Why Vlog?
Amy Schmittauer Landino
Lessons
Class Introduction
14:11 2Why Vlog?
02:34 3The 3 Fears of Vlogging
08:08 4How to Build Confidence On-Camera
09:07 5Vlogging And Storytelling
30:26 6Amy's Authority Video Formula
19:03 7Vlogging Gear Intro
01:57 8Smartie Pants Gear
27:31On-The-Go Gear
28:50 10Setup Stunner Gear
15:58 11Let's Make a Vlog
02:54 12Filming a Vlog
27:36 13Editing a Vlog in Real-Time
18:26 14Advanced Editing Tips
13:08 15Vlog is ready. Now what?
03:50 16How to Prepare a Vlog for YouTube
08:24 17How to Design a Compelling Custom Thumbnail
10:43 18How to Share a Vlog on Social Media
25:13 19Live Streaming Video
27:22 20The Vlogging Secret
03:15 21Bonus Video: Video Editing Deep Dive
34:34Lesson Info
Why Vlog?
Why are you here? That's what I really wanna know. Why are you gonna vlog? Because you know it might have something to do with this, everybody's like oh vlogging is so cool. Like you should totally do it. It's so much fun, come on in. It's great, it's a great time. (audience laughing) The water's really warm and like you're like, oh my god this is awful. I can't possibly. (audience laughing) No. It's really intense, right? Video's a little vulnerable. But there's something pulling you into that weird bathtub that is vlogging. And you're like I just think I wanna try it, right? Before we dig into that, let's just talk about what a vlog is on a very basic level. I put this definition in my book because I think it explains it the best. A blog that features mostly videos rather than text. Whatever you can do in a blog, you can do better with a vlog because it has video. A lot of people have kind of their own determination of what a vlog is today because it's become a lot more mainstream in...
how we're seeing this being shown online and what different types of documentation look like. But my first vlogs, especially on this channel that I share on today, Savvy Sexy Social, were very much I'm just gonna sit here and talk to you. Just like you might do if you were sitting down and writing something or taking photos to display something. You're sharing your message in some capacity, that's it. It's not a commercial. It's a vlog. Does that make sense, yes? Yes. Great. But social video today has a lot of faces. We see so many places that we can be to share video, and actually you can vlog in any one of these places. They just feel a little bit different. So which ones are going to be the right ones for you? That's a question you have to determine. Has to do with your audience, and it has to do with where you're going to build the context of your message around. How do those things fit in together? How can you share your vlog through Instagram or Instagram Stories? A little differently than you might on YouTube. And very differently than a Facebook Live environment. But where is your audience? Where do they wanna be communicated with? So that you can share your message. A couple of things to note about social video today is that 82% of Twitter users are watching video on Twitter. That's incredible because that could mean Periscope live streams. That could mean uploaded video native to the platform. That could be a YouTube video simply linked. And somebody pressed play and they didn't have to leave their Twitter stream to watch it. There's a lot of watch activity happening there. YouTube has over a billion users. That's almost 1/3 of the people on the internet. And it's the second largest search engine in the world. So that's a really big piece of why YouTube is still a major player today. 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week. And I think that's a very conservative number. I think we're watching a whole lot more than that, especially with long form content becoming a much bigger piece of video today. 85% of the U.S. internet audience is watching videos online. So if anybody came in here saying, my audience doesn't watch online video, they're far too busy, they're doing this, they're in the C-suite, they're making this happen, they don't have time for video, 85%. You're not that special, okay. Your audience isn't that special. They probably YouTubed a few things here and there or they stumbled upon something on their Facebook Feed. They are watching video. Are you showing up? So I wanna hear from you in the audience. And absolutely at home online. Why do you want to vlog? Why are you here? Is anyone in here brave enough to share why they think that this is the right place for them to share their message? I wanna teach people about injury prevention, and I think vlogging is the way to do it because they have to see the video. I can't write how you should put your wrist. Absolutely. You know that's, nobody's, it's so much easier right? A picture's worth 1,000 words and all that. That's a great reason. That's a good conclusion to come to. Thank you for sharing that. You can build relationships with people when you're having a conversation with them, and it's a lot more personal if you're actually talking to them rather than them reading and hearing whatever voice in their head they're assigning to you. I think it's kinda the opposite of Santa Claus. I think seeing is believing, and you can discuss different topics with a different level of vulnerability when you see someone you admire talking about those things. I think especially in my industry, small businesses don't really understand how to promote their brand appropriately online because they don't have the resources or the funding to do it. So I think being that resource is really a great idea to allow small businesses to have the same success as big businesses. (laughing) Let's end on that because that was so special. Let me just tell you why. Meg has the same why that I started with in 2010. So how much has this really changed? This landscape has not changed. You still are bootstrapping a lot of times as a small business and trying to get your message out, and it's a little meta. We have sort of a meta message to deliver in the way that we're delivering it. However it's so important because everyone's gonna need a little bit of help. So I just want that to sit with you for a minute because if you also came in here thinking, oh it's oversaturated, somebody else is doing it already, so easy to say. But what if they heard it from you? Because I made a video probably similar to what Meg wants to talk about right now or already has in the last year 10 years ago. But they probably want to hear it from her if they found her. So remembering that your audience is going to find you, they wanna trust you, oversaturated is not an excuse. If you're good at what you do and you can share something valuable, make it happen. But also keep in mind that your vlogs are simply the vehicle. So as we start to think about consistency and actually showing up every time, your why is going to be the gas for that vehicle, unless you drive a Tesla, then it'll be a supercharger. (audience laughing) But either way you're not going to show up to vlog without that gas. So if you don't keep in mind your why, and we're gonna go deeper on how you can actually formulate a statement around that, it's gonna be so tough to make sure you show up for the video every time because it's so much easier to go do oh I'm too busy doing the work, I'm too busy with my family, I'm too busy over here, I'm too busy over there. You're probably right, you're very busy, and so is everyone else. And they're looking for their answers quickly right now online via video, and it could be you that showed up for them.
Ratings and Reviews
Lynne Magnavite
I loooooved this class! Gosh, it was the power of email - I happened to see your email about the class as I was scrolling and thought, hey, I will give it a try. Wow. Amy knows her stuff!! I enjoyed watching her process in real time. I stayed all the way through - glued to my screen! Terrific information, great questions and awesome real time feedback from the folks watching it online. Awesome experience! I cannot wait to try out some of Amy's tips and I just subscribed to her YouTube Channel! Thank you!!
Christine Dilullo
I'm so glad I made the time to come up to San Francisco and see Amy and Vlog Like A Boss in person. She was incredibly well prepared and generous with her knowledge and information. With all the tips that I've learned today, the mystery of video has been reduced to a doable level. I have pages of notes that I cannot wait to implement and her new book to reference! The staff and people of Creative Live make this one of the most enjoyable days. They are all super friendly and helpful. Thank you Amy for the class! Wishing even more success in the future! Christine Dilullo
Shea Hecht
CreativeLive users, I attended this course live and have to say it was very engaging. The relatability factor was extremely high, the points that were made were relevant and very doable. Great presentation, specifically the storyline outline, the gear info, using social media to drive people to you, the analytics part, and the conversation about how to get over your fear of the camera. I was humbled by Amy's personality and excited by her passion for her field. Her accompanied by her team at "AfterMarq" did a wonderful job. What a privilege to have been fortunate to attend. Shout out to the friendly 'n professional staff @creativelive for their Amazing hosting and making everyone's needs catered to (literally); what great food!
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