#//another old vid that i uploaded 4 years ago today

[twistedshipper]

let us sound a human paean 🕊

[mysticdragon3md3]

11:04 PM 12/30/2019

[There’s supposed to be a cut here, Tumblr mobile!]

I’ve been procrastinating, hiding behind my fever today.  The only work I’ve gotten so far, is deleting the vids that I’m absolutely certain that I could delete:  slideshows of my collection/photoshoot that no one cares aobut but me, cat vids that only me and Ate really watch, siblings Kingdom Hearts cosplay at Disneyland vids (Only I’m interested in those vids and I don’t like the idea of vids of me online where I’m prominent).  I need to stop procrastinating.  when I helped Tatay with his channel earlier today, he set his channel setting to “not for children” and delted all his vids within 15min or so.  I could have that if I just stop being afraid of letting go and losing all my vids.   I need to come to terms with what I need to do to my YouTube channel to be safe from COPPA. I need to delete everything (except maybe 1 or 2 vids that I can be sure will not attract children). I thought I had come to terms with it this week.  I was no longer as anxious as I was in November when this news about COPPA influence on YouTube’s changed were announced.  I thought I could take action now.  But even now, I’m afraid to delete my videos.   Let’s be honest here.  I’m the only one who cares about those videos.  Even the cosplay gathering videos, that had so many other people in them, who commented about how they enjoyed reliving the gathering by watching my vids…That was a LONG time ago. They’ve more than likely moved on, to many other fandoms and many other cosplays.  Me too.  I haven’t gone to cosplay gatherings or uploaded vids of them in many conventions. And as for the Good Smile Company panel videos from anime conventions, they’re from so long ago, that what’s the point of announcements for figures that have already been released by now? (Sure, there are some valuable exceptions, but those 4-5 vids will be easier for me to keep track of than trying to keep everything.)  I have to reassure myself that everyone has moved on.  No one needs those videos of old events by now. Especially with my old camera's relatively bad picture quality.  I shouldn’t feel obligated to risk keeping those vids around for anyone else’s sake.   I have to be selfish here.  Because the risks are too high.  Sure, deleting the vids will prevent cosplayers and other fans from reliving the gatherings and convention panels.  But not deleting the vids puts me in danger of $42,000+ fines per video.  I’m not an avid YouTuber. I just throw stuff online as a fan to share with other fans. It’s not my livelihood. My channel has never been monetized.  (I’d thought about it, and had thought about making more YouTube vids, more seriously, but I don’t have the mental/emotional constitution to deal with this extra stress on top of my usual anxieties.)  I shouldn’t suffer any detriments if all my videos disappeared.  (If all my videos disappeared from YouTube, I still have them on my drive, I could post relavent clips to another platform, and all I really want to keep are my playlists.)   Except…Those 4 or 5 Good Smile Company panel videos where GSC representatives explain things that other figure collectors need to be educated about, in order to end a lot of stupid arguments in the collecting fandom.  Information about bootleg figures, how to request GSC figures, etc.  But those should be easier to keep track of, and I’m more certain they wouldn’t attract kid viewers.  The presentation is just too stale and adult.  Just quiet convention panelists with the occaisional slideshow.  Nendoroids, Figma, and static figures aren’t even for kids anyway!  Nendoroid boxes say “15+”!!!   Anyway, I have too much anxiety to keep any eye on my YouTube channel, in case I get any warning notifications/emails about them. I don’t want to be responsible over videos, so I shouldn’t have YouTube videos.   So what I really should be doing is just screengrabbing all the comments sections for the memories and preparing to delete (almost) everything. 11:42 PM 12/30/2019 It’s really late, and I’m sick.  My fever is getting worse.  I’ll go to bed and deal with COPPA tomorrow.   I keep remembering how ackson (acksonl) had to delete all his cosplay music videos years ago, because he was afraid of music copyright problems.  He was the premier cosplay videographer and everyone was sad to see all his vids go.  But remembering that he did it because that’s what he needed in his life, helps me accept that I need to delete all my vids too.  

I see all these Kamen Rider videos and crafting videos and start to lose my resolve.  Isn’t Kamen Rider a show for kids, even if the vids are very analytical and mature?  Can crafting vids be misconstrued as for kids?  Maybe I can keep MY videos!—No.  I have to stop.  I’m too anxious to keep worrying about my videos and I’m too anxiously avoidant to check for notifications/email when there is a problem.  I have to keep my resolve to delete everything.  

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

Hard Times | June Goals Update

So it’s been another month. Somewhat scary to think that time flies straight over your head, and doesn't ever stop...

Anywho...

*If you would prefer to not read my struggles with bipolar disorder and in particular, the depressive side of it, feel free to skip past this ramble!*

Hey People of Earth!

I’ve had a month. It opened shitty, ended shitty, lots of shitty things happened in between. In regards to June--damn, how shitty it has been.

I have tried writing this post on its own for around a week now. And every single time I try, I end up trashing the draft. Last night I decided not to trash the draft, and post it today, but I’ve somehow trashed the draft.

Again...

So. I've sort of been severely depressed since the start of the month... Oh boy...

If you don't know, I was diagnosed officially as bipolar on May 31st of this year. I kid you not, the very next day, I fell back into this terrible depressive rut I haven't been able to escape since.

I’ve been waiting three years for someone to just validate the feelings I've had--I’ve been desperate for someone to tell me what my doctor told me on May 31st. I was convinced that hearing those words, hearing that diagnosis would make me the happiest person in the world, and I think it’s the disappointment that stemmed from not having that that just choked me this month.

I don’t know why hearing so hey, Rachel, yo, you’re actually bipolar sent me into the deepest, darkest hole I have ever existed in. Because I’d been waiting so long to hear those words. Past Me was positive everything would be better after I heard those words. Past Me always thought everything would get better after hearing those words, but things have only gotten progressively worse.

I’m diagnosed as bipolar, and I can’t tell you how hard that has been to swallow.

I’m sincerely sorry for missing blog posts, and promising I’ll come back, and then never coming back. I’ve literally torn myself apart because of this... But, I’ve lived like a ghost this month, and doing anything has been so painful. 

I went from high to low in the span of seconds, and I can’t leave.

I want to get into how it feels to be bipolar, and to cycle into these moods so frequently. Of course, this is only my experience with this disorder. Others might not experience this like I do.

So for me, shifting from high to low feels like someone is punching me in the face, and will not stop. I hate going from okay one moment, to so low the next. It’s so frustrating to me. Ask my family or friends--it’s fucking frustrating for them too because do you know how difficult it is for someone to see you having the time of your life one day, and then being in such a dark place the next? I hardly understand this. I can’t imagine how those around me feel. Switching from high to low feels like I’m a failure, and I cannot stop failing, because of all things, I can’t control my own brain, even though I feel like I should have that right. I’m not strong enough to control my brain--it controls me. Switching from high to low makes me feel so stuck. Like I’m struggling in quicksand, but there is no way out. You feel defeated by yourself, even though you shouldn't have a competition within yourself . But that’s kind of what goes on with me every time this happens. My body and soul go to war, when that should never happen.

I feel like to a point, while I emphasize honesty in my blog posts, there’s a line I draw. There’s a point where I fear if I talk more about this, and talk more about the fact that every single thing I did in June was torturous, people will not want to listen. I don’t want to bog people down. But this affects my writing life so much, and in turn, will affect you.

Imagine one day, you’re on top of the world. You have everything you could ever want. You are successful. You feel great about yourself. You are in the best state you have ever been in. Now imagine, the next day, you witness something so upsetting, you spiral into the deepest rut you’ve ever been in. You don't want to keep going. You’re choking on your own life. You feel hollow.

This happens to me. Every day. Every week. Every month.

I wish I could be more positive about this... I miss my positivity so much.

I can’t remember if I’ve talked about this on here before. But January and February are always the worst months I ever have to experience. Jan and Feb of 2015 were emotionally draining, but I didn’t know why, so I moved along as they went. Jan and Feb of 2016? A little harder to get by, but I did it, with a little help from ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES. Jan and Feb of 2017? Completely different ball game. I’ve never fought so hard to stay here.

Until June…

I always said that if I didn’t have a diagnosis before January and February of 2018, I’d probably not survive beyond then.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling that pain in a completely different realm of time.

June isn’t the winter. June is sunny, and bright, and where all the happiness should stem from. There are flowers outside. The sky is blue. Everything is beautiful. June isn’t supposed to bring misery like January and February. June is supposed to be breezy and light, and the cross into summer vacation. But I just exited the hardest month I’ve ever had to live through. And I hate that I’ve said that statement somewhere around 8 times in my life, and I’m hardly even sixteen.

I can’t tell you why I’m so depressed. I can’t explain it. I can’t tell you it’s because something bad happened in my life. Because nothing did. Nothing happened. Nothing should have changed.

Gah. I didn't want to have to say all of this. But I know if I don't know, I never will.

So welcome to my off day. Or my off month. I guess.

So now that all of that's been said, let’s get into these insanely ambiguous goals, shall we?

1. Hit 80k in FOSTERED #5.

HIT 90K BABY.

2. Outline more of ALANNIS, and like maybe try to finish it, though I mean this isn’t going to happen, so yeah, just work on it pls

Didn’t even touch the thing. lol sorry.

3. Upload another video.

Guess who didn’t do this. Guess who has a video ready to upload just sitting on her computer. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Actually, I do. (Reference above, lol)

(I will get this thing up when I feel a little better I promise!)

4. Read a book yo.

Didn’t do this. Also because of the above. Sigh. I did start THE HATE U GIVE and it’s amazing thus far. I’m around 100 pages in, and I love it.

5. Finish another character portrait.

If there’s something I did this month... Jeez...

I did a lot of art this month, man... So I mean, if there’s a silver lining to anything, it’s that... I actually just finished one of these an hour ago. I’m not going to show you one of them because I’m not digging the final outcome that much.

I finished this AWESOME painting of Emily from the FOSTERED books AKA the character who looks different every time I write with her... lol. (Did I just call my own art awesome? Uhm, well I say awesome because @sarahkelsiwrites​ drew the sketch, I only painted it in. So yes.)

I don't like complimenting my own work, but um, I think I have substantially (and quite miraculously) improved my abilities to shade using the painterly technique.

I actually did my first digital painting using the painterly technique earlier in the month.

Here I bring you, ‘Angsty Ben’

LOOK AT HIS EYELINER

LOOK AT HIS BLEACHED HAIR

LOOK AT HIS LIP RING.

LOOK AT HIS ANGST PATCH JACKET

LOOK AT HIS STROKES FANBOY T-SHIRT

THE SURF CURSE PATCH KILLS ME

WHO ELSE SEES THE CLIFFORD IS A DISAPPOINTMENT PATCH ON THE BOTTOM LEFT.

LOWKEY WHAT A FUTURE 17-YEAR-OLD BEN LOOKS LIKE.

Hahahahahaaaaaaa

I know. This is the best thing I’ve ever created. Ha. So this cheered me up. Awesome.

Obviously, it’s not entirely finished, though I’m just stopping here at this point, because it was really only here as a test in shading.

My point here, is that I think there’s quite a large improvement in shading...

@sarahkelsiwrites​ did an amazing job on Emily’s sketch, so huge thanks to her! I have a speedpaint for this, so it’ll be up at some point in time... Harrison is actually supposed to be next to her, buuuuut he’s giving me trouble, so... (He will be completed at some point in time also.)

AND NOW LOOK HOW LIT THIS IS

@sarahkelsiwrites​ drew me the most AMAZING portrait of Lonan, and I die.

If you don't know, the name Lonan means blackbird, and the meaning of his name, though never stated in the books, is a huge point of symbolism in the novels...

This is the sketch she drew (excuse the world’s shittiest scan):

(It’s shitty a) because the paper is kind of way too big for the scanner, and b) because haha my scanner is shitty)

BUT CAN WE JUST.

And then I, around an hour ago, went in and added colour...

AHHHHHHHH

Sarah said she’d eventually like to do a digital painting of this as well, so I’m just so stoked... THE SYMBOLISM IN THIS DRAWING ACTUALLY MURDERS MEEEEEE.

Cuz yanno, birds are supposed to be in cages, but LOOK AT HIIIIM.

In other news, I finally have an idea for book five’s cover...

Bless you, Sarah. Bless. This thing makes me so happy.

I also have a speedpaint for this. So yeah. Onslaught of vids coming your way the minute I start feeling better.

6. Complete that huge edit on FOSTERED #5.

YAAAAAS. I did this. In school. Like a boss. If you don't know, I like to go back and edit my novel every 10k words or so, and accidentally eventually let the usual 10k turn into 30k... So to continue writing, I had to make a bit of a large edit, and I did it! I think it happened in a day or so? So it was a lot less arduous than anticipated.

7. *Maybe* re-visit I’M DISAPPOINTED. Just maybe. If it won’t drive you nuts. Or at least look at the query and fix it up a little.

I thought about re-visiting I’M DISAPPOINTED. lol. Does that count. (More news on what the heck is happening with this book in my writing update which should be up at some point in time..)

8. Write at least 100 words in the I’M DISAPPOINTED short story.

I didn’t do this. I was supposed to edit what I had. I have it all formatted and everything. But I never printed it out... So then, I just never wrote anything...

Ahhh well, look at all the amazing art above, lol. I’ve done more, but I’m saving all that stuff for later when they’re all cleaned up and stuff.

So those were all my goals and stuff. So I mean, even though I had the shittiest month ever, I still managed to somehow get a lot of things done. I’m addicted to work. This is a problem.

(Oh by the way, another goal I hit this month... You know how I said a while back that I wanted to get a 97% average this semester? Well... uh. I kind of did. 97.25% to be exact... yeaaaaaahhhhhh I should stop...)

So here are more goals:

1. Hit 100k in FOSTERED #5

2. Outline more of ALANNIS, and like maybe try to finish it, though I mean this isn’t going to happen, so yeah, just work on it pls

3. Upload another video.

4. Read a book yo.

5. Finish another character portrait

like come on

6. Write at least 100 words in the I’M DISAPPOINTED short story. 

pls.

Some exciting things happening in my life right now:

- I’m seeing Ed Sheeran in concert this FRIDAYYYYYY

- I might be seeing Precious Kid in Pennsylvania. Possibly.

- MY BROTHERS MET PRECIOUS KID

- I’M SEEING FLIPPIN SURF CURSE IN CONCERT AT THE END OF AUGUST

- Also going to Mexico

So many things are happening, man...

Because this post started out as the world’s biggest bummer, I want to maybe help anybody out there who needs some comfort by sharing a couple of things that’ve made my past month less terrible.

Daughter performances have been the only thing keeping me going at night when I can’t sleep. My insomnia hasn’t left me alone for this entire week. After trying everything I know of (come on fam, even my favourite ASMR vid doesn’t work), I’ve resorted to watching performances of one of my favourite bands.

Elena writes beautiful songs about her own sadness. She does it in a way that brings me so much comfort. And while all that I go through is ugly, Elena uses words that make it sound beautiful, and in doing so, make my pain less hurtful.

I’ve never seen them perform their song Made Of Stone live, so finding this performance was absolutely amazing. I love that she expresses thoughts I’ve had myself. It makes me feel like hey, I’m not the only one. Someone gets me. This song does that very well.

See, this is why I love music. 

You’ll find love kid, it exists

I also love

This one really helped sooth my mind a bit. Which is nice. :)

This post really helped me when I was in a really suicidal rut a couple nights ago: https://themighty.com/2016/08/if-you-want-to-die-read-this/

^^^ I love this post.

On a little bit of a lighter note, Paramore’s Hard Times hits me where I need it.

If you’ve been a long-time follower, you know how much your girl loves Paramore.

THIS SONG.

Lyrically, it’s one of the saddest things Paramore has put out. But they’ve paired it with this funky beat that’s so ironically happy… And guys… The accuracy in representing depression… Oh my lord…

Hard times Gonna make you wonder why you even try Hard times Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry These lives And I still don’t know how I even survive Hard times Hard times

And I still don’t know how I even survive… <<< this hits my heart so much

I sing this part with no chilllllll.

*this brings me so much happiness*

Paramore was the thing that got me through that second terrible Jan+Feb beyond ATBP, so this is somewhat fitting…

This video by Dodie is the thing that pushed me to not give a shit if this seemed too bitter and pessimistic. She really made me feel that if I feel bitter and pessimistic, I should be real about that.

I’m not actually a fan of hers (I just don’t watch her vids, though I probably will now), but I’ve seen this thing pop up in my recommended since it came out, and I finally watched it last night. I love this video.

Also just kind of a simple one, but my sister helps too. Like loads. So far, she’s been the one to make me smile and laugh, even when I’m in the actual middle of this muggy period.

Maybe you don’t know this about me, but I’m a die-hard ASMR fan (if you suffer from insomnia, this is my secret to sleep), and CarolineASMR’s 24/7 livestream has been giving me life.

Whenever I’m just very down, and need something to do, I listen to this. And it’s always there. Which is so great for so many reasons. I wasn’t going to mention this one because I didn’t think it was that much of a help, but after going through my YouTube history, I realize that I’ve relied on this livestream so much this past week…

(If you ever need ASMR recs, hellooooo)

(START WITH BRIGHTGREYASMR THAT’S ALL I HAVE TO SAY, YOU’RE WELCOME. THIS video is the only one that kills my insomnia around 90% which is AWESOME)

So all of these things have contributed to making my life a little easier. I wanted to share them with you to hopefully bring some light into your life, if you’ve been going through some hard times too. Just know that at some point in life, this suck will ease. I don’t know if it will ever get better, and I won’t say that because I know I don’t even like when people say that to me. But you’re literally going to keep kicking ass. Even if all you’re doing right now is existing, you are still worthy of every single moment you have. I know I don’t have hope right now, so I can’t tell you to just have hope, because sometimes, being hopeful isn’t always easy. I hope you find your hope, and I hope I find my hope. If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m all ears.

That’s kind of the end of this post... Thank you for listening, if you made it this far. Thank you for letting me express myself when I need to. I hope this serves as a bit of an explanation for my MIA-ness. I’ll try to be back as soon as I can. You guys are sincerely the best.

See you in the next one. :)

--Rachel

[constructionfirm]

Best Ecommerce Product Videos: 16 Tips/Examples

If you have an ecommerce store and you’re looking to increase conversions, build your brand, or attract new customers, I have one word for you: videos. But you can’t just film your product willy-nilly, post the video, and expect big results. You need to build a marketing strategy for your ecommerce videos.

So let’s discuss why you should be using video, how to use it, and ways to improve the videos themselves.

Why Product Videos? The effectiveness and popularity of video really come down to just one thing. It’s easy. Watching a video is easier than reading a detailed product description. If you study trends, you’ll see that video use continues to increase every year. According to a study by emarketer.com, most adults watch about 5.5 hours of video a day.

It’s also usually faster to watch a video because a 30-second video conveys far more information than 30 seconds of reading. Remember the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words?” Well, a video is more like ten-thousand.

Search Engine Results There’s another very practical reason to use videos on your store site: Google plays favorites. Pages tend to rank higher in search results if they are a video or include video. Search Engine Watch reported that after Google updated its algorithm Panda, “YouTube was the biggest winner, according to Searchmetrics, as were a number of big brand video sites – Hulu, MTV, NBC, CBS, HBO and a number of others that contain a large amount of video content.”

So if you’re hoping ecommerce customers can search for you and find you, product videos are a must.

Product Videos Mean Higher Conversion Rates Here’s another statistic to consider: customers are 64-85% more likely to buy a product after watching a video (kissmetrics.com). That means you’ll see fewer abandoned carts if you utilize video on your product page.

To understand why video helps more customers pull the trigger, get into the mindset of your customer. Online shoppers have three main concerns according to a 2017 study by “big 4” audit firm KPMG. The first concern is that 56% of customers want to see or feel the product before purchasing. The second concern is that 55% want to try on the item. And the final most common concern is the product will look different in real life than in the online images (41%).

A Better Shopping Experience Those three concerns all center around what makes an ecommerce experience different than shopping in a physical store–the customer cannot see, hold, touch, or try the product before purchase. Product videos are the way customers do those things vicariously. For instance, instead of a still image of shorts against a white background, a video lets the customer see the shorts on a model from all angles–just like a shopper would do in a dressing room mirror. Retailer Old Navy uses video to bridge the gap between online shopping and brick and mortar shopping.

http://www.ccr-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Old-Navy-Video-042418.mp4

And if you’ve noticed Old Navy ads, they are full of action–so the customer can see the product in motion. This lets customers imagine how the clothing would function on their bodies as they sit, work, walk, and even dance.

As ecommerce becomes more prevalent, the websites that will stand out from the rest are the ones that give customers the most thorough shopping experience. Think about shopping online ten years ago versus today. Ten years ago, some shopping sites didn’t even show the backs of products. Just one or two images were all a shopper saw. Today, customers expect to see all angles of a product, any color options (on the product–not just tiny swatches), and be able to zoom in on the picture to see details.

In the future, ecommerce customers will demand more product videos, and they will become as commonplace as still images are now.

Other Eccomerce Benefits of Video Hoping to reduce the number of product returns? Because product videos tell a more complete product story, customers know what to expect when the product arrives at their doorstep. You’ll have fewer returns and complaints as a result.

And speaking of having fewer complaints, a customer whose purchase is “as expected” is a happy customer. Those customers will trust you because they know you represent your products truthfully and they’ll buy from you again. That brand loyalty will lead to big gains in the future.

Creating A 30 Second Video Marketing Plan Now that I’ve revealed why video is so important to ecommerce, let’s discuss the ways you can use 30 seconds of video to attract new customers, build your brand, and nurture customer relationships.

Attract New Customers The first use of video is to attract new customers. With a limited budget, you’ll typically place videos on Facebook and Instagram. (With an unlimited budget, you can branch out into television).

Facebook and Instagram are both visual platforms, so video ads are especially successful there. Social media users are already programmed to click and watch the videos their friends share and post, so watching your video is a natural continuation of that same behavior. If your video is amazing, it may even get shared organically or go viral.

Blendtec hit product video gold with its “Will It Blend?” video series. When the company started up, its marketing budget was minimal. But as the story goes, one day Blendtec’s marketer saw the Blendtec inventor, Tom Dickson, chopping up various items in the blender to test its power. As soon as the marketer saw it, he knew he had his marketing strategy.

Sure enough, the videos went viral, and Blendtec became synonymous with power and durability in the minds of consumers. Here’s an example of Blendtec grinding 50 marbles into dust:

Ecommerce Videos and Social Media Even without going viral, videos on social media can attract many new customers to your product and store. Facebook uses pixel technology to gather information about your customers, following them from the first view to click through to purchase. The pixel then utilizes that data to better target potential customers. In other words, as you run ads, Facebook will narrow the target audience and show the video to the customers most likely to purchase–which means you’ll see a much better ROAS (return on ad spend).

But it’s important to know that it takes time for the Facebook pixel to optimize. There will be highs and lows before the pixel gets to know your ideal prospect and shows them your ads. Also, remember never to delete an ad account, or you’ll lose the pixel you spent time and money building up. Instead, pause any video ad campaigns that aren’t performing well.

Facebook offers a few tips for creating popular videos. Optimize your video for mobile viewing. As you can see from this graph, the number of Facebook subscribers who only access the platform from a mobile device is rapidly increasing.

Keep it short. Facebook suggests 15 seconds or less. I’ll discuss this in more detail in the tips section.

Add audio whenever possible but a Facebook video needs to work with the sound on or off because many viewers will see the video while in a location where the sound has to be muted. For instance, a prospect may watch your video ad while waiting in line at the bank, so if words are necessary, add captions.

All Facebook and Instagram ads must go through a review process before they are approved. To expedite the process, use the recommended size, design, and targeting requirements from the get-go. You can find specific information on Facebook’s and Instagram’s requirements here.

Making the Most of Social Media One of the most popular uses of social media is asking for recommendations. Subscribers want to know and understand the experiences others have had with a product or service–it’s more personal than a generic rating of 3.5 stars. So consider adding testimonials and customer reviews to your video ad campaigns on social platforms like Facebook.

One final note about videos on social media: even the best video is a wasted effort if you don’t include a call to action button. Call to action buttons are the small buttons that viewers can click to take action. The most common ones you’ll use are “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” or “Sign up.” You want your prospects to take action while your product is on their minds, so give them an easy way to do it with a one-click button. Even videos that are solely for nurturing the customer-company relationship (which we’ll examine next) should include a “Learn More” button.

Email Marketing and Videos Attracting new customers isn’t the only purpose of videos. They can also be used to nurture the relationship you have with your customers. So instead of product videos, these types of videos are more content based. For instance, if your product is a camping stove, you could send out a content video through email, with tips for making meals on the stove. You might even include recipes. However, in each video, you still get the opportunity to showcase the camping stove product.

A great example of this comes from the monthly subscription company Kiwi Co. This company sends out a box once a month to children. Inside the box is an activity for the child to do. In this example, the activity was to build a hydraulic claw. Although the activity instructions come included, users can find optional activity ideas by following a video link. Here’s the video tutorial subscribers see:

With a quick video, Kiwi Co has given additional value to subscribers by doubling the activities included in one box. This relationship nurturing leads to increased customer loyalty–an important aspect of your ecommerce marketing strategy. So remember that selling products isn’t the only purpose behind videos.

Another successful video strategy is to send a series of welcome videos through email. Take a look at this welcome email from subscription service ipsy:

The first thing you may notice is that the welcome video is much longer than the video length recommended by Facebook. That’s OK. Remember the purpose of your videos and how the viewers sees them, will help you determine the ideal length. With a welcome video sent through email–it would be strange to have a 15 second video. This video has quite a bit to cover, so the video comes in at three minutes.

In ipsy’s welcome, subscribers learn how to contact the company, what to expect in their first product bag, how to rate products, and how they can make more purchases at a discount.

With an ecommerce product, you can do the same thing. If the product is complicated, explain the product the customer. This type of video can dramatically reduce the number of customer service calls you receive.

Welcome videos can thank the customer for purchasing from you. You can even include a promo discount code for the next time the customer shops with you. This will help get the customer back into your ecommerce store faster.

You can even use video in your abandoned cart emails. If the customer got distracted from completing their purchase, a video reminding the customer of the benefits of the product could be just what he or she needs to return to your store and make the purchase. You may also consider sending a product video showing the product being used or worn. This can help the customer feel more comfortable about purchasing the product without handling it first.

Brand Building Videos The last way to use video is for brand building. Think about what your brand represents. If you aren’t clear on your ecommerce brand yet, you can find more information in this earlier post.

Brand building videos aren’t so much about selling a product as they are about selling your brand. Are you offering convenience? Value? A social conscience? Expertise? Whatever it is, a video can help you to get your message to the masses much better than a company mission statement buried on your website.

The clothing company Patagonia is very passionate about taking care of the earth–and those values line up perfectly with the values of their prospects. This video that explains their activism is a powerful call out to like-minded people to support their efforts. And it conveys the Patagonia brand forcefully.

16 Tips to Improve Your Ecommerce Videos Now that you have decided on the purpose of your video, or in other words, the role the video will play in your marketing strategy, it’s time to make the best darn video possible. The tips I’m going to reveal are for videos in general. But of course, there will be exceptions to every tip and some work better for certain types of videos than others. Use your wisdom and experience when considering what will be successful in your ecommerce business.

Lands’ End The first example I’ll use comes from clothing company Lands’ End. This video successfully incorporates five tips into 62 seconds of video.

Evoke Emotion A good video will make viewers feel something. And if you’re smart, there are three main emotions to go for: awe, laughter, and amusement. Why are these the most important emotions to focus on? Because according to a study by BuzzSumo, those three emotions were linked to the articles most frequently shared online. The number breakdown looks like this: awe (25%) laughter (17%) and amusement (15%) The Lands’ End video uses an amusing approach to demonstrate the benefits of its product. If you don’t feel like one of those three emotions could work for your product, here are the other emotions BuzzSumo linked to sharing and how they fared.

Show the Product in Use Another thing the Lands’ End video does well is showing the product in use. Show your customers why they should buy the product by demonstrating what it can do for them. In this example, a customer would wear the Land’s End jacket to stay dry–which the video demonstrates dramatically by dumping a bucket of water on the hood of the jacket. Make It Work With or Without Sound

The Lands’ End video uses a silly, light-hearted music track to convey the emotion of the video. The music accentuates the action and improves the video. However, the video’s main message comes across just as well when the video is silent.

This is a must. Sound can take your video to the next level, but it also has to work without any sound at all. Remember the customers who will be watching your videos on mute and strive to give them the best video experience they can have without any sound at all.

Show Don’t Tell

Without saying a word, viewers of the Lands’ End video know the jacket is designed to keep them (and their valuable electronics!) dry. It’s a design choice to keep the video simple and clutter-free from specs, like material and sizing.

In marketing, there’s a saying, “Don’t sell the steak–sell the sizzle,” (Elmer Wheeler). So when selling a product, you are selling the benefits of the product, not the products specifications. Typically, product specifications won’t have a place in your marketing videos, because the focus is demonstrating the benefits of the product. Most customers just want to know if the Lands’ End jacket will keep them dry. Place the specifications on the product page where customers can easily find them if they want to know more. The exception to this marketing rule is if your specifications make your product unique. For instance, if you sell a chair made from a sustainable wood that no one else is using, you may want to highlight that.

Show How You’re Better Product videos are the perfect way to show your product is better than your competitor’s product. This could be showing what makes you unique–like using a material or process no one else is using–or it could be showing how you are better. In the Lands’ End example, the test subject first puts on a regular jacket and gets soaked. The message is clear–if you were caught in a rain storm, which jacket would you rather be wearing?

BlenderBottle Let’s take a look at another video that’s done well. This video features the blender bottle, and its target audience is the health conscience.

Tell a Story Humans love stories, but the stories don’t need to be complicated, so don’t be intimidated. It can be as simple as a test subject trying out coats in a lab experiment, as in the Lands’ End example. Or in the BlenderBottle example, the story is about the work athletes put in to reach peak performance. The themes of working hard, the solo effort, and overcoming failure will resonate with most athletes.

Keep It Short Facebook says to top videos out at 15 seconds. But up to 30 seconds is a good rule of thumb. This BlenderBottle video is only 17 seconds. A video can be just as powerful and sometimes more so if it’s short. Trying to create a short video will also help you hone your message.

But if you look around, you’ll find plenty of successful exceptions to this rule. This is why you need to know the purpose of your video and your audience. Especially how-to videos and explainer videos often need to go over the 30-second mark. In those types of videos, viewers are looking for content and want more, not less.

Humanize The Video Yes, you are selling a product–but you’re selling your product to humans, so using them in your video is a good idea. We respond to other people having a good time. Plus, watching others use the product lets customers imagine using the product in their own lives. The BlenderBottle shows a man using the bottle as he practices his sport. This helps the viewer see how he or she could use BlenderBottle better than a video that shows the bottle alone–even with directions or specs.

Add a Beat Another thing the BlenderBottle video does well is playing upbeat music. Especially if your product will be used actively, like sports equipment or training gear, music with a good beat inspires people. Music and action go hand in hand.

Night Cable Here’s another product video with lots going for it.

Put the Product Front and Center Yes, you need to have a story, keep it short, and add music. But all of those things should add to the product–not distract from it. Always keep the product front and center in the viewer’s mind. If it’s not clear what you’re selling, you’ve wasted a significant amount of time and money.

Illustrate the Pain Customers have pain in their lives. In marketing, a pain is anything that causes a prospect unhappiness, worry, or discomfort. The pains could be small, like socks that are too slippery on hard surfaces. Or they could be more significant like the need for carbon monoxide detectors that save lives.

Most products are created because of prospect pain. And a smart marketer will emphasize the pain that their product reduces or eliminates.

That’s what the creator of NIght Cable has done with their video. What are some of the pain points of traditional charging cables? They slip, they’re hard to find, they’re too short, etc. So this video reminds the viewer of all of those problems, as well as demonstrating how their product solves them.

Use Different Locations Show the product being used in different locations, again so the viewer can imagine the product in his or her life more easily. The Night Cable is shown in bed, on a sofa, on a nightstand, and even outside.

5 Final Tips for the Best Product Launch Videos A few final tips to round out the others I provided. Google owns Y