Building a Better PowerPoint
April 22, 2010 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
Are you ready to build a better PointPoint and absolutely make your audience gasp at your awesomeness? Well I’m not the guy to ask about the first part. I do pretty well with PowerPoint and Keynote in that I don’t use a lot of words. I have a formula for delivering more compelling presentations that breed engagement and interaction vs. note taking and word reading. If you want to know how to make unbelievable presentations regardless of context read the Rapid E Learning blog. But to get the audience thinking your’re awesome…here’s my formula.
- Script your entire presentation. (GASP!) “But what about spontaneity?” Don’t worry, you won’t read it verbatim when you give it…but I’ve found scripting as though I’m writing a book opens my mind and forces me to refine my message.
- Now, build imagery for your presentation around the refined and scripted document. You may riff for a paragraph on “The top 3 things to remember when using Twitter for Business”, but you don’t need to bullet point them and use lots of words, use a picture and a couple words to represent what you’re saying. This is fun and makes you think about how your viewers/participants/watchers will engage. This takes their mind off of writing and makes them more active listeners.
- Now the awesomeness – Record audio of the presentation using your script. Give the presentation behind the mic like you would in person! Inflect! It takes 5X the emotion behind the mic to equal you and body language so don’t slack.
- Use Apple iMovie or the PC equivalent of your choice to place your slides (exported as images) into the timeline along with your imported audio using clean and simple transitions. Export the entire presentation as a movie.
- Or, skip step 3 and use the narration function in your presentation software where you can talk and advance slides while it records the entire deal.
- Now, if this presentation is specific to an audience and you’ve done this specifically for them…in their context, upload this new movie to a hosting service like Viddler and make the video private and give out the TOP secret URL to the attendees only.
- Or, if you have a WordPress based site, you could protect the page and give out a password to the attendees (native functionality in WordPress).
- If you go a step further, you could use your membership based Interactive Learning Environment to capture emails to obtain the private video. This all depends on what you and the audience and your hosts are trying to accomplish. If it’s a public or more generic piece…then use your usual suspects for video/slide hosting.
Now you’ve provided the audience with a magical multimedia experience to go back to without worrying about note taking. This model works very well and people are typically impressed and blown away that you’d put such effort into making their lives easier. Let me know how it works for you.
ADDED EXTRA BONUS – If the information/content in your presentation is private post the doc on your scribd page, and put the audio up as a podcast, put the slide images in Flickr, perhaps video your actually presentation and upload it socially, embed your video/recorded presentation in a blog post…which feeds Facebook, Twitter…etc. Now you’ve hit at least 6-10 content outposts in additional to your personal speaking gig. Every chance to speak publicly is a chance to generate massive online organic findability. Don’t waste your chance!
Eckhart Tolle TV – Subscription Site Marketing Done Right
April 15, 2010 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
If you examine the business practices of superstar book writer Eckhart Tolle, you’ll find keen Internet Marketing acumen under the surface. You see Tolle offers a website of his teachings, lectures, and live streams, i.e. “content” called EckhartTolleTV.com. Most people will probably gloss over this quote about Tolle’s membership website from USA Today…but as a smart Internet Marketer, you would light up inside at its brilliance: (emphasis mine)
Subscriptions to Tolle TV, at $14.95 to $19.95 a month, cost less than a movie and popcorn, and a growing amount of the content — his lectures, teachings and meditations — is free.
Most of the proceeds of his books and teaching tours are plowed back into Tolle TV’s elaborate professional productions, or the overhead for lecture halls. This enables him to reach an ever-widening audience without forcing solitude-loving Tolle to travel constantly, says Anthony McLaughlin, CEO of Eckhart Teachings and co-founder of Tolle TV.
BINGO! Absorb the bold text. YOU can travel less and do MORE by leveraging the power of your online brand and deliver what MORE people want…yes MORE people want you so give to them…and you can do it with less travel, less pain, less hassle, and for higher profit margins. Tollle is famous now and Oprah rocketed him to stardom when, “she invited him to co-host a 10-week set of Internet seminars on how to simply be.” (By the way, 25 million people watched those webinars.) However, you can follow Tolle’s model to the T. Ready…
- Passionately produce compelling content (books, blogs, essays) and publish to a WordPress based optimized website. (Join LunchtimeMastermind.com if you don’t know what this means)
- Build and support a community around that content. (forums, groups, blog comments, Facebook, Twitter)
- Capture names, email addresses, and as much information you can on your audience by offering them massive value.
- Speak publicly as much as possible. (Early on don’t be picky. SPEAK and you will refine your message and your work through live QA/feedback)
- (Maybe you have an Oprah moment maybe you don’t but keep going here)
- Capture as much of the live content (seminars, webcasts, webinars, QA sessions, appearances) as possible. Worry less about elaborate editing and production than simple basics like lighting and audio quality.
- Now, when you’ve got a huge library of material and large audience, it’s time to turn your WordPress site into a membership site. (again, LunchtimeMastermind.com)
- Once you’ve powered up the membership engine, keep producing content, keep giving it away, but now segment the content to deliver additional value (insider information, more depth, more access, more exclusivity, etc.) to the paying membership for $xx.xx per month.
It’s unacceptable and incorrect to say, “But I’m too busy being a good writer, speaker, and consultant to produce all this content you talk about Doug”…because you’re doing it already…you just don’t know it.
Get your foundation under you with a WordPress based optimized site and then capture, capture, capture. If that’s all you do for a couple years you’re in the top 5% and you can learn the rest.
Free Lunchtime Mastermind Webinar – Wednesday April 7
April 6, 2010 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
Please join Andy B and I for another free webinar this Wednesday at 12PM Central inside Lunchtime Mastermind. We’re continuing our introduction of this invaluable membership based mastermind group. This week’s topic is “The Technology Blueprint”. We’ll share the key elements of our own tech blueprints that turn tech into our servants to make us money. Once you listen once, you won’t want to miss a single session.
ChampionshipSportsTraining.com Case Study – WordPress Membership Site Startup
October 29, 2009 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
We have been working with Doug Whipple at ChampionshipSportsTraining.com for a while now. Doug came to CWM a while ago and had about 8 different possible business models that he was thinking about. However the foundations for what Doug wanted to accomplish were the same. createWOWmedia needed to:
- Build a membership based site using wordpress that give Doug a platform to offer archived video content for sale.
- Build a site that would allow Doug to offer live video streams privately to members.
- Build a site that would allow organic PR efforts through blogging and email marketing to happen with ease.
We build Doug’s site using WordPress and a group of other plugins and software solutions. Total software investment for this powerful site? About $200. CST just had some GREAT press coverage today in the Des Moines Register as well. This article really highlights that Doug has hit on something. Why shouldn’t grandma and uncle Joe see their boy play ball in the next city, state, or county…when for the price of a ticket they can watch it LIVE on their computer? Doug has only begun and this model is really about take off and we’re proud to be driving the technology for his solution.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=0a450d74-8192-4e0e-a734-309bcfe81a74)
Client launch: Fredsolomon.net
January 17, 2009 by Doug Mitchell · 3 Comments
The create WOW team is proud to release www.fredsolomon.net. This site is a wonderful example of what you can do with a membership site. We’ve leveraged video heavily in this Interactive Learning Environment. Fred had a wonderful 3 hour workshop that he puts on video taped for us.
The next step was to release the video editing wizard Paul Gratton on the project to chop up that 3 hour seminar into 30 manageable chunks for use online. We’ve also taken some recorded audio calls done in our podcast recording studio and created some training calls for Fred’s online subscribers.
Additionally, we’ve integrated video chat into the site in protected page so Fred can connect daily with his clients and partners around the USA.
You’ll probably also notice the “walk on” video that we’ve done here. Walk on videos pack quite a punch. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty intrigued when I see an owner walk onto a screen and deliver a great marketing message to me. We’re very pleased with the results on this video. Fred flew into Des Moines for a day (quite a change from Newport Beach, CA huh?) to shoot this piece. If you live in Des Moines of course…no flight necessary.
Fred Solomon is taking his incredible message, products, and talents online by leveraging the create WOW media membership software platform. Our platform is getting more refined every day and our deployment times are coming way down too.
Please take a look at www.FredSolomon.net and let us know what you think. You may also want to sign up for Fred’s Free 15 day trial as well. Now the blogging and marketing of the site will really pick up speed. I can’t wait to share the results with you down the road.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=62b999f1-e932-4619-bc15-69e7b514ff06)
Doug Mitchell on the “Solomon Free Money Hour” radio show
December 16, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
I did an interview with Fred Solomon of the Solomon Free Money radio show on Angels AM 830 this past Sunday. Fred’s show is a big hit because he shoots from the hip and speaks from the heart. He genuinely wants to help people…and his word of mouth/loyalty business shows it.
We’ve just done a completely interactive membership site for him that we’re working on as we speak. It’s over at FredSolomon.net and we’re pretty proud of some of the things we’ve got going over there including Fred’s “walk on” video, live video chat so he can assist his net branches, and a forum to share ideas and challenges on the Loan Modification Business Opportunity.
I’ve put the live interview on the air down below as a brief podcast. Take a listen and let us know what you think.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=068e129a-dd99-44a3-9464-12b193f22ae8)
Doug Mitchell Interview with Fred Solomon on Angels AM 830 [6:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (201)Solomon Financial & I Short Sale Seminar Commercial Video
October 28, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · 1 Comment
We’d like to welcome Solomon Financial Mortgage (SFM) to the createWOWmedia family. Fred and Lisa Solomon have built an amazing business in Southern California by providing service and value beyond belief. They also have a pretty nifty radio show called “The Free Money Hour” that hands out a boatload of free advice to the masses. Don’t miss Fred’s book too called, “Put Your Money Where Your House Is”
Fred has built quite a brand for himself as a financial and real estate educator as well. SFM has decided to come on board and launch an Interactive Learning Environment with us to leverage the power of Fred’s brand and bring education to a much larger segment of the market than he can reach by staying local.
We’re developing the video content behind the scenes right now…but here’s a look at a 30 second commercial we did for use in their online/social press releases.
Full case study on the way.
Interactive Learning Environment target audience
October 27, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
Image via Wikipedia
The createWOWmedia team is all about honing in on a niche market. Personally, I’m a disciple of “Crossing the Chasm” by Moore who’s message is clear. He says that technology start ups must focus with precision on a niche in which they can OWN. Then, the start up can leverage that “segment dominance” into other segments…like knocking over bowling pins one at a time.
We are trying to build a base of different types of users/clients for our ILE platform to gather feedback from different sectors and sizes. We’re trying to define that “perfect client” which is SO elusive to most small businesses.
Do a little experiment. Ask 5 business owners you know “Who is your perfect client?” I think this answer should be on the tip of every business owner’s tongue and spoken with clarity and conviction. Are we there yet? Not exactly. We continue to define/refine/revise/elaborate to achieve this clarity of purpose. It’s tough to do. Tougher than you think. Are you willing to shun $X to achieve the real goal of $X. You’d better say YES.
Right now, we’re working with executive leadership coaches, financial educators, lawyers, relationship counselors, physicians, and associations to help them leverage the power of an ILE in their businesses. It’s fantastic having a product that can work for and be applied in virtually any industry. But this makes focus all the more important.
The most important lesson I’ve learned through my years of working in technology startups and asking tons of questions of those who’ve “been there and done that”…
If you try to be all things to all people…you’ll be nothing to everyone.
Take that one to the bank.
Related articles by Zemanta
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=39ad9cdd-bf82-4711-ae6a-98a36a3706b9)
Rush on Business Attorney Rush Nigut is a natural on camera
October 8, 2008 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
We’ll call West Des Moines based Business Law attorney Rush Nigut, “One Take Rush” for his performance on his introductory video for his Interactive Learning Environment which will go live in early November. For this brief video, we used green screen (chroma key) and added a bit of text overlay for titles and his site address.
The video is live on about 10 video hosting platforms thanks to TubeMogul If you’d like to make a brief company or product intro video on your own, maybe you’d like to DYOW (Do Your Own Wow) and rent a kit full of easy to use equipment from us. We can add some magic of course in the editing room if you’d like.
Either way, we want you to get shooting! ACT and EXECUTE on video this quarter…don’t PLAN and TALK!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=394507e3-29ac-4ad5-8b01-55fa7483b48c)
