Category: COPYWRITING

Writing powerful scripts for video

  • 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.

    \"agreement

    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

  • 5 Tips to Start and Grow a Screen-casting Video Business Remotely

    Like photography, anyone can do a screen cast video- all they need to have is a computer installed with a screen-casting software and headphones with a microphone to record their voice-Period! 

    \"iphone
    Photo by Brett Jordan on Pexels.com

    So, how can you make this a business if anyone can do it? Who will pay for a such service? 

    Well, here is a little secret, the companies which develops and distributes screencasting software\’s uses the keywords-easy to use and anyone can use– as their marketing hook. Many of those who have purchased and used any of the screen-casting software are surprised with what follows after they have recorded the screens that they needed with narration.

    They realize more is needed in terms of editing. e.g sections where there was some silence or where the is uhmms and uhs. Besides, some sections need to be highlighted and zoomed in. In other occasions the audio may need some cleaning up to reduce the background noise.

    This thus means, the user has to spend more time learning how to edit their recordings. This is besides other things like \’sharing settings.\’ At the end of the day, if he/she is a busy executive, he will have to spend a lot of time perfecting the video. This is not good when it comes to productivity. 

    With this awareness, you are able to begin your research on this niche to identify and segment target clients/markets for yourself. For example, SaaS businesses with high customer volume will prefer to hire a freelancer to help them handle their screen-casting projects in response Frequently Asked Questions by their customers.

    Here are 5 tips to help you start and build a successful business in screen-casting; 

    Do a Research On Areas Where Screen-casting is Used

    This may sound simple. Writing this down will surprise you even more. You will realize that the market is so wide. Coming into realization that clients with high volume customers will not mind spending money on your service will inspire you even more. 

    Produce Screen Casts\’ That Stands Out

    Why would someone pay you to produce something that they can do themselves apart from saving time? Make you presentations stand out by adding simple animations, motion graphics and more. 

    Be Good In Writing –Know how to script tutorials

    Now, some clients will ask you to script their tutorials (especially if it\’s a software) after familiarizing with it. You may miss this opportunity if you have poor skills in writing and do not like writing. Even if you do not like writing, partner with a fellow freelancer who can write and negotiate extra to accommodate their service. 

    Deliver With a Studio Quality Voice Over

    Not all of us have good voice or speak in native English accent. But will you miss opportunity because of this? No. Think outside box. If you don\’t know anyone you can contact to do voice over for you, sign up and hire a freelancer to handle this for you on sites like Upwork. 

    Scale Up Your Pricing Once You Have Gained Confidence in The Market

    When I started up as screen-cast video producer, I used to charge $30 for a 3 Minutes video. Since then, I have scaled up and now charge $500-1000 for same service and more advanced quality based on my experience. Busy professionals would rather pay more to someone who needs little or no supervisions once the deliverables are clearly defined. 

    Summary 

    Like any other niche, you will grow based on your tactics and ability to bring in more value to the service for more money. It\’s an art and the price is infinite. You choose how much you should charge. 

    That is it from me today. 

    Until next time, bye and take care. Once again, do a good job and You will be handsomely rewarded. 

    If you need help to produce professional screen-cast videos, you can request a free quote here.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony 

  • Is your Client Asking you to Rush a Project/Contract? Hold on, Here is How to Make More From It

    Any freelancer with proven track record will tell you that they regularly get requests from both past and new clients to work on a project within a very short timeline-in fact, it\’s the client who sets the timeline.

    When this happens, the client will offer to pay you more to complete the project. But not all of these clients will mention this when making their request, and if you are naive, you will accept the project and charge them your regular rates.

    As, someone experienced, you should not do this. Instead, you need to negotiate for more. It\’s your time to cash in on your experience. By the client choosing to contact you, it means they trust you and your service.

    Now, how do you start the pitch for more? Well, you need to be a very organised person and smart. Here are a few tips to approach it.

    Base Your Extra Fee on Delivery Timeline 

    If it\’s a client whom you have worked with in the past, they are well aware of your timelines based on your order. For example, if you usually deliver a video within 5 days and your client have placed an order and wants the same in 2 days, then, you should start your negotiations here. Tell them you appreciate the offer. Then now tell them how you work on such orders. 

    Don\’t Sound Like Someone in \’Dry Spell\’

    Not all months are same. I agree. There are some which are good while others are not. Before replying that e-mail request, calm down, sober up and be as professional as you can even if you are free. Your client already know that you are a busy person. Be someone who works on schedule. That way, your client will be like \’Can you pause other projects and do mine first.\’ 

    Give Them a Reasonable Fee for Fast Delivery

    Now, if the client proposes an amount from the start of his/her request, use that to initiate your negotiation. If they don\’t, then give them your price. For a returning client 30-50% is a good extra amount to charge. For a new client. You might have to change your strategy. Say, something like \’\’I usually double the price for fast delivery, but since you are a new client, I will charge you only 50% more. 

    Show Your Client that You Know What You are Doing 

    If you know what you are doing, you will ask your client the right questions. In turn, your client will close the deal fast. The questions you ask will help you collect  the right information you need to complete the project.

    If are not properly organised, or you negotiation strategy is not in order, you client will hesitate to hire you.

    Note that, you client is ready to spend. You only need to give them a reason to.

    And that is it from today.

    If you need professional help on video, let me know by sending me an e-mail on connect@cheptiony.com

    Till next time, bye and take care.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • Tips to Ensuring You get Paid For Your Blog for Services After Delivery

    If you give expert advise or opinion on your blog and readers love what you share, they will definitely seek for your expertise or refer you to other people looking for services that you offer. You will always get excited when a client contacts you and wants to hire you for your services. If you are not cautious, you will end up giving out all your services for free or at a throwaway price.

    At end, you will feel sorry for yourself for trusting someone who contacted you remotely and asked for your services of which you provided them in good faith.  

    Some remote clients are heartless and rude. Once they get hold of the service they needed; be it video or voice over, they forget about you. Some will say they didn\’t use it. This is despite you making revisions and iterations based on their request. So, how do you ensure that you get your pay after working on and completing the project with a client you met on your blog?

    Set your terms 

    Your terms should surround your PAY. Before anything else, focus on getting your pay-that\’s the reason you are working with them on the first time. Many freelancers and bloggers fear to talk about pay for the fear of loosing the client. Now, get this from me, crooked clients know this and they maximize on it. They will do everything to ensure that you don\’t ask for any pay upfront. And at the end you loose both your \’fingers and your chips.\’ Now, here is a brief on how I do it. 

    • Understand your clients requirements first – Every job is based on requirements. For example; if a client needs me to edit and produce his/her video, one of the first requirements is the footage and storyboard on how he/she wants it edited. If it\’s video creation, I will first find out what he/she will provide me with for use in creating the video. Once I have all requirements with me I will proceed now to the next stage of telling them the cost. 
    • Give them your rates –Now you have the requirements. You are an expert. It\’s time to give them your rates for the service. I usually give them my rates per minute of production. This will help them decide whether to work with me or not. If they decide to work with me, its a win.But, I don\’t get excited yet until I get paid. 
    • Set timelines –  Encourage your client that you work on timelines. And let him/her set the timeline. This will make them commit as they will be rest assured you will working on the project and delivery will be soon. This is a good place to know if he/she is serious about it or not. 
    • Introduce your mode of payment once the timeline is set – once you have the timeline set, mention that you always want to be paid an upfront of say 50-70%. Give them options to make payment. If they doubt you, advise them to use freelancing sites like Upwork.com.  They can also use escrow.com. Here both parties will be protected via the escrow payment protection system. Don\’t let them convince you to do the job first and get the whole payment later. That\’s an axe from far. Ran away fast. 
    • Decline any work/job without down payment – If the clients starts dilly dallying about paying you after you complete the project, simply say no unless they follow your terms. This is where you will get your first part of the bargain and your confidence on the project will be boosted. 
    • Do the job and ask for the final pay once he/she approves the last draft – Now, many freelancers loose their final pay because they quickly trust the prospect after receiving the first pay and end up give out everything on completing. Don\’t fall into this. Treat everything as business. Give and take. They pay you, you give them the final product. 

    Conclusion 

    With all this said, you will still be tricked into giving out everything without pay because some clients may send the pay as agreed, and when you deliver the service- they reverse the payment before it clears with your bank. At the end, they will stop replying to your messages and e-mails – and you LOOSE your pay.

    If this happens to you, don\’t let it repeat itself. Tighten you terms based on your experience. At the end, you will be smiling all the way to the bank. Moreover, your list of serious clients will be growing spontaneously. 

    And that\’s all from me today.

    Till next time; bye and take care.

    If you need professional help on video, let me know by sending me an e-mail on connect@cheptiony.com

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • Top 9 Things Every Client Should Know Before Contacting a Video Editor or Producer

    Most clients who hire video editors or producers do so because they have little or no knowledge in video production and are in search for an expert. So, as a new client, how do you address the video editor you contact so that he/she understand what you are looking for? There are many components which when compiled together, makes a winning video.

    Each of these items has a name or a keyword. Knowing the various components that makes a video is crucial. It will make your communication with the producer or editor smooth and easy. Here are some of the common components that you should know

    Script

    This may sound straight forward to many,  but surprisingly , some clients can\’t fathom the need for a script in a video. To understand why a script is an important element for your video read my post on writing a winning explainer video script to learn more.

    Story board 

    Once you have the script ready, the producer will work alongside you in creating a storyboard for your video. This is a sketch of how your video will be presented in real time. Storyboard is best designed in slideshow style or table style where script is broken down into sections with proposed videos/images/graphics inserted for each text line.

    Background audio music/voice over 

    Some scripts will need just background music or voice over to accompany the video presentation. This is one of the components that makes up your video. It\’s therefore important that you are aware of the right term to use for the editor or producer to understand you well.

    Intro and Outro 

    This is a branding component that is used in the introduction and at the end of your video. The intro may be your own company logo animated and it\’s Outro being how your customers can contact you for service. This is very important as it shows your users that you own the video.

    Video Quality and Format  

    This is the level of quality the video will be shared. Currently, the most common video quality is HD 1080 (high definition) and UHD (Ultra High Definition)2k, 4k. To learn more about video quality, please read video resolution definitions on demand in 2018. When it comes to video format, there are several formats available outside there. The most used forma that plays in most devices is .mp4 and .m4v.  To learn more about the latest video formats read four commonly used video file formats online in 2018.

    Lower Thirds 

    These are the text or graphics that appears below the video as it is playing. The best example is the name of a person in an interview. Sometimes it\’s the phone number or website address. Make this know the editor from the onset if you need them.

    Subtitles is the text transcription of the voice over in the video. It appears as it is spoken below the video. In some occasions where there is no voice, subtitle text appears on the screen to explain what is happening.

    FTP 

    FTP  stand for File sharing Protocol. Most of you subscribe to it. This where you will share your folders and files. The most common FTPs outside there is Dropbox and Google drive. FTP allows to collaborate with the freelancer easily and speed up the process of production.

    Video thumbnail  

    Finally when the video completed and ready for publishing, video thumbnail is crucial. It will prompt viewers to click on it and play the video in most common video publishing sites like YouTube.

    These are nine common things you should know as a client before you contact a producer. Most of the editors will ask you to provide some of these. It will be a bit confusing if you do not understand what they mean.

    Do you have anythings else you think the client should know? Please share in the comments area.

    Till next time, bye bye and take care!

    If you need professional help on video, let me know by sending me an e-mail on connect@cheptiony.com

    Don\’t forget to give me a thumbs up and leave a comment below.

    Also, follow me on twitter @cheptiony 

  • Writing an Explainer Video Script that Stands Out

    If you are an animator or video creator, then you know the power of working on a video with a creatively written script. It\’s exciting, it\’s thrilling; I mean there no words to describe it. Visualization of characters when working on the storyboard is mind blowing.

    Now, not everyone can differentiate between a creatively written script and one that is not. With the advent of sales letter templates that you can buy online for as low as $5 on fiverr.com, anyone can be a writer in a fortnight. But what\’s the difference between an originally crafted script and a script written out from a template? Well, here is how you can tell.

    Writers Understanding of the Product and it’s Connection with the Customer 

    A creative writer who knows how to play around with human psychology will first take time to understand the product the client is trying to sell to his customers. Marketing is all about playing around with human  emotions. Before he/she starts scripting, he/she will use most of his time to research and identify  one thing that the product solves and devise the script to magnify the problem in many dimensions that the prospect could not think of. This part of the script is the ‘anchor.’ The first 150 words of the script should knock the readers socks off and make them want to know more about the solution being offered to them. This is where you can introduce the product.

    Ability to Connect the Problem with the Product 

    Since I work most of the time on explainer videos for apps and software’s, the second section of the script should go straight to address how the product in questions will solve the problem. Mention the common keywords that the user is aware of. As you do this, visualize that the same features is being shown on the video. Simplify the the process and focus on the pain points. In other words, the solution should sound like it\’s possible to achieve it with a ‘single click.’

    Proper Approach on Call to Action 

    Don’t take a lot of time showing the product. 60 seconds or less is enough. Tell them how they can make use of the product by taking action you ask them to. If the product being sold is on offer for the first month, say so. It\’s also important to consider a person watching the video from youtube when writing your call to action.

    These three things are most crucial. If the writer fails to connect this, then, the entire script might be totally confusing when deciphered into video. If you have anything else to add to my list, let me know on the comments below. Till next  time, bye bye and take care.

    If you need professional help on video, let me know by sending me an e-mail here.

    Also, follow me on twitter @cheptiony 

  • Tips to Writing a Winning Script for Demo Videos and How to Video Tutorials

    Whoever said writing is an art forgot to mention that it’s one of the most of powerful ART of selling. Now lets focus on that part ‘selling‘.  When it comes to video production, it’s the same, your interpret the script into video.

    Now, before any idea is presented in form of a video, One has to put his/her concept in words. So, how do you write a simple yet easy to understand video demo/tutorial script that deeply connects with your customer/user?

    Look at the Product/Software/App from the Targeted Customers Eye

    Most software demos/tutorials serve two purposes; to either show the customer how to perform a task within a software or app or give them reasons why they should buy your software or app. Either way, the customer is in control. The best way to look at this is to base your script on the problem that the customer is having and tell them how your product solves it. You can use rhetoric questions to capture your customer attention. Tell them first why the problem costs them a lot of time or money. Then now show them step by step the software’s saves them a great deal.

    Introduce What You Are Going to do And End With a Thank You Note 

    Before you start your video tutorial, tell your viewers what you are going to show them. For instance, You can say …….in this video tutorial, I am going to show you how to download sales reports from your user dashboard.\’ From the onset, the viewer is prepared to learn what you are going to show them. Once you are done with the tutorial, thank your viewer and ask them for any favor. i.e Like our youtube channel and so on.

    Go Straight Forward to The Solution if Its a Video Tutorial 

    Most video tutorials are done for people who are already using the software/application/website. Such users already know about the product and are just looking for steps to troubleshoots issues arising from using the software. Try as much as possible to go straight to the point and cut the BS. Be as brief as possible and explain the steps they need to take using  simple language that is understood by anyone irrespective of level they are in. Users will love you for this.

    Write in a Conversational Tone 

    Any person viewing a video tutorial always assume that whoever is presenting it is a expert. And at the back of their mind, they know that experts are masters of any given product/service and thus they don\’t use any script when doing video tutorials. This is many cases, is not true. someone writes the script and  someone else voices it. Now, when writing your script, imagine you were the presenter recording the voice over for the script and write it in that tone.

    Use short sentences and cut the BS 

    If you are not aware, people like short video tutorials with no B.S. They like videos that go straight to the point and shows them exactly how to do it (whatever they wanted to do) in the shortest time possible. Always be that script writer who strives to achieve that.

    That is all from me here. As always, I am always here to help with anything regarding to video tutorials. Just message on the contact us page. If you have any additional advise that you think it will be beneficial to the me and the reader, don\’t hesitate to share in the comments are below.

    Till next time, bye bye and let’s lets utilize the art of writing in selling.

    If you need professional help on video, let me know here.

    Also, follow me on twitter @cheptiony