Video marketing.
Not exactly a strategy ‘near and dear’ to most marketers.
As a matter of fact, when I ask my Bite-Size Traffic Hacks subscribers how many of them use video to drive more traffic and business, well… I can usually count the hands on one hand.
But why?
Simple: it takes time to learn how to create a video and it can easily cost thousands of dollars to hire someone to do it for you.
Something we can all relate to…
Thus we decide to sit this one out. After all, what’s the harm in not creating videos, right?
WRONG…
According to a report from Cisco, by 2020, over 82% of all web traffic will come from video.
And this study by Vidyard shows that video drives better results. Period.
So much so that marketers who use video:
- receive 41% more web traffic from search than non-users;
- see 27% higher click-through rates;
- and grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.
In other words, you no longer have a choice whether or not to deliver your content through video.
Video is now the primary way people want to learn, shop, and interact online.
What are YOU going to do about it???
How about… you take your last blog post, fire up your Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, give it a few minutes of your time and… TA-DA!… a video ready to be uploaded to YouTube and/or any other video site.
NOT kidding…
This opens up a whole new venue and a whole new segment of people to consume your content.
A mighty 91% of internet users, to be exact. 91%!!!
(source)
Plus, YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world… and it’s OWNED by the “first largest”!
(as of July 2016; source)
So if you’re looking for a way for your content to be found (duh!), I have a great idea for ya… ^_^
Converting your blog post into a video is easier than you might ever guess.
How to Turn Blog Posts into Videos [Tutorial]
First, let me start with a video to show you how it’s done.
You’ll also find the step-by-step directions below the video.
SIDE NOTE: I used Office 2016 for Mac in the video below. If you are working with a different Office version, look for similar functions in your specific software.
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to turn a blog post into a video.
And by the way…
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STEP 1: Copy and paste your blog post into a Word document
Some ‘good-to-knows’:
Include the title.
Even though you can use your blog post as is, editing it for size is a smart thing to do.
Each paragraph in your Word doc will become its own PowerPoint slide. Thus, the shorter your paragraphs are the better. One-sentence paragraphs work best.
Avoid inserting additional spaces between paragraphs; they’ll turn into blank slides in your PowerPoint presentation.
STEP 2: Save your document as…
Now that your blog post is short and sweet, you need to save it as
- a text file (.txt) if you are working on Mac;
- a Word doc if you are a Windows users.
Yes, this is important, trust me – or else your document might not properly import into PowerPoint.
PRO TIP: If you use Word Outline feature to format your blog post, PowerPoint will import all the heading styles from your Word document.
For example, each paragraph that is formatted with the Heading 1 style becomes the title of a new slide, and each Heading 2 becomes the first level of text.
If you choose to go that route, make sure to save your doc as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file.
STEP 3: Import your saved file into PowerPoint
From your presentation Home Tab, go to New Slide, then Outline.
You can also go to Insert => Slides from… => Outline.
Once you select your saved file, sit back and watch your blog post magically transform into a PowerPoint presentation!…
Troubleshooting tips:
If each paragraph/heading in your Word doc doesn’t become its own PowerPoint slide, you might need to go back and save the document in a different format – as a text file if you saved it in a word doc or vice versa.
If you have blank slides between text slides, you might’ve added blank spaces between your paragraphs. Just delete the blank slides and remember to mind your spaces next time around.
STEP 4: Style your slides
Yes, you can go nuts here, but if time and skills are a concern, the one thing you should definitely do is to pick the best layout for your slides.
Here’s how:
- Click on any slide in the left-hand sidebar to select it.
- Go to Edit => Select All (or – even better – use ⌘A command on your Mac).
Now that all slides are selected, go to Layout and choose the one you wish to use.
Most of the times, Title Slide layout is the best one to go with, but then again, it depends on the template you are using.
PRO TIP
For all intents and purposes, your presentation is now ready to be turned into a video.
Of course, just because you could leave it at that, doesn’t mean you should.
‘Blah’ videos often drive ‘blah’ traffic.
Take a few more minutes to spruce up your slides and the potential to drive traffic will increase exponentially.
To do that, go through your presentation slide by slide and change it up a bit – apply different layouts, add images, or change font colors to emphasize key words and phrases.
STEP 5: Record your presentation as a video
Fire up your favorite screencast software (personally, I use Screenflow for that), go to Slide Show => Play from Start, then simply read the text as you move from slide to slide.
Don’t forget to add a strong Call to Action at the end – anything from buying your product or service, encouraging your viewers to join your email list, or simply sending them back to your blog to find out more!
Your blog post is ready to be uploaded to YouTube as a video.
See?… wasn’t that easy?…
LOVE THIS TRAFFIC HACK? then SUBSCRIBE to
the free Bite-Size Traffic Hacks email series and learn...
- What 2-minute tip DOUBLES engagement, without any copywriting expertise?
- What 3-minute checklist triples conversions without coding skills?
- ... and many more!
How to Turn Blog Posts into GREAT Videos
The traffic hack above is a serious quickie to leverage your existing (and future!) blog posts to break the barriers that are holding you back from creating videos.
Now you too can…
- receive 41% more web traffic from search than non-users;
- see 27% higher click-through rates and 35% web-conversion rates;
- and grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.
SWEET!
However, I’ll be honest with you…
BLAH videos drive BLAH traffic.
Yes, you can absolutely turn any blog post into a video in nibbles of your time. And those videos WILL drive traffic.
However, to get BIG bites of traffic, you’ll need to step up your game.
A couple of months ago, I set out on a quest to find a better way to turn blog posts into videos.
By “better” I mean:
- creating killer videos
- from scratch
- in minutes
- without any complicated editing software
- without a steep learning curve
- without paying someone thousands of dollars to do it for you.
Tall order, huh? No guts, no glory!
And… what do you know… unicorns do exist!
My video creating unicorn came in the form of Content Samurai.
You should DEFINITELY take a look at my Content Samurai review and tutorial – you just might be blown away by what it can do for YOUR business.
Plus, for those of you who are truly ready to finally claim your share of video traffic in your market, I have a gift: 50% discount on Content Samurai – for LIFE. 👈
Bonus Tip: How to Turn Articles into Podcasts
This step is so simple that it’s a shame to ignore it.
Now that you’ve turned your blog post into a video and uploaded it to YouTube, you can easily download video audio track and use it as an additional way to drive traffic from sites like SoundCloud or any podcasting site.
All you do is go to ListenToYouTube.com, enter your YouTube video URL, and press Go.
This free service will quickly strip your video voice-over and turn it into an MP3 ready to be distributed to various podcast sites.
Marketing Takeaway
Day in and out, I tell my 9 year-old daughter, “The best time to do IT is right now.”
Whatever that IT is.
Do you feel like you’ve let your competitors dominate video marketing traffic in your niche for long enough?
Then the time to make video marketing your new best friend is NOW.
From Ana with ❤️,