Hey, It's bucketing down here in Portugal – which is good because I have lots of work to do! Everyone who watched last week's subscriber-exclusive two-hour livestream will know about the exciting projects I'm working on. We also had some great questions on everything from email to ads – so my thanks to everyone who participated at such short notice, and especially those who submitted such great questions. Watch the replay here if you missed it. How To Record A Welcome VideoToday we're talking about how to record a short welcome video for your readers. This was chosen by you guys from all those ideas on how to level up with email from my newsletter a couple of weeks ago. BTW, this is why it's always good to ask your readers instead of assuming. I was sure you guys would pick something else (so sure I had half of a very different newsletter drafted 😅). But the people have spoken, so I recorded a quick video below to show you how to do this – without even needing any specialist equipment. Spoiler alert: your phone probably shoots much better video than the fanciest webcam and is certainly easier to use – plus you already own it! This is one of my favourite tricks – a next level move that anyone can do. Although there a couple of little things in how you execute this trick which make all the difference IMO. So watch the video for sure but do also read this newsletter to the end to get the most out of this. And before we get to all that, a quick word from our sponsor. In partnership with Craft + Commerce ConvertKit's Craft + Commerce conference is happening June 8-10 in Boise, ID – and tickets are going fast This three-day event is designed to help you connect with fellow creators, learn from experts, and discover tools and strategies to grow your business. Craft + Commerce includes inspiring keynotes, workshops, meetups, live ConvertKit support, and social events. This is the perfect opportunity to gain valuable insights, network with your peers, and have a blast doing it. Right now, you can take $50 off your Craft + Commerce ticket. Want to bring a friend? You'll save even more! The Camera In Your PocketMost authors are either working on a desktop setup with no built-in webcam, or a laptop with a subpar one. This is normal, even with a new, premium laptop. Chances are good that you already have a better camera in your pocket. And the cool thing about that is you don't need to be sitting at your desk to record your welcome video. Just make sure you are somewhere with good audio – whether that's indoors or outdoors. This might sound strange but good audio is more important than good video, and putting a tiny bit of thought into lighting can make any camera look good (and bad lighting can make a $2000 camera look terrible). I run through various potential set-ups for you in the video – from using a poor quality laptop webcam, to a slightly better and reasonably priced USB webcam, to using the phone in your pocket, but also the difference between shooting inside and outside, and a few things to consider – including what you should say! I wanted to give you as many options as possible to encourage you to do this, and I deliberately haven't edited the video in any way and shot everything in one take to show you that anyone really can do this. Warning: contains hobo beard (it was a long winter). That's an unlisted video on YouTube, which is exactly the setting you should choose when uploading. You want this video to be private for your subscribers, but choosing "Unlisted" rather than "Private" is better for several different reasons. This is a quick-and-dirty video guide, exclusive for you guys, just to quickly show you how to put a welcome message together using the equipment you already have at home. After Recording Your VideoDo not upload the video to your own website – or attach it to an email – that's a huge mistake. Do this instead:
You do also have the option of embedding the YouTube video directly in your email, but that can drop you into Promotions (or worse). That said, I should note you will see higher engagement from those who do receive your email safely. A trade off – like many things email. Either way, embedding is simple on your site or in your newsletters and mainstream platforms like Wordpress (or MailerLite or ConvertKit) handle this in quite a streamlined way. Super Extra Bonus TipYou might be wondering why I am suggesting sending people to your site instead of to YouTube. This is a really good question! I never let a marketing opportunity go to waste and I want to do two more things here, aside from creating early engagement via the video. The advanced: I have the Facebook Pixel installed on my site. So each visit increases the size of my custom audiences which in turn also improves the quality of my lookalike audiences – something we'll talk about in a future newsletter. The simple-but-deadly: This is also an opportunity to sell something to readers, or give them something else, or point them towards something else. You have all this space underneath your video and you can fill it with… whatever you like. Push your Book 2, dangle another freebie, tease a spin-off series, link to your series page, drop some FAQs – the possibilities are endless. It's your site – go wild! And if you want to pretty up that landing page you are pushing readers towards, or indeed any other part of your website, the stock photo deal from AppSumo is still available: 100 DepositPhotos credits for $39.
(That's an affiliate link – meaning that I make a small commission if you decide to purchase, which helps subsidize all the free things I build for writers. Also... don't stress if you can't get it now. It will be back for Black Friday!)
So many of you jumped on that deal last week that AppSumo actually emailed me to see what was going on LOL. Next week, I'll show you how to use them. Dave P.S. Music this week is Aztec Camera with Somewhere In My Heart.
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Friday, April 21, 2023
How to welcome your readers with video 📹
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