One of the biggest barriers  to video marketing is the time it all takes. It can take as much as a week or two just to shoot and produce a short video. Longer videos can take longer still. If you’re running a business, how can you possibly find that kind of time to dedicate to a video?  Yes, video production is time-consuming. But it doesn’t have to be your time. Here’s how to outsource video production with a small budget:

Writing the script

You don’t have to write your own script. You’ll probably still want to edit it so it sounds like your own voice, but you don’t have to spend hours writing your own script from scratch. If you don’t have a member of staff to do it for you, you could easily find a copywriter online. Make sure that person understands both sales and the script you’re writing, though.

For some videos you may not even need a script. Some very successful videos on YouTube are the ones that feel spontaneous. So while you may want some of your videos to be carefully scripted, you could mix them in with others where you have three key points in your mind then just step in front of a video camera.

Video and audio equipment

Don’t spend hours researching the best microphone for your camera – there are many good quality, inexpensive pieces of equipment available now – it’s not a tough decision to make.  Setting up up your own lighting and equipment for your office can be time-consuming, though. So don’t be the audio and video technician if you can possibly avoid it. You don’t necessarily need a professional, see if you can train up someone to do the job for you.

By the time you walk into the recording room, everything should be all set up for you.

Recording

Of course, if you are your brand, the only person that can actually appear on camera is you. This part can’t be outsourced. Or can it?

Actually, that’s not true! While you’re almost certainly going to want to appear on camera sometimes you can still outsource some of it. As well as being the owner of Totally PLR, I record voice-overs for marketing videos (for more info, click here). This video didn’t need the business owner to appear in it at all:

(Video by Digital41)

That’s fine for a software company, but what about a business where the owner’s voice and name is a critical part of the brand, say life coaching? Here’s another video which I voiced:

(Video by Purrfectly Animated)

This one went viral on Facebook and had 275,000 views on Facebook and brought in lots of new business as a result.

Editing the videos

Video editing is perhaps the most time-consuming process of all. The editor needs to play, replay and re-replay the videos over and over again as they try to piece together the most compelling version of the video possible.

This part absolutely, positively should be outsourced. You can easily find someone on oDesk or People Per Hour who will do it inexpensively. You can also hire professionals or students in your area.

Graphics and effects

If you want special effects, an animated intro or graphics for your video this can also be done inexpensively by freelancers on sites such as oDesk or People Per Hour.

Finishing Up

Finally, the video needs to be rendered, uploaded to a video hosting site, embedded in your squeeze or sales page and then tested. All of this should also be outsourced. Even embedding and making sure things work can take a lot of time.

Most, if not all, of your video production can be outsourced. If you handle your video production in this way, it won’t be draining at all and it can be a productive and profitable part of your business.

Alternatively, if you’d like to buy some ready-made video tutorials, please take a look at mine here.