How to make marketing videos for your design business
Hello designer
I have created this page to be a resource for my clients who are interested in making videos as part of marketing their business. Why make videos? The bottom line is that videos can help you sign clients and grow your business. The magic happens when someone here’s you speak about your work in your own voice. They will instantly feel closer to you and more trusting to work with you.
First, an important point
I generally recommend designers start with making videos in which they do not appear on camera. This greatly reduces the barriers of production, as you may not feel confident on camera. This also allows your videos to be more timeless because there will be no question of whether you still look as you did in the video.
Video examples
Here are several examples of videos I have created for myself and other designers.
What you will need
As you can see, there is variation from video to video. However, each of these videos calls for the following ingredients
1) Image(s) of your work
2) A recording of you talking about your work
3) A slide with your logo (optional)
Steps of making a video
1. Create a recording of yourself talking about your work.
There is a variety of ways this recording can be made, and finding the way that best fits you is most of the work. Here are some things to consider:
The recording could be about a specific project or broadly about your approach to design.
For a more performed/polished style, record yourself reading a script. The benefit of this style is that you can plan out each word with great intention. The challenge of this style is making it sound natural. You may find yourself re-recording take after take, seeking the perfect recording. This style typically works best for those who have a knack for performance and won’t be overly critical of each and every nuance and intonation in their own voice.
For a more conversational, down-to-earth style, record a phone call with someone in which you talk about your work. The benefit of this style is your voice will sound more natural and alive. The challenge of this style is if you are quite picky about the exact words you use. Try pressing record, then let the conversation flow naturally, then clip out snippets that hold together as a single topic. Alternatively, you could steer the conversation to pre-planned topics. I recommend recording this phone call with someone who you flow well with conversationally. This should be someone to whom you words seem to flow most freely to. They should also be someone who has about as much knowledge of your work as the intended audience for your videos.
2. Edit your video together
In a nutshell, you will need do the following:
Extract the bit of the recording you’d like used in the video
Recommended softwares
- iMovie for video editing
- Zencastr for recording phone calls
- Premium Beat for video background music