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So we're in the thick of the holiday season, right, and because of this, millions of individuals
-- maybe you're one of them -- are preparing for one of three deeply demotivating projects:
One, Assembling a huge pile of generic-but-trying-not-to-appear-generic holiday cards, getting together the matching
pile of envelopes, and then stamping each envelope and mailing each card to a huge list
of personal and professional contacts; Two, Finalizing a database of personal and
professional contacts, and using e-mail or social media channels to launch a slew of
generic-but-trying-not-to-appear-generic virtual holiday cards to all of those people;
And three, Some combination of 1 and 2. So, last year, it hit me. I simply didn't
have the time, inclination, or energy to wrangle another 400 or so cards, and signatures, and
stamps. And send the message of impersonal, mass-delivery that I always feel whenever
someone sends me a virtual holiday card. I certainly didn't want to combine the two.
So I started thinking... Could there be a fourth option?
And I am happy to tell you that thanks to modern technology, there is.
Video is definitely a game-changer. This plan entails skipping all generic, fill-in-the
blank forms of holiday correspondence, regardless of whether they're snail-mail or regular mail
or digitally delivered; ruthlessly purging my contact list from an overblown four to
six hundred down to thirty to forty of my most important business relationships; and
then creating customized, highly personalized messages for each person on that list.
I can simply upload the video to YouTube and then send the recipient a link to click on.
YouTube has this very handy "unlisted option" so those videos don't show up in YouTube's
public search results; as a practical matter, the only way to access the video in question
is to get the link via an email message, which is really easy to do. There are some other
players who are doing this, too, but YouTube is the way I've been doing it.
So I'll be making these unique videos using my webcam and editing them with the software
that came bundled into my Mac. But you can do this with a PC, too. Total estimated time
investment: about 1/2 day. Compare that to the four or more person-days that always went
into the Big Holiday Mailing, and you see the benefit of this approach. I can tell you
also that last year's client reactions showed me that, in terms of impact, sending a unique,
personalized video message stands head and shoulders above the typical boring, impersonal
greetings we've all become so used to sending and receiving.
And as for those cheesy e-greetings ... well, I never sent them, but I know the videos I'll
be making will have much more impact. So, w ill you join me this year? That's my challenge.
Maybe I'm already on your list. Maybe you're already on mine.
Now head on over to ruthsherman.com or videocharisma.com where you can download your FREE 40 Speakrets
and be on your way to become a fabulous speaker, presenter, media darling and video charismatic.