Category: VIDEO PRODUCTION

Tips and Advise on Video Production

  • 5 Things that Will Make Clients Work in ‘Your Own Terms’

    Most freelancers would rather work under the clients terms and overlook theirs. Well, that has been the way all along. I mean, even educational institutions teach people this – work ethnics, how to retain your job and climb up the corporate ladder e.t.c

    Watch Video: 5 Things That Will Make Clients Work in Your Own Terms

    But have you ever attempted and reverse this psychology using the freedom that Freelancing offers?

    Well with proper planning, it is possible. That’s how highly paid freelancers do and it thus makes them stand out.

    In this blogpost, I will share with you 5 things you should do in order to make your prospect work in your own terms and love you more.

    Master Your Craft

    Any person who has mastered his/her own craft stands out from the crowd. Be the master of your own. Now- the secret lies on the time when the opportunity is presented to you. ‘Show don’t tell’ rule applies here. Let the client be wowed by your deep knowledge and understanding in the field they are hiring for. Don’t leave anything to chance. Find your clients sweet spot based on their job post in the freelancing site of your choice. This way, he/she will be wanting to know more about you or your Agency.

    Clearly Outline Your Approach

    After you have shared briefly about yourself, start addressing his/her need and how you plan to go about it. Be as detailed and clear as possible. From this, they can gauge whether it suits them or not. When outlining your approach, indicate the timelines for each item as well as each milestone. E.g scripting – 2 days- $250 e.tc. It might be helpful to share a simplified workflow from previous projects.

    Don’t Quote Cheap Because You Want the Job

    If you are a Top rated Freelancer or a Freelancing Agency, and you quote low, big companies will not take you seriously. Provide a reasonable quote and let the client know that you are not working alone. Mention the people in your team, who will be working with you on the project.

    This way, the client will not think that you will be working on it alone.

    Make Your Terms Clear in Your Proposal

    At that point in your proposal where you are sure the prospect is impressed by your work, introduce them to your terms service.

    Inform them that these terms are very important and it enables you to deliver high quality service to them on time without any delays or excuses. Your assurance to solve their problem hassle free is what will inspire them to hire you.

    If they hire you, it means they have agreed to work on your own terms. And they will be excited to do so.

    Tell them what to Expect

    Even though the client already know what they want, still, tell them. Add some bonuses to the deliverable’s. This will raise their eyebrows. Do everything to ensure you win the contracts. That should always be your aim.

    Summary

    Making a client work on your own terms is not a crime. Most of them like it that way because they can penalize you if you fail to meet some of their terms. If you have mastered your craft, your terms will work in your favor and you will stand out as the highest paid Freelancer or Agency.

    And that is it.

    If you need help to create and produce professional screen-cast video tutorials for your website, software or app, let me know here.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care. You can follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • 3 Overlooked ‘Golden Rules To Succeed’ in Freelancing

    Everyday, we go out in search for ways to succeed. Freelancing and Entrepreneurship share common golden rules.

    Often, the simple approach wins. But how often do overlook the power of the simple rules and go out in search something complicated hoping that it will separate us from the crowd?

    In this blog-post, I share with you 3 simple powerful yet overlooked golden rules to succeeding in the Freelancing world.

    Repetition

    When you repeatedly do something you become a master- and your chances of succeeding is high. It starts with first identifying a niche, then repeatedly bidding for projects that matches it. Everyday make sure you bid on 2-3 jobs that are related to your skills. Don’t worry that no one is responding to your bids so long as you have adhered to the terms of service in the Freelancing site you are working on. Do it repeatedly until it becomes an habit. This may sound simple-but the effect is beyond your imaginations. Some entrepreneurial experts recommend that you do just one thing on a daily basis to push your business a step further. Think about it.

    Being Specific on Your Niche

    I will use the Video Production industry as an example. Most people don’t know that it’s divided into many thriving sub-categories or niches. There is video editing, motion graphics, 3D animation, 2D animations and more just to name a few.

    Being specific in the category of jobs you take gives you an edge. We are living in a generation where people rely on keywords when searching online. For example, if you are a 3D animator and someone is searching for someone to hire for 3D animations, you will appear on top of the search results as the most preferred candidate. Now you see why this is important in marketing yourself as well as your business right? Go now and make the necessary changes on your profile and see how relieved you will be.

    Providing Value Each time You Get a Chance

    This is more self explanatory and it’s magical. When you have this implanted on your subconscious mind, you will never be surprised when a client gives you a 5 star review without requesting them to do so.

    Such simple acts of appreciation from your client is good for your growth. Also, you will sleep knowing that have helped someone somewhere to succeed in what they are doing.

    Bonus tip

    When you know that the service you are offering is helping someone succeed, you will be very happy. You will be more creative in your craft. You will always think of different approaches to improve it. What else do you need? Go out and apply these rules today.

    If you need help to create and produce professional screen-cast video tutorials for your website, SaaS app or software applications, let me know here.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

    You can follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • 5 Things to do During Low Freelancing Seasons

    Watch Video

    If there is one great advise any seasoned Freelancer will ever give you- is that there is a pattern in the Freelancing business. There is the low season and there is the high season. Both seasons may occur 2-3 times a year based on the category of service you are offering. Low seasons is that month in the year where you record low sales while high season is the one that you record high sales.

    In the video production business, based on my own analysis- low seasons occur 3-4 times a year while high season are distributed into 4 different months in a year. I will not be specific on the months because it changes all the time.

    High seasons are the most exciting ones because you are making good money from Freelancing. On the other hand, low seasons are the most boring ones because there is less work and the earnings are very small.

    In this blogpost, I will share with you five things that you can do during the low seasons in the freelancing business to build yourself and stand out from the crowd.

    Update Your Profile

    It’s really hard to update your personal profile when you are busy working. It may take you a whole year to update your profile with the latest projects you have accomplished. Commit yourself to do this during the low seasons. It is the best period since you have a lot of free time to do it. Add your latest accomplishments and change a few things to make yourself stand out from other freelancers. In the video production category, take your time to create a very enticing show reel or Trailer.

    Take a Vacation

    You may find yourself busy and working at the time when everyone is going for their summer vacation and free when everyone is back. In such occasions, you will postpone your vacation. Plan your finances well so that you can go for a vacation on low seasons. The best thing about this is-if your vacation falls in a time when few people are travelling- you will get save a lot of money on accommodation and travel cost as the demand for the same is low. This is a good thing as you will be motivated to travel and explore more.

    Learn Something New Related to Your Skill

    Let’s say you specialize is in a specific niche of a particular skill. A good example in the video production business is Video editing with Adobe premiere. During the low seasons, it will be a great to learn motion graphics with Adobe after effects. You will be surprised on how much this will add value to your Freelancing portfolio. On the other hand, take your time to learn how to set up an online business and sell your skills. With more and more people gaining confidence in your skills-you will be a step higher in building a business from the services that you are offering.

    Identify Long-term Investment Vehicles

    While you enjoy doing what you are doing, you will not want to do it forever for money. At some point in your career, you will want to invest your income on projects that generates income passively. This will depend on your experience and a clear understanding of what you are investing in. Do your research each time you have free time and less work on your table. The result of this research is- you will have a better understanding of different investments and the price for each. Having this in mind will motivate you to work towards a goal.

    Meditate/Fast

    Most people don’t take this serious but it is the key. Commit your low seasons to meditation and fasting as this is the only path to enlightenment. Fasting cleanses your body and meditation cleanses your spirit. Renowned Hollywood actors take 8 days of dry fasting. This is one of the greatest challenge that you can give to yourself. Try this and thank me later.

    And that is it.

    If you need help to create and produce professional screen-cast video tutorials, let me know here.

    Until next time, bye and take care.

    You can follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • Cases of Scams in The Freelancing World

    Being scammed by a new client is one case. But being referred by a client as a ‘scammer’ is another case. You can find yourself in both situations as a freelancer.

    In the past, I have found myself in both scenarios.

    During the early years of my Freelancing Career, I practically defined the term ‘scam‘ my own way after falling a victim severally.

    In this blog post, I share with you three places Online where you can get scammed as a Freelancer.

    I will also share with you various occasions where you never see a ‘scam’ coming your your way until .. the business transaction transitions to a scam.

    SCAM DISCLAIMER: Most people think that ‘scam’ revolves around monetary transactions .. while this is true, in this day and age, scammers have gone high tech. The most devastating scammers now are ‘time’ scammers. The ones that wastes your time.

    Back in the Days ..

    It starts with one searching on Google the keyword ‘How to make money online.’ And before they know, they are signing up on various sites that promise to show them -for FREE- how to make $100 a day or more.

    To date, the keywords still works magic. You can tell by the number of video views they get on YouTube on how to make money online.

    In the year 2013 when I started freelancing, I was a victim. I fell into one that promised to show me how to make $3000 every month.

    I stumbled into it after I signed up with 10 other sites that promised to make me money online.

    They required me to fill in different surveys on what I thought of different computer games. Each survey paid $10. In two weeks, I was done with 100 surveys. This was equal to $1,000.

    I was eligible to withdraw the money to paypal. Now, here is where the game started. I was required to pay $29 to withdraw the money.

    Out of desperation, I paid it and I was asked to wait for 2 days for my payment to be approved. A week later, the site had disappeared. I could not access it.

    And that is how I knew I have been scammed both my time and money. This was one among the many scams I fell into in my early years of freelancing.

    Scam Revolution

    Everyday someone is being scammed. One need to know that jobs requiring them to do simple tasks with no clear terms and promise to pay highly is in most occasions are ‘all scams.’

    With this in mind, I narrowed down my search. First, I identified the skills I had that I could monetize online. It turned out to be ‘video production’ and ‘writing.’

    What followed next was identifying ways in which I could sell these skills. I had two sure options to do it. First, was building a website where people could buy my services.

    Secondly, was searching for freelance jobs online. At the time, most freelancing sites- Upwork ( formerly Odesk and Elance), Freelancer, Fiverr – was coming up.

    From these two marketplaces-website and Freelancing sites, I have seen scam bugs emerge and evolve. Scammers innovate ways to take away something from you everyday.

    They have relative behaviors, so if you are keen enough, you will detect them early from the first mail they send you.

    Typical Scams From a Business Website

    Guaranteed Website Traffic

    The most common scam pitch I get from the website is ‘targeted website traffic.’ They use key words that many can easily fall into like cheap, get clients e.t.c.

    If you are a beginner, you will be tempted to try this. To me, I tried many of them in my early years of establishing my site and none of them brought me a client.

    Trial Before Hiring

    I have many videos that I need produced but you must do this one first for us to gauge your skills-don’t worry we will pay

    When a client contacts you directly from your website and tells you this, you will agree. I have fallen into this trap a couple of times.

    The clients pays for the first order in advance to buy your trust. What follows is him/her ordering in bunches.

    Owing to the trust and first impression the client gave you earlier, you complete the order hoping you will now be receiving payment in lump sum.

    After you deliver and the client is happy, he will ask for an invoice. And weeks later, he/she stops replying to your followup e-mails.

    That’s when you realize you have been scammed.

    1,000 videos needed – can you give us a bulk price per video?

    This one is really tricky. If you are not careful, you will loose 20-30% per video. In accumulation, you will have lost a lot of money.

    It works this way; after you have given them say 20% discount, the client ends up ordering only 10 videos.

    So to save yourself from this mystery, first, gauge if your prospect really wants 1,000 videos by asking them to order the first say 50 videos at the original price.

    Scammers From Freelancing Platforms

    Scammers from Freelancing sites vary. Freelancing platforms do not compromise with them either. So to keep up with the changes, they verify themselves as serious clients. And there and then, their show begins.

    Now, if they catch you- you both suffer suspension from the site for failing to keep up with the platforms terms. So how do they scam you?

    Request for Free trials

    For those who have been freelancing for a while, they know that doing this is violating the terms of service and will get you suspended.

    But not withstanding your desperate need for the job, you agree to do a free sample to demonstrate your skills.

    At the end, the client hires someone else and you are left out. There are many reasons why it is not a good idea to offer free samples for video services.

    One common reason is that the client may be using it to pitch- then sub-contract the project to you.

    If his/her pitch is not accepted, you both loose.

    Additional Small Tasks in the Middle of the Project

    Don’t dismiss small additional tasks that comes in as you accomplish a task assigned to you by a client.

    If you do, the client will take advantage of it. They will assume that this is part of the package.

    Don’t be scared that by asking for more pay, you will lose the job. You both know that it was not included in the package.

    Asks you to take the conversation outside the site

    This was ok 3 years ago because the video and voice call features had not been incorporated into the platforms. But now, it is.

    So why take your conversation outside when you can have it directly on the platform? Well, they know you will fall for it.

    Here they will suggest that you work with them directly and save Freelancing Platform fees.

    This is risky. Don’t ever accept to work outside the Freelancing site that connected both of you.

    These are few among the many techniques used by scammers to fleece freelancers. Do you know of any? Let me know in the comments below.

    If you need help to create professional screen-cast video tutorials for your SaaS application or website, let me know here.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • Write a Video Script Like a Pro Even if You are Beginner

    While I am writing this blog-post from the video producers perspective- the secret formula of video script writing I am going to reveal in this blog post is very practical to any newbie in video script writing business.

    It took me many years to believe that I could write a video script. This is despite having several of them at my disposal that I used in producing videos. Video production and script writing is like art it revolves around imagination. Art is universal. It shares the same goal; to tell a story.

    If you don’t already know, copy-writing is the grandfather of story telling. A small tweak on the words that you use in selling and you get more sales or you lose more sales.

    Video relies on a written copy with an aim of persuading a prospective customer to take action. The ultimate end goal is to sell something to whoever watches the video.

    The formula I am going to share with you today on this blog-post is ridiculously easy. Please don’t complicate it by getting IMPATIENT or letting PRIDE take over. Creative inspiration come slowly and it is inspired by simple things.

    STEP 1 – Identify 3 Marketing Videos That Are Inspiring to Watch

    This step is quite obvious and you might be tempted think that you already know the formula I am going to share with you. I advise you to follow through to the end. You will notice that there is one or two things that you have not been doing right thus you are still certain of your ability.

    If your list of videos are more than 3, re-watch them and narrow them down to 3. This is for practical purposes. Most clients will refer you to a style of video they like and ask you to write a script of something related.

    STEP 2 – Transcribe The 3 Videos Into Scripts

    Yes. watch them and transcribe the videos into scripts. Study your scripts’ structure. See the approach that they have used when introducing the problem, offering solutions and asking the prospect to take action. What makes you get hooked to it?

    Step 3 – Take a Break For a Day and Think of Products That Fits into the Script Structure You Have

    Change a few keywords in the script and put in your words from the new product(s) you have picked. While doing this, read it loud and hear how it sounds. You will get encouraged when doing this exercise. The more you do it, the more you master the process. Also, you will realize that you can apply the same structure on many products and it will inspire you to write more using your own language.

    Step 4 – Use This Formula To Write Scripts For Use in Your Portfolio

    Believe you me, when a client says he/she wants a similar style of storytelling, they mean it. If you can write a script similar to the one they are referring you to in your own language, they will love it. And when this happens, you confidence and creativity will blow up. Before you know, you will be writing more and more for TV.

    Step 5 – Use the Same Formula in Writing Scripts For Use in Different Industries

    When you master this formula in writing scripts for short videos, it will be easier to apply it on longer version of video copies. You just need to be a good story teller.

    And that’s it.

    If you need help to script and produce professional screen-cast video tutorials, let me know here.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • 6 Common Challenges New Clients Go Through on Their First Days of Hiring a Freelancer

    Signing up as client on any Freelancing site is the first exciting step towards hiring your first Freelancer online. Anyone who has been hiring and collaborating with Freelancers online for longer than 2 years will tell you that the process is not as easy as it sounds.
    One may argue that they are good at tech, but it’s more than tech because you are dealing with human beings. And if you don’t play along with them well, you will find yourself always distressed.

    In this blog post, I share with you 6 common challenges every client goes through before hiring a Freelancer.

    Identity Verification

    Even though no one speaks about this, people hate to verify their identities. With more and more security measures being implemented in most of the Freelancing sites, you might be tempted to give up the moment you are asked to confirm your identity. The identity verification process may require you to scan and upload your National ID or passport. The reason for this request maybe so that the admin can verify that you are the real owner of the Credit card you are using to pay the freelancer you hire. Also for compliance with GDPR new rules. It is also used to eliminate users joining with plans of defrauding Freelancers.

    Payment Method Verification Process

    Someone may think you just enter your card number and your secret code and voila! you are set. But there is more to this process. You will be charged a small fee as part of verification. You will be required to go to your bank and read the amount from your statement then confirm with the freelancing site to be verified. This process usually takes 1-2 days depending on your bank. If you wanted to hire a freelancer ASAP, this process- which is mandatory may irritate you. You just need patience.

    Posting Your First Job And Attracting the Right Freelancer

    Posting a job is easy. You just put a title, choose a category, indicate the number of Freelancers you are looking to hire and you are ready to post. The first mistake that first time clients make is choosing the wrong category when they are posting their job. For instance, let’s say they are looking for a freelance video editor, but you post your job under ‘animation’ category. You will attract freelancers who are fond of working on animation jobs. While they may do the job well, they will charge you more than a freelancer who specializes in video editing. Animation costs more than video editing. To get good at hiring, regularly do job split test. i.e posting the same job on two different categories.

    Temptation of Choosing the Lowest Bidder

    Fact is, in every decision we make in business, we want to save money. Most new clients will jump into hiring the lowest bidder. However, it’s good to be cautious when making your decision while wanting to save money at the same time. This is what I mean here. Let’s say your budget was $1000 and one freelancer quotes $500 for the same job. Their profile is good and you are convinced. Now before you hire, know this, a freelancer who quotes $1,100 and explains the process in which he/she plans to complete the job is more qualified than a freelancer who just quotes $500 without backing up his/her proposal.

    With a higher quote and a break down on the value you will get from the freelancer is a clear demonstration of professionalism. At the end, you will get more value for your money.

    Dealing With Freelancers Disputes After Unsuccessful Hiring

    Sometimes, Freelancers share a colorful portfolio. And based on that, you hire them. But, when they deliver their first work, you are very disappointed and when you express this to the freelancer, they disagree. You end the contract but the freelancer wants to be paid with the money deposited on escrow. And as result you get into a dispute. And whoever wins get paid.

    If the freelancer has some evidence that he/she did the job, you may loose your money in the process. To avoid this, it’s good not to hire someone because they are cheap, but because they guarantee satisfaction and it’s clearly spelt in their cover letter.

    Defining Working Terms With Freelancers in Different Timezones

    If you are in +8(UTC) Timezone and you hire a Freelancer in +1(UTC) timezone, your working schedule will vary. One will have to work at night in order to cover up for the other. Unless you are flexible when it comes to time or the freelancer is willing to work on your timezone, one of you will not like it at the end. Some Freelancers -especially from Asia- will convince you that they will work on your timezone only to disappoint you at the end.

    If the Freelancer is able to work independently with little or no supervision, that’s the best option. Such Freelancers are open minded and will not lie about their working hours.

    These are the common challenges most new clients experience on their first days of hiring. Are you a client hiring Freelancers online? What are some of the challenges you experience? Share in the comments below.

    That is it from me today.

    If you need help you create and produce professional screen-cast videos, let me know here.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

  • 5 New Ways to Make More Money Online As a Video Producer

    Producers who have been in the industry long enough, will agree with what I am about to share with you today in this blog post.

    Video production has evolved over time. When I started as a producer back in the year 2010, I only knew videography and video editing.

    In this blog post, I share with you how to make more money by breaking down video editing and production components and offering each one of them as an independent service. 

    If you are creative enough to produce a captivating video, then, you are also creative enough to write the same script. You just need to believe you can do it.

    Clients will love you more if you can go an extra mile and provide a professional voice over. Find ways that you can get the voice cheaply from freelancers and have your client pay more it.

    I recently learnt this. More and more clients are in need of Subtitling service. It can be for a movie or video intended to be viewed in a different language. YouTube has integrated Google translate on their video player so that you can watch a video in any language.

    You can charge between $10-100 per video depending on your clients budget and video duration.

    Every video producer know how to use graphic design software’s like Adobe Photoshop  or Adobe illustrator. You can propose to design a nice custom thumbnail for your client and charge them $5-50 per thumbnail. The rates you charge is up to you. If you haven\’t done this before, here is the best way to get started.

    There are many other things you can do to make more money as a online video producer in 2019.

    If you need help to create and produce professional screen-cast video tutorials, let me know here.

    You can follow me on Twitter @cheptionymutai

  • 5 Promising Artificial Intelligence Tools For Freelancers

    Is artificial Intelligence(AI) simplifying your Freelancing business or are you scared that it will replace your skills? You don’t have to be worried at all. Instead, you need to embrace it and look at different ways of using it to grow your business.

    At the moment, there are several AI tools out there. In order to remain relevant as a freelancer, you need to enhance your existing skills, build your personal brand and view AI as an aid not an hindrance.

    Here are 6 Promising AI tools that you check out and try.

    Calendar

    Calendar harnesses the power of machine learning to give you smart suggestions for when, where and how your meetings can take place. The app is still in alpha mode.

    SpinnerChief

    What this app does may scare many writers who write original content. Not only is able to generate hundreds of new articles in minutes for you, but also in one click it can rewrite articles to a very high level of readability and uniqueness because it uses the best natural language analysis and artificial intelligence techniques to understand your articles in the same way as google does.

    EveryPixel

    This is a search engine for stock images powered by AI. You can filter your search to show only FREE images.

    I started using it this year and so far so go, it is serving me well. The downside of this app is that it does not show videos.

    Logopony

    An awesome logo for your business is just a few clicks away with logopony. By entering the name of your business and a slogan, the app will generate several logos so that you can choose the one you like and customize it.

    Smartertime

    Smartertime is an intelligent assistant to measure, analyse and improve your time use. Currently the app is available on Google playstore and the iOS version of it is still in Beta.

    There are many other AI tools out there being developed. Do you know of an AI tool you think other Freelancers can benefit from? Please let us know by sharing it on the comments below.

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

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

    You can 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.

    \"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

  • 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