Here’s her answer in one tidy image: Here are the nine parts of Amy’s authority video formula (moving from left to right, from the video start to its finish): Put your main subject first. Give people the loyalty treatment Treat people as if they’ve been loyal followers for years. In the video below, she reinforces this point, saying, “If you treat your audience like they are loyal, they quickly will become loyal.” In explaining why you shouldn’t introduce yourself in the beginning, she puts it this way: Get into the reason that people decided to show up for your video, and I guarantee you, your conversions will change dramatically because you will be recruiting people who are brand advocates and addicted to your videos, not just people stumbling upon something in search. Engage people in the first eight seconds On average, Amy points out, people decide whether to keep watching a YouTube video in the first eight seconds, and in even less time on other channels. As an example of Amy’s own generosity, here’s a video in which she declares, “It is amazing how much you can grow over time,” as she shares 19 minutes of vlogging advice she wishes she’d had when she started. You can’t just display the thing you want people to do. Tell them what to do next,” Amy says. Don’t make too many calls to action, though. If you give people too many things to do, they do nothing. Choose the thing or two.” In the final 20 seconds of this video, for example, Amy makes two clear calls to action: Subscribe to her channel, and leave a comment.
People are flocking to Amy Schmittauer’s YouTube series, Savvy Sexy Social. As of this writing, she has 75,947 subscribers. Wait, 75,948 … 949. Wouldn’t you love to know why?
Hint: It’s not because her brand name includes the word “sexy,” a word she chose because she advises marketers on how to bring out the sexy in whatever they sell.
Her popularity comes, at least in part, from her discovery of a formula for making videos that people love.
Amy Schmittauer Landino, a consultant in video content marketing and author of the book Vlog Like a Boss, spilled her secrets at Content Marketing World in her talk How to Create and Repurpose Video Content for More Attention. While I won’t reveal everything (how sexy would that be?), I will share her nine-part formula for what to do after you hit record.
The Formula
Amy asks, “Once you hit record, do you know what you’re doing from start to finish? Do you know what should be happening throughout your video?”
She knows. Here’s her answer in one tidy image:
Here are the nine parts of Amy’s authority video formula (moving from left to right, from the video start to its finish):
- Put your main subject first.
- Give people the loyalty treatment.
- Engage people in the first eight seconds.
- Minimize your branding.
- Keep people’s eyes moving.
- Be generous with your content.
- Factor in time to close.
- Give an audible, clear call to action.
- Keep your video (at least for starters) two to five minutes.
When you master this formula, all that remains is to make your content compelling – the ultimate secret to great video. Amy explains, create video “that is going to trigger a human emotion and make someone go ‘I have to, have to, have to share this. I have to tag someone I know.’” Ask yourself, “Would I share this?’ Make sure the answer is not ‘of course’ but ‘yes!’ ”
1. Put your main subject first
Whatever your video is about, get right to it. “Don’t waste any time getting to your subject. Whether it’s human, like a brand rep, or an item that you’re showing off, get that thing on camera immediately – especially if it’s a person. Faces are very relatable,” Amy says.
After you say hello – you don’t want to be rude – start on your topic. If your video is about how to bake a cake, talk about cake.
“Do not go into your elevator pitch. Don’t introduce yourself and tell what your website is, where you work, your fancy title, all those things. No one cares yet,” Amy says. You wouldn’t start a conversation like that in real life, so don’t do it in video.
Listen with your own ears as Amy says, “The main subject of that video should be the first thing you see … just dive right in.”
2. Give people the loyalty treatment
Treat people as if they’ve been loyal followers for years. Imagine you’re sitting down to coffee with an old friend. “That’s how somebody gets on the party train and stays on board,” Amy says.
In the video below, she reinforces this point, saying, “If you treat your audience like they are loyal, they quickly will become loyal.” In explaining why you shouldn’t introduce yourself in the beginning, she puts it this way:
Get into the reason that people decided to show up for your video, and I guarantee you, your conversions will change dramatically because you will be recruiting people who are brand advocates and addicted to your videos, not just people stumbling upon something in search.
3. Engage people in the first eight seconds
On average, Amy points out, people decide whether to keep watching a YouTube video in the first eight seconds, and in even less time on other channels. If you don’t engage them immediately, she says, “they’re probably bailing on you. You’ve lost audience retention. @schmittastic.You’ve lost minutes watched. YouTube doesn’t like any of that, and they don’t send you…
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