How to avoid repelling high-paying clients

Last weekend my beautiful niece who just graduated from film school came up from New York to help me shoot video for a project I am creating. We had so much fun running around Boston shooting in different locations.

I had been looking forward to doing this for weeks, but in the time leading up to the shoot I had gotten very busy. I knew I needed to do a lot of prep so I wouldn’t waste time once we started, but I had just been so slammed that some things had fallen through the cracks. I found myself scrambling the night before to write the script.

Funny enough, I thought I really nailed it. Hey, maybe pressure is really the best editor! Well, not quite…

Just to be sure it was a wonderful as I imagined, I read my masterpiece to my husband for some feedback. I know, I know, asking a spouse for constructive criticism is not always the best idea, but Mr. P is usually pretty good about it. And I know he wants me to succeed, so I was anxious to hear his thoughts.

Of course, I thought he might tweak a word here or there, but otherwise say, “Wow, Honey, you knocked it out of the park!” Not so much.

What he said instead really surprised me. [Read more…]

Is Your Brand Talkin’ To Me?

I recently visited a marketing website with a welcome video on the home page. Naturally, I clicked on it and was excited to hear what this particular guru had to say. However, what happened next really disappointed me. It wasn’t that the content was uninteresting or even that the person talking wasn’t engaging, it was that the star of the video was not looking at me! Instead, the video was shot in profile and done interview-style which made it seem like some sort of documentary.

Now I’m sure it’s suppose to look more modern and maybe there’s even research to prove how effective it is to shoot video in this way. However, the effect it had on me was to make me feel left out. It was like I was eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation. You know who I want the expert to be addressing?… Me. I want to feel like they are speaking directly to me, empathizing with my pain and offering the exact solution I am desperate to find.

Whether you are using video or not, your audience should feel like [Read more…]