Late in December I saw that my online friend and all-round nice guy Paul Thomson had challenged himself to do #365daysofvideo in 2017. His aim is to record video of some kind every day in 2017.
My first thought on this was — eek! That’s a lot of video!
But as with the best ideas, after that it got me thinking.
I’ve recently launched my own video podcast; Follow Me: Social Media Perspectives and I did my first vlog the same week. Actually starting my YouTube channel and posting my first few videos was a big deal for me and I felt like it was the start of something big as well.
More thinking. It’s not like I could join him, right? I mean, video content every day in 2017? That’s a crazy idea. Right?
December wore on. I was still thinking about it. Planning my next few video podcast guests and scribbling notes for new vlogs.
When I started doing video content late last year I had just one thought: this is my MVP. I’ve never edited a video myself, despite having project managed editing many times. I’d written scripts and questions, invited guests, set up filming days but me and my own skills and equipment had never been pressed into service.
When I thought about all the reasons that I didn’t want to do video after the initial and most natural thought everyone has — eek! Is that really what I look like?! — it came down to the quality of my videos. I knew that I didn’t have the equipment or skills to go straight in with a polished final edit.
But then my internal monologue of doubt started to listen to what I tell my clients. Everyone has to start somewhere. Quality content always shines through. Think of this as a first go, you are building from here, every time you do this is a chance to improve and grow.
Suddenly it didn’t seem to daunting. Just playing around and recording the ideas that I had seemed to work. I was pleased with what I had said. I contacted my first podcast guest to pitch her the idea, and she agreed. I was off!
So when I thought about video content every day in 2017, I was suddenly thinking — why not?
As of today, Saturday 14th January 2017, I have published video content everyday. For me, I’ve chosen to include all video content in my challenge, including Instagram Stories and Snapchat. I have learnt so much from just messing around with these already that I know I’ll use for my vlogging and podcast.
I’ve recorded my second podcast episode, which I’m so proud of. Recording one could have been a one-off, but no, two makes it real! I’m going to edit it this weekend and release it next week.
So, I’m off to a good start. I think. It was only yesterday that it got to the end of the day and I realised I’d not made any content and recorded a hasty message on my Stories. Every other day I’ve found nice things to record or document, retold a little story or shared a client challenge from work.
I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m keen to have you all along for the ride. You can follow me on Instagram or Snapchat as @thatlaurawinton and subscribe to my YouTube channel here.
