Earlier this year, I was attended Britsmum Live and met Nigel Camp thru his Hands-on Video session where he gave us tips on how to make better videos. It was a very impressive and powerful talk. He gave me encouragement and ideas on how to create better content for my videos. Comparing my older videos to the present ones, I think I have taken most of his advice on board. My latest video is no longer just the product on its own. I have come out of my shell to show the audience who is behind those big hands. Also I don’t just take the same angled shots. I’ve experimented shooting at different angles to emphasise the product.

Since his session, I invested in developing my own intro (at the start of my video reviews) to tell people about my website and brand. I also have an outro to tell people my social media avenues and where to subscribe my channel. Do click here if you wish to subscribe!

I believe that using video is a lot easier to show your audience your brand and product. I enjoyed vlogged and hope to improve on creating great video reviews.

Nigel has kindly sent me his latest book – The Video Effect which is available to buy from Amazon for £10 or download it via Amazon Kindle for £4.42.

This book guides you on how to effectively market your business through online videos. It’s not just for business though. I believe this book will also benefit vloggers or anyone who is keen to learn the basic tips on how to create a good video and for it to be easily searchable by others.

There are nine chapters in this book: The Video Effect, Video is Social Media, Equipment for the job, Video is your Google Goldmine, Share and get it out there, Website and Videos go together, Avoid Talking to an Invisible Audience, How to deliver video with impact and Film your Way to the Top.

The book explains why online video is the future media tool and covers topics from where to promote your video to free software to edit your video. It also covers how to pick the right video tools for different budgets, lighting, sound effects and many more. Tagging your video is explained too which is important to ensure that your videos can be found effectively. Beside the biggest video sharing website – YouTube, there are plenty more video sharing channels you could use to promote your video.

Video Search Engine Optimisation (VSEO) is also very important to increase exposure for your video. I have made a few mistakes in the past where I wrongly tagged and labelled my product review. After editing the title and correctly tagging on YouTube, I had an unbelievable number of views on my video. From just over 100 views to now over 66k views on the Chill Factor Ice Cream Maker video with good and bad comments about it. One simple mistake like wrongly tagging will cost your business less exposure. So it is always useful to know what your keywords are.

His book is definitely useful for vlog newcomers, small businesses or amateurs. This book is so easy to read (with no unnecessary jargon) and provides professional guidance.

Do check out his blog The Video Effect and access a set of free products. Or if you need his professional help on creating your business video, do check out his website Devil Boy Productions. I swear he is not a devil boy, in fact, he is a very kind man!

Do check out his video on how to make a video using a smartphone: http://vimeo.com/68527310

Website where book is reviewed – Click Here

Video is something I have always been interested in. I loved Media Studies when I was completing my GCSE's and A Levels and made a short film during activities week back in 2000 when I was in my first year of high school, a film which was played again to the whole school in 2012 in our last assembly
For my GCSE coursework I put together a film about a charity I worked with, a day care centre for adults with head injuries and brain damage. I loved being a part of this and although it was a team effort, it was my baby and involved 2 passions of mine which was media and the day care centre I volunteered at as much as I could. (Imagine how angry I was when another group completely sabotaged the sound in my film, therefore ruining the message behind it as the audience couldn't hear a word I was saying. Still, I got a B)

Media Studies was my favourite subject at school and even watching films and tv shows now everything I learnt is fresh in my mind. I'm even friends with my Media teacher on Facebook so constantly feel like I should run to him to discuss things I've watched.

Last year I attended my first Britmums Live Conference and one of the sessions I went to was Smartphone Video with Nigel Camp from The Video Effect and Devil Boy Productions. I learnt a lot in this session and came away with a lot of notes and inspiration.
Again at Britmums this year I went to Nigel's session and came away with lots of notes, and again feeling inspired.
For a number of reasons I held off from making videos. I think due to my experiences in high school with video making I lack confidence issues. What if I get it wrong? I want to make something I am proud of, and not something I have just thrown together and "will do for now".
I was sent a copy of Nigel's new book 'The Video Effect' to review.The book states it is to help "market your business with online video".

So, you may be thinking, why is this book good for a blogger?

Our blogs are our businesses, we are our own brand.
If you feel confident enough to do so, then making videos is a fantastic way of showing your audience who you are. Words are fine, of course, as are photos, but the image of you, hearing you speak, puts a much more personal touch to your blog. It's not just text, someone hiding behind a screen. Your reader is able to connect with you as a real person.
Words can often be misread, as can the tone, so video is a wonderful way of breaking down that barrier and introducing you. Especially if you want to talk about something you are specifically passionate about.

The Video Effect talks you through each element of video making. From the start Nigel tells us why it is beneficial to businesses, as well as sharing encouraging and inspirational statistics, and throughout the book we are talked through each stage in detail. The book is full of information which is easy to digest and easy to understand.

I really liked the Do's and Don'ts that Nigel has included throughout the book, as well as lists of Advantages and Disadvantages. These help explain each stage in more detail and make it easier to understand.
The diagrams throughout the book also help to picture what you should be doing in terms of positioning, light, storyboards, and where to add watermarks.
Nigel also focuses on things that we may not even consider. For example, on page 72 he talks about hand gestures, as some that we use in the UK translate as offensive in other countries. 
If you are creating a video generally for the UK viewer then this won't be relevant or something you would want to think about. However, if your video is made for a global market this is definitely something to remember. In this case make sure you look at your blog stats and that you are clear on who your audience are.

Page 64 proves why this book is as suitable for bloggers as it is for other businesses as it features a list of examples of how businesses are using video to complement their websites.
By looking at these examples we can see how video reviews would be an advantage to our blogs and our own websites.
For example, DIY tutorials, or recipe tutorials rather than just a photo heavy blog post. Travel seems to be a big part of blogging at the moment and what better way to show somewhere you have visited through video, sharing the atmosphere and a deeper view of what you have experienced?

Nigel also talks about 'Video retention rate advantages'. I found this really interesting as he explains that in a study "subjects retained 10% of what they heard from an oral presentation, 35% from a visual presentation, and 65% from visual and oral combined".
As a blogger, and someone who deals mainly with text and photo I found this really hit home and made me think about how I can use video to my advantage in the future, be it through reviews, places I visit or everyday things that I feel passionate about.

The book review is available by clicking this link