On my birthday (August 1st) I decided to take up VEDA (Vlog Every Day in August) and make a video every single day about online marketing. I dubbed the videos 31 Days to Higher Conversions or 31DHC for short. As I started out I was really excited about making a video every day… but boy did I bite off more than I could chew!
The Failure
My first video took about 8 hours to film, edit, upload, and post to Vimeo and YouTube. I didn’t know how to use Final Cut Pro X, didn’t know the best settings for my camera, didn’t know where the best setup for lighting would be, and had never uploaded a 1+ GB file to YouTube. I was definitely in over my head.
That said, I think I did pretty well. I put out a week’s worth of videos, one every day, and shot a couple more I’ve yet to edit. The videos turned out really well, and got some good feedback.
I would have really loved to have been able to complete all 31 videos, but in all honesty the time commitment was just too much. I just didn’t have the time to spend 2 hours a day planning, recording, and editing video. And that was after I got the hang of it.
I learned that video production is hard. I have a lot more respect for people like Ze Frank and Lamar Wilson who put out videos almost every day. Even a simple 5-10 minute video sitting in the same spot can take a long time to film and edit. But I also found that I really liked making videos. I’m comfortable in front of the camera, and the editing side of it isn’t bad either.
The Success
While I may not have put out all 31 videos, I did learn a lot in the process, and not just about video production. As I was writing and producing the videos on conversion rate optimization, I saw a lot of areas that I could improve my own sites. In just a few weeks, we’ve made several changes that have increased our conversion rate substantially.
I could have possibly spent my weekends recording multiple videos per day, working late into the night to get them all out. It was possible. But I found while I was spending a lot of time on the videos, I was neglecting my actual business. So I took that time and focused on completing a few projects that had been on my list for some time.
In the end, I’m really glad I gave it a shot, and think I might make a video or two a week going forward to finish the series and re-launch it sometime later. If I could produce all the videos beforehand I think it would have a much better chance at success.
