Volume 1, E-Edition #1.

Our new company, Biz Videos Online, started the beginning of last year…(January, 08) and has given us much hope and sleepless nights.  Our vision is to produce quality, short form web videos for merchants, companies, entrepreneurs, retailers or restaurants with the goal to provide a dependable, affordable and effective digital marketing solution to businesses who were looking to thrive during the economic downturn. A veteran of the dot.com hey-days, I wanted to show, just how far web technologies have come in less than seven years. My compatriots and myself would be celebrated captains of industry, providing best of breed Open Source CMS technologies and cool, digital media solutions to businesses who, in the previous bubble, couldn't come close to being able to afford such solutions. An army of Open Source gurus had opened up the technology lid and made large, enterprise level web solutions available to the masses! The potential market...was mind boggling. Anyone with a grand vision, a compelling plan or product...a cool widget or a new idea…could certainly benefit from their own, personalized video. Every small business, mid-sized manufacturer or enterprise level corporation could tell their story in 5 minutes or less ! 

Volume 1, E-Edition #2, April'09.

The economy sucks and revenues are down, but sales have not stopped! Even with 10% unemployment, 90% are still buying, (the 10% are too, just less frequently and more selectively.) Important expenditures are being purchased…but we must ask…are our companies products, ideas or services important enough?! In most cases…the answer is YES! Customers are simply not finding you the same way they have in the past...thumbing through the Yellow Pages or Newspapers! They are finding you on the web, doing research on you, finding out what you sell, what is your warranty, what makes your unique AND as hard as this is to swallow...they are researching your competitors.

Volume 1, E-Edition #3, May'09.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the junk mail that lands in my in-box every week.  My advise is to create a separate email account (or accounts, as is my case) and start giving out this alternate email address to people who haven’t earned invitation to your most coveted personal and business contact list.  This works fine for me…I only have to look through the screened/public accounts when I am ready for abuse...and to research the select gems that are hiding in the spam. I make sure this happens when I have a laptop on my outdoor patio and a drink in my hand.  Try it.

Volume 1, E-Edition #4, June'09.

There are no magic bullets in internet marketing.  A cool website is just that, a pretty site that just sits there, until someone looks at it...or knows where to look for it. With millions of sites and landing pages, the competition for eyeballs is intense.  On the same note... One cannot produce a video and expect it to automatically produce business.  It needs to be part of an integrated digital marketing package that when executed properly, can and will generate unparalleled response!  Ah…”but my technical skills suck”…the most popular objection!   Reality is huge…and sobering. It’s time to reevaluate ourselves, our priorities and our methods.  Is it time to hang up our hat, or pick up a new idea and concept!  It is time to look at the changing business world…(an increasingly digital one, requiring technical skills) and decide to play ball...or jump ship!