Biz Tips Blog: Online Marketing, Visibility and Business Blogging Tips

Women in Business 2.0 - Behind the Scenes with Kim Doyal

From previous posts you probably know that I was featured in the new documentary film, Women in Business 2.0, the brainchild of producer Kim Doyal. Prior to this project, I did not know Kim, other than the fact I had heard of her and knew her as the WordPress Chick. When she invited me to be part of the film, I was honored and accepted without hesitation (Side note: what better vehicle for boosting visibility than being among 15 women featured in a film?).

I like to get the back story on projects and find out what happens behind the scenes. I asked Kim if she would be open to a short interview and she said "yes!" I think you'll see that if you want something enough, you can make it happen regardless of setbacks.  Without further ado here's the audio interview (play online or download the mp3) and the edited transcript follows if you prefer reading...

Interview with Kim Doyal, producer of Women in Business 2.0

Denise Wakeman: Hi. I'm Denise Wakeman. Founder of The Blog Squad. Today I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak with a woman who had an idea, a dream, and executed it in a way that is touching people's lives all over the world. You may have seen some emails or blog posts in the last few weeks about a new documentary movie called Women in Business 2.0. That movie was the dream of Kim Doyal also known as The WordPress Chick.

Keyword Research Can Help Your Content Get Found by Your Ideal Client

No matter what kind of content you create, whether it's blog posts, articles, videos you post on YouTube, sales letters, or status updates, a little bit of attention to keyword research can make a big difference when it comes to optimizing your content for the search engines. In fact ANY copy you write for the Web can benefit from a few minutes of focused attention on finding the best keywords to attract your ideal audience.

Recently I started using ScribeSEO which I wrote about here. This is a subscription based service that practically does all your keyword research and analysis for you.

If you want your content to be found by your ideal client, then it's a good idea to know what words they're using to find the solutions to their problems. This where keyword research comes in. I confess, I'm lazy about this. Mostly because it always seems more complicated than it actually is. That's why ScribeSEO has been a gift to me...it's fast and easy to use and I'm confident that my content is optimized after I run it through the analysis.

Last week at NAMS4 (Niche Affiliate Marketing System workshop), a panel of experts in finding and integrating keywords in their content, shared their tips and secrets to getting found and making a lot of money as a result. The 90 minute discussion was recorded and you can grab a copy here for an excellent overview of why and how you do keyword research, as well as what tools and sites the pros use.

Here are a few SEO keyword tips:

• Pay attention to headlines and titles
• Title (appears in the location bar - title of blog post)
• Headlines and subheads (in the body of the post)
• Write content for people but tweak it for search engines
• File name for blog post titles can be edited to be more effective (get rid of a, an, the, and)
• Linking is important: link internally to your blog posts and link externally to relevant content
• If it makes sense, bold your keywords

Remember, you want to optimize any content that can be indexed by the search engines, with your keywords. That includes blog post titles, social networking status updates (twitter and Facebook), forum posts, sales pages, YouTube video titles and descriptions, Flickr photo names and descriptions, and more.

Recommended:
SEO Made Easy with Scribe

All you need to know about keyword research

Wordpress SEO Secrets for Bloggers

Online Video Round-up: 16 Posts About Marketing with Video

Due to the number of questions I get about creating and marketing with online video, I spent some time going through posts I've written over the last year on Build a Better Blog as well as this blog. I came up with 16 posts that give you an overview as well as a lot of tips about why and how to use video on your blog as well as for marketing your business.

First, check out some stats from The Neilson Company about the growth of video viewing habits in the U.S. -- up 23% over last year. YouTube continues to be the top dog so it's a good idea to get your videos posted there so you can increase your online visibility across multiple media and platforms. 

Without further ado, take your pick, read them all or choose the posts in alignment with your learning needs and interest...

1. Use Video on Your Blog
2. How to Reach 97 Million Americans
3. Lou Bortone Predicts a Land Grab for .tv domains
   
4. Visibility Via Video
5. Using Video to Promote Your Business
   
6. Online Video is Easier Than You Think
7. 10 Hours of Video Uploaded Every Minute
8. Add Video to Your Twitter Profile
9. Animoto is a Super Easy Video Tool
10. Video on Twitter is Getting Easier
11. Video Isn't Just for Blogs and YouTube
12. Top 10 Reasons to Add Video to Your Marketing Mix
13. Interactive Video Can Engage Your Viewer
14. Online Visibility Tip: Create a Video Podcast
15. What Camcorder Should I Use to Create Videos?
16. Video Questions about Camera and Lighting

Are you ready to dive in to Online Video? [Shameless self-promotion coming up...]

Lou Bortone, the Online Video Guy, and I have created a comprehensive course called Online Video Made Easy. You get 3 hours of training, video tutorials, transcripts, audio and LOTS of tips and tricks and recommended resources.

We have a holiday promotion running now...save $50 (25%) through December 24. Use code OVDEC when you check out in the shopping cart.

Think about it. Get the course now. Study and practice with your family and friends over the holidays and in January, you'll be ready to rock 'n roll with video for your business! 

We even have a Facebook Group devoted to answering your questions and sharing your online video successes!

Don't take our word for it. Check out the video testimonials from happy students! Then, click here to get started...it really is easy and FUN! Remember to use code OVDEC when you check out.

Video Questions about Cameras, Lighting and Sets Answered

The questions about online video keep coming. A client sent me these questions and I figure many people can benefit from my response:

1. What camera are you now recommending – brand name and model?

I answered this question about buying camcorders a couple days ago. My favorite continues to be the Flip HD. There are now so many variations that you really just have to pick the one that appeals to you most. My general recommendation is to buy the most you can afford. And I suggest going with HD (high definition) since so many of the video distribution sites are moving in that direction.

2. Where is it best to buy this video camera?

I buy just about everything on Amazon. But shop around. You can find deals everywhere so I don't have a "best" recommendation.

3. Should I buy some lighting equipment?

Hmmm. Lighting is not my expertise. Good lighting in video is important and it also depends on how you intend to use the videos. You may be able to get away with the lighting you have. Here's a video about lighting videos that may be helpful (thanks to an article by Mike Stelzner where I first saw the link!)

4. If I do a series of videos to the same audience, should I utilize the same setting and background for each video or mix it up?

That depends. What kind of message and/or image do you want to project to your audience? Are you producing tips or something more akin to a regular "show"? Is your audience conservative or hip? What do you think they would want? (Hint: do a survey!)

Gary Vaynerchuck's insanely successful Wine Library TV may be a good model. Gary shoots a show nearly every day and many are shot at the same location, but not all. Essentially, there are no rules. You need to figure out what you want to convey and then the best way to do that.

Do you have any recommendations? How would you approach doing a video series?

Online Video Made Easy - a step by step program to get started with online video is currently on sale. Get a 25% ($50) discount with code OVDEC.

Related Post:

How to Reach 97 Million Americans - Lou Bortone's Video Tip

What camcorder should I use for videos to put on my blog?

Recently I answered a question on LinkedIn about what kind of camcorder to use to shoot videos for a blog. Thought you might appreciate the answer as well.

By the way, the Answers feature on LinkedIn is a great way to 1) demonstrate your expertise and 2) boost your visibility!

Back to my answer.

When I got clarity from the person asking, it turns out they planning to shoot fitness training videos.

I recommend the Flip and/or a simple webcam. But then it depends. What is the purpose of the videos and what do you want to achieve with the videos?

The internal software on the Flip provides simple editing which is often enough. You can also create movies from multiple video clips and you can upload directly to YouTube (and now Facebook with recent software upgrade). You can also create channels and send videos to specific people. I use this to do video coaching and send video messages to clients.

I hear the Zi8 from Kodak is great though I haven't used it yet. One of the benefits over the Flip is that you can add an external mic.

For simple talking head and interviews, The Flip will do the trick.

Get the HD Flip and then you'll get high def quality pictures. I use a lot of videos on my blog and use the HD Flip. You can see a post here that also explains how I do video podcasts and distribute video on the web to drive more traffic.

You can see all the various Flip cameras here.

You can learn more about The Flip and the software on their site.

I really like the share feature for sending private video emails to clients. It's simple: Click on video, click on Share, type in email address and your message, click send.