Every time I come up with a new marketing strategy, I like to share it.

I’m kind of excited about this one because I vowed to get into video this year but have faced barrier after barrier every time I tried. If you’ve done video, you know that…

It’s hard to actually look good on video!

Getting the lighting and technical stuff right is tricky

If you hire someone to do video for you, it can be expensive

Just getting the script right can take forever

But this past week, my friend and new “marketing and online technical coach and wizard,” Rob Goyette, showed me how I could do a completely different kind of video online.

You might call it an “online video report”

Instead of a long report explaining your concepts and services, you turn that report into an online video which you narrate.

So when a visitor comes to your web page they see the words of the presentation, along with your voice. Let me give you a step- by-step guide on how to do this:

1. Create a PowerPoint (PC) or Keynote Presentation (Mac) that takes you one step at a time through your informational report. It will actually be many fewer words, as it needs to be focused and succinct.

But It won’t be like most PowerPoints. Not a lot of graphics and bullet points. It will actually read more like a script. Just a few words on every screen.

It took me five or six hours to do my first one. 150 slides that move very fast.

This is definitely the biggest part of the work to do an online video. But guess what? I’ve spent as much as 100 hours on a report! No kidding. Who has that kind of time?

And these days, people want to read less, not more.

2. Once you have the presentation all done, you can convert it to a pdf and then use screen capture software as you go through the presentation.

The best software for this is Camtasia. Now available for Mac at long last; it’s been out on PC for years.

You turn on Camtastia and you go through the presentation as if it’s a tele-prompter. You’ll also need a microphone – I just used the built-in one on my Mac laptop.

So you don’t have to memorize a script, which is a real relief.

I recommend practicing it through two or three times (fine tuning the presentation as you go) and then, lights, action, camera, you’re good to go.

Once you’ve recorded it, you can go into Camtasia and edit it with very simple tools. The editing didn’t take long at all.

3. Once the video is completed, you export it (either Quick Time or Flash) and put the files onto your web page and web server. You may need a little help from your web developer here, but it’s very simple and only took me a few minutes to get it up and running.

Give it a shot. I believe it’s the new wave of marketing and perfect for InfoGurus who want to provide valuable information in a dynamic and fun way.

The More Clients Bottom Line: To add variety and interest to your web site, try video presentations. They are relatively easy to do, and with a little technical help from your web developer, you can have an attention-getting video up on your web site in less than a day.

By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert’s web site at www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses.