The Hero In Question (On Video) – Guest Post by Jason Fonceca

Paul’s Note – I’ve been sat on this guest post from Jason Fonceca for nearly two months now for many reasons.  Jason has been really cool about it and not hassled me (yet) – and I’ve finally made the time to get round and publish it!

So – only six weeks later than I planned…..over to Jason:

 

Once upon a time… (actually around February 7th!):

Danny paced back and forth in front of the sagging bookshelves.

He held the print-outs of all the audience questions in his hand and wracked his brain on what to do with them all.

His pacing grew more frantic and his face determined.

He’d one deep, burning desire — to help his community, but he was only one man, so how would he do it?

We’ll get to the rest of our story later in the post. For now, let’s take a look at your goals for your videos.

I bet that when you publish a video, you want it to work.

And that’s fair, who doesn’t?

And by ‘work’, I mean you want it to deliver value to people, and be a worthwhile investment for you.

Well, I’m going to give you a powerful secret on how to create videos that do this and more, and it doesn’t really matter what niche you’re in.

Keep reading to find out what it is — but first, let’s check back in with our hero.

Danny had a tremendously successful blog, book, and more, and his youtube channel already had 26 videos on it.

Still, he knew there were more possibilities. How could he jump up his youtube content quickly without sacrificing quality? And still, the issue of providing for his audiene was never far from his mind.

Well, like many things in life, when we need it, our team often inspires us.

Danny held a contest on his blog, and a member of his community, Ryan Hanley, wrote a post called: Pulp-Fiction Style Get Found Online Adrenaline-Shot To The Heart Of Your Business.

Not only did Ryan recommend making 100 videos Q&As, but it clicked for Danny that he had a ton of people asking for his time, consultations, and advice anyway.

What better way to answer them, than video?

He could combine his high-demand for answers and claim a stronger youtube presence at the same time!

And so, he posted 37 Marketing Questions in a single video blog post.

That’s right, Danny buckled down and banged out 37 live video Q&As, fast as a Lambo.

Sweet.

How was this powerful move received?

Stick with me and we’ll find out, but I want to explain the power of questions first.

Questions move people.

There’s a reason so many sites have a FAQ page, questions are an immensely powerful, driving force in communicating ideas well.

Do your videos automatically hold attention and generate curiosity?

Questions do that – so leverage them.

Are your videos strong and emotionally satisfying?

Answers are – so leverage them.

Questions move people, you included.

They’ve moved you many times, and you gladly pay for the experience.

What do I mean? Take a look at Hollywood. Every time you go to the movies, they’re moving you with powerful questions, that aren’t answered until the end of the movie. If they can keep you interested in the answer for 2 hours, you can do the same for a short clip (in fact, commercials do this as well.)

So… what’s the ‘question’ behind almost every Hollywood Blockbuster?

“Will the hero triumph over his dilemma, and how?”

That question hangs there and keeps us on the edge of our seat, and it’s emotionally satisfying when it’s finally answered.

You don’t have to do it like Hollywood, but can you feel the power of using questions in a simple Q&A video?

Now you have a clearer view about the impact of questions, next I’ll show you how easy it is to put ‘em in action.

So let’s check out what happened with Danny’s 37 Q&A-fest.

He knew once he released something to the audience, it could go either way, but he had a really good feeling about it.

The best part of video answers, was that he knew for certain that people had problems, and that he was helping them.

Helping people is fulfilling.

Of course, there’s many metrics you can judge by, but if we go by emotional reaction…people loved that Danny personally answered their questions.

Boo-yah!

And there were other benefits – anyone Danny answered personally, felt excited to spread the word about him.

For example, he answered my question personally, and here I am writing a post where he’s the hero

How’s that for spreading the word?

Anyway, here’s a sample from Danny’s comments section:

• “Wow! What a ton of content. I can’t wait to pour through each one. Thanks for dedicating your time to helping us all out.”
• “Danny, this is totally, overwhelmingly awesome! Thanks for all the effort you’ve put into this video blogging effort.”
• “Only a man like Danny would produce something like this. I tell you man–this was pretty dang unique and packed full of knowledge.”

Want further evidence? A friend of Danny’s, Evan Carmichael (helper of entrepreneurs everywhere, and who happens to live in my home town of Toronto) also pimps out this technique for youtube video, and you can see many examples on his youtube channel.

Ta-da!

And now you know the secret of Q&As, so let’s quickly go over how to put it together.

The nuts & bolts.

1. Invite your audience to ask questions.

The key is to a) be open, and b) give them some direction. Don’t invite *any question in the world*, but request a question related to your expertise. It’s easiest to do through your e-mail list, but you can use twitter, facebook, direct mail… whatever you want.

2. Compile and clarify the questions.

If you have a big audience, you’ll want to group questions into common themes, and then answer one general question that covers most of each group.

If you have a small audience, you can answer them individually. Either way, you need to gather your questions, and decide which to answer first.

3. Script an answer.

This can be point form notes, single-word-slides, or a complete monologue / teleprompter. I personally write a monologue and the polish it into slides, or when the inspiration strikes, I go right to slides. You can use Paul’s post on editing and polishing your video to make it extra appealing.

4. Film the answer.

This is about answering questions on video, so get to recording Hopefully this doesn’t need explanation. Danny recorded his all in one day, but learned that it’s pretty intense, and he’d prefer to space them out.

5. Deliver it to your audience.

You want to serve up the answers a) to the question-asker and b) to as many of your audience as possible. Your social networks + lists will help here. Also, make sure you have a call to action at the end, to encourage follow-up questions or related discussion; don’t let the attention you grab go to waste

Here’s a couple videos I made myself. I added a little typographic flair compared to the above 5 steps, but as seen with Danny’s videos, it’s not necessary.

So…

…You get it.

You’re ready.

You’ve got the basics, and getting started with those will create results, but like in any field, it can be done well or it can be done poorly. Your passion will be the deciding factor.

Will you be the person who refines their videos, studies, and expands their skills? Will you be the person who makes it a priority to attract and retain quality video people to help you? Will you try it a bit, drop it for awhile and come back to it? Will you barely touch it at all?

Questions are a timeless, powerful tool and so is video — use them. People can solve anything together, as long as we’re asking each other the right questions.

Thanks for your time and attention, now go answer a question for someone on video, then come back here and post the link for us to see in the comments!

P.S. I’d like to take a moment to thank Paul for the opportunity to share. On my first visit here, he and Marina were very welcoming and helpful, and I’m thrilled to have a chance to share.

P.P.S. I took some liberties with this story, but at it’s core it’s true, and any exaggerations were approved by Danny himself

About Jason “J-Ryze” Fonceca
Jason “J-Ryze” Fonceca is a positive badass, shedding light on taboo topics to help game-changers ryze past plateaus.He’s been featured on LauraRoeder.com, FirepoleMarketing.com, and Technorati.com follow him at @ryzeonline.

Marie is smart and sassy – and her videos are a masterclass in how to make non-boring talking head videos.