You’ve probably heard the story of the guy walking down the street in NYC who asks a stranger “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” – and a famous violinist yells out “practice!”
When it comes to video content, practice is your key to hitting it out of the park every time. I’m an actress, and people think it’s easy for me to be on camera. But portraying a character is *totally different* than showcasing my own voice and being myself on video.
Most people tell me that producing video for their business is overwhelming, or they come up with a world of excuses about why they can’t do it – I’m not sure what to talk about, I’m not good at being on camera, I don’t know the software or how to edit well, my business doesn’t translate well to video, etcetera – and then nothing exciting happens.
First, get over yourself – don’t listen to the excuses in your head, and all the reasons why you think you “can’t” do it. The only thing that’s going to get you there is to practice, and all you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. Stop obsessing over equipment too – just use your phone’s camera, I’m sure it’s adequate, and that’s what everyone else is doing anyway.
Second, decide you’re going to do it! Maybe that looks like spending time on one day each week playing with your equipment or making two-minute videos on Sunday afternoons. Maybe it looks like jumping on TikTok or Instagram and messing with their video filters on a 60-second clip where you say something that you’d love to tell the world about yourself or your business. You’ll figure out what it looks like over time – but decide you’re going to play the game, and then pick up the ball.
And third – you have to actually do it. Set a time, stick to it, and make it happen. Tell a friend and have them hold you accountable if you need to. You might get frustrated (or accidentally delete a great take! We’ve all been there!), and it might take more effort than you planned, or you might find yourself cringing as you watch yourself back. But it’s ALL part of the process! And at least you’ll know that you’re on the court, finally doing the thing. Video content doesn’t have to be so overwhelming – you just have to get started.
