If you own Camtasia studio 2020 or later, then you might have tried and used the many premade motion graphics templates that comes with the software. If you haven’t tried them out, it’s now high to do so. You can find the templates by clicking on ‘Library‘ on your Camtasia studio editor.
In this blogpost tutorial, I will share three ways that you can customize Camtasia studio motion graphics templates.
Basic Customization
Basic customization includes making changes like the template’s text and color. To achieve this; first, click to the folder containing the template you want to customize to open.
video tutorialOpen the templates folder
Next, click the template of your choice and drag it to the Camtasia studio timeline.
Drag the template to the timeline
From here, you can change the text, font and color of both text and background. To do this, click the ‘plus’ (+) button on top of the template you selected.
Then choose the item you want to change. For instance, When I pick one item it will display in the preview window. From here, I can make changes on the ‘properties‘ section to suite my needs. This includes changing things color, theme, outline thickness, font type and more.
Select and make changes from the properties menu
Follow the same procedure to format the text. First, click on the text title from the template group on your timeline. Then from the display window, double click to activate the text and start typing in the new text you want to see appear on the video.
Customize text on Camtasia
Once done click on the minus (-) button to close the group.
Close template
Change Template’s Duration
Another thing that one may want to customize is the templates duration. For instance, you may want the template to be 5 seconds and the original template is 12 seconds. How can you reduce this time while retaining the animations inside the template?
video tutorial
The first option will be rendering the template after completing your basic customization. When rendered, import the file into your media bin as .mp4 file then to timeline.
Change clip speed
When you right click on the imported video on your timeline, you can add ‘clip speed’ to it. Adding ‘clip speed‘ enables you to enter custom duration from the ‘Properties‘ tab.
This procedure works well for someone who is not tech savvy. Sadly, it’s a lot of work if you are overlaying the motion graphics template to a project on your timeline. Exporting the template will require that you open a new project, then cut the modified template and paste on the new clean timeline. From here, export it individually.
This takes to another alternative option.
The best way you can customize the motion graphics template to match the duration of your choice is is doing it directly on the timeline of you main project.
Open the template on the timeline using the plus(+) button. Right click on each item one by one and add clip speed. Enter the duration you want from the properties tab.
Customizing motion graphics templates duration on Camtasia studio
Once done, close the template then click and drag from the right to trim and to suite it to your timeline.
Creative customization
With Camtasia studio, you can creatively customize the motion graphics template beyond the original authors concept.
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After making changes to the template i.e color and text. You can creatively move/crop/remove items on the template. For example, if it has a motion video on as the background, you can remove it and overlay it to your video or image.
Before removing motion backgroundAfter removing the background
Finally, another way would be to creatively blend the motion background with the image by reducing the motion video opacity to 50%. This works well with images.
Blends motion graphics background and a video
Once you have mastered these three ways, you can do a lot on an existing Camtasia studio motion graphics template.
That’s it from me.
If this tutorial was helpful, let me know in the comments section below.
If you need help to create and produce professional screencast video tutorials, let me know here.
I am a video producer. I love creating videos for people for a living as well as watching well thought video concepts on YouTube by creators across the globe. There are many things that will make someone subscribe to a YouTube channel even without the creator asking them to do so.
Among the common things that will push someone to like or subscribe to a YouTube channel is;
Relationship With the Topic
A lot of creators you see with many followers on Youtube have passion and love for what they do. So by the time the start to film and share, they have a plan. They have a specific niche they want to reach out to. When someone fully watches their videos, it’s because they resonate with the topic being covered by the creator. At the end, they will confidently comment and ask the creator questions because they want to learn more.
Information
People trained as media Journalists is another group of creators on YouTube. They aim to inform people on what’s happening. They do proper research on any given topic and ensures that whatever they are sharing is true. That’s why people love and follow them.
When one is consistent in reporting facts, people will love and comment on their work. Information is power. People are happy when they find out that the information they are consuming are factual.
Lifestyle and Family
Vlogs which revolves around lifestyle and good family values are very common know days. Most people long for good lifestyle, family and good values.
As we speak, there is a growing trend of vlogs done by new couples in town sharing their lifestyle. If someone relates with the lifestyle that the vlogger is projecting, they will dearly follow the videos they share.
Its worth mentioning that lifestyle and family videos vary and is dependent on the topic the vlogger choses to take.
Career and Life Coaching
We all pursue different careers based on our aspirations. There is a growing need for independent professionals remotely with different skills. On the other hand, those who have built a successfully career as independent professionals online. Those are the one who mostly vlog.
Some share motivational thoughts sending out positive vibes. Whichever it is, vloggers who choose to motivate people are professionals in this niche.
Its worth mentioning that your personality matters as that is what people are connecting with. Be real. Don’t fake. That’s how people fall in love in you and your work.
And that is it from me. If you need to create professional screencast videos for your software or application, your can request a free quote here.
Until next time, Merry Christmas and happy new year 2021. God Bless.
Sending out new bids everyday via the freelancing site of your choice is boring and sometimes costly when you either pick the wrong job posts or use generic cover letters. It becomes even worse when you have done everything right but still don’t get any response.
Summary in Video
In the year 2019, there was a very popular party goers anthem in Kenya by a Ugandan artist- BigTril-called Parte after Parte. The chorus to the song is very easy to master irrespective of how drunk someone is.
On top of that, its an easy one to refer to when talking about anything fun.
Most Freelancers who have been in the business for 5 years or more will tell you that bidding as a way of acquiring new clients is no longer exciting to them unless they are invited by the client to bid on a project.
I am talking of long term freelancers with top rating status and raving 5 star reviews from their past clients.
Does this mean that they have enough jobs at their hand for them to apply for new work?
And if they do, why are they interested in getting new clients anyway?
There is never enough jobs for any Freelancer with a progressive mindset. As you build your portfolio as a freelancer, you tend to look for premium projects that challenges your creativity and innovation.
Before I delve into this, I will like to unearth the myths surrounding Top rating status and 5 star reviews that one gets after completing any given assignment.
MYTH NO. 1- When One is Top Rated, They Are Guaranteed to Get New Work
This is not true. The status only gives you a good standing on the freelancing platform and the chances of being recommended by the freelancing site you are in is high. Also, you don’t have to explain yourself very much when negotiating for a contract.
MYTH NO. 2: Clients Will Hire You Without Interviewing
It depends on which freelancing site you work on. Let me talk about Upwork. Clients come to the platform with various requirements and budgets. Before deciding to hire, they have to first discuss and agree with the freelancer on what they need. Sometimes, a top rated freelancer has everything that a client wants but will not be hired. Why? because their rates are high.
So, does this mean you have to continue to regularly bid until you succeed?
Yes. But have a different approach.
Narrow Down Your Skills Using The 80/20 Principle
More experience means more knowledge on what the market demands. Focus on sending bids to projects that requires the skills you have perfected and pays well. For example in video production, I have learnt overtime that I am good at Screencast Video Production. This is the area I have perfected my skills on. Also, I have invested a lot of income in purchasing software’s that makes it easy for me deliver the best quality of screencast videos.
Mold Your Patience
Its easy to give up on freelancing considering that sometimes one can go for a month or so without work. If you know your worth, you must start cultivating your patience. It will take time to convert a high value client. In most occasions, they are not in hurry to hire. They take calculated risks before hiring you.
There’s more to bidding as your freelancing experience grows. What other ways do you approach bidding to break the monotony of bidding after bidding?
Please share your feedback on the comments below.
And if you need help to create and produce professional screencast videos and other kinds of videos, please request a quote here.
If your business revolves around using Software’s to accomplish your tasks, I recommend that you purchase your software licenses and service plans like domain hosting towards November end.
Video Summary
This is a secret that most people don’t know.
Why is November a good month?
Well, It’s a month that most people across the world celebrate Thanks giving. Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia. It begins on early October in some states and November end in others.
Thanksgiving began as a day of giving thanks and sacrifice for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.
It thus gave birth to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Black Friday
Black friday is an informal name to the friday following thanksgiving in the United States. It is regarded as the beginning of US Christmas shopping season since 1952.
This is a good time to visit your favorite software or service provider platform and take advantage on their black Friday offers. Most them offer discounts ranging from 25- 75% on annual subscriptions. Considering what you get, this is a good deal for someone who is ready to save big on discounts.
A screenshot of Adobe 2020 Black Friday offers
Cyber Monday
Also, know as Blue Monday, Cyber Monday is a marketing term for the Monday after thanks giving in the United states. It was created to encourage people to shop online.
Owing to the fact that almost all software and business service providers like webhosts have their services and shops fully operational remotely; tt’s therefore good to take advantage of their offers on Cyber Monday. some providers offer up to 90% off.
Hostinger Hosting Platform Cyber Monday offers
Conclusion
Black Friday and Cyber Monday is very ideal for start ups and newbie freelancers. But anyone who intends to save money every year on software subscriptions will run and take advantage of this.
When you build a culture of using genuine software’s, you will be in a position to not only grow your business, but also help developers of your favorite software give you the best and live a good lifestyle.
Do you think taking advantage of the discount offers on Cyber Monday and Black Friday is good?
Share your thoughts on the comments below.
If you need professional screencast services, let me know here. Alternatively, you can send me an e-mail to connect@cheptiony.com
Does delivering your freelance services faster than the others means more work and more pay? My answer is no. But again It depends. In some occasions, yes. But if you are thinking of offering this in a long term, it’s not sustainable. I am saying this based on my personal experience.
Watch video
When I started Freelancing, I gave outrageous promises so as to get as many jobs as I could. I was very ambitious. This does not mean that I was not delivering to my promise, but the consequences of me doing so has costed me several years of wasted time and energy.
In this blog post , I will share you with 3 long term damaging consequences of offering fast delivery services at a fraction of the price. Many people do this with the hope of making more money only to end up in a freelancing rat race.
Fatigue
Fatigue is a term used to describe an overall feeling of tiredness or lack of energy. Here is a case scenario of fatigue in Freelancing. Lets say you send 5 bids, and you get hired for all of them. The clients motivation behind hiring you is faster delivery at a fraction of the price.
If the normal delivery time for the project is 3 days and you are doing it in a record time of one day for the same quality, you will have to work day and night so as to deliver.
While it’s possible to hire other freelancers and subcontract some projects to them, the main question will they be able to meet your standards? Are you making a profit even after sub contracting the project? How much are you paying them out of your negotiated price? When all this is combined, you will always be anxious and fatigued.
And what happens when you are fatigued? You have no motivation and no energy. You become a loser but you don’t want to admit. If you are not careful you will be dealing with dispute after dispute because of failure to deliver assignments on time or failure to meet the standards required by the client.
No time for Yourself
You will not see this until you realize that you can never get enough of the money you want even if you are hired and assigned a hundred similar jobs at the same price.
By the time this awareness hits, you will be years deep on the rabbit hole. On the other hand, if you are not careful, your relationships with friends and family will be fully disintegrated. You will start building them again from square one.
While this experience will prepare you to be an entrepreneur, you will never recover lost time and stress trying to overdeliver.
Poor Diet
When you are fatigued, your appetite is lost. It’s even worse when you are living alone and you are busy working. It means you don’t have time to go out and do some shopping. On the other hand, you can’t afford to pay someone to do shopping for you because you want to save money. I mean your motivation is money.
When this two are combined, your health becomes the last priority. You eat just to satisfy your hunger which is very dangerous in a long term if you are eating the wrong food.
It becomes even worse if you don’t exercise. If you want to make more money, invest in good diet.
Conclusion
You can only make as much money as you want if you are reasonable in your freelancing work. Don’t take actions or make decisions based on greed or desperation. Offer todo a job because you want to add value. When this is the motivation behind what you do, you will not rush.
And when you don’t rush, you will deliver the best. At the end, high value jobs will follow you instead of following them and it be upon you to set the terms of engagement.
Do you think offering fast delivery on your freelancing services will make you rich? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
If you need professional screencast video production services, let me know here.
Until next time, bye bye and take care. Follow me on twitter @cheptiony
Since Adobe launched Creative cloud subscription model few years ago, many ‘software crackers’ have been left with little options of exploiting and using the software for free. On the other hand, it has become very difficult for many faithful users to buy the product they want on a need basis.
Many freelance video editors and videographer startups I know in Kenya still use the old outdated Adobe CS6 and CS7 to edit and produce videos in 2020.
“I mean why should I pay for a new software when the one I have can do the same job?” They say.
Videography startups in Kenya
So, does this mean they have the license for the same even if ‘it’s oooldd… as we know?’ well I don’t think so. If the do, then they are using a ‘copy and paste’ license code which does not require any login. For it to work when installing, one has to disable internet.
I remember in the year 2016, I purchased full Adobe creative suite CS6 from a local tech guy for $10. Yes you heard me right, $10. He came and installed the software for me. To my shock, while he did the installation, I noticed he was using a ‘patching tool‘ to activate the products after disabling the internet connection.
When I questioned, he promised it will work. And true to his word, when we tested it did work. At the time, I had little knowledge on software copyright license.
Few days later on using the software, it was really slow and crashing regularly. Out of me being irritated by it, I reached out to the tech guy who installed the software for me. To my surprise, he said I needed to upgrade my memory from 2GB to at least 6GB. Moreover, buy at least 23 inch monitor or higher for video resolution display.
That was the end of my rant on him. I was not ready at time so I had to manage the software as it was or go hungry without food on my table👱♂️
Each time the software crashed, I crosschecked Adobe premiere specifications for CS6 which said it required at least 2GB of Ram which I had installed already.
As if this was not enough, the quality of video it rendered was somehow pixelated despite me exporting the videos in HD. I later learnt the huge variation in quality of a video rendered with a torrent premiere pro and a genuine premiere pro.
And that’s a short story of how most Software’s downloaded via torrent work.
Startups in the video production and design industry only install and use Adobe products on demand because of the cost implications in terms of long term sustainability.
In this blog post, I will focus on the top reasons why it is very expensive and difficult to purchase Adobe license in Kenya and most African countries and why Adobe is missing out on ‘individual‘ potential customers.
Why is it difficult to Purchase Adobe Products?
Message that you get when you select Kenya as your country when attempting to purchase Adobe
It comes down to billing address. Where is the billing address of your card? This depends on which country in Africa you live in. If the card billing address is in the US, and you have signed up as US resident you can make the purchase without any problem. But if it’s Kenya, then you can only get the software via resellers. FYI: I know South Africa alone as the country you can directly purchase Adobe products.
So Who are the resellers? This are companies within a given country licensed to resell the product. Now this is where startups gets completely turned off.
Resellers price is 2 times what’s on the Adobe site. E.g annual subscription on Adobe site for Adobe premiere pro is $239.49 inclusive tax. Resellers sell it for around $500. You only need few dollars to get annual subscription of Adobe creative suite of about 7 products!
Most of the resellers don’t offer monthly subscriptions owing to its sustainability.
So what do Kenyans and other Africans do when they find themselves in this dilemma?
It’s obvious. They either find an old version of the software or download the software torrents online. This is despite the security risks that comes with installing torrents and patched products.
My story
Before I was capable of purchasing Adobe Premiere pro, I used to install Torrent software’s which slowed and caused my computer to heat all the time. At the end, I was spending more dollars repairing my PC than doing the work. It was not making any economic sense at all.
I did this for close to 5 years because of inability to purchase the license due to my production rates. My case is similar to the one of many fellow design and creatives in Africa who can’t directly acquire any of the Adobe products directly from the website .. and when they go to the recommended resellers, they are slapped with a double price. Phew!
Kenyans are creative. But due to the cost of purchasing genuine Adobe products from resellers, they resort to using either cracked or unlicensed products to do their work coz the profit they get from selling the output is not enough to purchase Adobe products directly from recommended resellers.
My Recommendation to Adobe
See a way of enabling interested Kenyans to buy any Adobe products directly using their credit cards at the site listed price inclusive taxes.
And to my fellow Kenyans, I am a witness. After using a licensed Adobe Premiere for more than 2 years now, I have never regretted. It’s worth it. I have always discouraged people from installing torrent Software’s because at the end, it does not make any economic sense due to misfortunes it comes with.
And that’s it from me. If you need help to edit and produce professional videos, let me know here.
Wedding Video and Photography business is an easy one to start but not that easy one to operate. Running a business in this niche is a struggle. That is why many creatives treat such jobs as ‘side gigs.’
Creativity is all what it takes to get the best wedding photos and videos. PHOTO: Pixabay.com
Before I continue, or rather start this blog. I have a disclaimer.
Wedding Videography and Photography-in my own experience- is reliant on Freelancers with specialty in either Videography or photography. In this I mean, the Camera work is done by a professional who offer his/her services on a freelance basis. With this said, is wedding Videography and Photography business profitable? Well, for the weddings I have covered and produced in the past, it’s not.
Watch video
It’s a business run by emotions and conflict of interest. The bride in most occasions is the one that calls the shots. If she doesn’t like you as the producer, the quality of your output does not matter, you will not get that business.
If you do get the job out of influence by the groom, you will not enjoy doing the job. Something will go wrong somehow. I mean the attitude will be off the peak.
That’s why every Videographer or Photographer you know-who rely on wedding, birthdays and the likes- take very long to make their ends meet in life.
In this blog post I will share with you the unknown challenges Wedding Videography and Photography business owners go through and proposed solutions.
1. Fierce Pricing Competitions
The competitions in the business is fierce and only the passionate in their craft survive. Reality is, in the world we are living in, you cannot eat passion unless you put value on it. And value in this case is Money.
Everyone will want to quote low so as to get the contract
That’s why, as a photographer, you should always promise yourself that for better for worse, you are willing to charge what you are worth despite the ‘couple’ in question threatening that they have an option of someone cheaper for the job. This is a very common card they pull and is meant to scare you as the producer so that you can lower your price.
When looking for a wedding videographer, what most couples look for vary. Some look for Quality first then cost comes last while for others price comes first then quality.
There are those who prioritize both. Any videographer or Photographer who wants to progress in life should put focus on only those clients who prioritize quality over price.
This way, if the client likes what they see, you can give them the a quote to have that. In many occasions, such clients have no problem paying and they will never fail you.
2. Church Offering Videography and Photography Services to their Members
With televangelism becoming one way to spread the word of God-as one way of church becoming self reliant, some churches are now providing video services to their members at a cheaper price.
Some churches offer Videography and photography services to their members. PHOTO: Pixabay.com
In this I mean, they can give the same quality as you do at half the price. This has contributed to many wedding Photography businesses closing down. The difference between the two is, church have resources and can retain a Videographer and photographer for long term as they are employed by the church.
It thus means that, for you to remain relevant, you will have to consider bidding for Government tenders and doing other independent productions i.e producing TV shows e.t.c. Otherwise, your days in the wedding photography business is counted.
Solution to this is, Videography business owners should invest their savings on other avenues or businesses that merge well with videography like marketing and real estate. This way, they can use the team to develop marketing content and so on. This for sure will make the Photography business sustainable.
3. Wedding Frequency Especially during the Covid-19 Pandemic
While Covid pandemic has terrorized most businesses, I think videography and photography is the worst hit. With cancellation of events and gatherings during the pandemic, most videographers have been left with only one option; to create content and post them on YouTube to kill boredom.
A man indoors during the Covid-19 lockdown. Photo: Pixabay.com
Now, how you monetize will depend on YouTube algorithms…and burning out is expected. This is not only unpredictable, but it’s also unsustainable for any creator who knows the value their their content.
First you have to create regularly on your budget. If you get no feedback, you will need to ‘tweak ‘ the content until you succeed. For high budget projects like drama, you will only servive if you have a sponsor.
So, the solution is, before going on this path, see how much you will loose. For me, it’s better to create content and keep it until you find someone who sees the value in it and is ready to sponsor. It pays to have patience. Also, consulting a lawyers who understands copyright is fundamental.
4. Couple Vanishing after the Wedding for more than 3 months sometimes 5 years
Get this; most Videography/photography business owners pay themselves last. They prioritize paying their Freelancers first to build trust. In this context, if the client vanishes after the wedding, he is the only one left languishing in ‘bankruptcy‘ as he waits for the client to come back for their videos and pay balance. The only solution this , is charging more. I also recommend you request at least 70% as down payment. This thus means that if the client pays 70% of the agreed amount, you have some profit left to you after you have paid everyone else.
5. One moment missed causing trouble getting balance payment
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, the bride in most occasions is the one calling the shots. Now, you have got the job and covered the wedding. You have edited the video and now ready to deliver. But when editing it, you realize that you forgot to take a photo to be mounted on frame during photo-shoot.
A couple shows their rings after their wedding. Photo: Pixabay.com
Or the ones you took are good but the bride ‘is not happy with her facial expression on the photos that are meant for the wall frame. The blame is shifted on you. There is nothing you can do. That’s unless you go for another photo-shoot.
You argue until the couple accept to pay you angrily. They assure you that they will never recommend you to anyone. This is disheartening if you did everything good except for that one thing. Worse enough, if you made very small profit out of the project.
Now, the solution lies again on charging more. This way, in you team, you can pay a director. The director will be the one reading the facial expressions and ensuring they give legit smiles.
There are many other things that are killing the wedding photography business like the committee managing the wedding making unreasonable request for them to consider you for the job.
As I conclude. I recommend that you start paying well videographers and photographers you know and be kind to them. You will thank me later for this.
Also, what I can say to a person looking for wedding photographers or videographers is to look at the quotes offered to them. The higher the quote, the more the assurance that you will get quality.
If you bargain too much, expect disappointments in either photography or video. Fact is, creativity is like gold, the higher you pay, the more value you get.
And that’s it, if you are in Nairobi-Kenya and is looking for Videography services, you can request a quote here.
I am writing this blog-post for people who love what they do and are getting well paid for it. When starting out to sell a skill that you love, it’s fun. You will take every chance that comes your way to perfect it. You will be less picky when offered an opportunity. The experience will be even sweeter when an opportunity is bundled with a good pay.
While you love what you are doing, you have values that matter to you. What believes do you hold dear to you?
With this said, will you take all the jobs you are offered if they are well paying and you are applying the skills you treasure most? They answer is absolutely yes. Now, this is where the catch lies. It will take you time to figure it out.
Of-course, any person who is morally upright, will never take a job that bridges on values irrespective of how sweet the offer is.i.e Producing Pornography videos.
Most of the jobs in this category are well paying because very few people will want to be associated with them. So, does this mean you are free to take any work so long as its not pornography? Well, the answer varies from one person to the other.
In this blog-post, I will highlight a couple of things that will make one give in to temptations to take a job that is promoting illegal and unscrupulous business.
Talk of good sales people selling snake oil. In this context, the content you are producing are used to sell snake oil- a product that does not exist.
The client will by all means, while requesting for your service avoid mentioning the kind of service that he/she is offering. He will clearly outline the skills he/she is looking for as well as share an example of the design or video they want emulated.
Videographer at work. Photo by Kyle Loftus on Pexels.com
In most occasions, there will be nothing in the picture that will say they are planning to use it to sell “Snake oil’ to the unsuspecting people.
Going by how they are organized and convincing, how well they are paying, you cannot help but do the job. While doing the job, you will be tempted to do research on the product online to see if it exist.
In most occasions, it may or may not be existing. On the other hand, evidence of the product working might not be there despite the script claiming that is being used by thousands of people.
And as a designer or editor, you are like, why does that matter to me anyway, after all, I was not assigned to research on it!
You Receive an Offer At Your Lowest Moments
Everyone have their low and high moments in life. During this time of Covid-19, Freelancers pray that some business luck comes their way because they depend on gigs and direct business offers to prosper. If none of these are forthcoming, they are doomed. In this time, offers that does not align with your values come your way.
Customers walking in the mall. Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Pexels.com
For instance, if you value privacy, and a client offers you a job to create a video or graphic for a product that promote hacking peoples private information for a good pay, will you take it?. Of-course you will. And then, you promise yourself not to do it again once you complete the job. In your heart, you are taking it because of the situation you are in.
You Are Just Facilitating
Most freelancers who have been in the business for a long period of time own agencies. When one owns an agency, they can accommodate lots of projects. In most occasions, when you own an agency, you are not directly involved in editing or producing a project, you just facilitate.
Work space in an Agency. Photo by Cadeau Maestro on Pexels.com
So, as long as the financial bit is good, and as long as it is not pornography, most agencies will take the job-unless your agency is involved in producing adult content. And as an agency manager, you will be assigning the work to your assistant editors.
It will take a while before the agency manager/Lead Freelancer realizes that he/she is accommodating a project that is going against his/her values.
Conclusion
While there are more things that will blind an agency manager from seeing that the project they have just accepted is going against their believes and values, it’s always very crucial to maintain your stand as a leader. Have the discipline of counter checking projects first before accepting.
This way, you will be growing knowing that you are taking in contracts that are adding value to the users and are aligned to your values.
That’s where joy lies. When you get paid knowing that you have added value or created promotional item for a valuable product are happy and look forward to more.
And that is it from me. Until next time, take care.
“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.”
Albert Einstein
Follow me on twitter @cheptiony.
Need help with video editing or hiring freelancers? Contact me here.
As Covid-19 continue to claim lives and wreck havoc on businesses across the world, remote way of working has become the new modus operandi. Fraudulent business groups on social media are emerging everyday targeting new and existing freelancers who are desperate to make money online.
In this blogpost, I will share my personal way of identifying a typical fraudulent Freelancer recruitment funnel on social media. This will in give you a picture of how the scheme looks like and how it is very hard to suspect. They will lure you to doing work for free or once you are in, they pay as they wish with false promises of increasing the pay.
These rackets are all over Reddit. This does not mean Reddit is a bad social media network. It’s the bad motives by some of the users.
If you have never been to Reddit, all I can say based on my personal experience is, it’s a good social media network where people share valuable information for free. Note the word FREE. This is the catch that fraudsters are using to get free service from You -the user- without you suspecting anything.
For the short time have been on Reddit, I have enjoyed every bit of information that I found shared on Reddit groups.
It got even better when I noticed that people were posting work opportunities for Freelancers. Me being a full time Freelancer, I decided to respond to one of them by messaging the person who offered the opportunity.
Here is a snippet of the offer.
Please take note of what the client is offering here. I have highlighted them in yellow so that you can see their hook.
They offer $10-100 to edit 1 Minute Videos
It means they will pay each editor that gets into their funnel based on how the negotiate for a given assignment. If you are confident enough to negotiate, you will be paid better. Sadly, many new and even experienced freelancers are afraid to negotiate because they fear being denied the opportunity. So if the client fixes a budget on a given video, they will accept. This takes me to the second hook.
10-20 Videos Per Week
This is very enticing to anyone looking for sustainable income. Any Freelancer will do a quick math using the average pay which is around $55 per video. If you do 10 videos a week you make $550 and if you do 20 videos a week, you make $1100. This is good money. Moreover, it will be recurrent work. One has a potential of earning $2200-4400 a month working directly with the client. In fact if you are paid $100 per video, you will earn $4000-$8000 a month.
This is enough to blind any freelancer. I mean this is good money. One can do anything to get the job:-). This is where they begin their show now that they have your attention.
The Screening Process
Like any other interview, before you are considered, you are required to submit your portfolio. That’s what Freelancers do everyday right inside their cover letters when bidding for work.
As you can see, they will first review your porfolio and if you are fit, they will ask you to do a ‘test project‘ to confirm your capability. Now, this is where one knows if its going to end well or it is going to turn out as a fraudulent opportunity.
Trusted freelancing sites like Upwork have implemented a policy regarding to test project to protect freelancers from fraudulent clients who their sole purpose is to waste Freelancers time. The condition is; that clients have to pay Freelancers for any test projects.
Having found this policy helpful is protecting myself, I apply it everywhere.
Now, in the post, the client concluded that the test project will be paid-which is still in line with the policy.
Next Steps After Submitting My Portfolio
The client liked my portfolio and not elevated me to the next stage of their Freelance Recruitment funnel, a slack channel for Video editors working for them. The channel had more than 40 members.
All instructions on how to go about the test project was in there. After, going through the files, I was happy. The instructions was very clear. Seeing that I had all that I needed to proceed, I contacted the team lead to clarify 3 things;
How they pay editors – Is it via Paypal, or bank transfer e.t.c
If they have an Non Disclosure Agreement to sign before starting work
How much they pay for the test project which looked like everyone in the channel was supposed to work on.
The VA could not answer that. This was the first sign that was something was not right. In response, she referred me to their accountant who deals with paying freelancers.
She avoided the question on having and signing a contract before work. That’s was alarming. I mean, who works for a company without a contract in place especially when you consider the amount of money one will earn while doing the job?
This is very important. Loosing $4000 a month is not a joke. What if they pay at the end of the month and after you do the job, they remove you from the slack channel or stop responding to your concerns. Anything is possible.
Having a contract is a sign of commitment.
Contradicting Statements
In their video editing post, they said they were going to pay for the test project. But on persistently consulting the accounts clerk on Slack before working on the test project, I was surprised to learn from her that they DON’T PAY for test project.
This is enough. If they don’t pay for test, withdraw from the interview and forget it.
But how many Freelancers do this?
If all of the 40+ Freelancers in the channel had started doing the job without confirming if they were going to be paid for the test or not, what does it tell you about their level of seriousness towards freelancing? Its vague right.
Those are the same freelancers you will hear soon crying that they were not paid.
Conclusion
The only way we can stand out as full time freelancers online is upping our game based on our experiences for us to gain trust and respect from new clients looking to hire online.
What do you think of the jobs being offered in reddit?
Any client, be it a newbie or experienced at hiring, have one thing in common- they are always looking for ways to save time and money. That’s exactly what a Freelance Video Production Agency does for clients when they hire them. On top of it, save them headache!
I know you are thinking, but what type of headache? I will explain this in a moment.
Lets begin with the foundations of a video. What does one need to produce a professional video? Well it depends on the type and purpose of the video. Here are 10 things that a Video Production Agency will do to save you time and headache.
Writing Powerful Scripts And Sales Copies
This is what communicates the vision of a company or rather the vision one has for his business. It has to be written is a simple and convincing tone.
While engaging a professional copywriter is essential, you as the owner of the business is in a good position to provide direction by providing an outline of your vision for the copywriter to rewrite it in an engaging manner. This is where a Freelance Agency comes in.
Hand Picking Pro Voice Overs
In instances where a video requires a professional voice over narration, an agency will help you hand pick the right voice. For a new person who have never created a video before, choosing the right voice over is quite difficult. When you engage a Video production Agency, they will not only hand pick for a the right talent, they will also enlighten you and the varieties of voice-over talents out there. e.g American, African, Indian e.t.c.
Searching And Purchasing Royalty Free Music and Sound FX
Music and sound effects are necessary in most videos as they set the mood. Not all freelancers will tell you where they got the music used in your video and whether they have the rights to use it. As a result, you video maybe be taken down a few weeks or months later after you have publicly published it due to copyright claims.
Most Freelancer Video Production Agencies will inform you upfront about the music rights, as well as where they are sourcing out the music they propose to use in your video. In-fact, they will give you an option to make the purchase yourself so that you are sure.
Constructing Easy To Follow Storyboard
While it is necessary to have a storyboard before producing any video, most video producers are creative and would rather produce the video using the script only.
This is very common in occasions where client’s budget is very small. Storyboard saves one a lot of time and money. Most Video Production Agencies will advise you to include a small fee for storyboard creation because of the benefits that comes with it.
These are four common ingredients of a professional video.
So, is this what a Video Production Agency able to provide and safe one time and headache?
Yes. But there is more. Click here to hire us today.
Managing Video Reviews And Revisions
Any video produced has to undergo a review. The review process is very necessary because little mistakes are easily sported and quickly corrected. A Video Production Agency usually offer their clients unlimited revisions for a given period of time. This is good for the client as through this, satisfaction is guaranteed.
Advising on Payments And Approvals
Once you agree on how you are going to pay the Agency, you will rest assured that you project is being taken care of. Most Agencies love when they are paid for giving value to their customers. Freelance video production Agencies are flexible and understand the modalities of online payment.
Drafting NDA’s and Contracts
Setting up contracts and NDA’s for Agencies is easy and hassle free. Most agencies have an existing NDA’s document that can be edited to suit both of parties. This will act as protection for both the Freelancer and the client.
Providing Customer Service
It doesn’t matter who responds to your e-mails so long as it’s timely done. Freelance Video Production Agencies are customer oriented. They listen to the customer requirements and addresses them fast and on time.
Easily Managing Multiple Projects
This is what differentiates an Agency and individual service providers. They can handle multiple projects at once. If you assign an agency two different projects, they are able to handle them at a go without fail. This is because of their experience and team work. They are connected to experts in each category of video editing and production.
Negotiation For Discounts
If you are a company that requires video services on a regular basis, Video Production Agencies are the best option. As you engage them on more work, you can negotiate on rates after sometime. Agencies are flexible and are willing to give discounts based on trust.
On the other hand, they negotiate with service providers connected to them for a discount in return for long term engagement.
And these are ten things that a Video Production Agency can do to save their clients time and headache.
Imagine hiring one entity to take care of everything from scripting to production? Is that not awesome?
Have you ever engaged an Agency to handle your video projects? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments below.
And if you need help to create and produce professional videos for either marketing your business or educating your customers through your website help center, let me know here.
Alternatively, you send me an e-mail to connect@cheptiony.com
Until next time, take care.
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