Customers know fluff when they see it-nothing makes us angrier than discovering that we've paid money for a lot of hot air when we expected to receive content. Just think about the last time you walked out of a movie theater before the end of the film-you felt cheated. Don't ever make your customers feel cheated, and they will repay your efforts and your time with their loyalty and their testimonials. 

Choose the right topic

What do you know how to do that would add value to your customers' lives if you could show them how to do it? If you can teach people how to build a cabinet, for instance, you have a great subject for a video product to sell on the Internet. If you lost weight and got into shape following your own exercise routine, or if you stopped smoking and have helped others to stop smoking, you have a subject for a video product that customers will want to buy.

If you have a gift for inspiring people with stories or motivational talks, you have a product that can give tremendous value to someone's life. In short, whoever you are, whatever you do, you probably know how to do something that thousands of people would want to know how to do, too-if the product existed, and if customers knew where to find it. 

If you don't have an idea for a video product, but you have a strong desire to get into the business of video publishing on the Worldwide Web, you can partner with someone you know. Your partner provides the talent and you provide the management, which after all is the business model that allows almost all large video and film projects to be developed, produced, marketed, and distributed. 

Believe in yourself and the customers will follow

Believe in yourself-be sure to guarantee your paid videos. Have the courage to do this, and you'll start to build the type of customers that become a volunteer marketing force for your business. Let customers know they can get a refund if they aren't completely satisfied. If you give your customers information of value to them, and if you have delivered the content in an enjoyable and entertaining format, your guarantee of customer satisfaction will act as a powerful marketing tool to boost sales.

Never try to cover up a lack of content by adding surface production values for cosmetic effect. No matter how good a video product looks to the eye, it will make customers very unhappy if they don't find anything of value in the content. And never add on footage just to make the product longer so you can justify a higher selling price.

Give your customers a product that adds value to their lives, and they will become loyal repeat buyers and customer evangelists for your company or your blog. Believe in your video products and your customers will believe in them, too. 

Lack of focus is the main cause of failure in business. This is true no matter what business you're in. Focus acts like electricity-you can't see it directly, but you can see how it affects companies and people when it's running through them. To be a successful video producer and Internet marketer, you must make yourself an expert in one field or niche-the best way to do that is by sharpening your focus. Before you start to create your next video product, consider these simple tips to put the power of focus to work in your business:  

* Focus increases your self-discipline. Focused people are able to distinguish between the jobs that bring them closer to their desired goals and the daily demands that only waste their time. They don't get overwhelmed by all the urgent but unimportant jobs that demand their attention.

* Focused people know where they want to go. When you have a focus, you have a vision of what you want to achieve. Above all, focused people concentrate on reaching their goals. Focus helps you measure your results and readjust your game plan when necessary.

How to increase your focus

Post reminders for yourself. Hang your favorite motivational signs where you'll see them when an idea for a video product seems to be going nowhere. Written reminders can help you recover your focus. 

Set daily priorities. Be sure you have an action plan for every day. As you become more skilled at video production and as you learn from your mistakes, this will become second nature to you. But you will always need to do this. Always go back to your list of priorities before you jump into a new task.  

Complete the video project you're working on before you start a new one. We all want to create as many revenue streams as possible-this is a basic part of what we do as Internet marketers. But you'll only make money by getting video products online one at a time. People who lack focus find themselves getting excited about a new idea before they have finished a project. If you have fallen into the habit of leaving projects undone, you suffer from a lack of focus.

Keep an idea book with you. When you're working on an idea for one video product, it's not uncommon to get a stream of ideas that could be a starting point for other great video products. Don't let your next "great idea" cause you to lose your focus. Jot it down and keep working on the first project-stay focused on one project until it's completed. Don't start work on another idea until the last project is up and running on the Internet.

Stay focused on your vision. Write the vision for your video product where you can see it every day. Remembering your vision will keep you from drifting. If you get stuck, narrow your options and choose a single point to talk about. If you find yourself throwing out all types of different solutions and ideas at your viewers, you'll only create chaos.

The type of video you decide to create will largely determine the other elements that you use. Keep these four key elements in mind during the planning and production of your video products:

* Target Audience: This is the most important decision you need to make. Who are you trying to reach? You have to think about demographics: age, socioeconomic level, gender, nationality, educational level. It's no good to jump into the planning process with vague statements like, "I want to create a video product for sale on the Internet that will appeal to everybody, everywhere." First define your niche market, narrow your target audience, and create your video with a specific type of person in mind. When you set out to create the kind of video product that one specific person will want to buy, you increase the likelihood that a lot of people will want to buy it. Always wrap your language in images that your target audience can relate to.

* Participants: If you decide to shoot a how-to video on an area in which you have expert knowledge, you are the natural choice as host. If you decide to create a do-it-yourself video in an area where you don't have expert knowledge, you will need to take great care when choosing a host. Once you've decided on a subject and a host, you will need to work together on the script. And always remember that video is not just a format-it's a language. Never say it if you can show it. The viewers will understand much better when they see it being done, so don't just explain things while the camera focuses on you. The rule of thumb is: Whenever you can present a visual image of something, show it instead of talking about it. Instead of explaining how to do something as you talk into the camera, always show a demonstrator (whether it's you or another person) carrying out the action as you describe what's happening. You'll quickly become an expert in the use of "voice overs"-speaking off camera as the audience sees action taking place. Do-it-yourself, educational, and promotional videos should be full of voice overs.

* Length: The type of video you decide to make will determine the best length. A great promotional video can be done in as little as 3 to 4 minutes, and should rarely be longer than 7 to 8 minutes. A do-it-yourself or educational video will be from 10 to 30 minutes.

* Props: If you're doing a how-to video, the subject matter will determine what props you're going to need. Even if you plan to be your own host or demonstrator, make a list of all the props you'll need. Lay out the shoot before you do it and walk through it several times with your camera operator. This will keep the shoot from turning into chaos-even experienced studio professionals work with a prop list every time they shoot.

The cost of creating video products has come down enormously in the last few years. Internet technologies like video podcasting let you sell downloadable content without the need to produce your own cassettes, CDs, or DVDs, and without the need to maintain an expensive inventory. The Internet has made it possible for anyone with a computer, a few simple tools, and a broadband connection to be a creator and broadcaster of video products. 

The best thing about the creation of video products in today's market is that you don't need a huge capital investment to get started. You can produce high-quality video products with a consumer-level camcorder. And if the only recording device you own is your new Bluetooth video phone, you can get started with that.

There's a growing online market for video products

There will always be a healthy online market for instructional and inspirational video products. It's a mistake to think that individuals cannot compete with big media corporations in the areas of production, distribution, and marketing of video products-the audience for Internet video is growing so fast that there simply isn't enough material online to satisfy the tremendous demand. The explosion of video sharing sites like YouTube is evidence of how fast the market is growing. In fact, amateur producers of video content already share space on YouTube with professional content from media giants like CBS and BBC.   

Many of these large corporations hesitate to put their expensive resources to work on small projects that require highly specialized knowledge. That's where you come in-if you can identify an area where you are the right person to provide informational content to a niche market; you will find customers for your video product on the Internet.

Add something of value to your customers' lives

What you need to understand is this: Your profit depends on producing valuable information-not on the overall viewing experience, as is the case with feature-length films and commercial television productions. Your customers won't care about your packaging if you deliver high-quality content. In fact, delivering video content on the Internet even lets you do away with the packaging completely. This allows you to focus all your energy on creating and marketing the best product possible. Your customers will appreciate the added value in your video products that your increased focus brings. 

If your goal is to produce the best video ever made on the subject of cabinet-making or gardening, for instance, you can compete with any studio in the world. People will do almost anything to find meaning and rise above the limits of their ordinary lives. Connect with your viewers on a human level, give them insights for getting more out of a career or a hobby, and they will come back to your Internet site often. 

If you choose your topic well and approach it with passion and focus, you can achieve a level of sales that lets you turn video production into the core of your Internet marketing efforts.

The tools for creating a video product are so inexpensive today that anyone can be a producer and broadcaster. If you're serious about producing videos to generate additional revenue streams for your Internet business, or if you're planning to launch an Internet site dedicated to the sale of video products, you need to learn how to do as much of the work as you can. Video production can be very rewarding and enjoyable work. On the other hand, if you have decided to outsource the development and production of your video product, there are many production companies online and in your area with talented and experienced personnel.

I have successfully completed several video products with production companies. Working with industry professionals has been a wonderful learning experience for me, and I have found that people who work on your projects are happy to teach you what they know. To quote a price for your video product, the production company will need to know the following:

* What is the target audience?

* Do you need to use on-camera actors or will you record voice overs?

* Will you write your own script, or will you outsource it to the production company?

* How many locations will you have?

* What is the length of the video?

* Do you need animations or graphics added to your video product?

The production company will provide the crew for your video. The crew for a simple video will include a producer, camera operator, and a sound technician. For small projects the producer will double as director, and for the simplest projects a one-man company can take care of all the aspects of creating and producing your video product. If you plan to create a more sophisticated video with on-camera talent, you will need a production assistant, lighting directors, make-up artists, and possibly other technicians.

Make sure that the production company can complete the entire production project; your video will cost more if you hire one company to produce it and another company to edit it. As with any outsourced project, you will want to get quotes from several different companies. It's important to do the planning before you talk to the production company-they can't give you a quote without a clear idea of the scope of the project.

Here are the questions you should ask production companies:

* What type of productions do you specialize in?

* Do you have experience in the type of product I'm planning to create?

* What will I need to contribute to the project?

The production company may need to schedule and coordinate different phases of the project with you or someone else from your company. Share your vision with the production company when you talk to them the first time. Good producers are experts in the technical aspects of production, but great producers are also passionate about the projects they work on. When you find a production company that can get excited about the vision for your video project, you need look no further.

If you've been thinking about creating video products for sale on the Internet, you've probably been throwing around more ideas than you know what to do with. This is an easy trap to fall into. It's important to do some brainstorming for concepts initially, but always be sure to put a limit on your concept development stage. If you let it drag on, you'll never get anything done.

Set deadlines for yourself even when you think you don't have to. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you're making progress toward your goal when in fact you haven't gotten anything done.

The failure to focus on one project and carry it through to successful completion is a clear sign that you're procrastinating. If you get a brainstorm for creating a different video product every day, but you still haven't created a finished product to sell on the Internet, make up your mind to do something about it today.

Narrow your focus and set a day to shoot

Suppose your friends all say you're a natural comedian. You've been playing around with the idea of creating a comedy routine or skit. The only way to get it done is by setting priorities, sticking to a plan, and setting deadlines.

Set a day to shoot the video. You have to do this and stick to it. Approach this as if you were doing a project for hire. When you force yourself to get things done, you'll start to notice a big difference in the results you get. How much time you give yourself depends on how much time you can actually spend working on the project, of course. If you're doing this at night or on the weekends, you obviously need more time than a full-time Internet marketer who is planning a promotional video for a web site. Get up one hour earlier if that's the only way you can find time to do it. Approach it as a job for one month. Set your shoot for one month from today. Stop thinking about it and start writing a script.

People who get things done know that there is never a perfect time to start. People who wait for inspiration before they start a script never get started. As Jack London said, "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." You have to get something down on paper to trigger connections between ideas. My best ideas always come during the writing process-never in the "thinking about what to write" stage.

Experience has taught me to just start writing and get it all down on paper. When I have a first draft in front of me, I get inspired. I see all sorts of things I never would have seen without the stimulus of the thoughts that came seemingly out of nowhere as I was working on the first draft of my script.

So stop thinking about it and get a script on paper. Then revise, shoot it, and put it up for sale on the Internet. But get started today.   

The revolution in Internet video has been triggered by video sharing sites like YouTube, where amateur content producers have the same power to broadcast their products as major media corporations. Individual content producers and Internet marketers are connected to potential customers as never before. "Welcome to a network where anyone can be famous," says the voice over in the Cisco promotional campaign. "Welcome to the Human Network."

All right, so now you're convinced that you need to create video products for sale on the Internet, but you don't have any ideas. Where do you get ideas for concepts that can be turned into video products that customers will want to pay money for?

The best ideas come from your own experience. If you know how to do something that can add value to someone's life, you have a concept for a video product that can generate a revenue stream on the Internet for many years. If you have ever solved a problem that vexes other people, you have the material for an inspirational or motivational video that can generate revenue over and over again through your web site.

If you are confronted with a problem today, you have an opportunity to create a video product that can earn revenue on the Internet for years. Think about a problem you had with a product or service. Can it be improved? Can you think of a way to help people do something better, faster, or cheaper? Any of these questions can be the starting point for developing a concept for a successful how-to video.

To see what I'm talking about, check out Sanders Says (www.sanderssays.typepad.com). Tim Sanders is a marketing and product development expert who hosts this advice blog that concentrates on business and relationship management. Tim has developed video projects for clients at Yahoo (and at broadcast.com, before it was acquired by Yahoo). 

Visit Tim's site and listen as he tells the story of Paul Galvin. Paul was a hard-working man from a small town who wasn't afraid to make mistakes. In fact, Paul learned early in life that wisdom is born from mistakes-his first three business efforts ended in failure. You have never heard of the first three businesses that Paul Galvin founded, but everyone has heard of the fourth one: Paul called his new venture "Motorola." The rest is history; the company founded by the man who refused to give up gave birth to everything from wireless phones to one of the earliest computer chips.  

Tim Sanders is a wonderful storyteller, and he uses this story to illustrate how great leaders inspired others. (You can also find this video on YouTube: just type "Paul Galvin story" in the search window on the YouTube home page.) 

As the story of Paul Galvin illustrates, all great leaders inspire. Think of stories you can tell to inspire people. Use these concepts to create video products and start to reach a bigger customer base for your Internet business today.

In the last year we have seen an explosion in the online video market. Try these tips if you want to create great video products for sale on the Internet:

You'll be more successful if you show how to solve a problem. Forget about trying to impress people. Forget about trying to look good. Be natural, be yourself, and show people how you solved a problem in your own life. Then give your viewers tips for applying these lessons and strategies to their lives.

Focus on action. Always think about action-about what you want your audience to do. Then build your video around that action. As the Roman statesman Cato said, "Find the message first and the words will follow."

Failure is the result of a lack of focus. To be effective-for people to remember your message-focus on a single power point and present it as truthfully and as entertainingly as you can, rather than presenting a series of topics in a single video product.

The power of structure

Keep this basic structure in mind as you create your video product:

* Start with a powerful, attention-grabbing lead. Clearly state your theme in the first minute.

* Use smooth transitions to link one segment to another.

* Use action verbs. Change verbs in passive voice to active verbs. Keep adjectives and adverbs to a minimum.

* Give viewers a few suggestions to help them apply what they've learned to their lives.

* Be yourself. Use short words and sentences. If you're stuck and you don't know what to say next, explain it the way you would to your best friend or spouse.

* Connect with your audience. Wrap everything in human terms-make it something your next-door neighbor can relate to.

* Finish with a satisfying conclusion that reemphasizes your theme.

When you have an idea for your video, you'll know it's the right one if you can answer "yes" to each of the following questions:

* Does this need to be done? Am I the right person to do it? Can I see the world from the point of view of my audience? Can I think their thoughts?

* Can the market I'm targeting understand my video? Can I express the idea better in half the time? Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, "Perfection is attained, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

* Does the idea hold together from start to finish? Does it move smoothly? Does the video make sense as a whole rather than just as the sum of its parts?

* Am I willing to say what I think is true, no matter what?

Now you're ready to create a great video product. As you develop your video, keep this checklist handy at all times. It will let you know what elements in your video product need more work, and it will let you know when your video is ready to be distributed and sold on the Internet.

If you haven't heard about the revolution going on in the world of Internet video publishing, you've probably been living in a cave for the past year. Video sharing is the hottest thing on the Worldwide Web today. Brightcove.com is making a strong bid to build the platform for the next generation of video sites, and it's a great place to get started as a publisher of online video products. Brightcove has great tools for driving traffic to your video channel and boosting sales:

Create revenue streams on Brightcove from video downloads: You can sell and rent video downloads on the Brightcove.com and directly on your web site. Brightcove takes care of payment processing and live customer support. You control the terms of use and the price of each download product, of course, and keep 70% of the revenue generated from your sales. A tracking tool lets you monitor how your channel is performing on the Internet. You can measure your viewers and video streams on your affiliate sites as well as on your own web site. This tool also tracks your earnings from sales and rentals.

Be a live broadcaster of video products: Your channel appears automatically on Brightcove.com, making it easy for customers to find and buy your video downloads. As a broadcaster of video products, you can use Brightcove to build a community of users around your niche market. You can encourage your viewers to share your videos by enabling email links ands setting up subscriptions to video feeds. At all stages of the process you control how viewers share your videos-or if they can share them at all. This allows you to market content virally if you choose.

Video syndication to other web sites: Brightcove lets you create and manage your relationships with affiliates who want to syndicate your video products. You retain full control over programming and branding. Brightcove has entered into a partnership with AOL Video that creates an additional option for content distribution-as a Brightcove user, you can distribute paid downloads of your video products through AOL Video. The AOL platform lets you sell your video downloads directly to the huge audience at AOL.com.

Advertisers want to underwrite Internet video content: Online video publishers are generating significant revenue streams. Popular vlogs make money by selling subscriptions to users, by offering paid download content, and by attracting sponsors who want to enter into partnerships with creators of popular video products. Brightcove gives even free users the opportunity to earn advertising revenue from their video content. Newly launched channels are reviewed for inclusion in the Brightcove Ad Network. If your channel is included, you receive half of all the advertising revenue. Even if no ads run on your content, you still get free Brightcove service. 

Brightcove's customers already include Newsweek, Sony, Discovery Network, and the Tribeca Film Festival. Brightcove is one of the most exciting developments on the Worldwide Web today. You can stay informed of the latest developments in Internet TV by visiting their blog at http://blog.brightcove.com.

Television is moving online. In the last year Internet TV has grabbed the attention of the biggest media corporations in the world. Disney has entered into a partnership with Brightcove and the BBC has partnered with YouTube. And this is just the beginning-what you see today is the tip of an iceberg that will keep on growing for years to come.

Anyone can be famous, as the promo for Cisco's "Human Network" campaign says. Anyone can be a producer today, and that's only half of it-anyone can be a broadcaster of video content on the Worldwide Web. Video sharing sites like YouTube have created a sort of producing frenzy in the video world, and to be honest about it, there is an enormous amount of junk online. But don't let that turn you against the medium. New technologies and new business models make it surprisingly easy for companies and individuals to market and deliver video products on the Internet today.

Even if you have experience with video product creation in traditional formats like video cassettes, CDs, and DVDs, you may not be fully aware of how new tools available on the Internet can take your business to the next level. Here are some tips on how to get started:

* Don't quit your day job-you don't have to in order to test products on a web site. Some of the fastest growing sites on the Internet today were launched by people who had full-time jobs. They entered the market gradually by testing sales of new products and services on the Internet. When they were convinced that a niche market was there to sustain them, they plunged into the Internet business full time. Your numbers will tell you when to quit your day job.

* One of the best ways to build a niche market is by selling video products on the Internet. Look at the types of videos that other people are selling. Which ones would you want to buy? Which ones add something of value to your life? Look around. When you find something you like, go ahead and buy it. If you have never purchased a video download on the Internet, you'll be surprised by how easy it is. This is important preparation for you as a future marketer of online video products.

* The video you just purchased may be the best investment you ever make. Watch it from the point of view of a customer. Did you get your money's worth? Would you buy another video product from the same site? If you aren't completely satisfied, can you get a refund? Then watch the video from the point of view of a creator of video products. Why does this video work? How does it connect to my experience? And if the video falls flat on its face, why doesn't it work? Why doesn't it connect to me as a viewer?

As you provide answers to these questions, you will start to discover concepts that can be developed into your own video products for sale on the Internet. When you're ready, all you need is a webcam, a computer, and a connection to the Internet.