Everything I Know About Lawyer Video Marketing at $25,000 off!

You’re a self-styled ‘do-it-yourselfer’ like me.

You don’t want anyone doing things for you.

You’re self-reliant. You’re bold. You’re independent.

You’re eager and have the energy to learn.

You don’t want to spend big bucks paying someone to do something that you know, deep in your heart, you can do on your own. Congratulations…

You’re just like me or at least just like I was a few short years ago when I was in your exact position.

You want to start creating video on your own and are now looking to buy equipment to get you started.

Where do you start?

Here are 3 tips that will help you. Buy

1. A mid-priced camcorder (high-definition is a must)
2. A wireless microphone
3. A set of lights

That’s it. You now have the knowledge necessary to go create great educational video to market your law firm…sort of.

Well, sorry for the tease, but that straightforward statement is sort of true. You already knew that information. Nothing new there.

What you may have been expecting was an actual recommendation for WHICH camera to buy. You may have expected to learn WHICH microphone works best and WHICH set of lights you need to purchase.

The reality is that I have all that information and I want to give it to you and it’s easy to get it.

LEARN EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT VIDEO MARKETING

For years now, attorneys have been asking me

• “What camera should I buy if I shouldn’t use my webcam to shoot video?”
• What wireless microphone gets the best audio for my attorney videos?
• What lights do you recommend?
• How do I set up my lights?
• What settings do I use on my camera to get the best quality?
• What settings do I use in my editing software?”

I decided the time was right to put together a personalized and individualized online video tutorial program to answer all those questions and tons more…and that’s exactly what I did!

I created a step-by-step online tutorial program that shows you exactly:

• What equipment I use and why
• Why you may not want to use some popular video and audio equipment to shoot your own videos
• How I come up with ideas for my videos
• What a viewer’s mindset is and how, if you don’t understand it, you will never create great compelling video
• What I do
• How I do it and importantly
• Why I do it.

In my new program I walk you through creating my videos from the moment I start at my kitchen table, through the planning and production phases, through the editing and publishing and then into the steps needed to gain traction and visibility of each video.

I show you tips, strategies and tactics that I personally use and teach lawyers in my high-end done-for-you video marketing programs. You’ll be able to ethically copy and model exactly what I do so you too can create video to market your law firm.

Keep your eyes peeled for my announcement when my brand-new DIY online video program is live and ready for you. Should be very soon now.

Why do they do it?

Because they think they know how.

They are ‘tech savvy’.

They have a video camera or an iPhone and believe the ‘gurus’ that by putting up something, it’s better than nothing.

WRONG.

Putting up crappy video means your viewers will never turn into callers.

Putting up video that is technically incorrect or has problems means that your viewer will believe that your legal ability is directly correlated to your technical ability.

The correlation has no basis in fact, but your viewer doesn’t know that. In fact, your viewer doesn’t care. Once you’ve made an impression on them, they don’t want to hear more. “Click…next video from the next lawyer…”

It’s true.

Your viewer wants to see a technically proficient video with no glaring problems or distractions. They want your great content. If you fail to give them what they want, they will go elsewhere. Guaranteed.

What can you do to insure that your video is technically good? Make sure you know how to create great quality video. Then you can focus on the message.

How do you create great video?

Simple.

Learn from a colleague who has done it before you. Learn from someone who is willing to teach you. To educate you. Learn from a lawyer who has used video to successfully market his solo practice using online video.

How?

Simple.

Participate in my brand-new online video tutorial program called “Everything I know about video marketing for lawyers at $25,000 off!”

You’ll learn everything that I do, from start to finish. I take you from how to create your content to what equipment to use. I show you where I gets ideas for videos and much more. By joining my brand-new  introductory video tutorial program, you get to follow me, copy me and model my content as your own to create great video to market your law firm online.

Click here to get onto the pre-launch list for my new program designed for the do-it-yourself lawyer who is eager to create video on your own to market your law firm.

No…I’m just an actor who plays a trial lawyer on TV.

No…I’m just impersonating a trial attorney to gain your trust.

No…I have nothing better to do than pretend to be a trial lawyer and I’m asking you to put your trust in me.

What kind of question is that?

It’s ridiculous.

It questions the foundation of what you do as a professional. It’s offensive. It’s objectionable. It’s outrageous. It’s preposterous.

Yet, your consumer, who is searching for a trial lawyer who can solve their legal problem asks just that question.

Why do they ask that question?

Because they don’t really know the answer.

They don’t know that you’ll take offense to the question.

They don’t know what “real” trial lawyers do.

Why not?

Because nobody has ever taught them. The only info they got about real trial lawyers is from watching TV and going to the movies. Maybe they’ve read about trial lawyers in the papers. But that’s it.

So what can you do to change a viewers perception about what real trial lawyers do?

You know what I’m going to say…

You know that I’m going to tell you to create a video about what YOU do as a trial attorney.

Why would I tell you that?

Simple.

I want you to educate and teach your online viewer about what you do and how you do it.

By doing that, you will establish yourself as the expert. It’s that simple.

So go ahead. Create that video. Then send me the link and I’ll be happy to embed your educational video on this blog. Yes, I will. Show your viewers that you’re a real lawyer and how you can help solve their legal problem. I will reward you by putting your video on my blog for all to see.

David's fastball is his "Hook." Very intense and fascinating to watch.

A hook is something that pulls a viewer in.

It’s something that makes you stand out.

99.9% of lawyers don’t have a hook.

I’m not talking about a catchphrase or a slogan. I’m talking about what’s compelling about you or your content. Most lawyers never even consider hooks. Yet hooks are key to drawing a viewer into your video; it’s key to getting them interested in your content and it’s key to converting them into a caller.

Your hook is not “We care…”

It’s not “We’ve been in business for 35 years…” or “We have free parking…”

It is “Here are 3 things to know if you’re in this situation…”

It is teaching them about their legal problem.

The hook gets them to realize that you have specialized knowledge.

The hook gets them to recognize you’re the expert and they need more of your information.

So counselor, what’s your hook? I’d love to know. Tell me below.

At the end of every YouTube video, you are presented with a 12 video grid of related videos. The idea behind this is to offer the viewer multiple options to watch similarly related videos. Naturally, you can always click away to similar videos that appear on the right-hand side of the YouTube video page. That is always an option.

However, for a viewer who has stuck around and watched your entire video and is interested in learning more, YouTube presents 12 other, related videos in an attempt to get you to watch one of those as well.

Gerry Oginski's New York Medical Malpractice YouTube Channel Statistics

The statistics you see here in this photograph taken only days ago, reveal an incredibly startling statistic for my own YouTube Channel. This is highly instructive and you should pay close attention. The majority of people who are coming to watch my videos are coming from related YouTube videos. That piece of information is vital to understand how people find my content.

So what does this have to do with spotlight annotations? The answer is, everything.

What if you could create a video that preempts a viewer from ever getting to the 12 video related grid? What if you could create a way that asks viewers if they want to watch more videos of you rather than leaving it up to YouTube to decide what they believe is related video?

The reality is that YouTube will only put up a few truly related videos. Many times the other videos in the 12 panel grid have nothing to do with the type of content you talk about. That means that you are losing an opportunity to keep your viewer interested in your content.

By creating Spotlight annotations you now present your viewer with options to continue to watch your YouTube videos that they can click on while watching your existing video before they are ever presented with the 12 panel related video grid.

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW

You have to watch my video below to see exactly what I mean. Make sure you watch it till the end, otherwise you won’t understand what I’m talking about. Then make sure to continue reading below.

You’ve Settled Your Accident Lawsuit in New York; Should You Use a Structured Settlement?

Why do I share this information with you?

Because one of the brand-new features we have created in the Lawyer’s Video Studio for you takes advantage of this great technology.

We’ve now created a great and easy solution for lawyers who have already created their own videos by creating supplemental blog posts, interactive transcripts and spotlight annotations to maximize your exposure and increase your chances that your viewers will find, see and want your video content.

Want to learn more about it? Send an email to: Kathleen@lawyersvideostudio.com and put in the subject line:

Spotlight annotations-I’d like more info.

1. 

   Google video migration to YouTube

   Your old Google videos stink

2. You shot them in standard definition video
3. Your audio also stinks

If you created any video and had them on Google video, you probably got a message from Google recently telling you that you can simply and easily transfer those videos over to YouTube. You can. They’ve made the process really simple and easy.

The more important question is, why would you want to?

Back when Google video had their own video distribution channel, separate and apart from YouTube, this was an excellent place to gain traction and visibility for your videos. However, after Google bought YouTube they began to transition all of their existing video content over to the YouTube platform. After that was completed, they shut down Google video.

I actually went to my old account to see which videos I still had there. I laughed when I watched the videos that I created in 2008 and 2009. The content was great. The video quality was not. I had shot all those videos using a standard definition camera. The audio was not that great and some of those videos look grainy and pixelated.

The best thing you can do if Google asks you to migrate your old videos on YouTube, is to say “no thanks,” and delete those videos. Then, take out your high-definition video camera, lights and wireless microphone and create great new content to put up on YouTube. Believe me, the video you put up today will be 1000 times better than whatever masterpiece you created a few years ago.

There are a number of websites and companies that go around giving awards to people who create great videos.

That’s nice.

Those websites promote the videos and drive traffic to their own websites. They encourage the “Winnees” (that’s not a real word, btw) to also promote the fact that their videos have won an award or two.

That’s also nice.

Here’s what these awards DON’T do:

• They don’t convert a viewer into a caller
• They don’t improve your ROI (return on your investment)
• They don’t challenge you to create compelling content
• They don’t identify the content a viewer wants to know and learn about
• They don’t directly improve your revenue and your bottom line

If these video awards don’t do any of that, why would you care if you won an award or not?

The same reason everyone likes to win an award…ego.

Here’s my take on video awards…(not that you asked, but I’m going to tell you anyway)

They’re meaningless. Totally, absolutely meaningless. I say that from a video marketing perspective and nothing more. Ego should play no part in your initiative to educate and teach your online consumer or potential client.

You wouldn’t boast in your marketing materials that your videos have won 12 awards for blah, blah, blah.

The more important questions for me are:

• Of those great videos, how many have generated calls to your office?
• How many of those calls were good valid cases?
• Of those good cases, what types of results were you able to achieve for those clients?

Then, you can track your ROI and determine if those “Award-winning” videos truly were effective.

Don’t worry about the awards, and focus on the bottom line. Make great quality video with excellent content your viewers want and need to know. That’s the winning formula.

Special to the Lawyers Video Studio

Johnny B. Goode, Reporter

In my last post, I was listening to Dave talk about the days leading up to his video shoot.

Today, we’re going to explore the day when Dave shot more than 50 videos.

“So Dave, your video shoot day has arrived, tell me what happened,” I inquired.

“The guy showed up at 7:30 a.m. Right on time. He looks exactly like he does on his videos. He sounds exactly like he does in his videos and on the phone. He’s about 5″10″, thin, short cropped hair, glasses and he’s brought with him a lot of video equipment. His cameraman immediately gets to work setting up the light stands and lights. They both take a walk through the entire office pointing out different locations in which to shoot.”

“Our video guide/coach/motivator is really pumped up. His energy level is contagious. I’m kind of nervous. Then he starts going through my content with me while his cameraman is busy setting the equipment up. He’s asking me to start. Ok, I thought, here I go…”

“How did that go?” I asked.

“Terrible. Even though I wasn’t yet on camera, just being in front of him was somewhat intimidating. I mean, here’s a guy who has done over 600 videos and he’s the expert. I’m starting to talk and already fumbling my words.”

“What did he do to help you?”

“First thing he did was made me feel good about myself. He calmed me down immediately. Ironically, I knew my content, but as soon as he showed up with his cameraman and the equipment and now I had an audience, that threw me off track.”

“He then took me through the first few videos I was planning to do. After each one, he made suggestions to make it even better. He suggested I change my titles. He pointed out how to improve my presentation. This was all done on the fly as I was going through the initial videos.”

“What happened then?” I asked.

“Once that was done, the camera guy was busy making adjustments on the camera and doing a few tests to make sure everything was working well. Then our coach made me feel great. Lots of encouragement. The energy level was high. My confidence level was high.”

“My first video almost went off without a hitch. Until I stumbled half-way through. That shook my confidence momentarily. He got me back on track and I finished up the video in about 2 minutes. With each video after that, I felt more confident and self-assured.”

“How did you feel by mid-morning?”

“My partners were watching me from the beginning. They wanted to see how I’d do. Remember, now I had an audience. It’s weird having an audience watching and listening at first, but then I got so into talking about my content I totally forgot about everyone watching. I was in the zone. By mid-morning I had a groove. I figured out how to present my content, my intro, the substance, my close and my call to action that it actually felt comfortable.”

“How many videos did you get done that day?” I asked.

“I did 20. My partners did 18 and 22. That’s a total of 60. I couldn’t believe we did that many.”

“How did you feel by the end of the day?” I wanted to know.

“We actually felt really good. Tired but good. Pleased with ourselves for having accomplished our goal. Really pleased that we had signed up for his total online video program. There’s no way we ever could have done this ourselves. There was no way we would have motivated ourselves to get this done if he hadn’t been part of the process and pushed us, motivated us and shown up on the day of our shoot to help us.”

“By the way…who is this guy you’ve been referring to? Let’s give him a proper name,” I said.

“What, you don’t know him? He’s all over the internet. He dominates his online marketing in the most competitive place in the country. If you search for lawyer video marketing online, you will find his content, articles, blog posts, videos and more. He’s Gerry Oginski. A lawyer, just like me.”

“Thanks Dave. Join me next time when we talk to Alex, the Do-It-Yourself Attorney in my continuing series of A Tale of Two Lawyers.”

Special to the Lawyers Video Studio

Johnny B. Goode, Reporter

“Practice makes perfect, is what he said,” remarked Dave.

“He told us that the more we practice for our upcoming video shoot the better we would feel. The more comfortable we would be; the more fun we’d have. Imagine that…actually having fun while marketing. I didn’t believe it. I mean, come on, a lawyer having fun while doing marketing stuff? I was critical of this point but I kept it to myself.”

“He gave us some homework to do. We had to create the content. We had to create outlines based on what he explained. We had to practice. Over and over. Then we had to submit the outlines to him each week. We brainstormed. We talked about how we would divvy up the topics.”

“Did that help?”

“You bet it did. Not only did it help with our confidence level, but we soon realized that he was absolutely on target with generating new ideas that we could talk about in the future. We also realized that this new content could be used for other areas of our marketing. At one brainstorming meeting with my partners, we started making lists of topics to talk about after our video shoot was done. By the time we were done with our meeting we had so much content, it would keep us busy for the next year and a half.”

“Tell me why you and your partners opted not to learn how to create video on your own,” I asked.

“Because I didn’t want to learn how to do this by myself. My partners didn’t want to become video experts. I think I told you earlier, none of us like the idea of marketing ourselves and our law firm. However, the reality of staying in business kicks in. The reality of decreasing caseloads kick in. You sit around and wonder why lawyers who are nowhere near as good as you are doing remarkably well and you’re struggling to bring in new cases.”

“We recognized that marketing is a necessary evil. What we didn’t know at that time was that we wanted a total done-for-you solution so we could devote all of our time to practicing. We knew there were some lawyers who were trying this video thing on their own. They didn’t want to pay someone to do this knowing they could probably learn it on their own and save themselves a lot of money doing so.”

“For us, we knew that in order for us to get this accomplished, we needed someone to guide us; to show us what to do and how to do it. We wanted someone to motivate us and make sure it got done. It’s almost like hiring a coach when you want to lose weight. He motivates you and pushes you to accomplish your goals. That’s what this guy does. He’s a fellow lawyer and speaks our language. He knows our weaknesses, exposes them and makes us realize we can overcome them. Importantly, he shows us how.”

“That’s what we needed. That’s why our decision was simple when we decided on the strategy call to become members of the Lawyers Video Studio.”

Join me next time when I take you through Dave’s video shoot.

Special to the Lawyers Video Studio

Johnny B. Goode, Reporter

“That mastermind call with him was so helpful and informative. The ideas he gave us started us thinking about the different ways we could use this content. In the middle of the call, I was furiously writing down an entire list of things to talk about in my videos.

Then he said something that made me smile. He said we could use this content not just for our videos but for all the other marketing we do as well.”

“Why did it make you smile?” I asked.

“Because I had never thought about using content from one form of marketing and then use it in another. I smiled because it was so simple and obvious and being a thick-headed attorney focusing on the practice of law, never even thought about that concept.”

“Can you give me a concrete example, without giving away any secrets?” I wanted to know.

“Sure. Let’s say my topic was about who gets custody in a divorce case here in Denver. I could create my content for my video. Then I can use similar content in a blog post. Then I can re-purpose that content and turn it into a full-length article. Then I can chop up that content and use it on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. So with one idea, I will now have multiple sources of content all leading back into my main website.”

“What else did you learn on this mastermind call?”

“I learned how to introduce myself. I had no idea there was a reason behind the method. This guy made it look so easy and smooth in his videos. He explained the psychology behind his methods. He taught us what worked and importantly, what didn’t. You know, I have to tell you that learning about what doesn’t work is often more important than knowing what does.”

“Do you think you received good value from your investment with this mastermind call?”

“Definitely. My partners and I learned things we never knew before. That learning experience was worth the entire investment. But this was just the beginning. We knew that this lawyer was going to be flying out to our office and spend the entire day with us shooting our videos. If we got stuck, he’d be there to help us. If we couldn’t come up with a topic, he would suggest one.”

“Did you think you’d be able to do all 50 videos in one day?” I asked.

“We didn’t know. Since the three of us would be splitting the number of videos we did, it wasn’t that big of a challenge. The biggest issue for us was finding the time to practice our content before the video shoot. In the weeks leading up to the shoot, the attorney required that we send him our outlines to make sure we were creating our content. He told us during our mastermind call that if we did not prepare our content and did not practice, he would cancel our video shoot.”

“He said that if we didn’t send the outlines and practice he would cancel the shoot and we’d be responsible for all of his travel expenses and three days of shutting down his law office to travel here and shoot video with us. This was not an idle threat. We knew that since we were making a significant investment we didn’t want to waste his time or ours. This actually motivated us to create those outlines and practice.”

Find out what Dave meant when he said he’d practice…in my next post.