Make Video NOW! My 10 Video Tips For Beginners

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Make Video NOW!  My 10 Video Tips For Beginners

Making video is a must! People are very visual and creating video is one of the best ways to make your point to your audience. If you’re new to video, I have some quick tips to help you get started and to shed the excuses.

Making video is a must! People are very visual and creating video is one of the best ways to make your point to your audience. If you’re new to video, I have some quick tips to help you get started and to shed the excuses.

Here are my 10 video tips for beginners:

1.  Invest in a selfie stick or a tripod

It’s much easier to focus on filming a great video if you aren’t worried about holding up the camera. The holder for my selfie stick attaches to my tripod to help stabilize the camera.

If you don’t have a selfie stick or a tripod, just pull out your phone and hold it up. You could also use the webcam that is built-in to your computer.

2.  Invest in a lapel microphone

You simply plug one end into your phone and very quickly you have upgraded to record great, quality audio. I use my mic in all of my videos to give you, the viewer, a better experience.

If you’re curious about the gear I use, you can check out and purchase it here.

3.  Hold your phone horizontally

If you’re making video for YouTube or to upload to Facebook natively, hold your phone horizontally. This will eliminate the two black frames around the video and will make you more center stage for a better viewpoint.

4.  Position the camera directly in front of you (or a little bit above)

The position of the camera is important because you want the viewer to be focused on you. You don’t want to be looking down on the viewer or to show off your fabulous double-chin.

It’s a more complementary angle for you, and you can look directly into the lens of the camera more easily.

5.  Turn notifications off

The last thing you want is to hear the little ding letting you know someone sent you the pizza emoji.

Eliminate distractions by silencing your notifications.  This will go a long way in helping you create the best video possible and not to lose your mind when you realise you need to start recording from the beginning.

6.  Use a flip chart to keep you on track

You can’t see it in the video, but right behind the camera is a flip chart with a few bullet points. I make notes for myself to stay on track, avoid forgetting what my next point is, and to make sure I’ve covered everything on my list.

You can pause during the recording of your video to refer back to your notes and simply edit out that dead space in post-production.

7.  Don’t waste time

When you start your video, get right to it. Begin with your content from the very beginning.

Someone has clicked the play button because they are ready to consume your amazing content, so give them what they ask for. (This is a bit different to Facebook Live, where things are a little more relaxed.) Here’s an example of a video you can check out to see what to do!

8.  Be you!

This is my most important tip!

I know it might seem like you need to be made-up and looking very professional, but truthfully, you just need to be you. Don’t compare yourself to what other people are doing, just do what feels right for you and the best way you know how to connect with your audience.

Be yourself and have fun!

9.  Ask for feedback

There’s no shame in asking for comments. You should end all of your videos with a call to action. Consider directing them to your website; asking them to subscribe to your youtube channel or hitting the ‘like’ button…just don’t ask them to do all three or they will get confused and not bother to do any.

Another great call to action is to ask your viewer to leave a comment. Pose a thoughtful question that is relevant to the video’s topic, so your viewers have a reason to leave a comment and can join in the conversation.

This will make hanging out in your YouTube or Facebook comments much more fun for everyone!

10.  Engage with your audience

If someone took the time to comment on your post or on your video, reply back to them. This shows your viewer that you’re a real person, you care, and that you want them to come back and spend time with you.

It’s all about engagement.

Click on the image below to find out more about my course, so you can start making more money and attracting better clients with video too!

interior design video for your business

There’s no excuse for you not to do video. I started making video in 2013, and I have connected with more of my ideal clients and have made more money as a direct result of my video content.

Are you ready to start making more money in your interior design business?
Click here to order Video for Profits now!

Video is not the future – it’s the NOW!

Embrace it and your business will boom!

Subscribe to my Colour & Interior Design YouTube channel here to see how far I’ve come in creating video over the years. Hey, you’ve got to start somewhere!

(11) Comments
  • Madison
    | 26 October 2017

    Thank you for the great advice! Can’t wait to start making videos, these tips will keep me on track.

    • Claire Jefford
      | 14 November 2017

      Can’t wait to see you make videos Madison!! Cheers for watching.

  • Tarsha
    | 16 November 2017

    Super helpful tips! I’m definitely working to do more video as it’s the go to for most platforms to increase visibility.

    • Claire Jefford
      | 1 December 2017

      Absolutely Tarsha! I’m so glad to hear that and can’t wait to see what you create!

  • dkdesigns2u
    | 15 May 2018

    Great information Claire – thanks for sharing

    • Claire Jefford
      | 16 May 2018

      Cheers for watching. I hope I encouraged you to make more videos!

  • Denise Haddock
    | 3 February 2019

    The 10 tips of video are very helpful. I plan to implement them in my videos. I have a question about the type of camera that you use. There is a photo of you doing a video on your webpage. What type of camera are you using for your blog? I am always concerned that my iPhone is inadequate, that I will not get the video or sound quality that is best for my videos. Thank you, Denise Haddock

    • Claire Jefford
      | 3 February 2019

      Hey Denise! For the majority of my videos, when starting out, I simply used my phone. Now I have a Sony RX100. It doesn’t take a microphone though, so you need to be sure that if you want good audio you are either in a quiet place or a separate audio piece that you splice in later with the editing. (I do the former as opposed to the latter) We tried a cordless mic and found that the quality of the sound is not as good as a lapelle on my phone. Hope that helps!

  • Kelly Clark
    | 10 January 2020

    Hey Claire,
    NEVER thought I’d do it, but I love making videos (more than just regular posting). I’m finding them much easier than I expected! My assistant and I made 6 this week and will prob post one every other week.
    I didn’t even think about the option of a lapel mic—which one do you have/like?

    Thank you for your help!
    Kelly

    • Claire Jefford
      | 14 January 2020

      Well you know I’m SUPER EXCITED to hear this!! For a lapel mic, you can go to amazon and do a search. You can find a decent one for about $20 -$30 and they typically have a very long wire on them. The cordless I have used have not been as effective, but it’s likely to get a good cordless one, you need to invest quite a bit more money – into the hundreds of dollars. You will probably find that a lapel is sufficient for what you need. Keep up the video recordings Kelly!

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