Mount Helix Resident Helps Small Businesses Reach Their Online Potential

Jill Addison wanted something more.

The Mount Helix resident, who had a successful career working in public relations, started to feel burnt out. Sure, what she was doing was helping her clients, but she wanted to reach down to a more grassroots level, and do something for small businesses.

And when she lost her job almost three years ago, she was stuck at square one. She had lots of knowledge and experience, but no real product.  Addison’s background in video production was a skill that she knew she wanted to share, but how? That’s when the idea hit her: online video training for small businesses.

And that’s how her Do It Yourself Video Package was born.

Addison’s company offers a comprehensive package of multimedia information, which helps small business owners use the power of video and the internet to help market their businesses.

“People like to be entertained and have a personal conversation rather than just read,” Addison said. “Websites that are just text are going to become outdated. Video helps make your website live. It’s the next best thing to a face-to-face conversation.”

Addison’s services help small businesses transform their websites from simply information, to an interactive experience, which allows customers to truly “see” the business owner. She says it helps make a more personal connection with clients.

Addison’s extensive experience with video production includes producing infomercials, exercise videos, and all scope of projects and budgets. Her biggest project was helping produce a feature film called Magdalena: Released From Shame, which is the story of Mary Magdelene. The film was made in 2009 has been translated into dozens of languages and seen by millions of people around the world.

And while Addison is naturally very proud of the scope and depth of that project, she is equally proud of helping small business owners reach their sales potential online. As video equipment has become less and less expensive in recent years, and the ability to distribute content on the Internet has become increasingly easier, Addison knows that video can work for any business with any budget.

Addison’s package includes a series of comprehensive videos – about 90 total minutes worth of content – that offer helpful tips and advice on how to get started producing your own marketing videos. Each of the videos has a theme: How to Write a Script (that gets results), How to Shoot Professional Video using lighting and audio, How to Edit Videos for Free, How to Upload to YouTube, and How to Optimize Your YouTube Channel for Search.

In addition, her clients can download helpful documents that lay out the basic techniques of shooting video, tips on what to wear, where to find royalty-free music, how to adjust for lighting, and tips on how to promote and market your videos.

She acknowledges that the idea of shooting and producing an online video can intimidating for many small business owners. It was for her as well when she got started. But with the help of her husband Eric, who owns a video production company called 100 Acre Films, she was able to master the ins-and-outs of what it takes to make magic, both in front of and behind the camera.

“When I got started, I didn’t even know how to work the camera,” she admits.

But she said that after she produced her first few videos with the help of her husband, her confidence began to grow.

“I realized that I can do this, and I can teach other people how to do it too,” said Addison. “And I think that’s one of the biggest things too is that people are just intimidated… this helps them take the first step.”

So why would someone consider producing a video for their small business website? Addison said the facts and figures alone tell the story.

• Websites with video are 53 times more likely to appear on Google page 1 than websites without video.
• YouTube is the 2nd biggest search engine on the web.
• Video used in email marketing increases click-through rates by 96 percent.
• Website visitors who view videos are 85 percent more likely to buy.
• On websites with video, the average user stays for 6 minutes. On sites without video, the average user stays for only 57 seconds.

“A lot of people say that the biggest thing is that they just don’t know what to say [on their videos],” Addison said. “So I provide a worksheet that has some questions that they ask themselves that will get them thinking down the lines of what are the things I should be covering and the important points I should be communicating.”

In addition to the video and audio files and helpful documents that Addison’s service provides, each client is given a 30-minute phone consultation with Addison, who will answer questions and walk them through how to get started, and discuss customization of services.

Addison’s company is an example of a growing trend of “commoditization of services.”

People are realizing now that you can commoditize your own service by packaging up all of the knowledge you have about what you do to help other people with it, and then selling it online as a product,” she said. “So it’s a nice way to diversify your income, because you’re not just relying on services you provide, but you are also relying on products you created.

“You’re selling information,” she continued. “You’re selling knowledge that someone wants. And you can package that up in a number of ways. It can be as simple as a report, PDF files that you sell and people can download, it can be audio files or a CD, DVDs. A lot of times it’s something online that’s digital.”

For more information on the Do It Yourself Video Package, you can contact Addison on her website or Facebook page.