Make Professional Videos Without Spending Thousands

Setting The Stage

I work with a lot of coaches building a course for the very first time.

The video production piece is hands down the main area every coach gets hung up on.

Without failure, each project is delayed in this phase.

And it's not because coaches aren't trying. It's not because they don't work hard or that they don't have integrity.

It's actually because they are trying too hard. They are trying to make everything "perfect".

Many need to save and budget for the hardware costs they didn't see coming.

Remember - focus on delivering results. You don't have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on equipment to launch your first course.

Clarity, simplicity, actions, & outcomes are paramount to the success of your first online course.

To help with this article, we partnered with a few production companies to advise us on low cost approaches & strategies to video production.

Here are some tips how to save you money AND keep things simple

Low-Hanging Fruit

1. Keep the camera at eye level
2. Wear solid clothing. Avoid stripes, plaid, logos, names, and symbols
3. Avoid a crowded background. Keep it clean
4. Find a quiet room to record in. I know this is simple, but you'd be surprised how often this doesn't happen
5. Sound quality matters; use a microphone (affordable options listed later)
6. Lighting should be directly in front of you. Not behind or on the side
7. Camera & script should be directly in front of you
8. Keep it simple. Avoid cluttered slides and lots of text

Keep It Simple

1. 5-minutes: Try to keep your course videos under 5 minutes. Shorter videos are more likely to be completed, making them a more effective medium for learning
2. Bite-sized: Coaching is all about action. Give your students bite-sized assignments so they aren't trying to learn too many skills at once.
3. Stay Focused: It's easy to want to share ALL your knowledge at once. But your customers need just the basic actionable steps to move them forward.
4. Fewer Slides: 10 slides for 5 minutes is A LOT. You can provide that information in some other medium. Use more videos or stories to drive your students to take action.
5. Less Text: We said it before because it's important. Use more images, and videos to keep the content engaging. 3 bullet points max! One-word slides are ok and very powerful! 
6. No Complex Graphics: Frameworks are great, but digesting them all at once is difficult. Avoid complex diagrams and make them bite-sized.

Inexpensive Options

1. Use your phone: Your everyday cell phone records high-quality video. Use your phone; there's no need for a fancy camera.
2. Mobile Tripod: Search "Phone Tripod" on Amazon and find options for $13. Station it in front of your computer, and hit record! 
3. Yeti Microphone: We like Yeti, but you can find quality microphones for under $50 on Amazon. We like Amazon because the return policy is friendly if you don't like the product.

Managing Perfection

Perfect isn't what you need when you're launching your first course. Remember, you need to validate that you can solve problems and get your clients results; that's the priority! 

1. Finish Version One: You'll always feel the urge to reshoot your video, but remember, it'll never be perfect. Record all you videos once before starting to re-do them.
2. Editing Blackhole: Be careful. Transitions, perfect cuts, & splices can take a lot of time. If you're DELIVERING RESULTS, these fine details don't matter
3. Waiting for feedback: Getting feedback from coaches is great, but GETTING IT IN FRONT OF CUSTOMERS is 10x more important. Publish your course and make an impact.

Tools We Use

1. Chat GPT: We use OpenAI's Chat GPT for graphics, simplifying advice, ad copy, and everything in between. Need trusted information? Use Perplexity for cited sources.
2. Coaching Software: We're biased... but we love CoachAccountable and stand by it being the best coaching platform to deliver your content.
3. Video Editing: We do this for our clients, but if you must go down this rabbit hole, use iMovie as an affordable option or Final Cut as the pricer option.

I hope this helps!

As always, we're here if you need us to help you build your course!

Morgan