Are you avoiding incorporating a video strategy into your business? Planning video content doesn’t have to mean reinventing the wheel. Try out a few things, experiment, and realize it will take some time to get there. Video is a long-term strategy.
Today on the podcast I have my very first repeat guest to talk you off of your camera-shy ledge!
I’m talking with Holly Gillen about creating a video strategy that’s right for you and up-leveling the quality and content of your videos. Holly explains how to make sure that what you’re creating is the content your audience needs and wants, how to make the most of the content you already have, and how to tackle the four pillars of pre-production.
Listen in!
Mentioned in This Episode
- Video Made Easy: Mentorship Group
- From Start to Star Challenge
- 100 Themes for Video Link
- Join Holly G’s VIPs Facebook
- Episode 16: The Content Experiment Podcast
- The Content Mastery Lab
About Holly Gillen
Holly Gillen started her video production career in 2008 as a camera operator, producer, and editor working with big industry names including the Sundance Channel, Sony Music, HBO, and many others.
Today Holly empowers high-performing leading lady entrepreneurs to save time on both sides of the camera. She teaches her clients the skills they need to create not just video but Business Cinema™, creating videos that have a plan, a purpose, and a strategy. Videos that move your business forward and have a bigger purpose.
Learn more about Holly on her website or follow her on Instagram.
Transcription:
Abby Herman
Hey there, and welcome to Episode 109 of The Content Experiment Podcast, a podcast that supports the idea that content and marketing are ever moving targets in any business. And it’s okay if you don’t feel like you’re doing at all right all of the time, you have permission to experiment with little tweaks and changes in your content, to find out what works for you, what increases value for your audience and what grows your business, and most importantly, what feels good for you.
I’m Abby Herman, content strategist and coach for online business owners who are ready to make a bigger impact online. I firmly believe that success isn’t about what big marketing brands and so called gurus think is the right thing. It’s about you and your business, your lifestyle, and frankly, your values and belief systems. You get to do business in a way that works for you. If you’re new to the podcast, I’m so glad you’re here. I work really hard to bring you informative and to the point content because no one has time for fluff. If you like what you hear hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss another episode. If you’ve been around a while welcome back. Have you left a rating a review yet? If not, what are you waiting for leaving a rating and review helps Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and all the other platforms and me know that you like what you’re hearing, and it helps to get the podcast and more earbuds and who doesn’t want that?
Today, we have our very first repeat guest on the podcast, I’m really excited to talk to Holly g about video strategy, and up leveling up leveling the quality of your videos. Because both of these matter, you need to know why you’re creating a video and you need to take the time to make sure that what you’re creating is what your audience needs and wants. Sometimes it takes some time to get there, you have to try out a few things, experiment with different types of video in different places. You need to share about it in different ways. Or maybe you try out video and discover that that’s not really what your audience wants at all. But if that’s the case, you’re lucky that you were experimenting rather than creating an entire overhaul of your content strategy, right? That’s actually what we do inside of content mastery lab, my membership community. It’s a place where you can ask questions, get support and feedback, find accountability and learn new ways to create content to market your business, all inside a safe space. Or it’s okay to be silly or to make mistakes. Stop floundering with trying to figure it all out yourself and start creating content with the confidence that you’re on the right path.
You can join us monthly or quarterly or commit to a whole year for extra one to one time with me and quarterly planning parties where we work through your content together in an intimate setting, head to thecontentexperiment.com/lab for more information and to sign up. Now let’s find out a bit more about Holly G so we can get into the interview. Holly empowers high performing leading lady entrepreneurs is to save time on both sides of the camera and she teaches them the skills that they need to create not just video but business cinema. Business Cinema is the way she likes to describe the next level video, not creating content for creating content, like her style. But creating videos that have a plan a purpose and a strategy videos that move your business forward and have a bigger purpose. Holly g started her career in video production in 2008. As a camera operator, producer and editor working with big industry names including the Sundance Channel, Sony Music, Nick, HBO Bono, Big Time Rush, Forest Whitaker and many others. Her skills and expertise run the full gamut from producing and directing to shooting and editing and she has translated those skills into a range of educational courses and services to support high performing leading lady entrepreneurs and their quest for video stardom. Without further ado, let’s dig in to our interview with Holly G. Holly, I am so excited to have you on the podcast today. The first official second guest spot here. Does that make sense? You’re the first person to be on the on the podcast twice. So yay.
Holly Gillen
I feel like we need a sound effect. Ding! Ding!Ding!
Abby Herman
Yes. So Holly was on episode 16 where we talked about video mindset getting started with video and I’m super excited to have you here today too. To talk more about the strategy and the planning behind video. So thank you for being here. And before we get started, would you share with the audience what you do and who you do it for?
Holly Gillen
Sure. Thank you so much for having me back on I am so appreciative I can just chat all day. So my name is Holly G, your go to Video gal. And I help high performing leading ladies save time on both sides of the camera. And I do this by teaching them the skills that they need to create not just videos, but business cinema, which is the way that I describe like the next level video. So it’s video with a plan, a system, a strategy and a purpose. So not just creating video for the sake of creating video all willy nilly, but creating videos that actually move your business forward.
Abby Herman
Yeah. Yeah, cuz Why are you going to do it if it’s not going to help you move your business forward? Right, exactly. Um, can you explain a little bit about exactly how you work with clients, and how that helps you to live the lifestyle that you want? Sure.
Holly Gillen
So I recently within the last three years had two children. So my lifestyle has changed quite a bit. And I have, you know, have the luxury and great fortune to be able to adjust the way that I work with my clients and my business to accommodate my lifestyle, which I’m so grateful for. So in the past three years, I have really minimized the amount of services that I offer. And I work with people on a longer basis. So I right now I have a video mentorship group called video made easy, and it’s an annual commitment. So I work with you for a year. And we work on all things video, you know, we we assess your strategies, your systems, we get processes in place, we determine what your goals are. And we work through that for the entire year.
And that’s in a community with other like minded, amazing, smart business owners. So it’s like a combination of a mentorship slash mastermind ish kind of a thing. And it’s my favorite way to work with, with my clients. Because I feel like it just fosters so much momentum, as opposed to kind of like a one off thing or this or that. And that, for me brings me so much joy. In addition to that, I have the from start to start challenge, which I actually created back in 2014, and then put it on pause for a little while, put it on the back burner, and now have just recently brought it back. And that’s all about building up your video muscles getting confident in front of and behind the camera, to be able to present your best self and overcome any visibility issues that you may have, or any other tech or you know, just issues that could come up because you don’t necessarily know how to use your equipment or, you know, the way that I describe it is it works for anybody in any lane because you get to get out of it. What do you need, and I designed it in a way that it works. Whether you’ve made zero videos or 150 videos, you can still come into this challenge and still get something from it.
Abby Herman
I love that. Yes. And I love the idea of having a mentorship too, because it’s not just a one off thing. It’s not just okay, you learn how to start creating videos, and then you just do it. There’s a lot behind the scenes that happens and up in the head to like that a lot of that mindset issue as well. So that’s somebody to support you through that.
Holly Gillen
Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.
Abby Herman
So let’s talk about video strategy. So if anybody wants to learn more about the mindset of video getting started with video, we talked about that a lot in Episode 16, back in December of 2019, holy cow that feels like such a long time ago. But let’s talk about strategy. How do you strategize around video and and as you’re doing that, how does that align with the other content that you’re creating? So if you’re creating a blog, or you have a podcast, what does that look like to put those together and create a true strategy for your for your videos?
Holly Gillen
A great question. So the way that I work with my clients, I literally say put your camera down and walk away if you don’t know the answers to these four questions. That’s like foundational. Step one. Why, who, what, how those are the four pillars of pre production? And if you don’t know the answers to those questions, stop making videos. So immediately asking like why why do I want to make videos? Why does Why do I care? Why does anybody else care? How does that fit into what I’m already doing? Am I already making blog posts? Do I have a podcast and how is that going to be complimentary to what I’ve already created as well. And you know, really kind of sitting down and marinating on all of those different answers so that you’re you’re coming from a place that makes sense for you and your business. And it says, coming from a strategic place, not just like, Hey, everybody else is doing it. I totally know I should be making videos. But you don’t really actually know why you want to make those videos or how it’s going to benefit your business. So that’s step one. Why? Then who who? Who’s your audience? Who?
Are they, in the sense of? Where are they? What do they need from you? How are you going to speak to them? Where are you going to speak to them? Where are they hanging out? So what platform Are you going to choose? And how do you want to communicate with them? Like, is it like a fast paced like, hey, I need my info, and then I gotta go? Or is it like, Hey, I gotta do like, I want full detailed, you know, long form video with lots of, you know, components to it in lots of layers and details and all the things so you know, just understanding like how your audience wants to consume your content. Then what, what is it? What do they want to know? What are you talking about? And then, more importantly, like, how does that tie back into what you already have for sale. But that’s another…
Abby Herman
That is so important.
Holly Gillen
1,000%. Because, hey, I don’t know about you, but I’m running a business over here. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make money for your business, then the last part is the most important part. Because if you know why, who and what, but you don’t know how you’re actually going to make it happen. You’re going to get stuck at procrastination station. And you’re going to be like, but what if I do it this way? But what if I but I don’t know? Because you don’t have the experience? And you haven’t really thought through like, okay, the logistics of it all? What equipment do I have? What do I need? What can I borrow? What do I know how to use? What don’t I know how to use? How much time do I have to commit to this? Do I have? And that’s part of like the budget question like time budget plus money budget? Am I going to do everything? Or do I have the budget to outsource stuff? If I am outsourcing stuff? What am I outsourcing? And then what’s the system involved in that? How does that look? How does the flow go? You know, those kinds of things, the how part of it is really big. So the four pillars of pre production? Why? Who What? How? Step one?
Abby Herman
So let’s I want to talk about the what and the how I want to unpack those a little bit. Yeah. So the The what? So how do you decide what you’re talking about? And like you said, how do you use that video to, I guess, funnel people into some sort of sale? How do you structure all of that? All of that? Sure. That’s a big question. I know a high level overview.
Holly Gillen
Okay, so the next part of like, the primary principles, as I call it in the seven phases of business, Anima is your annual vision. And inside the annual vision, you just kind of do a quick overview, like what am i focusing on each month of the year in the sense of like, what do I have for sale? Like, am I launching anything at a specific time? Do I sell evergreen? Like what’s important on it? Like certain industries, obviously, maybe certain months are going to be quieter, or more exciting than other months? So just kind of thinking through that as far as like, Where’s the action happening? What am I focusing on? And getting an overview of that? Like, where’s money coming in? In December? Where’s money coming in? In March? What am I selling? Am I doing any affiliations? Am I doing any collaborations and just kind of getting a sense for that it doesn’t need to be like, nailed down, you know, this is the end all be all planned for the entire next 12 months. But just having an overview of that will give you an overview of the kind of content you should be creating leading up to, you know, the types of things that you have going on that are going to lead back to the money.
Abby Herman
Mm hmm. And then how do you pair that with another piece of content, like a podcast or a blog, or even what you’re putting out on social media?
Holly Gillen
I would say stretch your content. So like, let’s say, you know, your your there’s nothing wrong with repurposing. I think that people have this misconception, like, oh, I’ve already mentioned that one time already. I can’t ever say anything about that ever, ever, ever again. It No, I actually made a video about this. I was like, you can recreate your content. There is nothing wrong with recreating your content. Because if you think everybody heard what you said that one time back in November of 2019, you’re mistaken. Yes, yeah. Like dig back into your archives and dig into what you’re already creating, in what you’re already doing. And get the most mileage out of what you’re you’re creating, you’re creating content that is, is is important, right? And is making an impact and you want people to hear it, like you’re not just creating it to go out into the ether and then just say, oh, that that’s, you know, that’s old in us and I can never say anything about that again, you know, so let’s say you are creating a blog post, then that blog post is your video content. And that could also be your what I call video snacks, so you’re hitting Adding smaller pieces of video content based on that bigger theme, or that bigger concept or the bigger idea?
Abby Herman
Okay? Yes, that totally makes sense. And I agree. Like you have to repeat yourself over and over again and talk about the same things so that you become the expert, you become the go to person for whatever it is, whatever your topic is. So yeah, absolutely.
Holly Gillen
So many things it can I really want to add something to this because I wanted to say that, you know, I joke around and say, like, the only person who realizes you’ve already made this piece of content, your superfan, and they’re never going to care that you hate it again. Right. So and the other thing for me that I find happens is maybe I’ll hear something, but I wasn’t in the right place to actually hear it. But I heard what you said, but I didn’t hear you. Yeah, so now maybe it’s six months later, and I’m ready to hear you.
Abby Herman
Mm hmm.
Holly Gillen
So tell me again, what you already told me.
Abby Herman
Yeah. And you? I mean, even if you’re hearing the same message more than once, you are, I mean, think about when you watch a TV show again, or you watch a movie for a second time, or you reread a book, you’re always going to get a little something more out of it, I was a little bit different have a message. Because you’re in a different mindset, you’re a different frame of mind, or because you’re, you’re not paying attention to you know, you know, these things, because you’re paying attention to those things instead. And yeah, it’s, I agree. Yeah, totally. So I wanted let’s talk about the how to make it happen. And you mentioned some of the pieces that are involved in creating video, how do you really plan out a high quality video for your audience? What is what’s going to go into that?
Holly Gillen
I think you always start with the end in mind, like, what’s the purpose of this video? Why am I creating it? and determining like, Okay, so let’s just say for example, you’re making a video for YouTube. So determining whether or not what the purpose of that video is, is the purpose is to create engagement is a purpose just to you know, share the content and position yourself as an expert, is the purpose of the content to create leads that you’re, you’re purposefully creating in the sense that you’ve created maybe a lead magnet or a content upgrade that is associated with that video, for example, last year, and this year, I created a, it’s called the 2021 video ideas. So it’s like, Hey, you know, never run out of video ideas. It has over 100 different video ideas, topics and themes that you can use throughout the year.
And then some are the they’re broken down per month. So last year, I made a video like every month, I was like, here’s some February video ideas, or here’s some March video ideas. And every month I tied it back to that content upgrade. And people had the opportunity to not only get the idea as I shared in the video, but to get the whole download so I am positioning that information in a way that’s useful for somebody who just watched the video which is great, you don’t want ever want to just not share valuable content. So you’re sharing that valuable content, they’re getting something from that, then you’re giving the opportunity to take the next step which is Hey, come get the content upgrade and by you getting the content upgrade you’ve indicated to me that you’re interested in learning more about video ideas and or using video in your business and these types of things. So I’m going to stay in communication with you through my newsletter and through other means of electronic communication to keep you in the loop about the things that I have coming down the pipe.
Abby Herman
Okay, anything else that we need to think about when it comes to like the how piece so what else so we have our plan, we know what we’re going to send people to so we know the purpose of the video. What else do we need to be thinking about when we’re sitting down to create a really quality video.
Holly Gillen
Script? scripting scripting is a big thing for a lot of people. And there’s so many different types of you know, way or different ways that you can script your videos. I actually have six different types of video strategies as far as content is concerned, you know different strategies you can create content around so let’s say you know you’re wanting to create an evergreen, which is a video strategy, evergreen video strategy, you’re creating a how to video for your Instagram or your Facebook.
And you are using the script formula, my secret formula which is thriller filler spiller. So whenever evergreen you use the thriller filler spoiler script formula and thriller, meaning you thrill them right away. You captivate them, you say something engaging, it’s a hook. How do you hook them in, people are only giving you a few seconds and you need to help them in right away. So say something interesting. It’s not Hi, I’m Jenny. And, you know, like, nobody cares that you’re Jenny, what are you going to tell me, Jenny? Because I found, essentially, like, if it’s on YouTube, like maybe I found you for the first time because I’m, you know, searching for how to, you know, create captivating headlines for my sales page, and Jenny has a video all about the 12 things that you can incorporate into your headline to make it more captivating, six of what she’s sharing in the video six of which you can get in the download. So So Jamie says, Here are six amazing captivating video titles that I am going to or video that video hacks Sorry, I’m used to saying video. Your Are you know, six, captivating, or amazing video. Dammit, I said it again take.
I’m so used to seeing video copywriting hacks. You can see me, you can see me I’m turning red. So copywriting hacks that are going to get you amazing headlines. So that would be the thriller. Okay, filler is those six headlines, you know, or six tips or hacks or whatever, whatever it is. And then the spiller is now Okay, now that you’ve built up a sense of reciprocity to, you know, share with them the value, which was the filler, now you have the opportunity to ask them for something in return. And that’s the spelar Where do you want them to spill over to? So in this case, this filler would be, Hey, did you want the other six, I have totally have six more, you need to come over and grab them on my website, Jenny copywriting, hacks.com. That’s not an actual site, don’t go there and get the download. And then you can learn all the secrets. So thriller, filler spiller? You know, obviously, there’s more sophisticated different styles of script formulas that you would you want to use for different types of videos, like that’s not the formula I would use for a sales page video. And that’s not the formula I would use for like my course video. But when you’re creating evergreen video content for your YouTube channel, and you’re really, you know, taking advantage of SEO, you know, if you’re optimizing the metadata in your video, because YouTube is a search engine, and you’re creating content that people are searching for, and bringing them to you, then thriller, Thriller spiller, that’s a great formula, using the Evergreen video strategy, creating content that will stand the test of time and will always make sense for you and your business that’s going to be those questions or how tos that people are searching for that are going to lead them back to you. And specifically the and the solution is the things that you sell. Mm hmm.
Abby Herman
So you mentioned using video and sales pages, and you said something else to that I didn’t get it written down? That is, okay. Yes, of course videos. So but there’s hundreds of other places that you can use video in your business? What does that look like? When you are creating a strategy for video or for your content? in general? How do you decide where to create these videos?
Holly Gillen
First and foremost, I tell people because you can’t, you know, if it’s just you, a team of you, and you like don’t try to be everywhere and do everything because you’re setting yourself up for failure. And you’re gonna burn, you’re gonna burn yourself out, and you’re not gonna see the result because it is a long term strategy. So you need to, you know, be consistent and committed to creating content for, you know, a long period of time. And my first thing I would say is, where do you like to hang out, like, because if I’m like, do YouTube and that guy, I hate you to hate it, hate it, totally not doing that. Like, if you hate doing it, guess what, it’s not gonna be fun for you. And it’s not going to be fun for your audience. So it doesn’t matter that that might be a great place for you to be creating content if you hate it. So don’t do because you’re not going to be able to, to stay committed to you know, doing that for a long period of time to get the result that you’re looking for. If you hate, you don’t like it. If you’re like l gross like Twitter, people like on Twitter, Twitter to use Twitter, like Twitter, like,
Abby Herman
So you can just kind of decide where do you like to hang out? Where are you going to be consistent about showing up and start there?
Holly Gillen
Correct. And, you know, obviously, you want to make sure it’s the same place where your audience is hanging out to. But there are enough social platforms that you can find one where you like to hang out and where your people like to hang out and start there.
Abby Herman
Yeah, what about as in terms of production value and ease of use because I know that if you are publishing on YouTube, you’ve got certain things to consider versus Instagram stories or reels or I don’t know where else they are all the other big TV shows…
Holly Gillen
Yeah, IGTV
Abby Herman
There’s so many these days Facebook Live. And now it’s something that I guess there’s something on Twitter that you can do video, live video there to LinkedIn all over the places.
Holly Gillen
For the record, every social platform is a video platform.
Abby Herman
Yes, because you can publish. Yeah, pretty much anywhere. So how do you decide? I mean, I guess is that a consideration the production value the production time? What do you need to consider there?
Holly Gillen
Sure, you know, it goes back to, you know, your personal aesthetic. And there are different times and places where being a bit more casual makes sense. You know, people aren’t expecting you to be full, fully made up with, you know, the prolights. And the sad and this and that when you’re doing an Instagram story, right? Instagram Stories are meant to be, you know, a more casual way of communicating with your audience and little short, you know, clips, it’s more about like, the intimate view as opposed to the outwardly facing super pro onpoint brand, you know, my styled studio image, where it’s like, hey, maybe I have makeup on, maybe I don’t maybe I’m in a bathrobe, maybe I’m not, maybe I am, you know, tour you around my kitchen while I make my breakfast. You know, that’s much more casual way to communicate with your audience. So if that, you know, that feels good for people sometimes that just not knowing that they’re like, oh, takes the weight off. Like, I don’t have to, like do full hair makeup. I don’t have to put eyelashes on to do an Instagram story. And I think the same is goes for life. But all that to say, obviously, you want to make sure you’re always being professional, right? Because you are a representation of your brand. So this doesn’t mean like just be sloppy and crazy. But, you know, it’s a way to show up in a more casual way that’s feels that still can feel good and feel professional. Yeah.
Abby Herman
And so piggybacking on that, what do you see as some of the mistakes that people make on maybe on specific platforms? Maybe it’s, you know, using video in the wrong place, if that if that’s even a thing. And you’re snickering as I’m saying that? I ready for some fun ones? Let’s hear it.
Holly Gillen
Yeah, no. So some common common mistakes, well, first and foremost, waiting too long, like, keep talking yourself out of doing video, because you’re, you’re, you’re, you’re having some issues with visibility and vulnerability and mindset and things like that. And you are allowing that to hold you back when there are so many people who are waiting for you to show up and only the way that you can. So you know, being able to just shake it off and do the work because it’s not, you know, it’s not like, hey, just figure it out, just turn the camera on and figure it like, there’s work that sometimes needs to happen like internally. And that’s why I do the from star to star challenges because that’s where you do that work in a safe and comfortable place led by somebody who knows what they’re doing with that can kind of guide you along the way so that you feel good. And like what you’re doing and feel proud of, of the videos that you’re creating. And I feel like if like, if I’m someone kind of standing in the background, and I’m like, I can’t do that, because it’s not I’m not gonna love it. It’s not I’m not gonna make me feel proud. I feel super awkward and uncomfortable. But at the same time, you have to flex those muscles like, I’m not going to just imagine I want six pack abs and then just magically get them that’s not how it works.
Abby Herman
I wish it did.
Holly Gillen
That’s not how it happens. Not just for the record in case anybody’s wondering, I do not have six pack abs because I tried to just imagine them and it didn’t work. But if I got my diet in check, and I went to the gym and did the reps. It’s the same thing with video. Like you have to do the reps. So I see a mistake that I see is a lot of times people just holding themselves back because they’re they’re not they’re not ready. It’s like almost like there’s an invisible bridge like an Indiana Jones puts it from Indiana Jones was there’s like an invisible bridge. And he was like just walk across the canyon and he was like one walk across the canyon might mistaking I might doing a wrong movie reference.
Abby Herman
I don’t remember. I don’t know.
Holly Gillen
I’m gonna just go out on a limb and say it was Indiana Jones. If it’s not please let us know send us an Instagram message. I’m sorry, I’m referencing the wrong movie. But there was like this invisible bridge. And Indiana Jones had to walk out onto it and they were like, you know, walk out of the bridge and he was a con. It looks like you can’t see the bridge the bridge because it’s hidden because it looks like the rest of the canyon. So Took some dirt and some rocks and threw it. And then he could see where the bridge was. So it’s like walking out into the invisible bridge like, just…
Abby Herman
I’m imagining him. I’m imagining Harrison Ford doing that. And I’m like, I think that you’re right. I think it was Indiana Jones. But I mean, look, that was from the 80s. Right?
Holly Gillen
Yes, for us. For us older folks who catch that reference 80s movies. A lot of the other common mistakes I see are just, you know, technical things like, Yeah, not having a script winging it, that’s a really big one, like, Okay, I’m finally gonna do it, I’m just gonna wing it. I’m just gonna say whatever. And like, hopefully, I’m going to be able to get something from this. And we’ll just edit it. And it’ll be great planning, and pre production, or 60 to 65% of the process. So having a plan, having a system and processes in place and understanding, you know, the four pillars of pre production doing that work ahead of time is going to make ensure that the videos you’re creating are actually going to be working for you for years to come while you’re sipping margaritas on the beach.
Abby Herman
Oh, is that how it works?
Holly Gillen
…for somebody else.
Abby Herman
I think you keep saying script. So do you recommend having a script that you follow word for word do? Because I know that some people get kind of hung up on it that, okay, I have this script, I need to say every single word would can some people do bullet points? And then either way, that is there a tool that you can use to make sure that you’re not looking away from the camera that you’re like, what is it called?
Holly Gillen
A teleprompter?
Abby Herman
Thank you.
Holly Gillen
Yes, yeah, totally. So there are different ways. I’m glad you brought this up, because I was gonna mention it before. And then we, we started talking about something else. So yes, there are different ways to create scripts for your videos and different things that you’re going to feel comfortable doing for somebody else. So depending on also it also depends on like the purpose of the video. So for a sales video for me, like I want to make sure that I’m hitting every word that I want to hit. So I’m going to spend some time ahead of time creating a very specific script. And really kind of nailing down certain points and things like that, that I you know, want to make sure I’m getting across in the video as opposed to just being like, Okay, I have a couple of bullet points for this sales page video, and maybe I’ll get them and maybe I won’t. So for the in for that case, I might have a full script put it up on a teleprompter and teleprompter that goes over my camera, so it doesn’t look like I’m looking off into the left. Yeah. Like have some weird disconnected eye contact. So that’s another mistake, like just not having eye contact with the camera.
So for like an evergreen style YouTube video, I will just use stick to the thriller filler spiller. And then I might literally have like, a sticky note of paper that has a couple of different points on it. Because I know my material. So well. I can riff off those points. And I’ve gotten used to doing that. But in the beginning, when I first started making videos for my business, I would write full scripts, and then I would try to memorize them. paragraph by paragraph. Wow, holy cow. And then I would try to memorize and recite back to the camera and I ended up sounding like a stiff robot newscaster that was just reporting on the news with emotionless monotone. No, no emoting. Yeah. And I was like, Oh, these are terrible. So what I started doing, you know, through the, through the course of experience in years is just getting used to just delivering my material with bullet points to dynamite material, you know, your material better than anybody else knows your material. Mm hmm. You know, so when I use bullet points, it allows me the freedom to just kind of share in a way that it would be like having a conversation with somebody. Yeah. So I’m able to come across more natural on camera, because it’s like I’m having a conversation with somebody as opposed to trying to remember a whole script and I’m trying to read every word for word what I’m doing take after take after take when I use the bullet point formula is a thriller thriller spoiler, it’s literally like okay, what am I doing a video about 10 ways you can repurpose your video like I literally just have a list with different ideas like that like oh 10 ways I can repurpose my video perfect.
You’re never gonna believe all the ways that I’m going to share with you that you can repurpose your video so stay tuned all the way to the end cuz I got a special surprise for you. That’s my thriller, boom done. Then into the filler. Okay, what are the 10 ways I look at the list, okay. Okay, the first way is blah, blah, blah. You can create a podcast based on you know, I would go down to the list, and then at the end or maybe even some somewhere in the middle I might say remember I have a special surprise for you. Well, you don’t even have to wait all the way to the end. It is a free download where I break down all These repurchasing ideas with some even more detail for you. So go over to this link, and you can find it in the description below. Make sure to like this video share with all of your friends, because you know, they want to know this information too. So don’t be greedy and try to save it all for yourself. Okay, now I’ll finish my list and, you know, then close it again with another call to action. And then the video is recorded, done.
Abby Herman
Yeah, that is exactly how I handled my videos is that I will have the script or the bullet points, and I haven’t just over to the side of my camera. So I can look at the camera, do my recording, pause for a second, look over to the side, read what the next thing is, and look back so that I can try to make it as natural as possible. And, you know, sometimes I go way off script. And you know what, that’s okay, that’s okay, as long as it’s not a sales page or anything like that, where you want to be really precise, and all of that. So thank you for sharing that hack. I love it. And so you have a couple of things. So you’ve already talked about the 2021, the video content ideas where you’ve got 100 different topic ideas, and you told me before we hit record that you do that in a month to month, so on this, like seasonal. So we have topic ideas based on the time of year, which makes it a lot more relevant. Can you talk a little bit more about that, and then where else people can find you online?
Holly Gillen
Sure, absolutely. So the 2021 video content map ideas workbook it’s in and it’s also a workbook. So it’s included in it, I help you kind of break down, you know, your video workflow, if you will. And then with give you tons of different ideas, over 100 ideas, topics and themes that you can use. Throughout the entire year. I talked about different monthly events. So I have every page broken down by the month. So I talk about monthly events, and then important dates for that month that may spark an idea that you can then, you know, piggyback off. So let’s say it is, you know, International Women’s Day and you want to focus, you want to put focus on that as far as your content creation and what you’re creating videos about. So you maybe want to use that idea. Maybe not as for a fully produced YouTube video, but maybe it’s something you want to talk about in your Instagram stories. Or maybe you want to go live and have a conversation with some other women that you admire, for you know, this specific date. So knowing that ahead of time, you can make a plan and coordinate and organize all of it. I’m very organized.
I love having a plan. I love system. I love processes. I love organizing. I love calendars. I love the office supply store.
Abby Herman
Well, all of that, except for maybe the office supply stores that can save you so much time and money. The office supply store, maybe not so much. It’s probably a bit of a money suck. But office supplies are fun.
Holly Gillen
Definitely, definitely. So you can download that for totally for free. And it’s you know, based on 2021 months coming, and then I usually hang out hang out on my Facebook group or the holidays VIP so if you want to be a holiday VIP, come on over. I’m sure Abby will share the link with you in the show notes app or you can just search Holly G’s VIPs in Facebook, and then I hang out on Instagram to share my little behind the scenes stuff that’s happening little cute glimpses of my my kitties and my puppy is not a puppy. My doggy?
Abby Herman
Yes, they’re very cute. And your boys are absolutely adorable. They’re super cute. So I love watching. You’re watching your content on Instagram. Thank you. So well thank you so much for being here. And yes, I will make sure to put all of the links in the show notes for everyone. So you can join her group and yeah, and get all those video ideas out there. Thanks for thanks for being here.
Holly Gillen
Thank you so much for having me on again. Abby. I really appreciate it.
Abby Herman
All right. So are you feeling any better about video after listening into Holly’s interview so many great nuggets of information. To keep in mind my favorite was probably to start with the end in mind. That’s so important no matter what kind of content you’re creating. If you’re ready to start experimenting with content, and marketing in your own business without having to do all of the guesswork yourself. Remember that you can join us inside content mastery lab at the content experiment.com slash lab. Pricing starts at just $97 a month. If you found value in what you learned here today, be sure to share it on social media. Take a screenshot of the episode on your phone and share it over on Instagram stories. Tag me at Abby Herman and at the content experiment. And Holly at Holly G studios The more you share, the more we can get the podcast into the hands of more business owners just like you who need to hear the message that they are not alone. Until next time, take care.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
