Creating a product is usually a labor-intensive task ?here's a quick way to get a product fast and have it ready to market almost immediately. Create a video tutorial. Video tutorials can be created in very little time ?as little as an hour ?and can be on almost any topic. They're easy and maybe even fun to make. Here's how you can create one: Define your Topic. Let's say you wanted to create a video tutorial on how to use Microsoft Excel. That's a pretty long tutorial. So, before you create the tutorial as a whole, break it up into just one small task at a time. If you are creating a comprehensive product, your "lessons ? can build on one another until you have covered the whole topic. For Excel I might start with a tutorial on "The Basic Terminology of Excel. ? Then I might do a second one on "How to Format a Cell ?, a third on "Adding and Subtracting ? and so on. Outline in detail all the steps you are going to work through in your tutorial. The key to an effective tutorial is DETAIL. You want to create your tutorial with "every little step ? in place. Never assume your "student ? knows ANYTHING. Creating a clear, step-by-step outline keeps you on track and helps you to avoid skipping steps which might be unclear. Download a copy of Camtasia http://www.techsmith.com/download/studiodefault.asp At the time of this writing there is a free 30-day trial. What Camtasia does is create a "film ? ?with audio and video ?of a section on your computer screen. You can then use it to make that film into a Flash video, mpeg or streaming video from your website. Record your Tutorial. Shut off the phone, get into a quiet room, tell everyone you have to be left alone. Follow the instructions with Camtasia to record and save your tutorial. Write any supporting materials. This final step is often overlooked, but it can make the difference between a great product and a mediocre one. |
