Welcome to Week 4 of our 8-week program on how to build an online audience! This week, we focus on how to choose the right medium for your content. The title of today's post summarizes the overall premise:

Videos > Pictures > Words

What I mean with this equation is that video has more impact than pictures, which in turn outperform words. I do not want to discourage you from writing inspiring and beautiful prose. However, you need to accept and understand that the human brain is optimized to detect signs of both opportunity and danger. Something colorful that moves clearly falls into that category. So, what does this mean for you? It means that you should learn how to create videos on the cheap that you can use to garner attention for your other, richer in fiber (ahem, text) content. Fortunately, creating decent videos these days has become very easy thanks to the ubiquity of smart phones. However, many of these videos are of very poor production quality and with just a little bit more effort, you can do much better with the following accessories. Here is how:

1. Think about the background. The video should show you or whatever you want to show. Nobody is interested in your furniture and other stuff that provides visual clutter. One way to solve this problem is to get a backdrop for your videos. Here is an example of something akin to what I use for some of my videos, in essence a large piece of cloth that makes a uniform background (you should get something like this for less than $20). You can also get a nifty system to hold up the background fabric in case you do not have a wall on which to hang the background. Here is an example of such a support system that costs less than $40.
   
2. Sound. You want to make sure that the sound is your voice and nothing more. Again, as for the visual aspect, avoiding the clutter will greatly enhance the appeal of your video. I recommend a microphone that attaches to your shirt/dress and is optimized to record voice. This type of microphone is called Lavalier microphone, here is the one I am using for many of my videos (less than $25). Of course there are much more expensive and perhaps much better microphones available, however, I do not think this needed if you are just getting started.
   
3. Editing. Basic editing of videos is very simple and will make a big difference. I am not talking about professional editing, which requires lots of expertise and practice. Rather, I want you to consider how much better your videos will be if you manage to cut out the usual "oh, I think the camera is on, OK, let's see, here is what I want to say" style by cutting together the key clips that you like and create a decent finished product. I use Adobe Premier Elements, which is reasonably priced (less than $100) and easy to use. 
   
4. Now all you need is a youtube channel to upload your videos. You can then link to them, for example on your website.

I am looking forward to seeing your videos and I hope you will enjoy this creative activity as much as I do.

Take care,

Flavio

Welcome to Week 3 of our 8-week program! This week is all about increasing engagement online. By now, you have your own web presence, started to build an email list (and are sending our email newsletters), and have Twitter account. Now, it is time to engage online. Bottom line here is that you will need to find your audience when you start. Once you are established the growing audience will find you. Today, I am giving you my 10 essential rules of online engagement (with focus on Twitter). Enjoy and please let me know how things are going for you!

1. Do not use social media when hungry, tired, or upset. The temptations are too strong. One nasty/stupid/hurtful Tweet and there is a lot of damage you will need to control. Also chances are that if you are not at your best, you will use Twitter to sooth your mind self-medicate, which is not the same as building an online audience in a smart and targeted way.
2. Lift up, inspire, and thank others. In other words, try to avoid the usual tweets akin to "So proud and honored to be awarded the something something boring blablabla award". Rather, if somebody else provides something interesting or useful, thank them and distribute to your audience (retweet).
3. Follow as many voices as you can in your specific field. This will provide you with interesting content to distribute to your followers, inspire you, and also teach you what a good tone and style for your particular community is.
4. Give ample credit. Do not tweet images that you randomly found on the internet without giving appropriate credit to the artist or source of the image/content.
5. Mention other people (by including their twitter handle) who you think are interested in your content. This will draw them into the conversation and increase the reach of your message.
6. Post meaningful content that interests your audience. Do not waste your time with mundane and trivial things, there are already more than enough Twitter accounts that do that.
7. Do not be shy and approach people you respect on Twitter (such as for example authors of books/papers you read and liked). Great new connections can emerge from such interactions. You will be surprised by how many seemingly very famous and busy people will be willing to engage with you online, after all we are all playing the same game of increasing our audience.
8. Provide links that point to new content on your website.
9. Limit your time on social media to protect you mental health. Spending too much time on Twitter can easily get you trapped in an unhealthy state of chasing micro dopamine rushes from retweets and likes. Also, seeing seemingly everyone else on Twitter succeed and have a great life (not true, we all struggle in one or the other way) can be detrimental for your mental health. 
10. Do not install the Twitter app on your phone. See the rule above for why that is important.

I hope these ten rules will get you start and help you build your audience.

Good luck!

Take care,

Flavio