Internet video can get confusing fast
As I’ve heard myself saying a lot lately “It’s 1994 all over again.”
1994 was the year the web really took off.
It was a very exciting time, but it was also incredibly challenging.
There were no clear pathways, but there were thousands of voices screaming “This is the way to go!”
The opportunity that Internet video represents is going to be huge. There’s no question about that.
If there is a question, it’s about how you can take best advantage of it.
— The #1 most crucial question for you to answer to insure success in this field
If you’re a serious direct marketer, you probably already own a book written by Dick Benson. He’s the guy who most people agree was the world’s most successful direct mail promoter.
If you don’t have it, I’ve put a link at the bottom of this issue for you to order it.
Benson said that one of the three most important things he learned over his 50 + year career in marketing was this:
“Make only that to which you bring a unique quality and buy everything else around the corner.”
This philosophy allowed Benson to create and operate print newsletters that had hundreds of thousands of paid subscribers with just himself and one other employee.
— What does this have to do with Internet video?
The current crop of Internet marketing ‘hot shots’ call it ‘outsourcing’ as if they invented the concept, but the fact is smart business people have always been strategic about what they make and what they buy.
The reality is we’re all outsourcers, some of us are just better at it than others.
For example, I doubt that you personally fabricated the chips in your computer. I’m also pretty certain you’ve never mixed up a batch of ink to write a letter either.
Instead of “make” you chose to “buy.”
Here’s the rule again:
“Make only that to which you bring a unique quality and buy everything else around the corner.”
— With Internet video teamwork will be more important than talent
There are lots of things you can do well singlehandedly. Writing for example, and designing web sites.
But there are many activities where teamwork is what’s necessary.
Have you ever watched the credits for a movie or TV show and seen how many people were involved in a given production?
Creating and using video for the Internet does not have to be a Hollywood production and there are some ‘down and dirty’ tools that let you do it solo, but if you’re serious about taking full advantage of the Internet video explosion, here’s some million dollar advice from a seasoned media revolution veteran (me):
“Invest time in finding other people to play with. Don’t try to learn it, do it, be it all yourself.”
Here’s some concrete advice specifically tailored for:
– video makers
– web masters
– marketing consultants and
– business owners
* Advice for video producers
If you’re already a video producer, start making friends with as many savvy web designers as you can.
Don’t try to become a webmaster at this point in your career. The world already has millions of them. Your job is to find one good one that you can work with happily.
Your hook: “Mr. Webmaster, I can create great video for your clients’ web sites.”
* Advice for web designers
If you’re already a capable web designer, think twice before you invest in a closet full of video gear.
Odds are if you’ve gotten to this point in your life without catching the video making bug there’s a good reason for that.
Stick with what you do best and make friends with local video makers.
Your hook: “Mr. Video Maker, I can put your clients’ work on the Internet.”
* Advice for marketing consultants
Do you really have the time, energy and motivation to master two separate disciplines, video making and web design?
Maybe you do, but I bet you will make a lot more money faster – and have a lot more fun doing it – if you’ll hunt for existing video-web production teams to work with.
Because we’re so early in this trend, such teams are as rare as hen’s teeth. But that’s a good thing.
Why?
Because when you find a team, you’ll have something practically no one else has.
Imagine the power of being the only marketing consultant on your block who can flip a switch and produce smart Internet video sites for clients.
Your hook: “Mr. client, I can create web promotions for you that will instantly put you ahead of all your competitors.”
But what do you do if you just can’t find a great video-web production team to work with?
Make one.
Be a matchmaker. Bring a video person and web person together. Show them the potential. Enroll them in your plans.
Do it now while the supply of such folks is extremely limited.
My guess is that for a few years at least demand for video-web production is going to swamp supply and it will be very lucrative to be on the right side of the curve either as a provider or contractor.
* Advice for business owners
I saved the best for last.
I think you already get the idea that time and money invested in finding a video-web production team probably makes more sense thany buying a closet full of new gear and trying to learn how to use it.
Remember Dick Benson’s rule:
“Make only that to which you bring a unique quality and buy everything else around the corner.”
It could be a royal pain trying to find folks who can turn your marketing ideas into real live Internet video sales promotions… but when you find them, you’ll have a marketing weapon that will leave your competitors in the dust.
You may have to put such a team together yourself.
All I can say is that if you do it now, it could be worth a fortune to you.
The history of business is packed with stories of entrepreneurs who created fast, massive success for themseles by being the first to exploit a new medium.
It happened in radio, it happened in TV, in happened with infomercials, it happened with the Internet, and it’s going to happen with Internet video.
Business success – in any field, at any time – always goes to the best business people.
And the best business people know two things:
1. How to strike when the iron is hot and
2. How to make smart decisions about “make or buy.”
Next issue: “Talking heads”
P.S. If you want to read a very wise book about how to create a marketing business with maximum impact and minimum overhead, including illustrations of the “make or buy” philosophy at work, check out: http://www.TheBensonBook.com
– Ken McCarthy
P.S. For over 25 years I’ve been sharing the simple but powerful things that matter in business with my clients.
If you’d like direction for your business that will work today, tomorrow and twenty years from now, visit us at the System Club.
———————————————-
Subscribe to the System Internet Video Marketing
Newsletter by going here:
http://www.InternetVideoMarketingLetter.com/
———————————————-
Comments are closed.