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Showing posts with label Creating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Creating. Show all posts

Sunday, 8 January 2012

Creating Custom Short URLs for Amazon

amzn.toAs you may noticed in tweets and emails newsletters, the short URL of any product page on Amazon.com has a standard format that looks something like amzn.to/XYZ.


The path portion of Amazon short URLs is made of random digits and alphabets but if you wish, you can also use a more memorable string as a short URL. Here’s how:


Go to bit.ly and sign-in using your Facebook or Twitter account. Next paste any Amazon URL into the text box and hit the Shorten button.


Bitly will generate an amzn.to URL with a random suffix but you use the “Customize” option (see video) to set any other string as the suffix for that short URL. For instance, I reserved the following two URLs for my eBook that I published last week.

1. amzn.to/MyKindleBook2. amzn.to/MostUsefulWebsites

These URL suffixes (or keywords) are shared across the bitly ecosystem so if someone has reserved a particular keyword with another website that also uses bitly (like nyti.ms or 4sq.com), it won’t be available for your Amazon Short URL.


One more thing. All products listed on Amazon are assigned a unique ASIN code (it is listed in the item’s description) and you can just add this code to amzn.com to quickly create a short URL. Here’s an example - amzn.com/B006R4RN3U.


The same technique may be extended to other websites that are configured to work with bit.ly - these Facebook (on.fb.me), BBC (bbc.in), The Wall Street Journal (on.wsj.com), The New York Post (nypo.st) and others.

Saturday, 7 January 2012

23 Tips for Creating Integrity Driven Video



1. Be natural, smile and relax.


2. Don’t try to be something you’re not, it will come across as fake or forced.  I.E. if you’re not naturally bubbly, don’t try to be.


If you are, don’t try to be super straight.


3. Be honest and let the real you come through.


4. Start with a script – but don’t read it word-for-word


5. Use a whiteboard behind the camera/computer to tack your notes/bullet points to cover so your face is looking up at all times and you aren’t shuffling pages throughout your video.


6. Try to keep one objective per video so you don’t go off-topic on a tangent


7. Videos should be primarily related to your business/brand/skills/expertise


8. Front lighting is good, but be cautious of how bright (or close) it is to you as it may wash out your face or cause you to squint.


9. Don’t use direct overhead lighting as it can cast shadows below your eye brow, creating a raccoon look


10. Natural light is good but run a test video first if shooting directly against a window as the camera may adjust to the outside light and/or pick up a reflection.


Plus, you don’t want to pick up your neighbor wearing a speedo. ;)


11. Shoot from the chest up and try to frame your face so it looks natural.


Head closer to the top of the frame and zoom in, not too close but so you take up most of the space.


12. Use a tripod for steady videos.


13. If possible, use a separate microphone. Built-in microphones tend to be cheap and may not create good quality recordings.


14. Start the recording, then wait 5 seconds before you start talking, then leave the same amount of time after you end your discussion before turning off the recording.


This allows for easy editing.


15. Keep the content simple and easy to follow.


16. Consider background/outside noise when determining when to record.


If you live by a major highway, rush hour may not be the best time to record.


Other considerations might be neighborhood kids playing after school, lawns being mowed at mid-day, the postman delivering mail and the neighbor’s dog goes crazy, etc.


17. Sit still during recording – don’t move your head a lot, talk with your hands, etc. If you’re a naturally overly animated person, you may need to tone it down.


18. Keep your ‘background environment’ natural to your business tone. i.e. if you have a casual business tone, your video background (shown behind you in the video) should be neat and tidy but casual – not full of band instruments (unless your business is music related).


Same goes for ugly backgrounds; loud colors and distracting items will pull the attention from you and to the background.


19. Your clothing… again, consider your business tone.


You don’t want to be ultra-business like online yet recording videos in your jammies.


Nor do you want to be wearing eye-popping colors or patterns that might distract your viewers’ attention.


20. Always end your call with a call to action; join something, buy something, call a number, etc.


21. If you wear glasses, consider removing them or have a reflection coating added to cut the glare.


22. When speaking, keep a steady flow that’s not too fast or too slow so viewers can easily keep up.


23. Check yourself in the mirror before you begin. You do not want to have something unsightly on your face all through your video.