In the first article I posted on my painful climb to kickstart my business, Elegant Insights Braille Creations (www.elegantinsightsjewelry.com), using Kicstarter, I described some of the basics behind posting a project. As of that article, I had not yet finished the video that is supposed to accompany the business or project profile. I found the process of video creation to be one of the most painful things I’ve ever done, and in the end, I chickened out.
Ideally, you are supposed to put your best face forward, blow your own horn, talk up your talents, put it all on display. You should craft a video showcasing you and your project in a way that is so compelling, your viewers simply cannot resist throwing money in your direction. after all, who wants to pledge money to a project that does little more than elicit a yawn? So, you either have to be personality plus, or pitch an irresistible offer. Some videos are very low production value, just a person sitting and talking about their project in front of their laptop webcam. Other videos are mini multi-media productions that make one wonder why they need the money in the first place. Despite my best efforts to be interesting, I succumbed to my fear of being in front of the camera and made my video all about the product. all you’ll get of me is my voice doing the narration. it’s quite the cringe-worthy commercial. But everyone has to play to their strengths, and my otherwise long list does not include being a media maven. All I can hope for is that my plea for pledges will be appealing enough, and by extension, distracting enough, that viewers will overlook the fact that my face is nowhere to be seen. I actually think forcing myself to be in front of a camera could be detrimental in the end. For the life of me, I cannot seem to come across as anything other than a kidnap victim in a ransom demand video. If I look as though I wish I were anywhere else, how is that going to convince potential pledgers to "feel the passion"?
Uploaded it will be, as is. In a world where no one seems to be camera-shy, and everyone seems to strive for pseudo-stardom, it’s clear to me I live in the social media celebrity-obssessive stone age.
You can read part 1 here: Anatomy of a Kickstarter project: Preliminary examination
LL