Creating Videos in 4 Steps

Creating Videos in 4 Steps

 January 13, 2016

With just the camera on your laptop or desktop computer or even your smartphone you can create videos about you and your real estate business that will help you with your marketing.

Step 1 – watch

Unless you happen to be an expert at making videos, and even if you are, spend some serious time watching the videos put together by other agents. Just go to Youtube, and search on real estate agents. There are well over 300,000 videos with just this search term.

Spend 10 or 15 minutes a day for the next workweek watching videos. If you find a couple you really like bookmark them so you can come back and figure out why. Notice things like how close to the camera they are, how good the audio is, how long you’re willing to watch a video and any topics you might do for yourself.

Step 2 – practice

Get set up to shoot some videos and try a couple. You’ll soon discover you feel awkward and hardly have any idea what to say. That’s okay. You’re learning.

Simple scripts are a must – write out a simple script of the topic you want to cover. The act of writing it out may be enough, but the chances are you’ll want it in front of you when you shoot. Experiment with all capital letters in your script, bigger type sizes, and a list of what you want to cover. rather than word for word.

With script in hand, or propped up in front of you where it won’t show on screen, practice some more. Practice on every script at least four or five times, and watch each attempt. Notice what worked and what didn’t. Pay attention to what you’re wearing, where you’re looking and how well the script is working for you.

In general, shorter is better. There are exceptions, but up to five minutes is probably what most people are willing to watch.

Step 3 – Shoot for real

Chances are after a dozen or so practice sessions you’ll be ready to shoot the real video. Give it a try. If you mess up, and it’s likely you will, try again. It won’t be long before you have something you’ll be willing to use.

Shoot another video on a different topic. In fact, record three or four videos.

Step 4 – Master uploading

Set up your own channel on Youtube.  You’ll need to create an account there if you don’t have one. Once you’ve signed in, when you first upload you’ll be prompted to set up your own channel. Your name is enough. That way you and others can find your videos pretty easily.

Youtube makes it quite simple to upload and do super simple editing of the beginning and the ending. Follow the instructions you find there and upload your videos.

Link your videos to your website and send out a press release for the first group, then create a new press release and distribute it any time you upload a new video.

Sure you can make creating videos much more complicated and professional. After you’ve done a say a dozen for yourself you may want to consider working with a pro. It won’t be cheap, but you may decide it’s worth it.

Have you got comments about making videos? We’d love to read them.

Anne Wayman real estate writer


Anne Wayman

By Anne Wayman

Before Anne Wayman became a writer she sold real estate in Southern California. She worked with her father who learned the business from his father. Not surprisingly she learned a few things along the way. Since then, she has been freelance writing for over 30 years – she is a grandmother, loves cats and writes about a wide variety of topics including real estate.