Came across an article by veteran producer Brien Lee of Video Story, who detailed several good steps to increase your business. The first step particularly struck me, as it’s something I believe works too -with an important qualification.

Brien writes “Focus on your strength. There may be 50 video producers in town, but are there 50 that know, say, audio the way you do? Are there 50 that do their own scriptwriting? Are there 50 that specialize in interviewing people? Or maybe you really know a certain market– say, pharmaceuticals? Don’t be shy about letting people know– quite often niches are the fast way to riches.”

I like how Brien qualified this with “quite often, niches are the fast way to riches.” I agree wholeheartedly, for at least two reasons:

1. You have to have a niche people want to visit, so market research is crucial to your success.

2. You have to be in a big enough market where there’s room to specialize. Many of my video producer friends and clients live and work in small communities and even rural areas around the world. There’s no real call for extensive audio editing skills in Onekama, Michigan. (Of course, you can work anywhere with a good enough reputation; your customers will be coming to visit you in droves.)

How about you? Have you tried to work into a definite niche with your video production business? Has it worked out for you?

One of the cool things about seasons is that they provide excellent starting points for new endeavors – a bit like New Year resolutions – only you get four starts instead of one!

So where is this leading? I knew you’d ask.

In the mix of responses to our recent survey of Weekly Video Tips readers: “When it comes to marketing andpromoting your business, what are the biggest problems and/or frustrations that you face?” several people talkedabout the sheer expense of website building and optimization.

Here’s a sample:

John complains, “…when I inquired about starting a web site, my local provider of that service wanted $800 to get it up and running, plus $50 per month to keep it going. I would like to get (one) going but feel it is way too expensive.”

And Richard’s #1 goal is to build an inexpensive but professional-looking site. He says, “ I have no desire to build it myself, but at the same time, paying $1000-2000 for someone to do it for me isn’t feasible at the moment ….there are a lot of site building sites advertised, but what are the best? …. I need a website that’ll give me more bang for my buck so I can be found….Once I have a site established, I’d like to know the best way to be found by search engines, and people looking for my services.”

For these two guys, as well as Joel and Fred (and quite a few other video pros out there) who don’t have a bucket full of money to spend on promoting their business via website building and optimization, let me suggest this seasonal resolution – check out “Steve’s Web Toolbox.” (Yep – that’s me.)

If you’re concerned about the high cost of web sites, our Web Sites Tonight tool takes care of that problem. For as little as $3 a month (seriously!), you can get the tools you need to build your own website. And I’m not talking about some rinky-dink site design either. Hosting, e-mail, and Google Webmaster Tools are all included. Find that hard to believe? Just click here for more information.

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Now if you already have a website but want to achieve morerecognition and better standing on search engines, Steve’s Web
Toolbox has an answer for that, too …it’s called “Traffic Blazer”where, for as little as $50 a year you can bring more traffic to yourwebsite, increase customers, and get your site listed on majorsearch engine rankings.  Check out Traffic Blazer right here.

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The term “marketing” seems to strike fear in many of us . But marketing your business doesn’t have to be frightening. Make it your resolution this quarter to try something new that will help promote your business. Whether that’s going to Steve’s Web Toolbox, signing up for a membership in the Video Business Advisor  or refining your :30 second elevator speech (and using it) –do something today that will move you toward success.

I’m not usually the kind of guy who has to have the latest and greatest  toys. Let someone else be on the bleeding edge of technology. By the time I’ve decided I really can use a new gadget, it’s Version 3.5 and all the bad bugs have been eradicated from it. So I was kind of surprised that when my second generation iPod finally breathed its last this past weekend, I found myself snatching up a new iTouch.

(Oh yeah. Even “new” is new for me. Our last two ‘Pods were used eBay specials.)

But I digress. Bought the iTouch because it was cool, sure…and it holds a decent amount of tunes and pictures (I’m happy with about 1700 songs at a time) -but I also wanted one because when you flip it sideways, you can view your preloaded videos in widescreen format. This is such a great sales tool. If you’re a video producer or a photographer, you’ve got your demo reel or your portfolio right at hand…ditto for just about any other service or product(s) you provide that can be captured visually.

The decrease in song capacity? No sweat. I don’t need to carry around every album I own, nor do I want to…and it’s easy enough to resynch your song list now and then.

Of course I’m having second thoughts now…like “Maybe I should have gotten an iPhone!”

Well, let’s wait a few generations and see how I feel about it.

This online service will pay you cash for your gear. Just enter the make, model and condition of your equipment, and you’ll get an instant offer. Make a deal, Gazelle will send you a shipping box, and that’s as easy as it gets. The service is buying Mp3 players, laptops, camcorders, cameras, cell phones and more.

Now, rising gas prices have motivated companies to look into ways to cut certain types of travel completely. Internet meetings, video-conferencing, live video feeds …

Are you seeing what I’m seeing, here? This is a great time to offer your services to corporate clients as a video producer or “video technology expert.”

Rising gas prices are also going to cause many people (clients) to look closer to home for the video services they need, too.

One of the ways to capitalize on this trend is to be sure your website and other marketing tools clearly indicate where your company is physically located. Let clients know that not only do you have the skills to deliver a quality service and/or products, but that you have access to the best local resources available.

Of course, don’t make the claim unless you can stand by it.

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Last month, I mentioned how getting local traffic is a real key to video business success. Why should clients have to go to the ends of the earth for quality service when you can provide it from right next door?

A few other benefits to rising gas prices … you can group all your errands and make a one-time run, preferably during your less productive hours, and you can cut back on non-essential out-of-office meetings. Certainly a little thought to how you can drive less can help sharpen your time-management skills and cut down on waste, eh?

The next time you stop at the gas pump, look at the bright side. This, too, can be an opportunity.

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For more information on how to save money during tough conomic times, be sure to pick up your free copy of my latest report,“Marketing Your Video Business Through A Downturn.” It’ll give you some common sense guidelines for stepping back, assessing your production business, and applying practical, low-cost tactics for stretching assets and marketing spending further -in the right directions -for a greater yield.

And it’ll teach you some great no-cost ideas and techniques to add a little extra to your bottom line, too. Click here to get your copy. No charge, no obligation.

As the old joke would have it…one bite at a time!

A couple of Video Business Advisor members have asked me the best way to get through the online Video Business Marketing Course.

Just as simple a solution as the elephant joke.

Start at the beginning and work your way to the very end.

Going through the whole enchilada may seem like overdoing it; after all, you may have a great logo, you may already know the value of marketing, you may have already set your goals for the next five years and you may already know who your best client types are and know how to reach them…

…but a little refresher course never hurt anyone. In fact, since we learn by repetition, it can help a lot.

Because not everyone learns things the same way, we present the same material in a several formats; video/audio, audio only, and in print. That way, you can use the learning method or methods that work the best for you personally. I like a combo of all the formats, myself. I listen to audios while working out, walking or just relaxin’ in the hot tub. I watch videos during what I call the Educational Hour -that’s 9 to 10 am every weekday. And I read voraciously so I print out online lessons to go over and mark up when I settle in for the “evening read.”

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Today, I’m posting the second of two lessons about importance of corporate identity. I’m also uploading a couple of evaluation forms that you can use to ensure that your video business identity makes the grade.

We’ve come a long way with our online video business training course in a very short time, but there’s lots more to come.

In retrospect, doesn’t look so bad. Like a sleeping tiger, maybe.

Anyway, thanks again for your emails and calls all is well and we’re back in the saddle. Video Business Advisor subscribers, we fixed a glitch in the coding that made it difficult to see the latest video lesson via IE…it’s all good now…and I’m uploading
several new video lessons today.

And special thanks to VBA’er Richard Bannister who so patiently walked me through the coding problem. The man’s a veritable wizard, I tell you!

It’s now Monday and the dog, quite traumatized, wisely refuses to leave the house. Thanks to my neighbor and my collection of extra-long heavy-duty extension cables, the refrigerator and the main editing computer are running. In a bit, I’ll run over to a Wi-Fi’d coffee shop and upload this. May take awhile to find one. A lot of East Lansing is in the same boat today; waiting on the electrician.

If you’re waiting to hear from me, have patience. If you’re waiting for new uploads, have even more patience; those big files take a few hours and I doubt the coffee baristas will let me sit here that long.

And getting local traffic is a real key to your video business success.

With the help of a real SEO expert, I just finished up a great half-hour video on how to optimize your video production business website to really get right out in front when people are searching for local video production resources. The new video is available online 24/7 to Video Business Members and if I decide to sell it to non-members, it’ll probably go at $60 -which is more than twice the monthly subscription rate for the VBA…so if you’re interested in learning how to do get max results in the local search engines, including Google Maps and Yahoo! Local, I think it’s a darn good deal -and you can sign up right here.

But while you’re pondering your decision on whether or not to join the VBA (and here’s something that maybe can help you with that), Kristin Edelhauser over at Entrepreneur.com wrote a great article awhile back that bookmarks 15 sites for promoting your local business -video or otherwise. She says (and I agree), “The advertising of the future is going online–and going local. This hot trend is growing rapidly and shows no signs of letting up. In fact, according to a report by Borrell Associates, local online advertising is expected to grow by 31 percent this year, hitting $7.7 billion. The report also predicts local paid search will skyrocket by 86 percent this year, up to $1.8 billion. Local e-mail marketing will experience growth of about 54 percent, reaching $233 million.”

There’s no question that consumers are using the internet to navigate their way to local brick-and-mortar retailers. A recent study by ROI Research Inc. and Performics shows that online searches influence 20 to 30 percent of purchases made at retail locations–and that number is only increasing. More and more sites, like Local.com, are making their presence known by competing against major search engines like Google and Yahoo! So study up, plan your budget and get in on the online advertising game.

And take a serious look at joining the VBA, willya? You owe it to your business.