Michael Miller is a successful and prolific author. He is known for his casual, easy-to-read writing style and his ability to explain a wide variety of complex topics to an everyday audience. Mr. Miller has written more than 80 nonfiction books over the past two decades, with more than a million copies in print. His books for Que include YouTube 4 You, Making a Living from Your eBay Business, Tricks of the eBay Business Masters, and Googlepedia: The Ultimate Google Resource. You can email Mr. Miller directly at youtube4business@molehillgroup.com. His website is at www.molehillgroup.com, his YouTube channel is at www.youtube.com/user/trapperjohn2000, and his Video Blogging for Business video blog is at businessvideoblog.blogspot.com.

Introduction... 1 How This Book Is Organized... 2 Conventions Used in This Book... 3 Web Pages... 3 Special Elements... 3 There's More Online... 4 Get Ready to YouTube... 4 I Marketing Your Business Online with YouTube... 5 1 How YouTube Can Help You Market Your Business... 7 A Short History of YouTube... 7 YouTube: The Early Days... 8 YouTube Launches--And Gets Acquired 9 YouTube Today... 9 Is Video Right for Your Business?... 9 What Types of Businesses Can Use YouTube?... 11 What Kinds of Videos Can You Produce?... 12 Inform and Sell... 12 Educate and Sell... 13 Entertain and Sell... 13 How Can You Use YouTube to Market Your Business?... 14 YouTube for Brand Awareness... 14 YouTube for Product Advertising... 14 YouTube for Retail Promotion... 15 YouTube for Direct Sales... 15 YouTube for Product Support... 16 YouTube for Product Training... 16 YouTube for Employee Communications 17 YouTube for Recruiting... 17 The Big Picture... 18 2 Developing Your YouTube Marketing Strategy... 19 What Is the Purpose of Your YouTube Videos?... 19 Who Is Your Customer?... 20 What Does Your Customer Want or Need?.. 22 What Are You Promoting?... 22 What Is Your Message?... 23 How Does YouTube Fit Within Your Overall Marketing Mix?... 24 How Will You Measure the Results of Your YouTube Videos?... 26 What Type of Video Content Is Best for Your Goals?... 27 Repurposed Commercials... 27 Infomercials... 28 Instructional Videos... 30 Product Presentations and Demonstrations... 30 Real Estate Walk-Throughs... 30 Customer Testimonials... 31 Company Introductions... 31 Expert Presentations... 31 Business Video Blogs... 31 Executive Speeches... 31 Company Seminars and Presentations 32 User or Employee Submissions... 32 Humorous Spots... 33 The Big Picture... 33 3 Tips for Producing More Effective YouTube Videos... 35 Tips for Creating Better-Looking Videos... 35 Get the Size Right... 36 Shoot for the Smaller Screen... 36 Accentuate the Contrast... 37 Invest in Quality Equipment... 37 Shoot Professionally... 38 Use Two Cameras... 38 Be Professional--Or Not... 39 Don't Just Recycle Old Videos--Re-Edit Them, Too... 39 Consider Creating a Slideshow... 39 Hire a Pro... 39 Break the Rules... 40 Tips for Improving Your Video Content... 40 Be Entertaining... 40 Be Informative... 40 Go for the Funny... 41 Keep It Short... 41 Keep It Simple... 42 Stay Focused... 42 Communicate a Clear Message... 42 Avoid the Hard Sell... 42 Keep It Fresh... 43 Design for Remixing... 43 Tips for Generating Sales... 43 Include Your Website's Address in the Video... 43 Include Your URL in the Accompanying Text... 45 Link from Your Profile... 45 The Big Picture... 46 Profile: Blendtec... 47 Inside Blendtec... 47 The "Will It Blend?" Campaign... 48 Low Costs, Big Results... 49 Advice for Other Businesses... 49 II Producing Your YouTube Videos... 51 4 Understanding Audio/Video Technology... 53 Understanding Compression... 53 Understanding Video Resolution... 54 Standard Versus High Definition... 54 YouTube Resolution... 55 Exploiting Lower Resolution... 55 High-Quality Videos... 56 Understanding Video File Formats... 56 AVI... 57 DivX... 58 DV... 58 Flash Video... 58 H.264... 58 MPEG... 59 QuickTime Movie... 60 RealVideo... 60 Windows Media Video... 60 Xvid... 60 Choosing the Right File Format for YouTube 60 Converting Existing Videos to YouTube Format... 61 The Big Picture... 62 5 Shooting Webcam Videos... 63 Understanding Webcam Video... 63 When a Webcam Makes Sense... 65 Creating a Video Blog... 66 Reporting from the Road or Special Events... 66 Responding to Immediate Issues... 66 Capturing Customer Testimonials... 67 Tips for Shooting an Effective Webcam Video 67 Make It Immediate... 67 Keep It Simple... 67 Watch the Lighting... 68 Minimize the Background Noise... 68 Uploading Webcam Video to YouTube... 68 Uploading Webcam Video Files... 69 Uploading Live Webcam Video... 69 The Big Picture... 71 6 Shooting Semi-Pro Videos... 73 Understanding Consumer Video Equipment. 73 How Camcorders Work... 74 Examining Camcorder Formats... 75 Choosing a Camcorder... 76 Prosumer and High Definition Camcorders... 78 Selecting Essential Accessories... 79 Building a Computer for Video Editing. 82 When a Semi-Pro Video Makes Sense... 83 Video Blogs... 83 Executive Messages... 84 Product Demonstrations... 84 On-the-Scene Reports... 85 Shooting a Semi-Pro Video... 85 Shooting in the Office... 85 Shooting Outside the Office... 86 Transferring Videos to Your PC for Editing... 87 Transferring from a Digital Camcorder. 87 Transferring from an Analog Camcorder 88 Tips for Shooting an Effective Semi-Pro Video 88 Shoot Digitally... 89 Keep the Proper Resolution in Mind... 89 Use a Tripod... 89 Lighting Matters... 90 Use an External Microphone... 91 Watch the Background... 91 A Little Movement Is Good!... 92 !But Too Much Movement Is Bad... 93 Shoot from Different Angles... 93 Close-Ups Are Good... 94 Don't Center the Subject... 94 Shoot to Edit... 96 Use a Teleprompter... 96 Dress Appropriately... 97 The Big Picture... 99 7 Shooting Professional Videos... 101 Why Create a Professional Video for YouTube?... 101 Advantages of Professional Videos... 102 Disadvantages of Professional Videos 102 What Makes a Professional Video Professional... 103 Shooting in the Studio... 103 Shooting in the Field... 105 Preparing for a Professional Video Shoot... 106 Make Friends with Makeup... 106 Learn Your Shooting Angles... 107 Wait for the Lighting... 107 Prepare for Multiple Takes... 108 The Big Picture... 108 8 Editing and Enhancing Your Videos... 109 Choosing a Video-Editing Program... 109 Tier One: Free Programs... 110 Tier Two: Inexpensive Programs... 112 Tier Three: Mid-Range Programs... 117 Tier Four: High-End Programs... 120 Using a Video-Editing Program... 122 Editing Together Different Shots... 123 Inserting Transitions Between Scenes 124 Inserting Titles and Credits... 125 Creating Other Onscreen Graphics... 126 Adding Background Music... 126 Getting Creative with Other Special Effects... 127 Converting and Saving Video Files... 128 The Big Picture... 128 Profile: Charles Smith Pottery... 129 About Charles Smith and His Pottery... 129 Selling Pottery via YouTube... 130 Making Educational Videos... 131 Advice for Other Businesses... 132 III Managing Your YouTube Videos... 133 9 Uploading Your Videos to YouTube... 135 Uploading Videos from Your Computer... 135 Starting the Upload Process... 135 Entering Information About Your Video 136 Selecting the Video to Upload... 139 Uploading the Video... 139 Editing Video Information... 141 Removing a Video from YouTube... 142 The Big Picture... 143 10 Creating a YouTube Presence... 145 Working with Channels... 145 Viewing a Channel Profile... 145 Personalizing Your YouTube Channel 147 Managing Your Channel's Video Log. 151 YouTube Channel Marketing... 151 Working with Groups... 152 Joining an Existing Group... 152 Creating a New Group... 154 Working with Friends and Contacts... 156 Adding a Friend to Your List... 157 Sending Messages to Your Friends... 158 Reading Messages from Other Users 159 Dealing with Viewers and Viewer Comments 160 Enabling Comments, Video Responses, Ratings, Embedding, and Syndication 160 Approving Comments and Video Responses... 163 Dealing with Negative Comments... 165 Removing Viewer Comments and Responses... 166 Blocking Members from Leaving Comments... 166 Unsubscribing Users from Your Channel 167 Responding to Negative Comments... 167 The Big Picture... 168 11 Incorporating YouTube Videos on Your Own Website. 169 Adding YouTube Video Links to a Web Page 169 Linking to an Individual Video... 169 Linking to Your YouTube Channel--Or List of Videos... 170 Embedding YouTube Videos in a Web Page 170 Embedding a Basic Video... 171 Customizing the Embedded Video Player... 172 Embedding a Video List in Your Web Page... 174 The Big Picture... 175 Profile: Annette Lawrence, ReMax ACR Elite Group, Inc. 176 Welcome to Annette's World... 176 Promoting Real Estate the YouTube Way. 177 Producing an Effective Real Estate Video. 178 Promoting the Videos... 180 Advice to Other Businesses... 181 IV Working with YouTube Video Blogs... 183 12 Managing a Video Blog... 185 What a Video Blog Is--And Why You Need One... 185 Creating and Maintaining a Video Blog... 186 Creating the Vlog... 187 Creating Vlog Posts... 188 Adding YouTube Videos to Your Blog or Vlog 190 Configuring YouTube for Your Blog... 190 Posting a Video to Your Blog... 191 Managing Your Video Blog... 193 The Big Picture... 194 13 Integrating Text Blogs and Video Blogs... 195 Communicating with Your Customers Online 195 Your People Are Your Message... 196 Expanding Your Message Across the Web 197 Syndicate!... 197 Link!... 198 Promote!... 199 Be Social!... 199 Make Your Blog/Vlog Search Friendly 200 Post Your Videos on Multiple Sites... 200 What Makes a Good Video Blog?... 201 Managing a Multiple-Channel Online Marketing Mix... 202 Converting Viewers to Paying Customers... 202 The Big Picture... 203 Profile: Stone Brewing Company... 204 Welcome to the World of Stone Brewing Company... 204 Promoting the Company via a Video Blog. 205 The Making of a Video Blog... 206 Advice to Other Businesses... 207 V Promotion and Monetization... 209 14 Tracking Performance... 211 Why Tracking Is Important... 211 Fine-Tuning Your Efforts... 211 Measuring Effectiveness... 212 Planning Future Activities... 212 Tracking Basic Viewership... 212 Gaining Insight... 214 Insight Views... 215 Insight Popularity... 216 Insight Discovery... 217 Tracking Effectiveness... 218 Tracking Interactivity... 218 Tracking Traffic... 219 Tracking Direct Sales... 220 The Big Picture... 221 15 Promoting Your YouTube Videos... 223 Start with Great Content!... 223 Entertain, Inform, or Educate... 223 Target Your Content... 224 Optimize Your Tags... 225 Write a Compelling Title... 225 Pick the Best Thumbnail Image... 226 Take Advantage of YouTube's Community Features... 227 Sharing with Friends... 227 Broadcasting Bulletins... 228 Use Email Marketing... 231 Reach Out to the Blogosphere... 231 Post to Other Web Forums... 232 Work the Social Networks... 232 Run a Contest... 235 Promote Traditionally... 235 Upload to Other Video-Sharing Sites... 236 The Big Picture... 237 16 Generating Revenues from Your YouTube Videos... 239 Directly Selling Products and Services... 239 Create a Video with Value... 240 Direct Viewers to Your Website... 240 Close the Sale on Your Website... 241 Selling Advertising Around Embedded Videos on Your Own Website 242 Embedding Videos on Your Website. 243 Adding Click-Through Advertising... 243 Using Google AdSense... 243 The Big Picture... 245 Profile: D-Link... 247 D-Link Meets the Web... 247 YouTube as Part of the Online Marketing Mix 248 Impacting Sales... 249 Different Types of Videos... 250 Advice for Other Businesses... 251 TOC, 0789737973, 7/23/08