Taking my own advice and asking for help with my intro video

by

Hello again; I hope you are well. Today, instead of sharing wisdom, I’m here to ask for your opinions and suggestions.

While I know it takes time to establish a new business, and it has only been about eight months since I started offering coaching services; I still wonder if there is anything I could be doing to help bring myself to the attention of people needing my services. I want your help with my website.

Just like with my primary business site the midway marketplace I am always seeking ways to make my sites more appealing and engaging. I figure you can always find ways to improve. When I asked people what they thought of my new site, most said it wasn’t clear enough what my site was about.

The blind blogger homepage

Making my site’s message clearer

So, I went into the home page and added some text. I mentioned some of my accomplishments and told people that I believe that I can help them accomplish similar goals and dreams. I advised that life should be a thrill ride and suggested that it was time they bought a ticket.

Next, I recorded a video introducing myself. It starts with me singing the river by garth brooks. It is a very uplifting song in my mind, and it is becoming my unofficial theme song. Again I mentioned past successes and told people that I felt I was the ideal coach to help them walk their own path.

Then I shared all of this online. I was especially interested in getting feedback from people in groups focused on coaching and or marketing. And I got a lot of great responses. There were two suggestions I heard the most. One, break the video into three parts and have people click through from one to the next. And two, whatever I decided don’t take out the singing.

type of help needed

And that brings me to where you can help. I was encouraged to write out a script or at least a general outline of what would be in each of the three videos. I worked up some ideas and again asked for opinions. I got some great suggestions and have refined them even more. Now, I have three blocks of text I want you to review for me. I want help making them more powerful, persuasive, attention grabbing, whatever you call it. I want to make a better case for people hiring me to assist them on their journey.

I also want your opinion on auto play verses people having to click a link or button. I know that most people say the best way is to leave the choice up to the visitor. However, I wonder if given how many people like my singing if maybe I shouldn’t take a gamble and go with an auto loading video at least for part one.

Of course, this means that I would have to find out if doing something like that is even possible. I wouldn’t want it to play every time just the first time someone visits the site. And I imagine this would involve a plug in or code that uses a cookie. If you have knowledge of the technical issues involved, I’d love to hear from you.

Proposed intro video part 1

I will start with the first verse of the river without the chorus. I think it is a very appropriate song for these videos. i can copy and paste the lyrics if anyone isn’t already familiar with the garth brooks song.
after the singing I say Hello ladies and gentleman I’m maxwell ivey max to my friends and that is what I hope we will become. In this video you will learn about me and why I’m the person you need to help you accomplish that big goal you have for yourself. And as your friend I know you have a dream in your heart. There is some big goal like starting your own business, running a marathon, getting your high school diploma or a college degree, learning a foreign language or how to play the guitar, or the big one losing weight and finally getting healthy. You do have such a dream, and you believe you need help achieving it; or you wouldn’t be here watching this video. And I can help you accomplish these goals. Why do I believe that? Because I have been where you are. I have been depressed listless with no goals or ambitions merely going from one day to the next. I have gone from being a failed carnival owner to running my own amusement equipment brokering business and becoming one of the recognized experts in the field. With the help of gastric surgery, learning to eat healthier, getting regular exercise, meditation, prayer, and a positive outlook. I have gone from weighing over 500 pounds and being on a variety of prescription medicines to weighing 255 pounds being completely free of prescriptions and in the best physical shape of my life. And in addition to this I currently run two websites and two blogs, record youtube videos, write guest posts, appear on podcasts and radio shows and write and publish an ebook. I didn’t do it all by myself. I had a lot of help and encouragement along the way. But I had to do the hard work. I had to show up every day and take action. And did I mention that I am almost totally blind and perform all my online tasks using a screen reader. So I know you can accomplish your goals too. You just need some help. You need someone to help you define your goal, determine the necessary steps, encourage you to take action, and then help to keep you motivated along the way. I believe I am the person who can do this for you. We can do it together. click the next video and I’ll tell you more.

Proposed intro video part 2

This time i would pick up with verse two of the river and then tell people thanks I’m glad to see that you have decided to keep listening.
I didn’t originally start out to be a coach. I didn’t even see myself as an inspiration. I thought of myself as just a guy who worked hard every day to support my family. This was true when I was trying to keep the family carnival from failing, it was true when i started selling amusement equipment, and its still true for me today. The difference is that friends have shown me how many people there are out there who have no physical disabilities and yet who aren’t doing anything special with their lives. You aren’t satisfied with the way things are but you are unable to see how to change things. That or you are afraid ow the what ifs like what if I fail, what if people laugh, what if people stop being my friends, and on and on. So, you continue to just go through the days sleep walking through your life unable or unwilling to take a chance and improve your life. I’m here to challenge you to come along with me on an adventure. I want to hear what you would do if you had the courage to do it. I want to hear about that dream that you have never told anyone about. And then I want to help you make it a reality. I want you to go from listless bored dispassionate waiting for the day when your kids are gone, or you can retire from the job you hate, or until that mythical someday and transform you to someone with passion energy and a belief in a better future. Just imagine yourself walking across the stage with your diploma or degree. Picture yourself crossing the finish line of a 5 k a half marathon, a marathon, or even a triathlon. Think how great it would be to take a trip and be able to converse in another language. Imagine the satisfaction of starting and building your own business. Whatever your goal or dream is the only thing stopping you from achieving it is you and your willingness to take that first step. I’m here ready to walk that path with you if you are ready. Then click the next video.

Proposed intro video part 3

okay in this one I start out with the third verse of the river which is very short. then i thought I could share my experience with writing my own book and include a thought about how it felt when i held my book in my hands for the first time. figured i could mention some of the process and let people know that it was hard long and drawn out but i was able to get there by taking one step after another and staying positive. then I thought my call to action would be to ask them to sign up to my email list but i want to change the sign up form. though i want it to include spaces for what is your goal and what is one step you could take today in addition to the usual name and email.

I just realized that there is one other thing you could help me with. While I feel that my singing is good, I think it would have an even better impact if I could record it with the music behind me. I have found a good instrumental track for the river, but I am having trouble figuring out the technical details of recording multiple track audio and video at the same time. Perhaps someone has a suggestions as to how I could manage this.

I have wondered about the possibility of working with someone who has better equipment, hardware or software that is. I even wonder about recording my part and then having someone add the music track in later. However, I will continue to follow my number one rule do what you can as well as you can today and do more or do it better tomorrow. I can be happy for now with using my voice alone.

Lesson learned

I have put this project off for far too long. I have allowed myself to fall into the trap of perfectionism. Well, no more. I am depending upon you to help me hold myself accountable. That’s why I’m sharing this today. My plan is to have the videos recorded, uploaded to my site, and announced on social media within one week from today meaning by 8:00 Am central time April 8 in time to mention on my next radio show appearance.

I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments section. And if you don’t feel comfortable sharing there, then please send me an email or message me on one of my social media networks.

Sharing is caring

And I want as much feedback as possible in the time available, so be sure and share this post with your friends, family, coworkers, and social media networks. Please encourage people to visit and share their thoughts. I want to help as many people as possible. However, to continue to do this, I do need to generate income from coaching and book sales. If I’m not delivering a message that makes people see my services as a necessity or a must have then I need to correct that. Your help and the help of your friends is critical to my future success.

Well, thanks so much for your support and encouragement. I know that reading my posts, leaving thoughtful comments, and sharing on social media takes time. I know we are all far too busy. And I want you to know that this isn’t something I say. I honestly don’t believe I could do this without you. And I believe there are people out there who would be much better off if they weren’t trying to do what they are doing without me. So, thanks for being part of my online family.

If you have anything I can help you with, please just ask. It doesn’t have to be something big. You are welcome to share your successes, struggles, and disappointments with me. I am a very good listener. I also love meeting new people and making new friends. So feel free to write any time.

Well, that’s it for today. Take care out there, Max

25 thoughts on “Taking my own advice and asking for help with my intro video”

  1. Hi Max,

    Seems like I am the first one here 🙂

    Great going with your video series, and I think splitting them into three would be a good idea, just as you proposed here. Have your singing in them of course, and people would love to hear you, sing, and even talk about yourself and the book etc. I guess you’d have to try the music playing in the back and see how it works for you, and actually you are the best judge – if YOU like it, go for it!

    Thanks for sharing. Have a nice rest of the week, and more power to you my friend 🙂
    Harleena Singh recently posted…7 Untapped Social Media Tactics For Smart BloggersMy Profile

    Reply

    • hi harleena; yes sweetie you are first in. 🙂 one of my goals for april is to be first in on one of the aha now posts. as for the videos I have come to like the sound of my voice and my singing. i can’t yet figure out how to have the music and me at the same time so am not going to worry about that for now. I appreciate you giving me your opinion. I trust you and know you would tell me if i was about to make a huge mistake. thanks so much for being here for me my friend. xoxo max
      maxwell ivey recently posted…Taking my own advice and asking for help with my intro videoMy Profile

      Reply

  3. Hi Max, I think you are on the right track with doing what you can now and seeking more support as you go, as far as technical improvements. Your script looks good to me and I think breaking the video into 3 parts is wise. I would vote for giving people the option to play the video, not having it on auto-play. I hate it when I pull up a website to read quietly and have to scramble to turn off an autoplay video. (I realize this is coming from a seeing person’s perspective, but I believe your audience will include both blind and visual people, so it’s worth thinking about.) I wish I had more technical knowledge to help with plugins and such, but all I have to offer is encouragement. Stick to your deadline, make it happen, and then tweak it later as needed. You’ll learn a lot in the process and you’ll get it out there to start making a difference in people’s lives. Go for it! – your friend Meredith
    Meredith @ The Palette Muse recently posted…Shut The Front Door!My Profile

    Reply

    • hi meredith; thanks for being such a good friend. and i’m working on removing minimalistic words like just and only from my vocabulary. encouragement has a lot of value especially when you are doing something important that also includes elements of risk and doing things that if not down right scary at least make you nervous. I have always taken the approach of doing what I can now and doing it better later or next time. however, i have strayed from this principle twice now first when it came time to submit the book to lorraine for editing and now with the video for my site. I have been having difficulty choosing my next goal or project and i’m wondering if dragging out the process of recording a new intro video for the site has been a way of putting off starting that next new challenge. so yes i will stick to the deadline. check here next wednesday morning for it. I generally don’t like auto play audio or video either but i decided to put it all up for discussion just in case the prevailing wisdom had changed. Most are in agreement with you on the three parts being a good idea too. just checked out your post. congrats on getting published on such an important site. thanks again for being part of my online family and being here to support me in this endeavor. take care my friend. xoxo max
      maxwell ivey recently posted…Taking my own advice and asking for help with my intro videoMy Profile

      Reply

  4. Hey Max,

    Sounds like you’ve been getting some great advice along the way and I’m glad you openly asked. At times you know as well as I do that we can’t keep doing everything on our own. We need the input and suggestions from people we’ve come to know, like and trust.

    You had asked about auto play on the videos and I don’t suggest doing that. A lot of people, including myself, find it annoying. I want to play the video when I’m ready and you only have the option of setting it to auto play once they open your page. You can’t set it like a pop-up box to not show up again if they visit your site for the second time.

    I agree about the suggestions of breaking the videos into three parts. So I guess at the end of each video you’ll just have a link for them to continue? I’m sure you’ve had some suggestions about that too but your verbiage is good.

    Although I also enjoy your singing you have to remember that you have to really catch people’s attention within the first few seconds so if they aren’t interested in your singing but the message you share you might lose them. We as your friends care about you and like that about you but these will be new people who haven’t had that opportunity yet. I would just keep that in mind and maybe do the singing at the end.

    Hope my suggestions helped and you enjoy your week Max.

    ~Adrienne
    Adrienne recently posted…Magical Monday: Blog Content, SEO, Guest Posting, TOC, Make MoneyMy Profile

    Reply

    • hi adrienne; well i wouldn’t ask if i didn’t want your honest opinion and if i didn’t plan to take the advice offered. everyone seems to agree about the auto play. I feel the same way especially when the volume is really loud but i wanted to open it all up to discussion. yes i will have to give some thought to the fact that these would be people who don’t know me and who are visiting the site for the first time. perhaps sing at the end of the first video and the beginning of the second and third? maybe i should try to work the singing into the text somewhere. it was a big step out of my comfort zone kind of thing. and so far no one has made any suggestions on the how to do any of it. I didn’t know you couldn’t set something to only play the first time someone visits a site. appreciate your opinion on the wording. still trying to get it settled in my mind. thanks again this all helps a lot. xoxo max
      maxwell ivey recently posted…Taking my own advice and asking for help with my intro videoMy Profile

      Reply

  5. Hi Max,

    Great going! Indeed it is a great idea to split the video into 3 parts. People have a small attention span, plus they are more likely to check out a video that is shorter.

    As for auto play videos….I myself find them terribly annoying. Plus, when it is a video I can control sometimes there is something I need to hear again, so I can go back. Or, the phone may ring and I can put it on pause.

    That’s my take.

    Keep on going!

    -Donna
    Donna Merrill recently posted…9 Best Affiliate Programs For BloggersMy Profile

    Reply

  7. Max;
    First of all, i personally don’t suggest auto playing videos.
    Second of all, maybe consider starting your video with something like ‘this is the blind blogger, and i want to help you learn how i’m here to help you”. something to catch attention before your singing. Kinda like what Adrienne was talking about.

    Third of all, why not consider this as your next project, create a quick series of videos, 2-4 minutes long, and put them up as unlisted videos on youtube. Make them short how-to publish a book video series, and give these videos away for subscribers to your mailing list. (this may help build your mailing list, and you can provide your coaching to up-and-coming authors as well).

    Reply

    • hi michael; so glad to see you becoming a regular here my friend. how is the blogging challenge going? i mentioned the auto play just because i didn’t want anything to be out of bounds. sometimes best practices do change and what if i missed the memo or the blog posts about it. yes the best thing i’ve learned so far is that i have to change my approach especially to the first video. if they listen to the first one long enough to press next then I can go with a longer video in parts two and three. and I have been wanting to do a video series for a while now just having the devil of a time getting motivated. what i need is a challenge or an outside deadline. so, let’s brain storm via email on the videos and then next week we’ll announce when they will go live. then we need some sort of reward and or punishment. How about a bet? if i don’t get them done I have to post the dallas cowboys logo on my face book page or something equally disgusting. talk soon, max
      maxwell ivey recently posted…Taking my own advice and asking for help with my intro videoMy Profile

      Reply

  8. As far as auto play for the video Max I would try it. But I would make sure there is a very clear and obvious way to stop it. Sometimes when I go to a site with an autoplay video I can’t immediately figure out how to stop it so I just close the page. As per the text for the video, this is introductory stuff Max so I would stick to short and sweet. What you are saying is good but I think you can cut it down and be more concise. For example you could open with “I’m Maxwell Ivey and I’m the person you need to accomplish your goals.” That cuts three lines down to less than one without losing any meaning.
    Ken Dowell recently posted…The Decade of the Gun: JFK to KSU Part IIMy Profile

    Reply

    • hi ken; well have already been convinced not to use auto play. and after reading earlier comments I can see that the next point of agreement is edit it down and make it as short and to the point as possible. I also appreciate the example you gave. Its all about saying something in that first minute that makes them want to keep listening. and from what i am hearing here you may not even get that long. good stuff here. thanks my friend, max
      maxwell ivey recently posted…Taking my own advice and asking for help with my intro videoMy Profile

      Reply

  9. Good for you for asking for help when you need it, just like you always tell others. I wish I could be of more help with this, but I don’t know a lot about these things you asked. I will help you when I can. Any more writing related questions, I am another person you may feel free to ask. Anytime.
    Kerry recently posted…ContagiousMy Profile

    Reply

  10. Hi Maxwell,

    That’s very nice of you to share your plans and ask from your audience 🙂

    I really liked the script for Intro Part 1 and believe others will agree too. Hence they will be intrigued to check out the next part.

    We can’t really toss out the idea of auto-playing – may be first time of visit, as you suggested. There are some solutions on auto-playing the first time too.

    In some instances, I’ve found auto playing can really work as I’ve landed on that page looking for information shared in that video. But I’m with others on how it can annoy your visitors making it rather distracting too. May be you can set a poll and ask your visitors to vote on that 🙂

    Hope all of our opinions will help you take the best decision on this mate 🙂

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    Cheers…
    Mayura recently posted…How to Secure Your Twitter AccountMy Profile

    Reply

    • Hi Mayura; welcome to my site. I don’t believe I’ve seen you on here before. Thanks for feeling welcome enough to leave a comment and give me your valuable opinion. It seems that there is generally agreement on not doing auto play. 🙂 but i had to ask. 🙂 I hope you are right that the first video gets people to watch two and three. I’m going to have to find a way to track the stats on that and possibly redo video one if more people aren’t clicking parts two and three. do you have any suggestions for an easy way to track. this? I have analytics installed but its not what i call screen reader friendly. thanks again and good luck, max
      maxwell ivey recently posted…Taking my own advice and asking for help with my intro videoMy Profile

      Reply

Leave a Comment

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.