I ask you: Why aren't you on YouTube already?

Not sure if it's common knowledge or not, but a crazy thing happened in the Online World in 2008 that should have an affect on how you conduct business online as an entrepreneur or artist. Even though much time has passed since then, that year saw the rise of YouTube to the spot of #2 most used search engine. More people were using YouTube to find information than Yahoo!

I know you see where this is going.

If you are marketing yourself or your business, get on YouTube, now! You're already a few years late (like me) but no one is judging you. You'll still be ahead of the game if you hop on now.

"But I'm a hairstylist (or lawyer, designer, restaurant owner, etc.), what could I post on YouTube?"

If you're a hairstylist, make videos about how to do a certain hairstyle at home or how to care for your hair. Include your web address (you do have a sleek and amazing website design don't you?) in your video and voila!

If you're a lawyer, give free tips or talk about uncommon laws.

If you're an author, give writing tips, read part of your book or make a book trailer (which is like a movie trailer, but better).

If you own a restaurant, post quick and easy recipes online.

Just remember to name your video something useful like "Your Topic by Your Name" or "Your Name: Your Topic" (ex: Love & Change Studios: How to Get More Web Traffic on Your Blog) and include your web address somewhere in the video (text and/or verbally).
 
"But, I don't have a High Def camcorder."

Get over it. They don't have to be Hollywood quality. Just add some good content (or "nuggets" as I like to call them) and your charming personality.

If you want more ideas on types of videos you can post, then tweet me and I will respond with some!

Action Cures Fear. Knowledge Cures Fear.

It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do." {Ralph Waldo Emerson}

I've lived a (large enough) portion of my life afraid to do certain things. The other day I was talking to a photographer I've worked with and I realized something truly remarkable about him. He was working in corporate America when he picked up a camera and became interested in photography for the first time. He took some classes, bought himself the equipment he would need and then quit his job and built his business.

In a short time (~one year) he was able to build a name for himself in his city. Everyone wanted to shoot with him (because he did things different) and everyone wanted to learn from him (he offered workshops that were quite popular in the photography community). I hope to have him guest post on the blog soon about some of his unique business and marketing practices that made him so successful but for now I'm bringing him up to make the following observation. He was successful because:

1. He was skilled/gifted and passionate about something.
2. He took classes and got educated in his chosen craft.
3. He had the guts to quit his job and fling himself wholeheartedly into his chosen profession.
4. He learned the ins and outs of marketing himself and promoting himself online.

Take a moment to reflect. Are you missing any of these key things in your work/art? The area I want to improve on is getting educated in my field. I've taken classes before but learning is a lifelong thing. With technology improving every day, I need to constantly learn new things in order to run a web and graphic design firm in the great State of Texas. I also need more writing education. These are my goals. With passion and knowledge, it won't be as scary to step out all the way. Action cures fear. Knowledge cures fear. Take a moment today to think about the things you can do to move you toward your dreams.

Quick Random Thought

Greetings everyone! I hope you had a chance to check out the informative guest post from Friday, Writing a Great Movie Review, with Wes Hemings. I learned a lot and got a few solid laughs out of it, so thanks again Wes.

Moving on to the random thought of the day: When you have to be without your car for a few days, and you live in a city with poor public transportation, you learn to appreciate your car, a lot. Even if your CD player sinks far into the dash because you installed it yourself and you couldn't find screws that were small enough to hold it in place and have been too lazy to go to Home Depot ever since. Even if it is still scraped because you let your cousin borrow it and they managed to not see the wall of the parking garage, thus a slight (3 foot) scrape that you didn't consider it worth fixing. Even if you have multiple bags of plastic recycling in your car that you keep meaning to take to a recycling facility/location. Even if all those conditions exist, you really learn to appreciate your car.

I miss you right now Burrito (my car's name). Come back home.