Seven Tips on Making a Successful Video Production

Producing a video for your company can be an exciting and potentially stressful experience. There's more to it than simply assigning a video production company to the task and crossing your fingers.

To get the most from your video production dollars, we'll take a look at seven top tips for making your corporate video a success.

1. Start with Results. The first step is to work out exactly what you want your video to achieve. Is it to train staff on a new procedure or is to increase interest at trade shows? Design your video concept around the desired result. Often clients get caught up with showing off their company that the main message gets lost.

2. Write a brief. Once you know what you want to achieve, work out what you want to show and explain in your video. Formulate a brief that specifies your objectives, target audience, the countries your video will be viewed in and any required languages. A list of all the shots that you need is also helpful. Will the bulk of the shots be at your premises and do you need your CEO to talk to camera? Video production companies will try to calculate how many days filming are required to work out the cost, so it's important to know how much needs to be filmed at the outset.

3. Know your image. What sort of image do you want to present to your customers? While watching your corporate video, your customers will be left with an impression of what type of business you are and what to expect when doing business with you. If your television program happens to be radically down-market than your up-market product suggests, then you create cognitive dissonance in your prospects. This will mean that your viewers will be left with an uneasy feeling that something isn't quite right with your company and will automatically distrust your message. To avoid this, make sure the quality of production reflects the quality of your product/service. This can involve using a professional camera operator with broadcast quality gear to having a graphic artist design maps and titles.

4. Messages. One of the key areas to work out is what communication messages you need to get across. Work out the 4-6 key messages and develop the video around these. If you have too many messages people will tune out. Essentially, make sure you give information that your audience wants to know (not what you think they ought to know).

5. Script. The script provides the backbone to any video project. It's always worthwhile spending extra time refining the script. As a rule of thumb, it needs to be completed before any filming begins. The best kind of script is short and sharp and revolves around your main messages. The quicker you can get your message across, the better the result. Avoid putting everything into the script, as wall to wall voiceover is quite tiring (and boring) to watch.

6. Assign a contact person. A designated person from your firm will need to be available to work with the video production company. The production house will need script information and approval, help in organising shoots, copies of your logo and other relevant materials and someone to view a draft of the video and then finalise. This person will also need to make sure that the look and feel of the video best represents your company.

7. Get expert advice. A good production company will be able to advise you on the best format for your needs such as the music, the filming, editing style and how the schedule will run. They will also be able to take your brief and come back with a range of suitable suggestions. Don't stress about the technical issues. That's the job of your producer.

(c) Marie-Claire Ross 2005. All rights reserved.

Marie-Claire Ross is one of the partners of Digicast. Digicast works with organisations who are not satisfied that their marketing and training materials are helping their business grow. She can be contacted at mc@digicast.com.au. The website is at http://www.digicast.com.au

Be Thankful

Some people think just by saying the words thank you is just. Well lets look in at 1Chronicles 16:8 it says Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Futhermore it says in Psalms 100; Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness through all generations.

Now go to 2Corinthians 2:14 it says But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumpal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being save and those who are perishing. Lets look at 1Thessalonians 5:16 it says Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Now to conclude look at Hebrews 12:28 it says Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence an awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Enjoy more reading at: http://www.hostinghelps.com/allaboutjesus

http://www.hostinghelps.com/allaboutjesus

How to Reach Purchasing Agents of Big Corporations

Now business owners and sales professionals can develop a Faster and Easier method of selling to big corporations, Hospitals and Universities, Government Agencies (State, County levels), and other medium enterprises... as well as K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th grade).

This Sales Lead Database will link you directly to the purchasing, procurement, and materials managers/agents of

• Corporations

• Universities

• Hospitals

• States

• Counties

• K-12

This is not a "how-to.." information, this is not one of those sales & marketing "ideas", this is NOT in any way one of those "12 million" (or is it 13 million now?) business leads, or useless bulk free e-mail addresses, direct mass mailings, faxing, internet advertising, and so on....

This is DIFFERENT. It is what every Sales-Professional DESPERATELY SEEK (and NEED):

"The DIRECT CONTACT INFORMATION of Purchasing Agents and Managers of HARD-TO-REACH CORPORATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS"

If you sell IT products, telecommunication products, pc hardware or software, office supplies, and other business commodities listed above, then this Sales Lead Database is for you.

..

Our typical database record includes the following vital information:

• Purchasing Staff Names and Titles

• Their Mailing Addresses

• Their Direct Phone Numbers

• Their Fax Number

• Their E-mail (yes, their direct e-mail addresses)

• The organizations that provide free bid notification services are noted, so that you may register with them to receive their bids for your products.

Also...

1. A Professionally-written Sample Letter that can be customized for your business. This is for those who do not have the time to create one (or just simply do not know how to write one).

2. An attention-getting, non-intrusive simple vendor inquiry e-mail letter.(some of our clients were able to contact over one thousand purchasing agents within a day by using those bulk-email senders - of course, we do not recommend this. One reason is that if you do not have enough manpower, you will be overwhelmed with their responses.)

...

About "THE TOP-DOWN APPROACH". . .

If you're a strong believer of speaking to C-Level executives, so were we. We were trained to do so as well during our hey-days as sales reps.

See if this seems familiar:

You (or your sales rep) successfully mastered getting through the gatekeepers. You've been successful in obtaining the "right" contact information of the person to speak with...the CTO's, CIO's, etc...

Do you know what happens next? These Very Important folks pass down your message to their Vice Presidents, then the VP's pass down your message to their Directors, and in turn they pass down your message to the Managers.

You'd be VERY LUCKY if you'd ever get a SINGLE Response from them.

And when they do call, it's just to get some basic information from us.

We were ADDICTED to "HOPE-ium" (We hoped and wished we'd get a good response)

After all was said and done, guess who we had to "establish" a rapport with... Yes, you've guessed right, the Purchasing Managers. But wait, aside from the PMs, we also had to communicate with their assistants, who assisted with all the paperwork, the contracts, and everything else in-between.

To many of you this may sound familiar, and to those of you who had NEVER approached Corporations or other Large Organizations ...But are used to dealing with end-users, retailers, distributors, and SMB's - Small to Mid-Size Businesses ...

This is EXACTLY what you experience.

We are sure each of you have several huge house accounts under your wings. We are also sure that it must have taken you months, or maybe even years to develop these accounts.

But WHAT IF you have ten of these accounts? What if you have twenty? Thirty? ...

Well, with a list of over 2,000 companies and organizations with volume purchasing power contained within this database, there is a decent chance that it might take you places.

We all know that The bigger the customers, the bigger the Purchase Orders.

..

Work Hard, and Work Smart.

Imagine for a moment, if you will...

with a quick single phone call (or e-mail), you can pin-point exactly who to speak with to introduce yourself and your company, and establish that point of contact...

..PROFESSIONALLY.

(without ever being thought of as a typical "Spammer" or a "Nuissance" or heaven-forbid, one of those "newbie" telemarketers/sales reps).

After all... your company's image, reputation, and revenue is on the line. You have just ONE shot to start this relationship on the right track.

With this database, you can now CONNECT DIRECTLY to the right person from big corporations and top-name universities such as...

• ABC

• American Express

• Chevron

• Coca-Cola

• Lockheed Martin Space Systems

• Marriott International

• NBC

• Qwest Communications

• Turner Broadcasting Company

• Carnegie Mellon University

• Columbia University

• Harvard University

• New York University

• Yale University

With this Database you'll have the knowledge and direct information that your competitors don't want you to have.

No More Searching the Internet For Leads... Ever, EVER AGAIN.

If this is STILL the way you or your sales reps find leads, you can STOP Right NOW.

Find a buyer for your products or services in a matter of minutes...By using this database. You and your sales team can focus more on developing relationships with purchasing managers without having to spend a couple hours a day surfing the internet for new leads - which will no-doubt exhaust you and minimize your full sales potential.

No More Wasted Time! NO MORE USELESS COLD CALLS!!

Why should YOU do all the grunt work just to find your contacts when it's already available for you here and NOW? ... Why should you and your sales team waste the company's time cold calling?

Believe us when we say this... ALL Sales Pros have gone through the bump-n-grind of lead generation - either through the internet, cold calls, fax blasts (which is now ILLEGAL), direct mail campaigns, trade shows, and so on...

These methods are just too TIME CONSUMING and EXPENSIVE with very little or no results at all.

We all know, by contacting the right targeted customers you will be able to eliminate most (if not all) the tedious and painfully boring (and un-productive) repetitive tasks of establishing new leads.

Would you like to speak to the purchasing and procurement managers of AT&T, Chevron, Coca Cola, American Express, World Bank, Target Corporation, Verizon Wireless, and more?

It is YOUR job to find them, and where else can you conveniently find them?...

NOWHERE ELSE BUT HERE.AND BEST OF ALL, IT IS FREE OF CHARGE.

About The Author

Anyone can sell to big corporations. As long as they have the proper knowledge and know-how. To see how you can connect to these purchasing power houses, please visit http://www.salesleaddatabase.com. Hey, its FREE!

Make Front Page News By NOT Inviting The Media

Not a single reporter showed up at our news event. And we were THRILLED!

Not a single photographer showed up to capture the moment. And we were pleased as punch!

Not a single newspaper knew about the event. And we received front page coverage in every one!

You can make front page news by keeping the media away. But how did we do it? Here is the media relations plan we used:

BACKGROUND: A few years ago, I was working for a politician. In fact, he was a Canadian Member of Parliament (MP). That was about the time that Canada Post decided not to deliver mail to homes in new developments. Instead, new homeowners had to pick up their mail at community "superboxes" near the end of their streets. After laying down big bucks for fancy new homes, people expected the same door-to-door service they were used to, and my MP took the heat . . . even though Canada Post was an arms-length organization of the government.

GOAL: Our goal was to demonstrate that my MP cared, that he was on their side, that he was doing everything he could to help them.

IDEA: One of the complaints the new residents had was that they were not receiving their junk mail (Go figure!), including weekly grocery specials and, by coincidence, my MP's mailing to constituents. This gave me an idea. Why not send my MP door to door to deliver his bulletin, explaining how he, too, was frustrated that Canada Post would not deliver his bulletin to them.

CHALLENGE NUMBER ONE: But what about the majority of people who would not be home to see how my MP shared their gripes? We needed media coverage, so that everyone would read about it in their local newspaper.

CHALLENGE NUMBER TWO: This is a juicy story for reporters. Imagine the headlines: "Resident sock it to MP". Imagine the photos of angry residents waving their fists in rage against Canada Post. My MP would not look good one bit. The media had to stay away. But how would we get media coverage?

METHOD: We would have to report to the media "after the fact" that my MP had just gone door-to-door. We would have to supply everything the newspapers would need so that they have no need to recreate the event, search for angry residents to interview or ignore the story altogether.

First I wrote a news release. OK, so it did not read quite like a typical news release. It read like a newspaper article. Actually, it read like five different newspaper articles, because I wrote a completely different story for each of the five newspapers in the area. To some degree, I was able to emulate each one's style.

Next, we decided to provide photographs. We dressed my MP in a postal cap and had him carrying a postal bag. I snapped shots of him at doorways chatting with residents. This was just too "human interest" for any newspaper to ignore. Off to the one-hour photo developer, then we chose the five best shots and attached one to each of the news releases.

Zoom, zoom. We hand delivered an envelope to each newspaper. The entire process took us just five hours from knocking on the first door.

RESULT: Each newspaper had its own, unique, original story with its own, unique, original photo. This made the journalists happy. Four out of the five editors even used the headlines I provided! It also made readers, many of who received two or three of the newspapers, believe the media had been there in person . . . making the story all the more credible.

Can you repeat this success? Yes. If you want to get great media coverage, but you are afraid the media will pick up a negative angle, this is the recipe to use:

Position your business as you would like to be seen.

Find a way to demonstrate your position or characteristic.

Write the story for each newspaper as the newspaper would write it, but place it in the format of a news release.

Get some great visuals, going for action or something with a twist, and ensure each newspaper has a unique photo.

Let the newspapers know that no other media outlet has the same photograph. Of course, it is always best to invite the media to your event and serve donuts, but sometimes NOT inviting them is a better way to get not just "a" story, but the "right" story.

About The Author

David Leonhardt offers dozens more creative ways to make your business front page news in the media relations "how-to" guide Get In The News! at http://TheHappyGuy.com/publicity-self-promotion-report.html . For basic media interview training, visit http://TheHappyGuy.com/media-relations-video.html, or find out more about David Leonhardt at http://thehappyguy.com.

info@thehappyguy.com

Avoid Weight Problems In Children

Although, not a well publicized statistic, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past two decades-15% of American children are obese according to the U.S. Obesity Task Force.

With TV commercials bombarding children's minds with 'junk food' options and fast food restaurants enticing parents to 'take a break' from tedious cooking by offering toys or a play room, staying on a healthy eating plan is difficult. In addition, playing outside is a distant thought if children are accustomed to using T.V. the computer, and a plethora of video games as fun activities. Couple this with no P.E. in school and parents have an up hill climb.

There is good news, however. Humans are born with the most important effective weight management tool-a hypothalamus, which helps to regulate the amount of food required for maintaining optimum health and weight.

The main function of the hypothalamus is homeostasis, or maintaining the body's status quo. Factors such as blood pressure, body temperature, fluid and electrolyte balance, and body weight are held to a precise value called the set-point. Although this set-point can migrate over time, from day to day it is remarkably fixed.

If you have cared for or observed infants and young children, you know that it is difficult to make them eat when they are not hungry-and it is almost impossible to deal with them when they are hungry. Toddlers in perpetual motion sometimes eat only small amounts of food, but they eat frequently enough to meet their needs, because at this juncture their natural weight management tool has not been overridden or indoctrinated with poor nutrition habits and eating practices.

You have probably noticed that during periods of rapid growth, particularly the teen years, children may be hungry all the time. When their calorie requirements decrease, they lose interest in food-thus they avoid eating more than their body needs.

The bad news is if parents have poor nutrition habits and/or use food to soothe emotional pain, or numb out pain-a.k.a. mindless eating, children will be indoctrinated with these poor habits and practices. For example, if parents or caregivers feed a baby to calm them every time they cry, the baby soon learns that eating is the only way to receive soothing for discomfort. When they are given food to keep them quiet or busy, they learn that they can distract and entertain themselves with food.

Once a child begins to sit at the table, well-intentioned parents sometimes play games and praise the child to encourage them to eat the food they think the child needs. They may say, "Good boy, you ate all your dinner!" or "What a good eater you are!" This is a wonderful time for creating positive feelings about mealtime, but this praising activity also teaches the child that when they eat, it makes mommy and daddy happy.

Some parents urge an older child to eat everything they are served by saying, "There are starving children in (insert name of country)." The child then ignores the physical discomfort of being full in order to comply with the parent's expectations and win their approval. Sometimes parent's insistence to eat certain types and amounts of food backfires, and mealtime becomes a battleground of intense power struggles.

Another well-meaning parental tactic to encourage eating is "Clean your plate or you don't get dessert." Children may realize that since their parents are bribing them to eat, the food must be "less than desirable" and that dessert is the reward for eating 'less than desirable food' and more than their body is hungry for. The result is a potential lifetime membership in the 'Clean Plate and Obese Club.'

The bottom line is that although meeting children's basic nutritional needs is critical, it is important to provide meals and snacks in a way that respects the child's hunger and fullness cues and teaches them that food is simply for fueling their body. If not, the stage is set for junk food eating habits and weight problems in the future. The keys to help your children thrive and avoid overriding their food management tool include:

? Respect your child's internal cues of hunger and satisfaction.

? Avoid junk food-Yes, I know it is difficult to be the 'junk food police.' Simply DO NOT buy junk food. In the end, you will be glad you gave your child a healthy childhood. If you are a junk food eater, you will need to 'clean' junk food out of your life to be a role model. The old adage, 'Don't do as I do, do as I say,' seldom works. Remember: Not only will you give your child a healthier life you give yourself a healthier life.

? Teach your children that some foods are healthier than others. This helps children learn to balance eating for health with eating for pleasure.

? Involve your children in shopping, meal planning and preparation. This is a great opportunity to teach them about nutrition-and they will be more likely to eat new foods if they helped choose the food and/or make it.

? Avoid forcing children to clean their plates or bribe them with dessert for finishing their meal. Use small portions and they can have seconds if they want more.

? Avoid using food as a reward. Reward desired behavior with praise, extra attention and privileges.

? Avoid using food to comfort your child. Use understanding, empathic words and hugs.

? Help your child develop interests and skills that increase their success and pleasure so they will be less likely to turn to food for fulfillment.

? Foster effective processing of feelings so as to decrease the chance that food will serve the purpose of providing a source for emotional comfort.

? Avoid imposing stringent food rules-this can lead to rebellious eating when the child is away from parental supervision.

? Eat together as a family. Mealtimes need to be a pleasant time to reconnect with one another and model healthy eating.

? Help your child build a lifetime exercise habit by reducing the amount of time your family spends in sedentary activities like TV and video games and make consistent physical activities a high priority.

? Plan fun family activities that provide everyone with exercise, enjoyment and time together.

? Be a positive, encouraging role model for your family. When your child observes you enjoying healthy foods and physical activity, they are more likely to do the same.

Prevention of weight problems and the development of lifetime healthy eating and physical activity is easier learned when the parent is a role model. Armed with these important insights, children will mange their weight instinctively throughout their lives-no matter what others around them do.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, specializes in family issues, including sexual abuse, incest and physical abuse prevention and recovery, as therapist, author, consultant, lecturer, and trainer. "If I'd Only Known? Sexual Abuse in or out of the Family: A Guide to Prevention" 15% discount direct from the publisher at http://www.gen-assist.com/book.asp Dr. Neddermeyer offers 15 minute free consultations and interviews. dorothyneddermeyer@gen-assist.com 480-704-0603

Cell Phone Dos and Donts For Teens!

There are certain things people just shouldn't do with cell phones! Like talking in the grocery store line while trying to pay for your groceries, talking in church (like nobody will notice!), talking while driving and eating and talking to the people in the car or talking in the middle of class!

Hey - I love my cell phone as much as anybody else, but people are starting to go overboard! You can't have a conversation with a person before their cell phone rings and then they get text messages and then they have to surf the web and then their voice mail goes off because the phone was too busy to receive any actual calls. Come on! Enough is enough.

And, in that spirit, following is an official lists of Cell Phone Do's and Don't's (please don't take this list personally - but if you do, then you know that problem applies to you!):

Don't:

1. Talk on your cell phone at church

2. Talk on your cell phone in class (you're disturbing us, too!)

3. Talk about your mother when there are mothers around you.

4. Talk about your kids when there are kids around you.

5. Talk and eat.

6. Talk when there is a home phone less than 1 foot away from you.

7. Talk on the bus at the top of your lungs (we all have to ride with you at least a few more stops - have pity on us!)

8. Talk to your old boyfriend when your new boyfriend is around.

9. Talk to your old girlfriend when your new girlfriend is around.

10. Talk to your parents and then pretend to lose the connection so you don't have to talk to them anymore!

Do:

1. Text message whenever possible.

2. Learn how to text message with normal capitalization - not ALL CAPS.

3. Surf the web on your own time - not in the middle of a conversation.

4. Turn your cell phone to silent/vibrate when you are in church.

5. Turn your cell phone off when you are at the movies (or at least don't check the messages - we can all see that screen light up!).

6. Figure out how to turn your cell phone to silent/vibrate (nobody wants to hear 'My Boo' or 'Drop it Like It's Hot' because you can't operate your phone).

7. Ask people if they want their picture taken.

8. Show people the pictures you took - don't post them as your wallpaper because they look so 'crazy'.

9. Offer your cell phone to people who are lost, whose car is broken down or who need you to call their cell phone so they can locate.

10. Transfer your phone book to your new phone - stop calling everybody every time you get a new phone because their phone number is in the 'old' phone.

Help your teenager practice good cell phone etiquette today and make the world a better place!

Sonya C. Triggs is a contributing author to Urban Christianz Ministries. Visit this website to get more great articles and advice for Christian teens!

Securing Debt Consolidation Secured Loans

If you're like most people, then you've got debt in your life? and if that debt is getting out of hand, you might want to consider debt consolidation secured loans.

These loans are designed for people who find themselves in debt beyond their means to reasonably pay it back; the loans pay off either a portion or the total sum of their debts so that there is only a low monthly loan payment instead of the various debts that were consolidated.

Being a type of secured loan, collateral of some kind is required so that the loans can be extended even to those people who have had credit problems in the past.

Debt consolidation secured loans are useful in avoiding bankruptcy as well as simply getting a person's life back on track.

Determining the best collateral

Collateral is some property of value that is used to guarantee that a lender will get their money back, either by repayment or by repossessing and selling the collateral property.

In debt consolidation secured loans, it is used to guarantee that the lender will be repaid even though the person borrowing the money may have had credit problems in the past; because of this, specific types of collateral are preferred over others. Real estate and vehicles such as cars and trucks are the most common collateral for debt consolidation secured loans, in no small part because of the ease with which a lender can determine the value and find a market for them.

The collateral with the highest value should be used to guarantee the debt consolidation secured loans, since a greater value in comparison to the loan amount can help you to get lower interest rates and better loan terms? meaning that you may end up paying less than you would if you used collateral with a lower value to guarantee your debt consolidation secured loans.

Shopping for the best deal

Like most things, the rates that you are offered for debt consolidation secured loans may vary from lender to lender.

You should get quotes from several different lenders on the same loan amount and collateral, not dedicating yourself to any particular debt consolidation secured loans until you've had a chance to fully explore your options.

Check with locally-owned banks and finance companies first, as they are sometimes more flexible with their rates, and take time to carefully compare all of the quotes that you receive for debt consolidation secured loans. After you've determined which lender has the best offer, go back to them and complete your application.

Make sure that you repay your loan on time (or early, if possible)? not only can it improve your credit score, but it can also help establish good business relationships that can help you to get better rates in the future.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.