Happy Friday!
If you haven't noticed, the web is changing. Broadband high speed internet is finally reaching critical mass.
And this means BIG MONEY for businesses who get on the band wagon and use video to drive sales.
Here’s a crash course on how to leverage video for huge profits in your business…
1. Use Video to Inform.
Video makes great content. Why do you think YouTube is so popular? More and more people are watching video online to learn new things.
2. Use Video to Grow Your Opt-In E-Mail List.
One of the most powerful ways to grow your business online is to build your opt-in e-mail list with a "spueeze page" with informative video on it. It’s a process that you can set up once and then watch it grow.
3. Use Video to "Pre-Sell."
For example, you could make a video of your product or service being used. Or ask one of your best customers to do a video testimonial.
No matter what you are selling, you can use video to increase sales.
4. Use Video to Generate Website Traffic.
Post videos about your product or service at the Web’s popular video-sharing sites. You simply create a free account… then upload the video.
Make sure you put your website address in your video description, as well as in the video itself. That will help route traffic from the video to your site.
I hope these ideas get you thinking about how you can use video to cash in BIG TIME online - even if you’re brand-new to the Web.
Sonja
Friday, April 18, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
FREE Video Conferencing for Up to 6 People
Hi All,
I like to save money just as much as the next small business owner.
So that's why I'm recommending you to check out OoVoo free video conferencing for up to 6 people.
I gave it a whirl and it really is impressive.
But if you need to have more people in your meeting...10...20...or more, than VideoLive conferences will fit the bill. For as little as $79 dollars a month.
Plus, you can collaborate securely - powerpoint presentations, excel spreadsheets, applications, etc.
But whatever you do - you should be taking advantage of the power of video. More businesses are on high speed than dial up - so it makes the video quality and ease of use awsome.
Sonja
I like to save money just as much as the next small business owner.
So that's why I'm recommending you to check out OoVoo free video conferencing for up to 6 people.
I gave it a whirl and it really is impressive.
But if you need to have more people in your meeting...10...20...or more, than VideoLive conferences will fit the bill. For as little as $79 dollars a month.
Plus, you can collaborate securely - powerpoint presentations, excel spreadsheets, applications, etc.
But whatever you do - you should be taking advantage of the power of video. More businesses are on high speed than dial up - so it makes the video quality and ease of use awsome.
Sonja
Monday, April 14, 2008
Merging Airlines Means Higher Airfares!
Happy Monday Everyone:
Here in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I live...it looks like Delta airlines and Northwest airlines are going to unite.
So what does that mean? It means that there will be less airlines competing for your business - and rising airfares...again. And other discount airlines are dropping out as well.
Even Southwest Airlines, for the first time, followed a price increase by the larger airlines.
I know, I know, soaring fuel costs are taking a huge bite out of airlines profitability. They HAVE to raise their rates.
But I still like to see more competition.
So maybe now is the time to replace even more face-to-face meetings online with video conferencing.
How many of you are feeling the pain of increasing business travel costs?
Thanks for stopping by!
Sonja
Here in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I live...it looks like Delta airlines and Northwest airlines are going to unite.
So what does that mean? It means that there will be less airlines competing for your business - and rising airfares...again. And other discount airlines are dropping out as well.
Even Southwest Airlines, for the first time, followed a price increase by the larger airlines.
I know, I know, soaring fuel costs are taking a huge bite out of airlines profitability. They HAVE to raise their rates.
But I still like to see more competition.
So maybe now is the time to replace even more face-to-face meetings online with video conferencing.
How many of you are feeling the pain of increasing business travel costs?
Thanks for stopping by!
Sonja
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Practice Your Web Conference to Be Perfect
Have you ever attended a web conference where the presenter is fumbling through the interface? Wondering what buttons to press for certain functions? And complaining about the technology throughout their entire presentation?
Or conversely, have you attended a web conference where the presenter is smooth as butter? Knows the material, the navigation of the software, and provides an outstanding experience for your presentation?
These are two extremes of a web conference.
It really is a matter of "Practice makes Perfect".
You wouldn't go in front of a live audience with a speech you had rehearsed for only 5 minutes, would you? Yet people do that every day with web conferencing technology.
You need to practice if you want to deliver a great user experience on your web conferencing platform. Otherwise you'll lose customers - and sales.
At www.videoliveconferences, you can practice all you want for FREE for 30 days! How can I assist you with your audio and web conferencing needs?
Sonja
Or conversely, have you attended a web conference where the presenter is smooth as butter? Knows the material, the navigation of the software, and provides an outstanding experience for your presentation?
These are two extremes of a web conference.
It really is a matter of "Practice makes Perfect".
You wouldn't go in front of a live audience with a speech you had rehearsed for only 5 minutes, would you? Yet people do that every day with web conferencing technology.
You need to practice if you want to deliver a great user experience on your web conferencing platform. Otherwise you'll lose customers - and sales.
At www.videoliveconferences, you can practice all you want for FREE for 30 days! How can I assist you with your audio and web conferencing needs?
Sonja
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Why I Say THANK YOU Oprah!
Good Morning Everyone,
Did you know that Oprah has over 700,000 participants from 31 different countries in her exclusive webinar series on "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle?
This is shaping up to be the most significant single event the web conferencing industry has ever seen.
Talk about publicity! In a few months, Oprah is raising awareness of webcasting and web conferencing as a viable communications and collaboration medium in a way that the combined forces of WebEx, Placeware, Microsoft, and Citrix couldn't do with years of marketing and PR.
So THANK YOU Oprah and your unstoppable marketing machine...
Millions of people and businesses alike will now be willing to try out and take a serious look at the power of webinars.
Will you?
Best,
Sonja
Monday, March 24, 2008
An Inspiring Video Conference About Tithing
Good morning everyone,
I recently read about a video conference with a very special boy, Stefan Lyons.
He's an 11 year old who has been raising money to build a school in Africa. He started his Kenya Project of giving and tithing at the age of 9 years old.
He has raised $2,000 baking and selling cookies but he still needed to raise more money to finish the project.
So he wrote a book "My Adventures with Stitch" about his pet white rat. It's filled with true stories and Stefan even took many of the picture that are in the book.
He raised enough money to convert an old cowshed in Kenya into a large schoolroom called "Stefan's Wing.
The video conference was offered through Polycom's educational programs and included classes in New York, South Dakota, Texas and Arizona. All four time zones!
During the video conference, students had a chance to ask Stefan a lot of questions about his Kenya Project, about his being an author, and of course, about his pet Stitch.
Isn't it amazing how a young boy like Stefan can truly make a difference by tithing his time and talents to help kids in Kenya?
And because of video conferencing, you can reach out to people all over the world. And make a difference.
Best,
Sonja
I recently read about a video conference with a very special boy, Stefan Lyons.
He's an 11 year old who has been raising money to build a school in Africa. He started his Kenya Project of giving and tithing at the age of 9 years old.
He has raised $2,000 baking and selling cookies but he still needed to raise more money to finish the project.
So he wrote a book "My Adventures with Stitch" about his pet white rat. It's filled with true stories and Stefan even took many of the picture that are in the book.
He raised enough money to convert an old cowshed in Kenya into a large schoolroom called "Stefan's Wing.
The video conference was offered through Polycom's educational programs and included classes in New York, South Dakota, Texas and Arizona. All four time zones!
During the video conference, students had a chance to ask Stefan a lot of questions about his Kenya Project, about his being an author, and of course, about his pet Stitch.
Isn't it amazing how a young boy like Stefan can truly make a difference by tithing his time and talents to help kids in Kenya?
And because of video conferencing, you can reach out to people all over the world. And make a difference.
Best,
Sonja
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Video Conferencing Options: OoVoo, SightSpeed, and Yurma
Hello everyone,
I know that videolive conferences isn't the only company available for video conferencing.
And thanks to improving Web applications and faster broadband, video conferencing is no longer exclusively for big firms.
Here are three good, free (or inexpensive), easy-to-use options:
OoVoo: OoVoo has the most robust video capabilities in this group.
OoVoo supports six-way videoconferencing with very good picture quality over our fast (5 megabits per second) DSL connection. The video's size scales down as the number of users goes up, so it won't hog all of your bandwidth. And you can still surf and upload files while conferencing.
Installing the desktop client and setting up an account take just a couple of minutes. Once OoVoo is installed, you will see a contact-list window similar to those in instant messaging programs like AIM or Trillian; so it's a snap to learn.
OoVoo's audio was fairly good, though there was some vocal jitter and delay here and there. Users have the option of communicating via text chat (privately or to the whole group), recording 1-minute video messages to send to co-workers, (this is something we're working on offering as well) and transferring files to other contacts.
OoVoo lacks the business collaboration features such as scheduling, whiteboarding, desktop sharing, and powerpoint presentation capabilities.
OoVoo is free (and ad-free) now, but it may add pay services in the future.
SightSpeed BusinessSightSpeed Business is a business-friendly version of the company's consumer offering. The Business service's main upgrade is that it can display up to four talking heads on screen during a call.
The service is easy to install and simple to navigate. To begin videoconferencing, your contacts must first install the basic SightSpeed client. So you build your contact list by adding names of other SightSpeed users; the app tells you when they're available.
To initiate a call, you select your contact's name, hover your pointer over one of four icons - for video, telephone, video message recorder, or text message - and click the medium of your choice.
You can easily record calls, share files, adjust video controls, and mute the audio. The well-organized administrative console lets you manage users, view call logs, and buy conferencing time; moving from one task to another is a simple matter as well.
Sightspeed's video quality was somewhat inconsistent. During one test, a face on the screen was sharp but the background seemed washed out; the next time, the whole video looked a tad fuzzy.
Whether we were using VoIP to connect with other PCs or calling out to land-line or cell phones, the audio generally sounded loud and clear, though we detected occasional stuttering. As is the case with all these applications, the amount of available bandwidth directly affects video and audio quality.
Yugma Skype EditionIf your business uses Skype, adding Yugma tools can boost your videoconferencing productivity at very low cost.
Yugma's video is limited to two-person conferencing - but it's simple to use, and the basic service is free for up to ten users.
If you tap into Skype's proven peer-to-peer voice and video technology and send out a meeting invitation via e-mail, attendees receive a number that they can enter along with their user ID to join the conference at an appointed time.
Control of a meeting can be passed between participants, and you can set up an always-on project collaboration and conferencing space where people can come and go as needed.
However, since Skype video is limited to two-way conferencing, the service switches into audio-only mode when more than two people have joined the conference.
That limitation is counterbalanced to some extent by Yugma Skype's impressive collaboration tools, which include desktop sharing (where other participants can view your desktop and even take control of your mouse and keyboard), document sharing, and session recording - a rare and valuable feature.
OoVoo Rating: 92, SuperiorThis free program makes multi-user videoconferencing seem as easy as instant messaging.
SightSpeed Rating: 88, Very GoodThis $20/month (per seat) videoconferencing tool isn't perfect, but it's dependable and decidedly cost-effective.
Yugma Skype Edition Rating: 85, Very GoodYugma uses Skype voice and video well, but it's limited to two-way conferencing. Free for 10 users.
Happy conferencing!
Sonja
I know that videolive conferences isn't the only company available for video conferencing.
And thanks to improving Web applications and faster broadband, video conferencing is no longer exclusively for big firms.
Here are three good, free (or inexpensive), easy-to-use options:
OoVoo: OoVoo has the most robust video capabilities in this group.
OoVoo supports six-way videoconferencing with very good picture quality over our fast (5 megabits per second) DSL connection. The video's size scales down as the number of users goes up, so it won't hog all of your bandwidth. And you can still surf and upload files while conferencing.
Installing the desktop client and setting up an account take just a couple of minutes. Once OoVoo is installed, you will see a contact-list window similar to those in instant messaging programs like AIM or Trillian; so it's a snap to learn.
OoVoo's audio was fairly good, though there was some vocal jitter and delay here and there. Users have the option of communicating via text chat (privately or to the whole group), recording 1-minute video messages to send to co-workers, (this is something we're working on offering as well) and transferring files to other contacts.
OoVoo lacks the business collaboration features such as scheduling, whiteboarding, desktop sharing, and powerpoint presentation capabilities.
OoVoo is free (and ad-free) now, but it may add pay services in the future.
SightSpeed BusinessSightSpeed Business is a business-friendly version of the company's consumer offering. The Business service's main upgrade is that it can display up to four talking heads on screen during a call.
The service is easy to install and simple to navigate. To begin videoconferencing, your contacts must first install the basic SightSpeed client. So you build your contact list by adding names of other SightSpeed users; the app tells you when they're available.
To initiate a call, you select your contact's name, hover your pointer over one of four icons - for video, telephone, video message recorder, or text message - and click the medium of your choice.
You can easily record calls, share files, adjust video controls, and mute the audio. The well-organized administrative console lets you manage users, view call logs, and buy conferencing time; moving from one task to another is a simple matter as well.
Sightspeed's video quality was somewhat inconsistent. During one test, a face on the screen was sharp but the background seemed washed out; the next time, the whole video looked a tad fuzzy.
Whether we were using VoIP to connect with other PCs or calling out to land-line or cell phones, the audio generally sounded loud and clear, though we detected occasional stuttering. As is the case with all these applications, the amount of available bandwidth directly affects video and audio quality.
Yugma Skype EditionIf your business uses Skype, adding Yugma tools can boost your videoconferencing productivity at very low cost.
Yugma's video is limited to two-person conferencing - but it's simple to use, and the basic service is free for up to ten users.
If you tap into Skype's proven peer-to-peer voice and video technology and send out a meeting invitation via e-mail, attendees receive a number that they can enter along with their user ID to join the conference at an appointed time.
Control of a meeting can be passed between participants, and you can set up an always-on project collaboration and conferencing space where people can come and go as needed.
However, since Skype video is limited to two-way conferencing, the service switches into audio-only mode when more than two people have joined the conference.
That limitation is counterbalanced to some extent by Yugma Skype's impressive collaboration tools, which include desktop sharing (where other participants can view your desktop and even take control of your mouse and keyboard), document sharing, and session recording - a rare and valuable feature.
OoVoo Rating: 92, SuperiorThis free program makes multi-user videoconferencing seem as easy as instant messaging.
SightSpeed Rating: 88, Very GoodThis $20/month (per seat) videoconferencing tool isn't perfect, but it's dependable and decidedly cost-effective.
Yugma Skype Edition Rating: 85, Very GoodYugma uses Skype voice and video well, but it's limited to two-way conferencing. Free for 10 users.
Happy conferencing!
Sonja
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