Copyright 2012, Lois Creamer. Lois Creamer works with professional speakers who want to book more business, make more money and avoid costly mistakes! She can be reached in the following ways:
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