The Network Gambler’s Dilemma
Imagine you’re a big time network broadcaster. Everyday your job is on the line. Every night you go to bed thinking “What if I green-light a TV show and no one watches?” With millions of dollars at stake, you really have to love risk to invest money in a business like that. Are you that kind of a risk taker? Well, if you’re doing crappy video you are. You see, there’s really no difference between your job and the broadcaster’s job. You’re both using video to entertain and enlighten your audience. To make them feel something. To make them do something. (To make them buy something!) And when you do your job well, you get rewarded. Richly rewarded.
And that takes strategy.
The Network Gambler’s Ace in the Hole
Remember, the networks spend millions trying to understand what people want to see. And when it comes to formats, they’ve succeeded spectacularly well. It’s only the individual shows that keep them up at night. Whether they should do a reality show or a game show is not the question. The format strategy keeps them relatively sane. It’s the content they put into the format that drives them crazy.
One thing is for sure. They don’t make their life even crazier by putting their content into formats that would never work in the first place.
Why PowerPoint Isn’t the Answer
For example, when was the last time you saw a hit PowerPoint on ABC, CBS, or the BBC? Or pay channels like HBO or Showtime? Or cable channels like History or The Learning Channel? Still say you’re not a high stakes gambler? I hear you loud and clear. “That’s not me!”, you protest. “I don’t have that kind of money tied up in video looking for millions of viewers!” Fair enough. So who’s money are you investing? And how much of it can you afford to gamble with? Maybe it isn’t millions. Maybe it’s only the $300 you spent on that whiz-bang instant video creation program.
So let’s figure it out. How much would be too much? $400? $500? Does it have to hit $1,000,000 before you say “Enough” ? And while we’re on the topic, why wouldn’t you want lots and lots and lots of viewers? I also want to say that this truly isn’t your fault. You’re just getting advice from people who simply don’t know what’s possible. You don’t lose any points for following the crowd. But you don’t get any new points either.
You CAN Be a Video Mogul
Let me be quite plain about it. The truth is you can make an awesome video and do it in the same amount of time you’re now spending on those powerpoints. So here’s the question: Would you like to be able to sleep at night, knowing that your video is working hard on building your list and selling your products and services, or go to bed like an insane broadcaster, hoping that your latest powerpoint presentation will finally pay off this time? I’m going to assume the former, because otherwise you will already have been offended enough to click away.
So what are some simple formats you can do that will get your market to sit up and say “This is freaking awesome! Who is this guy/gal?”
Next Week: on BrainyVideo
Well, the research money has been spent and the answers are in. We’ll talk next week about how to leverage one of these formats for huge ROI. Specifically we’ll take a multi-faceted look into the inspiration you can get from the Home and Garden Network. Yep, the one my “Southern Belle” watches to find new and creative ways to spend …er…rather, save our money. I’ll show you precisely how you can turn that inspiration into a simple, profitable star-making formula for your business. We’ll look at some really cool examples of this format that are succeeding for businesses like yours and I’m confident your imagination will begin exploding with new ideas and possibilities.
And let you leave PowerPoint back in the stuffy hotel ballroom 😉