Video Challenge
In the back of my mind I've known for several years that I needed to schedule, and set aside time for making videos. As owner/founder of the business, it was my responsibility to be the face of Aapporto and be its spokesperson. It was time to stop procrastinating, this should be easy, (or so I hoped) I just need to do it.
It seemed like making videos was like having a chat with a friend. I'm comfortable socializing and being around friends and family. And I enjoy talking about almost any subject with others, including with people I've never met before. I'm always curious and love asking questions, so I tend to listen more than I talk.
But to my surprise, and frustration, making a good video was going to require more practice, patience, and pertaining to details. In my first 3 videos I felt stiff, overly sober and afraid of making a mistake. My normal, relaxed, happy personality was missing? Some of my concerns were, "Am I speaking too fast or too slow, am I pronouncing words correctly?"
I've learned that making video is complicated. For example, there are multiple components that need to be flattering simultaneously, like smiling and talking at the same time. Skilled speakers make this look easy, but I found it's not automatic for me.
Years ago, I recall a sports reporter asked a winning coach of the Dallas Cowboys why he looks so unhappy on the sidelines, the coach replied, "I guess it's because I'm unable to concentrate and smile at the same time".
Recording video and audio are not forgiving! It's take after take until you run out of time to "take" anymore. And unlike still images that I can Photoshop, there is no, "I'll fix it later in post".
When making my first few videos, I recall looking into the tiny camera lens while speaking, and thinking, this is very strange, are there real people in there? My experience was not at all similar to talking to someone in person. I've come to admire the work of great actors even more.
My video making results have gradually improved with practice, but what helped me the most was discovering Holly's "Video Challenge", for 15 days in July 2020 she was like an online coach!
I signed up for the 15 day free experience, it is called from "Start to Star", and it ran from July 6th-20th, 2020. For readers interested in more of a deep dive and continued coaching, Holly also offers a membership program called "Video Made Easy".
The assignment from Holly was to post one video each day for 15 consecutive days to a private Facebook group. The only people that will see your videos are group members. Holly posts a video message each morning with the details of that particular days video assignment, each video needs to be no longer than 3 minutes.
Below are my 15 videos based on Holly's assignment, and the length of each video is less than 2 minutes. The good news is, because I kept pretty much to a script, I did not ramble on with a lot of umm... umm. I kind of struggled with the first 3 videos, but by the 4th video I was starting to get more comfortable.
I was undecided for awhile as to whether or not I should share these videos on the Aapporto website, because some of the content is more personal. I wondered, should I post only the videos that promote our product line of Aapporto bags?
Eventually I concluded that there may be people like me who are also struggling with making videos for their business, and if they watch me gradually improve (compare my stiffness in video 2 with my dance moves in video 15, yup, that's me! I can't believe it either) they may be inspired to make their own videos for their business.
Maybe this will help you! 
Video Assignment Day 1
Video Assignment Day 2
Video Assignment Day 3
Video Assignment Day 4
Video Assignment Day 5
Video Assignment Day 6
Video Assignment Day 7
Video Assignment Day 8
Video Assignment Day 9
Video Assignment Day 10
Video Assignment Day 11
Video Assignment Day 12
Video Assignment Day 13
Video Assignment Day 14
Video Assignment Day 15, "Dance Party"!