Free Webinar Replay – Learn How Marketers Can Collaborate with ChatGPT for More Creative Leverage

Let’s Collaborate with A.I., like ChatGPT, for More Creative Marketing

Are you ready to unleash the full potential of ChatGPT and A.I.-enabled writing tools to enhance your productivity and improve your marketing efforts?

In this webinar, I explain how ChatGPT fits within the A.I. ecosystem. I offer two examples of how ChatGPT’s API is being extended, especially for marketers who use CRM software like HubSpot, and, then use a TikTok video to explain a ChatGPT “super-hack” that takes you beyond prompt engineering. All in less than 1/2 hour.

As you may well know, ChatGPT has launched a tsunami of new ways to create content for marketing and other creative endeavors. It’s a force to be reckoned with that will have a significant impact on our future in myriad ways. There are both enormously powerful and empowering new tools to learn about and concerns about our humanity and intellectual property to be carefully considered.

This pop-up webinar will give you a leg-up in these conversations with the awareness that this gigantic wave of innovation and change is just beginning.

Don’t miss the opportunity to ride this wave of innovation and be sure not to let this wave hurt you, your humanity, or our global society.

Resource Links mentioned: ​

ChatGPT​: https://chat.openai.com/chat ​

HubSpot’s ChatSpot.ai Demo​: https://chatspot.ai/ ​

TikTok Video on How to Go Beyond Prompts​: https://www.tiktok.com/@heyeliya/vide… ​

Denise Wakeman’s Post on Using ChatGPT for Marketing​: https://denisewakeman.com/marketing-t…

Follow Jon on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joncombridges

Free Webinar Replay – ChatGPT: Learn How the Newest AI Innovation Can Make Your Marketing More Effective

The Future of Marketing is Here.

Are you ready to use the newest AI to take your marketing to the next level?

In this free webinar, I explain and demonstrate how ChatGPT’s output can make your marketing copywriting more effective and efficient. I also share tips for optimizing ChatGPT’s output, ideas for workflows, and other apps that will help you improve the power of your copywriting. The results will be better email open rates and engagement.

This webinar is perfect for all marketers, both pros and do-it-yourselfers, who want to take advantage of the latest innovations in AI-powered marketing technologies that will future-proof your workflows.

Amazing AI Chatbot Kidnaps TikTok As It Takes Over the Written World

It’s like Google and Siri had a baby, and she’s a genius!

Have you heard the massive buzz about this breakthrough AI tool?

I’ve been using the latest new AI tool, ChatGPT, for a few days now and it’s seriously impressive. People are finding it so mind-blowing that it’s taken over my TikTok feed with unsolicited endorsements. The latest rant was from @garyvee.

A key benefit is that ChatGPT’s dialog-based chatbot approach makes it super-easy to use. 

It also doesn’t suck that ChatGPT is free, non-commercial, and no strings attached (at least for now). I highly recommend that you give it a try. Access & more info here: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/

Here’s my Top 3 Reasons that I think ChatGBT is a game changer, via TikTok:

@joncombridges

It’s not every day that we get a new tool that we can immediately understand how it make our work more easeful and powerful. That’s why I’m excited about chatgpt, chatgptforcreators. It opens a window on the #future of how we will all someday very soon be using #AI and #AITools to be more Creative. #creativity

♬ Inspirational Background Music ( warm, motivation, determined, cinematic ) – four_track

Pro Tip: The better you get at asking questions, the better the output you’ll get. So take some time to think about what you want to ask and ask it in a clear and concise way.

COMING SOON: THE VIDEO MOJO CREATIVITY SANDBOX

Join Jon on a 3-Week learning adventure to ensure that you don’t die with your Creative Joy still stuck inside. This program is for you if you want to unleash your joyous, creative freedom. You will want to play in this “sandbox” in order to have a breakthrough in your creative self-expression.

Transform your creative life from a “want-to-have” into a valuable, ongoing practice. Register or learn more at: https://www.videocreator.me/

Please connect with Jon and/or subscribe to his free & informative email blasts here: https://play.combridges.com/links

Thanks for reading!


What’s Most Important to Your Business? Can You Inspire Humanity Over Strategy?

In what ways is business strategy overrated? And what is missing in order to make your company culture and your marketing communications a more successful experience?

Spoiler alert: business strategy is not so much overrated as it’s given superpowers. What’s missing is HUMANITY. We need a more full-body experience vs always being driven by our minds and ideas alone.

ABOUT VIDEO MOJO

Video Mojo is a playful exploration of the leading edge of video & social media marketing hosted by award-winning media innovator, Jon Leland.

Watch more Video Mojo vodcasts here: https://www.combridges.com/blog

Learn more about Michael Kass here: https://www.storyandspirit.org/ 

Please connect with us and/or subscribe to our free Luscious Links email newsletter here: https://play.combridges.com/links

Can Creativity Really Happen Without Getting Messy? I Think Not.

I like to think of creativity as play. There’s always an element of experimentation, trial and error, messiness, risk taking, and ultimately, if you’re lucky, celebration. We love it when it works, and there’s also a satisfaction that comes from just being “in the arena,” putting yourself out there. I feel blessed when I get to play creatively, in any way I can.

Outcomes are a whole other subject. “The Journey is (truly) the reward.” It’s only an adventure when you can’t predict exactly what is going to happen. There’s no “game” if you’re guaranteed to win every time you play. Taking risks and being willing to fall on your face, more than once, is simply part of the process.

The last time I was in Hawaii, I bought a refrigerator magnet that says, “Small waves never made a skilled surfer.” Simply put, wipeouts are part of the process of honing your creative skills. Every “mistake” is a stepping stone in the process of self-improvement.

So, please, go get messy. Don’t be afraid of a few wipe outs. I can’t wait to see what you will create. The best things are yet to come. And, they only happen when we are willing to get messy.

Thanks for reading,

Zoom Meetings: Learn the #1 Thing That Can Make Your Virtual Gatherings More Powerful & Productive

In the age of coronavirus, Zoom Meetings have become an essential way for groups to connect; but making these virtual gatherings powerful and productive is not so easy. Many people are still learning what it takes to be present without causing distractions. In other words, for groups larger than a half dozen, technical facilitation is required. In fact, having a dedicated technical support person to guide everyone in how to participate without detracting from the group’s energy can make a huge difference. Please watch the video below to learn more.

About Video Mojo
Video Mojo is a video blog and podcast hosted by award-winning media innovator, Jon Leland of ComBridges. It combines timeless marketing principles with a playful exploration of the “bleeding edge” of digital video & social media.

Resource Links from this episode:

I’d love to hear what works for you and if you find this program useful. If you’ve got questions, feedback or suggestions, please comment below, or let’s connect (and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever):

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Zoom Meetings: Learn the #1 Thing That Can Make Your Virtual Gatherings More Powerful & Productive

Hi and welcome to Video Mojo.

My name is Jon Leland and Video Mojo is a combination of timeless marketing principles and a playful exploration of the bleeding edge of social media and digital video.

Today we’re talking about digital video and the number one thing that you can do to make your Zoom meetings more powerful and productive.

You know, as I’ve been talking about digital video literally for decades. One of the original concepts that came to me was something I call the media proverb which is,
“It’s always more complicated than you think it is.”

Just because everybody is doing Zoom meetings now doesn’t mean that we’re doing them right. In fact, we’re seeing so many issues that even Saturday Night Live chose to make fun of all the ways that people do Zoom meetings wrong.

In this world that we have now where connecting via video has become so much more important, I think it’s really valuable to be conscious about the way we create a container for communities and get-togethers. To be clear, I’m not talking about two or three or even four or five people having a social gathering on Zoom. I’m talking about meetings where there can be 30 to 50 people and more.

Brene Brown offered some emotionally intelligent ideas that she uses with her Zoom meetings of 30 people on her team in order to get people into a more conscious space and to allow for all the intensity of emotions that are going on these days.
https://www.inc.com/betsy-mikel/how-brene-brown-runs-emotionally-intelligent-zoom-meetings.html

What’s clear is that we’re moving into a new world. So these kinds of online meetings and virtual connections, particularly the bigger ones where you’re talking about dozens or even hundreds of people, become more and more important. We want to create the container in a safe way, we want to create it in a conscious way, and we don’t want all of these distractions.

So the thing that I think is missing actually harks back to all the conversations about digital video, just because one person can run a whole meeting doesn’t mean that they should. I’ve been facilitating webinars for a client and we have two people managing the technology backend, making sure that things run in a smooth and professional way. In smaller meetings, such as meetings I have recently attended with 30 to 50 people, just having one person dedicated to managing the technology and giving people guidance and support makes a huge difference. If you don’t have that then you will have all these rough edges and distractions. People don’t understand that they really have to take responsibility for their audio and mute and unmute appropriately. I think having a technological project manager is the number one thing that we should to have to in order to have foundation and support in your large scale Zoom meetings.​ And when we conduct Zoom meetings in a professional way then they become a more solid, more productive container, and as a result generates a more powerful community..

I really want to encourage anyone that’s doing anything more than just a casual or small meeting with less than a half a dozen people, make sure that you have someone holding the space technologically, giving people coaching, providing real-time tech support, so that everybody can be on the same page and understand kind of the technological etiquette of making sure you muted or unmute and knowing where those controls are.
Knowing how the chat works so that if you want to chat to the whole group, you chat to the whole group. If you want to chat to an individual, you do it that way. Little things like that make a difference and help us build a stronger community through more productive and powerful Zoom meetings.

Please let me know what else you want to know about Zoom, about digital video and online. I’m here to help and thank you again as always for your kind attention. I look forward to seeing you next time.

How to Achieve Your 2020 Content Marketing Goals + Recommended Resources Help You Get There

Blessings on your Holidays and wishing you vibrant good health, chuckles of happiness and easeful prosperity in the New Year.

Setting yourself up to achieve your 2020 goals sounds simple… and it is!

But, doing what you want to do does require taking some simple action steps. And, you have to take them! ???? Some essential elements of embracing your goals are illuminated in this week’s Video Mojo:

This Weeks Power Briefing, How to Achieve Your 2020 Content Marketing Goals + Recommended Resources

In the world of content marketing, there are also strategic steps that you can take to get where you want to go. One of those steps, finding my “content tilt,” is at the top of my list of 2020 goals. I’m learning a lot from the book, “Content Inc.” as you will see.

The resources that are offered in this video (links below) can also help point you and your online presence in a more productive direction as well.

I am wishing you all the Happiest and Healthiest New Year Ever!

Here are the RESOURCE LINKS mentioned in this week’s video:

​Content Marketing Institute
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/

Joe Pullizzi’s book, “Content Inc.”
https://www.joepulizzi.com/books/content-inc/

Bullet Journaling
https://bulletjournal.com/

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

How to Achieve Your 2020 Content Marketing Goals + Recommended Resources Help You Get There

Hi and welcome to another episode of Video Mojo. My name is Jon Leland and I’m your guide on this exploration of both timeless marketing communication principles and up-to-the-minute resources, tools, tips, and that kind of thing. 

Today we are taking on goal setting and how to achieve your goals for 2020 and the year to come.

Recommended Resource: Joe Pullizzi’s book, “Content Inc.”

I want to start with a couple of resources. One is Joe Pullizzi and the Content Marketing Institute and, in particular, his book Content Inc. It’s a classic. It’s been around for a couple of years. I’ve been following Joe and his “partner-in-crime,” Robert Rose, on their podcast called This Old Marketing. And that is also a recommended resource. They are two of the most intelligent, resourceful, strategic people in the whole world of content marketing. Joe’s book, Content Inc. is particularly powerful because of its model and its model has inspired one of my goals for 2020. I’ll get into that in a minute. 

A Fundamental Action Step: Write Down Your Goals on Paper

The first tip, in his book which is about content marketing and a strategy… he has a whole methodology for it. Pulizzi starts out talking about goals. I really appreciated the down-to-earth practicality of it and he says two things that I think are crucial for anyone to achieve their goals next year or whenever.  

The first one is very basic but very few people do it: Write Your Goals Down. It’s really important to write them down. I will also share another resource which is called Bullet Journaling. Not everybody knows about Bullet Journaling. This is my bullet journal and pen right here. It’s something that I’ve used extensively. 

The tactile experience of writing to-do lists, of writing a goal, of writing a plan has really had a profound effect. It’s been really good for me to get away from the screen, and to be present to that. 

And that is one of the, everybody agrees, main thing with goals. I know a lot of people are afraid to set goals. I’ve personally experienced the vulnerability of “God, if I write this down and I set this goal, what happens if I don’t achieve it?” The worst thing that can happen is you had a vision and a goal and you didn’t achieve it. It’s not the end of the world and we could do a whole podcast about failures and how everybody, including the most successful people in the world, has had their share of failures. So it’s really not a horrible outcome but we all have our fears. 

Some people resist goals, they’re afraid to write goals. Don’t be afraid and write them down. 

Fundamental Action Step #2: Look at Your Goals Daily 

The second thing that Joe points out, which I think is even more challenging, is to look at those goals every day. So I’m reinforcing that and also offering the resource. 

Then in my own spirit of vulnerability, in the adventure, I want to share that the second part of Joe’s strategy about content marketing really hooked me in. He talks about how important it is to have a “sweet spot” that overlaps your passion and your skill set. Then, the second phase of the content in Content Marketing Model is called “Content Tilt” and that is where you get your unique voice. 

You’ve picked a niche, you’ve found where the overlap is between your passion and your skill set. But then, what’s unique about you and your voice? And that’s something that I’ve really been exploring for myself and that’s one of my goals for 2020. I’ve made progress on this. 

A friend of mine helped me see just this morning that a lot of what I do is Timeless Marketing Communications Wisdom. For decades I’ve been doing marketing communications, in video before digital media. And the principles that apply in terms of relationship building, authenticity, having a real message, that’s the kind of thing that I’m very committed to. 

I also am – a friend of mine calls me – the “Google of Marketing Technology.” I test out, experiment with, play with, all kinds of marketing tools from software, to digital strategies, to social media, to, as I hope you know by now, online video in particular. 

So next week I’ll get into some online marketing technologies but that’s my second goal—to really do more. This year has been a big breakthrough for me because I’ve started this video blog. Next year I want to really bring these tools to bear with more consistent video communications for all of my friends, relationships and in particular clients and prospective clients. 

Bonus Fundamental Tip #3: Share Your Goals

So what are your goals for 2020? A third technique that I can recommend, call this the “bonus,” but this is where some real juice can come into it, is to share your goals. You can share it with another person. I certainly recommend you choose one of the people who you find really supportive in your life because your goals can get trampled upon by somebody who’s a “Doubting Thomas,” as they say. 

So another way to do that would be to share it with us. You can put it in the comments on the podcast, the comments on the YouTube video, or the comments on any social media where I post these video blog posts and podcasts. I’d love to hear from you; but there’s something in it for you, if you share your goals publicly and with other people. Again, be careful and if you don’t feel that’s appropriate no problem. 

But if you’d like to share your goals for 2020 I would love to hear them and see what I could do to support them. I’m always so grateful for your time and attention and I really look forward to your comments suggestions and feedback.

Thanks again for being here. Happy Holidays! And I’ll see you next week!

Hey Podcasting! Meet My Video Blog – A Content Marketing Distribution Innovation

What?!? You turned your video blog into a podcast? Yes, I did! ????

If you want to know how and why I did this, please watch this video:

This Weeks Power Briefing, Hey Podcasting! Meet My Video Blog.

What I did is: To get started, I stripped the audio off of a few of my video blog episodes, successfully put the Anchor.fm online app to work, and my video blog—now named “Video Mojo”—is now available via all of the major podcast distribution platforms. Here are a few links, in case you’d like to listen:

Join Us for a Free “Beyond Storytelling” Video Session

I’ve added a new service: Free Video Sessions. This is new way for us to connect as a virtual community, and for me and my friends to offer you complimentary support. You might think of these as a kind of “enhanced” Ask Us Anything experience. Basically, there will be a short interview followed by open Q&A so we can interact and be as helpful as possible. There’s no telling what might happen.

The first Free Video Session will be next Tuesday, December 17th at 11am PT / 2pm ET via Zoom Video. My guest will be my soul-full friend, the inspiring and empowering, Michael Kass, who takes storytelling to a more meaningful level. We are calling this session, “Beyond Storytelling” and it’s a chance to truly enliven your online communcations… well, all of your communications!

Yes, I will record this session and distribute via the podcast, video blog channels, and these emails; but if you have a question, problem or challenge that you think Michael or I might help with, think of this as an opportunity to get free coaching in a virtual group setting. Register Now for Free Here

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Hey Podcasting! Meet My Video Blog.

Hi there, and welcome. Welcome to Video Mojo which is my short-form podcast and video blog about making more meaningful online connections for a better world. 

Today’s subject is “Hello Podcasting! Meet My Video Blog.”

Connecting Vlogging & Podcasting

As some of you know if you watched earlier episodes, one of my axioms is “It’s Not HOW to Distribute the Content that you Create, It’s HOW ELSE to Distribute the Content that you Create.” And I’m reporting success in walking my talk in that regard, because the video blog that I’ve been doing on YouTube, I’ve also been putting on Instagram TV, Facebook, LinkedIn, and so forth. It is now also a podcast; and it’s available on Apple Podcasts (the iPhone app), available on Spotify, and on all the major podcasting applications.

I had this idea: I know that there are a lot of people distributing podcasts on YouTube, and I decided to follow the example of some people I admire. Derek Sivers is a great author and entrepreneur who founded CD Baby. He does a short-form podcast that’s just a couple minutes. Likewise, Naval Ravikant, who’s a VC financial guy, also does a short-form podcast and puts it on YouTube. They both do the very short form kind of podcast like this one. 

One difference is that they don’t do video. I originate with a video, do the video distribution, and have made the bridge the other way from YouTube and video into podcasting. I think that’s kind of innovative. I’d love to know your point of view about it. But the point is that it makes this content more accessible. As long as I’m producing content, it makes sense to have it out there. 

A Great App for Podcast Distribution

I do have an application tip that I want to share with you. I’ve made the podcast happen through a free application called anchor.fm. They did a great job! All you need is a title, a description, and some cover art. They’ll let you do some very simple cover art (within their app), but we created a custom graphic for Video Mojo. They literally took care of the rest at no charge. So I really recommend this app. It is a big time-saver. 

Free Video Sessions

I also want to tell you about an exception because occasionally I will do long-form episodes of this podcast and video blog. Those (longer episodes) will come out of some free public open group sessions. I’m calling them “Free Video Sessions.” The first free live video session is going to be with my good friend Michael Kass, who is an amazing storytelling expert. In fact, he takes storytelling to a deeper level of authenticity that I find inspiring and valuable. We’re calling the session “Beyond Storytelling” because we’re really going to talk about how to approach storytelling in a way that is not about transactions or selling stuff, just like I’m not selling anything here. It’s a free conversation and we’re not going to be selling anything in that free session either. 

It’s going to be Tuesday, December 17th at 11:00 a.m. Pacific and 2:00 p.m. Eastern. The link is here on the screen for you. And please join us by registering. You’ll get the recording if you register or it’ll be available via the podcast a little bit later. 

So, thanks so much for your kind attention. I love sharing this information with you. Questions are welcome. Comments and feedback at any time. Thanks again we’ll see you next week!

3 Ways Video Can Build Trust & Meaningful Digital Connections

Trust matters!

In today’s online, social media environment, trust matters more than ever before. Here’s why.

Everyone wants to filter out the BS, the hype, the sales pitches, and the get rich quick schemes. How do you do that? While browsing, you gather “data”—usually very quickly—in order to figure out whether or not you can trust someone. You want to know if they are really going to be of service and whether or not they actually care about offering something (whether service or product) that will truly be valuable to YOU.

This Weeks Power Briefing, 3 Ways Video Can Build Trust & Meaningful Digital Connections

In other words, trust is the “currency” of online/digital engagement. It matters enormously and it is extremely valuable. That’s why I think video is so important as a primary component of your online and social media presence. Nothing builds trust like video. Period.

So, if you are marketing in any way via social media or a website, building trust is crucial. In order to help with that, I made this video to illuminate three ways that you can use video to build trust and meaningful digital connections.

I hope it helps you to market with authenticity and to build meaningful, human relationship via digital media. Or, to be more specific, I’d love to help you build more valuable relationships via online video.

New Service Offer:

The Video Launch Pad 
This is a new service where I help you to learn about how to do video effectively while we create three videos together, and then our ComBridges Digital Engagement Team also helps you distribute your videos on YouTube and the major social media networks. We are trying to make the whole process as easy and powerful as possible for you. Please click here to learn more.

Edited Transcript:

3 Ways Video Can Build Trust & Meaningful Digital Connections

Hi there and welcome. My name is Jon Leland and I’m a Video Marketing Explorer. I really like to get involved with what’s going on with video and how video can enhance our human connections. 

Yes, I play a Digital Marketing Strategist by day but really, what I’m here doing is playing,  experimenting and exploring the dimensions of online video that matter. 

The ones that matter have to do with human connection and build trust. So, that’s why this video is about 3 Ways to Build Trust in Digital Video & online communications. 

Make Marketing Communications More Human

One of them is the most important and that’s making marketing communications (or just communications in general), more human. We do that with this kind of virtual eye contact. Once you make virtual eye contact, someone can experience who you are and what it is you have to offer in a way that print or even photographs can’t do. And because we’re dealing with filtering out the hucksters and the salespeople and the profit-oriented whatever’s, we want to make connection, and we want to give real value. 

Making a “human presence” is number one in terms of building trust.  

Be Consistent

Number two is being consistent, showing up regularly, and I think weekly is probably a minimum requirement. That’s what I’ve been really striving for with these video blog posts, because when you show up consistently, you build trust by being present, by people knowing that they can count on you. 

Cultivate Connection

The third way is really cultivating connection. So, showing up consistently, being human, and authentic are making a real connection. That enables you to build a real community, tribe, client base, or whatever your goal is. That is something I know that shifts the equilibrium of the world – when we make real human connections, cultivate community, especially in ways where we can relate to each other as we do on video… Then something changes. 

That’s what I’m about and that’s why I’m doing all this. I want a better world with more human connections, with real communities, and people who support each other. 

So there’s the three reasons how online video can cultivate trust, and I hope you will consider them as you decide to do your own outreach.

I’m going to follow up next week with more information. I’m going to The Patreon headquarters in San Francisco this weekend. They’re having a gathering about building community online. For those of you who may not know Patreon, Patreon is a crowdfunding way to do subscription support of your content. And I’ll be reporting back on that kind of video community building next week. 

So thanks again for watching. I really appreciate you being here and I’ll see you next week!

Vlog Video Production Tips: How I Use my iPhone to Keep Things Simple

It’s been so fun to get myself “over the hump” and start video blogging on a weekly basis.

I’m fascinated by the process and uplifted a whole bunch of results that have followed—from more clarity on my purpose, to increased visibility, to business prosperity.

I’m wondering if you might be someone who wants to get going with video blogging but feels overwhelmed or resistant to facing down the camera and/or all the other stuff that goes with it?

For me, I made progress when, first, I separated video distribution from video production; and then, when I streamlined my video production “system,” I finally became consistent.

This Weeks Power Briefing, Vlog Video Production Tips: How I Use my iPhone to Keep Things Simple

In this week’s video, I summarize my iPhone video production “system” and what I have done to simplify and streamline my vlogging production process. This includes using my iPhone to shoot, a simple wired lav mic for good audio, and AirDrop for file transfer. Click here to watch now.

And, if you are serious about becoming a video blogger (or upping your video blogger “game”), I’d love to help. Very soon, I will be offering a special “Kick-Start” services package. Please contact me if you’re interested in becoming one of the first to try out this package (at special “early bird” savings, of course).

In any case, I’d love to hear what works for you and if you find this video useful. Thanks for watching!

Edited Transcript:

Hi there, my name is Jon Leland, I’m a digital marketing strategist and a video blogger. I am here with episode number 9 of my weekly video blog series about video marketing.

I want to help you be a video blogger (or a better video blogger) and share what’s really worked for me. I talked last week about video blogging as a “superpower,” and about the way I got over the hump by separating out the video production from the video distribution. 

Simpler is Better

The other thing that has really worked for me is simplifying the video production and that’s what I want to offer you today. 

Here are the key components and how I get these videos done in a simple efficient way every week. 

iPhone Video Advantages

I have a number of cameras and I’ve been a video professional for a lot of years. I have a nice digital SLR, a DSLR; and I also have a video camera, an old camcorder. But for these videos, I’m using my iPhone. I have a good iPhone, a 10 XS Max. 

I really like my iPhone because of the video quality. The video quality even using the selfie cam, as I do, is going to be better than I would get, for example, out of my computer’s webcam. That’s the first point. 

The second point is that I do these videos by myself. I don’t have a camera person, so the fact that I can look at the lens and frame it with a nice good-sized selfie cam screen definitely makes things easier.

Tips for Better Audio

Another tip that I want to give you is that for audio. I’m using a very inexpensive $20 lavalier microphone. 

An even bigger audio tip to share is that one of the most important things about audio quality is making the shortest distance possible between your mouth and the microphone. So, even with a better microphone that would sit further away, I probably wouldn’t get the audio presence that I’m able to get out of this Lavalier microphone.  

I also have an extension cord that plugs right into the iPhone so that the audio and video are in sync together. Using a DSLR camera means having to separate out the audio which definitely adds a level of complexity that I would not want. 

I also have a nice camera mount that holds my iPhone on a real tripod. You could put your smartphone anywhere but using the tripod enables me to put it in the same position and thus to do the same kind of setup every week. Consistency in your videos is important. 

Video File Transfer via AirDrop 

The other thing that I get out of the iPhone in particular and from the Apple ecosystem is AirDrop. 

One of the other tasks that goes on when you shoot digitally with another camera is transferring the files. This can take time and of course additional effort. I use AirDrop to just take it from my iPhone and move it over (wirelessly) to my MacBook Pro. 

Create a Video “System” That Works for You

It’s simple, and simple is good. Use whatever works for you. Streamline your system. It doesn’t have to be fancy and expensive; but get a setup that you can do week-after-week to be consistent and make it simple enough and streamlined enough that you get it done week-after-week. 

I hope this has been useful. I look forward to your feedback and comments, thanks again for watching.

And, see you again next week!