Author: Cheptiony Mutai

  • 3 Steps To Closing Your First Deal as a Freelancer

    If you are starting up as a freelancer, you know how hard it is to close your first deal going by the fact there are hundreds of other freelancers out there who are 10x better than you.

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    Photo by Savvas Stavrinos on Pexels.com

    How do you get over fear that you will not succeed before you even take your first step? How do you compete with other qualified freelancers and emerge the best in the business?

    You see,

    At end of the day, you have to make more sales. With time, you will want to concentrate high value contracts. To get your feet on the ground, here are 3 steps to closing your first deal even if you have no experience at all.

    Research on Your Clients’ Requirements And Address them in Your Cover Letter

    This may sound obvious but most people fail to do it right. Serious clients searching for freelancers will prefer to work with someone who addresses the pain points of the problem in their cover letter. Stick to the topic of the job.

    In this day and age, or rather in the freelancing world, no one cares if you have 10 years of experience…all they want is someone who is ready to solve their problem faster- and get paid. Stick to that. Tell them how you are going to do it. Be brief.

    Offer to Speak to Your Prospect on Call

    This only comes in handy if a client shows interest in your proposal by messaging you. scheduling a call is convenient to someone who is busy and not ready to have e-mail exchanges back and forth. Demonstrate that you are confident enough about the job on offer by proposing to have a call. Majority of clients, are willing to get on call with you in the time that you propose.

    Ask Them to Close the Deal to Enable You Start

    Now, I know this sounds very unusual to many but it works. Don’t wait for the client to close the deal, ask them to do so once they have provided you with all the required information. Be polite while doing so. This works best when you set a deadline. Don’t let them assume and wait for you to work without a contract in place. It is risky as it may not end up well. Them putting money on escrow demonstrates commitment.

    And that is it from me today.

    If you need help to create professional screen-cast video tutorials, request a free quote here.

    Until next time, bye, bye and take care.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony.

  • 5 Reasons Why a Prospect Will Kick Your Ass Just When You Are About to Close The Deal

    It doesn\’t matter if the project at hand is big or small – the psychology of closing a sale is the same. Now, if you are fond of copying other people ways of handling business-then this explains why you are always loosing/or getting your a** kicked just when you are about to close a sale.

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    It\’s a no brainier. If your prospect notices a little sign of desperation or display of fear, they will doubt your service and chicken out. All this can be interpreted from the conversations you have with them either on e-mail or call.

    I too, sometimes find myself as a victim. But, I have learn\’t a lot from them. Here are 5 common things that will make a serious client start procrastinating on whether to work with you or not.

    Lack of DEEP Understanding of Your Prospects Video Requirements

    Now, I am talking here of serious clients who are ready to buy your video services… Not the many \’internet window shoppers\’ who are just making inquiry with unclear needs. Serious clients are ready to spend if you clearly convince them that you have the capability of delivering the kind of video they are looking for.

    Watch Video – Deal Breakers in The Freelancing Business

    Now get this, there is \’shallow\’ understanding of the \’need\’ at hand and there is a \’deep\’ understanding of the need. Deep understanding can only be gained from experience of doing the same thing over and over for a very long time. And this goes hand in hand with \’high spenders.\’

    Poor English or Several Grammatical Mistakes in Your Communications

    Now, I admit, English is not my native language. But I had to learn how to communicate well in English. This way, I am able to show how serious I am in engaging with global collaborators. Now, let me explain why this can become the last thing in the list of your requirements. The first thing is usually the \’Skills, followed by timeline, then cost and finally communication.

    In occasions when I am hiring, I can quickly tell from the communication whether someone will be fun working with or not. Any client hiring is looking to reduce their workload. If they find that they are struggling to understand what you are trying to communicate to them, they will re-think on hiring you. I mean you are giving them double work.

    Greed for More Pay

    Again, prospects ready to spend will not look at the cost first. They will look at your skills. They determine this by sharing their requirements. Once satisfied, they will request that you give them a quote. When you provide a quote of say $500. They, will send you an e-mail, saying,

    \’Just to confirm, you say you will charge only $500 to create the video with revisions… Is that correct.\’

    The word \’Only\’ in that sentence will arouse greed in a freelancer. Most guys are tempted to start hiking the amount by introducing \’add ons\’ that was not there before.

    If you are the \’greedy\’ type of freelancer; go take a cold shower before replying that e-mail because you will end up loosing the business by allowing temptations to set their foot on your door:-)

    Too Slow to Meet the Deadlines

    Busy clients set their deadlines. When they contact a freelancer to work on their project, they need it like yesterday. Give them a reasonable deadline and inform them that on request, you can work overtime (in the evenings/holidays of-course), if it\’s urgent. Then tell them how much more you will charge them for overtime. You being honest, they will offer to pay you more if they need the video that FAST. Address them like a fellow human being but stick to the context. They are humans like you only in a different planet.

    Inability to Handle a Single Portion of The General Requirements

    This is what I mean when it comes to video production. Sometimes, a prospect needs someone who can handle everything from Scripting, story-boarding, voice over and video production. They don\’t care how you do it. They just need someone who can tell them they can and prove it. If you are a honest freelancer, tell them what you can and what you can\’t handle. This will help them decide and their decision may not be in your favor. That is fine. Joy comes when you do what you can do best.

    There are many other more reasons which will make a prospect choose not to work with you. One among those being uncertainty when explaining yourself in your e-mail. Always be yourself. Be confident in what you think you can offer.

    And That is it from me here.

    If you need help to create professional screen-cast videos, send a request a free quote here and I will get back to you.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

    You can follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • Dealing With Difficult Clients -4 Ways to Go Around It

    There is nothing stressful like dealing with a difficult client. In most occasions, you get into business dealings with them while you are in your happy mode. In fact, when they share details about what they want done for them, you are quick to accept. Now, you have started work as agreed, and submitted your draft for them to review. This is where you realize that the client is quite difficult to deal with.

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    Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com

    Even though he/she doesn\’t mention it anywhere, you can sense from their comments that something is not right. Their behavior keeps you in a puzzle. They are not particular on anything. For instance, they may say there is a glitch in the video without indicating which minute the glitch is originating from. When you reply and ask them to be specific, they either keep quite or they respond with another new issue without addressing the former.

    Such clients make producers\’ work difficult by not communicating clearly. If you find yourself in such situation; what will you do? Will you ask the client to close the contract and hand it over to someone else? Or will you find a way to advise your client to help you out (through feedback) to correct the mistakes? Here are 3 ways to overcome this hurdle.

    Understand That There is No Difficult Client – It\’s You Who is Difficult

    If a client agrees to award you a contract, it means they love your work. Now, you should be creative enough to resolve issues that arise while working on the contract. Never accept defeat unless the client himself gives up on you for failing to be answerable. Be that person who never mix business with emotions. Sometimes, the client maybe telling you the truth but you don\’t want to accept it.

    Find New Approaches to Get Your Client Provide a Clear Feedback

    Google (through it\’s products) have made this easy for everyone. You can create an excel sheet or Google docs file and advise your client to use the same in providing feedback. This way, you can monitor progress by striking out resolved comments. Be the initiator. You can create a table with segments to motivate the client to simplify his/her comments. e.g one column maybe for them to enter time-codes and another one for comments related to that time-code.

    Brief Them When You Find Difficulty Understanding Their Comments

    We all look at things differently thus our understanding vary. It thus means that the client will provide their brief and feedback in the best way they know. Be open if you find difficulty understanding. Make suggestions on the best way they can do it. Most of them are willing to listen to you and do it your way. Those who want things done their way will go a step further to teach you how.

    Be Patient And Wait For Them To Communicate Back

    Difficulty with clients varies. For instance, some have a problem with communication. They take long to respond because of their busy schedule. They can go a whole week without communicating back. Don\’t give up so fast. Give them time to respond. But follow up if they don\’t after every 2 days to remind them.

    As they say, there are many ways to kill a bird. Keep going and never let any negative feedback or bad communication bar you from delivering your best.

    And that is it from me today.

    If you need help to create professional videos for your online business, let me know by requesting a free quote here.

    Till next time, bye bye and take care.

    You can follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • Where to Find FREE Background Music And Sound Effects with Up to Date Database

    Most people only know YouTube as a video hosting site where one can freely share as well as learn from others. What they don\’t know is; you-tube also hosts very cool free music that you can use anywhere without worrying about copyright infringement.

    Of-course there are several other Youtube channels that publish free video footage that you can download and use it in any of your project. There are also other users who share different sound effects that you can download and use it as you want in your video.

    While their contribution serves many users who are searching for a particular kind of sound ; they do not have a variety to choose from. In other words, they are not consistent.

    That is why Youtube saw that it was fit to have Free music available to encourage video creators produce good video content.

    You can access the free music here.

    There are thousands of music to choose from. Here are few reasons why youtube Audio Library stands out.

    All Music and Sound effects in One Place

    You can find a collection of different music genres in one place. All of these music are free. You can download and use it right away.

    Easy to Select

    These music are arranged in order of genre, mood, instrument, duration, attribution and more. Choose the category you want and play to preview.

    Search By Keyword

    Lets say you are looking for children\’s background music. Just type in \’children\’ on the search bar and hit enter. You will be presented with different music/sounds created particularly for children.

    You Can See What\’s New

    When scrolling through the files, you will see \’new\’ beside the audio. Here you will know its a new audio and you can be the first one to preview it and probably download and use it.

    Note: If you already knew about this free resource, share it with your clients and ask them to help you choose an audio they feel it\’s fit for their project.

    That\’s it from me today.

    If you need help to create a professional video for your project, let me know by requesting a free quote here.

    Till next time, bye bye and take care.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • 5 Ways to Troubleshoot Problems of Video Quality Issues in Your Camtasia Screen Recordings

    There is nothing frustrating in video Screen-casting like a client telling you that the quality of the videos you sent to him/her are horrible. Considering the time you have spent recording, editing and finally delivering the video; being told this is heartbreaking.

    With this said, the client is always right. So, you have to find a solution or else, the client may decide not to pay you at all.

    Now, before you starting thinking about re-recording the videos, here are the best approaches to solving this problem.

    Ask The Client How He/She is Playing The Videos

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    Video player

    Many a times, the problem may be emanating from the client. Some video players do not play some formats. Also, if the video is rendered in 2K or 4K quality; and he/she tries to play the video on a small laptop of 18 inch screen using windows media player or any other player, it will lag and look as if it has some scratches on it. This is because of high video resolution. If you are sure the quality of the video is good and can play fine on your system, advise the client about it. Tell them that 2K and 4K videos only play smoothly on 24 inch and 27 inch screens consecutively. This way they can try other ways. The best solution for this case will be uploading the video to Youtube and choosing 1080p settings on youtube video player.

    Ask Them To Download The Video To Their Desktop And Play

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    Ask them to download the video and watch them on their system

    Am sure most freelancers and clients collaborate and share files via FTP. The most popular here being google drive and dropbox. If you use one of these FTP\’s to share video files, you will agree with me that playing videos directly online is sometimes a big problem. With this said, while sharing high quality videos, it\’s important to notify the client that the quality of the videos might be compromised when played directly from the FTP thus they should download them for the best viewing results.

    If at this point you find that the problem is indeed originating from you, the the following steps will help you find a solution.

    Choose Full Screen When Recording Screens

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    Choose full screen for \’recording area\’ in Camtasia

    There are two things that will determine the final output quality of your video. First is the screen resolution you choose from the Camtasia screen recorder. The best option is recording Full screen. You can cut out sections of the screen you don\’t want while editing.

    Second, is the zoom percentage of your browser. This is if you are recording a tutorial that requires the use internet browser. if you are recording it on 24 inch screen, set the zoom on your chrome browser to 125% and 150% for 27 inch screen. This will make text on your screen recordings easy to read. Also, the quality of your screen recordings will be good.

    Choose Editing Canvas Dimensions To At-least 1920×1080 Pixels

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    Camtasia editing dimensions

    Most clients are happy with these dimensions. This is good for editing all the recordings as your can stretch video to fit the screen. Also with this setting, you can render videos in lower HD resolution like 720p.

    NOTE: If you edit a video recorded in a 4K screen resolution with 1920×1080 canvas dimension, the final video output will be clear and crisp.

    Video Production Settings

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    Camtasia production settings

    Lastly, the video quality problem may be arising from your final production settings. It\’s important to create a custom present for this in Camtasia. Here, there are two key things to look into; first is the key-frame rate and secondly is the encoding mode. The lower the key-frame rate the higher the quality of your videos. I usually set my key-frame rate to between 5 to 10 depending on the video duration. Lower keyframes results in a large video file. It\’s also good to set encoding mode percentage to at least 75%.

    Bonus tip!

    If you are recording videos of you scrolling down a page, you computer RAM will determine how smooth the scroll will be. Low RAM will record choppy screens while high RAM will record smooth scrolls. Also, it is important to install more RAM when recording Game Plays. 16 GB of RAM or more is recommended.

    And that is it from me today.

    If you need help to create and produce professional screen-cast videos or any type of ex-plainer video, request a free quote here.

    Till next time, bye bye and take care.

    You can follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • 3 Commonly Used Styles to Splice Up Video Presentations

    Before I start writing today\’s blog-post, I will like to wish you a happy new year 2019. Let\’s toast for more Good Life. More love. More success and fulfillment. And most importantly more Freedom to enjoy life doing what we love most. Cheers!

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    Photo by ็ฅ ้นคๆง on Pexels.com

    Now with that said, lets dive in. There is a secret in video marketing called \’Pattern Interruption.\’ It\’s commonly used in Video Sales Letters. Successful online video marketers utilize it in their videos. It is a psychological trigger that arouses the subconscious part of the brain. This works best on long versions of sales letters.

    In other words, pattern interruption is meant to excite you and make you interested in learning more. This technique varies. For longer videos, it\’s more of the \’story-line,\’ while for shorter videos, it\’s the video effects, transitions and sound effects. Here is a list of common ways that you can use to splice up your videos and eliminate monotony.

    1. Custom Video Transitions 

    Note that we have video transitions that comes along with the video editing software. I am not talking about those. I am talking of the custom made ones. This is where your creativity comes in. Most of these transitions take less than 1 second or 25 frames. It\’s that fast. You have to be creative and think outside the box in order to come up with your own transition using the tools inside video editing suite.

    Expert Advise: Do not use more that 3 different transitions in a video. It\’s unprofessional. People will think that you are trying hard to sell on them. This is unless its animation.

    2. Video effects 

    This is common when working on motion graphics content. You may add particles, bubbles and even change color to suite the requirements. This works well for film trailers and it bring in certain feeling in the video.

    3. Sound Effects 

    No trailer is exciting to watch if it has no sound effects. It makes the video very pleasing to watch. It goes hand in hand with video transitions and effects. For longer videos, try to limit use of sound effects to be within the first 2.5 Mins.

    Bonus 

    Story-line pattern is another way to splice a video. For instance, if you are working on a 30 minutes Video Sales Letter, changing the story-line and throwing in different videos in intervals is crucial to break the monotony. You can integrate interviews of people whom you have solved their problems in between as well as testimonials.

    And that is it.

    Do you know of any other way to splice up your video presentations? Share it in the comments section.

    If you need help to create a professional video, let me know here.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • Top 5 Free and Paid Video Resources That Made Me Money in 2018

    Many video producers will keep secret of their video resources because that is where they make their dollars. Ok, who wouldn\’t? That\’s how to remain relevant in the market.

    Now, note that without regular research and updates- these resources will become obsolete someday. Market and trends change. This means that video producers who relied on these resources will loose their market value.

    But here is the good news, some sources are always reliable enough in terms of market adaptability. In this blog post, I will share with you top 5 resources that made me money in 2018. Hope you can also utilize the same resources to make the most in the year 2019.

    1. Free \’No Watermark\’ Video Resources

    Earlier in the year, I wrote a detailed blog-post on this which attracted a lot of responses from readers on Four websites to Download Free no watermark videos. Kindly click on the link to learn more. These 4 websites are my best.

    2. Free and Paid Motion Graphics Templates

    I purchase a lot of 2D animations and motion graphics templates on Videohive.  I have known videohive for more than 5 years. When you register, they will send you 2 free video templates each month with license to use them without any obligation. This is awesome. New templates are uploaded each month.

    3. Audio Jungle

    Audio Jungle is part of videohive. Here you will find high quality royalty free music tracks to use in any of your videos. The site also has sound effects that you can incorporate in your videos. I bet you will love
    sound tracks from audio jungle.

    4. 2D Animations

    I use Animaker and goanimate (now vyond). Both software\’s are hosted remotely. You can create nice 2D animated videos with these two software\’s but have different pricing. I still prefer Animaker because of it\’s unique animated characters and lower pricing. But then again, it depends, I always pick one of them based on my clients budget.

    5. Free online video templates

    I found biteable later this year. I know it has been there. Those who were lucky enough to find this awesome site earlier have profited from this resource. Though I haven\’t used any of the video templates from this site, I have previewed existing templates and already like it.

    And that is it from me today.

    If you need help to create a professional videos, let me know here by requesting a free quote.

    Till next time, bye bye and take care.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • 5 Steps to Kick-start Your Video Marketing Journey

    2019 is few days away from us. As you reflect on the challenges and lessons you learn\’t along the year 2018 in your business- take a moment to think about how you can include video element in marketing your business.

    You see, if you sell online and you have not started using video, then you are missing out on customers who take action after watching a video about your products or services.

    According to CISCO, 80% of all internet traffic will be video by 2021. Moreover, Google found that 70% of B2B buyers watch videos on their journey through the sales funnel.

    Does video sound like a good business lead? Of-course yes. So, how do you get started and consistently produce video content for your business on a regular basis at a price that is friendly to your pocket?

    Well, here are five steps to starting out your series of videos that your customers will like.

    STEP 1- Plan and Break Down the Services You Offer Into Bits 

    You first have to decide to include video as a marketing tool in your business. This decision has to be firm. Now, once you have done so, sit down and plan, what you intend to share with your existing and prospective customers. Your product or service must be something the adds value to peoples life. So sit down and write down short titles that may work well wit your product. e.g. Why buying a red carpet is perceived as good \’omen\’ in Chinese Fengshui tradition. This might work well to someone selling carpets. Later you can write scripts to expound more on it for the purpose of shooting the video. This will make your content powerful and pleasing to watch. Someone who is not intending to buy a carpet from you will still watch the video.

    STEP 2 – Appear on the video Speaking or Demonstrating How Your product Works

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    Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com

    This is very important. Prepare to appear on video as the director of the company or the owner of the store that is selling the product. There is no Excuses here. If you are shy, you will not sell. People will trust you more if they see your face. Moreover, they will be confident when buying the product as they are sure who to direct their complaints when the product fails. Many customers will go an extra mile to look for you on social media to confirm you are not a scammer.

    STEP 3 – Find a Good Videographer and Editor and Contract Them For a Long Term

    Now, remember that you are not doing one video and stopping there. You are publishing a series of videos. In this, I mean you may decide to publish 1 video every week .As a result, you will have 4 videos a month and 48 videos in a year. When looking for a video producer, discuss with them your vision. You will be surprised on how pocket friendly the cost will be. If you need help with this, let me know here. I can be you guy to manage your productions:-). If you are residing in another country or would prefer to hire someone remotely, I will advise you to use platforms like Upwork to find a skilled freelancer to work on your videos.

    STEP 4 – Don\’t Be Embarrassed by Your First Video. Publish it. Successful Video Marketers Started there 

    When you watch yourself on video for the first time, you seem to identify many mistakes like accent, shyness e.t.c. It\’s fine. It happens to many people. So, appreciate your small beginnings and be confident that you will overcome this with time. You define your originality from this. Don\’t let it fade. Let people know who you are without any exaggeration. Whoever will buy from you here will be a genuine a customer. And you will be motivated because they accept you for you.

    Step 5 – Use Customer Feedback to Grow Your Video Content 

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    Photo by Erik Mclean on Pexels.com

    Let\’s say you repair broken chairs and leather Sofas. When you show people what you do- before and after- they are thrilled and would want to learn more. So in the comments section of the video, you will see people asking question related to what you have just shared with them on video. This is good for two reasons. One, it motivates you to continue sharing videos. Two, it gives you ideas and leads for your next video. With time, you will not run out of ideas on what to do next. As a result, you will have grown customer base through engagements.

    These are 5 important steps to getting started.

    There are other many more and you will learn about them along the way once you get started. But the idea here is, to get started. That is very important.

    And 2019 is the best time!

    That\’s it.

    If you are looking for help to kick-start video marketing in your business by creating customer focused videos for your applications/software\’s/SaaS/website apps? I can help. Request a free quote here.

    You can follow me on twitter @cheptiony

    Until next time. Bye bye and take care.

  • 3 Keywords that will Attract Qualified Freelancers to Your Job

    Now, you might have heard that being very detailed in what you want when looking for a professional freelance video producer or editor is key. Sadly writing a long detailed job post may not help you find one. Irrespective of the freelancing site you use to find a freelancer, know that many other clients like you are looking for freelancers as well. This means that there is a huge competition to find a perfect freelancer. 

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    Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

    If you don\’t use the correct keywords, you may find yourself editing and re-posting the same job post after failing to find the right match. 

    Expert freelancers-while sifting through freelance jobs- read titles first and check if it has the keywords related to his/her skills. If it does, he clicks on it to read more with an intention of applying/bidding. 

    So why does other clients get over 20 applicants in an hour while others takes more than 10 hours to get 10 applicants for a job in video production? 

    Well, besides the skills, payment verification check and client past reviews; freelancers look at how keen the client is in cutting the BS.

    In this I mean, if you write a long detailed description of your job post- freelancers are most likely to skip your post. This means you have to summarize your post if you want many qualified ones to bid. Here are 3 things that will get freelancers bidding for your job; 

    Narrow in the category of video production service you want 

     In video production, there are many sub categories namely, screen-casting,  videography(shooting video), video editing, Animations, 3 D animation, motion graphics and more. As a client, you know the type of video you are looking for. Name that in your title e.g Animated demo video for my mobile app. A freelancer with good skills in animations and specifically animations for mobile apps will be more drawn to apply for it. 

    Find one \’word\’ that describes the purpose of the video 

    Videos are created for different purposes. And when you mention the video purpose in your title using the right word, it will trigger creative part of the brain of the person reading. e.g In the example I have used above in point No.1, \’demo\’ is the purpose. This thus means that when a freelancer reads this in the tittle, before applying, he/she will ask himself, is this what I can create? That means if he/she decides to bid, he will provide examples related to that. And you can use the examples provided to narrow in your search. 

    Mention the results you expect after someone watches the video created

    Freelancing has evolved from the year 2010 to now. So, it means that freelancing sites have their own algorithms to help clients quickly find suitable freelancers. But this only works if you use the right keywords from the word go. Using an opposite keyword is a total disaster. It\’s like searching for \’truck\’ on google when you are actually looking for a pick up truck. It won\’t work. The same applies when looking for a freelancer. 

    I have seen clients use the right keyword on their titles, and one paragraph in the description with a small budget and the post attracted over 50 candidates. Such clients are guaranteed to find and hire the BEST freelancer who require little or no supervision at all. 

    And that is it from me today. 

    In-case you need help with hiring a video editor or video producer, you can request a free quote here. 

    Till next time, bye bye and take care. 

     You can follow me on twitter @cheptiony 

  • 5 Common Things that Will Make a Client Request For Several Video Revisions

    When your client asks for video revisions the first time, you are excited because you know you are close to completing the project – and getting PAID. 

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    Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com

    But, after the first round of revision, you client sends you a longer list of revision requests and you are are like WTF! Why didn\’t she/he spot these issues the first time I shared the video? 

    Hold on, some micro (yet critical) mistakes in video are hard to spot when one is reviewing it for the first time. Here is why; 

    Clients Focus their Attention on Communication in their First Review

    When you share the first draft of the video, your client will want to see if the visuals conveys clearly the message according to his vision and script. Hence the initial comments will be based on this. He/she may also pick some other small issues that are common like sound issues and probably video resolution. 

    So, that means he/she will pick other small issues once sure that the message is being properly communicated. 

    So when creating the video, here are top 5 things that you should be keen with. 

    Spelling Mistakes 

    This is very common. For instance, misspelling someone\’s name, or grammatical mistakes on text graphics. This is very important. If not fixed, it may ruin the whole good vibe that the video has. So, to avoid back and forth after the first review, skim through your graphics before exporting your video. Make sure that they are grammatically correct. Also, counter-check names with your client to ensure that its written correctly. That way, you will save yourself a lot of trouble. 

    Jump Cuts/Blank Video Frame

    Each time you export or render your video, preview it before sharing. This way, you will be sure that the video plays smoothly from the beginning to the end. Sometimes, you accidentally move a clip 1 frame while editing and it results in a noticeable dark section when being played. Be careful and keen on this. Otherwise, your client will. 

    Export Settings 

    If you are exporting your draft videos in low resolution of 720P with lowest bit rate and smaller file, let your client know about this from the start. Tell them that the final video will have high resolution. Otherwise your client will assume the final video will look the same and may not like it. 

    Use One or Two Transitions Consistently 

    Several funky transitions are not only confusing, but on a marketing perspective, it displays a characteristic of someone trying hard to sell. This originates from a place of desperation. No one wants to be perceived that way. Thus, when you use transitions, try to be minimal. Use at least two different transitions, all through your video. Otherwise you client will tell you to do so. 

    Check With your Client on the Correct Color Themes 

    Many companies today insist on sticking to their company color themes. This is applicable on all video graphics that you create for them.  It is therefore good to consult with your client on the same. This way, they can send you their logos or probably their company color pellets. 

    If you assume this, you client will notice this probably when you are doing the final touches and being told to revise graphic colors the last minute may be irritating to you as the editor. 

    This are five among other many micro things that will make your client request for more revisions. It is therefore crucial to be clear from the start on the number of revisions you are willing to offer to your client. i.e Offering 3 rounds of revisions for free is ideal. Any additional revision will attract a fee, which you will suggest to your prospect. 

    And that\’s all from me today. Hope this article was helpful to you. 

    If you need any help related to creating videos, you can request a free quote here.  

    Till next time, bye bye and take care. 

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