I remember that day in January 2015 like it was yesterday. I was driving on the windy roads of Great Falls, VA. A blanket of snow still remained from the prior day’s snowfall. I had been thinking of starting a video blog. A little voice said, “Why not now?”. So I pulled my car over to the side of the road, got out my iPhone, opened the camera app, turned the camera around to me, chose the video option, hit record and I was OFF.

The first VLOG was about how to use hashtags on Twitter. Since then, I have made about 90 more videos and posted them to my YouTube channel, Facebook, LinkedIn and shared them in my “Sunday Night Emails”. Their length ranges from two to seven minutes but usually they are just under four minutes.I have received SO MUCH FEEDBACK about my videos and I truly believe they are the main reasons people in the real estate industry so often recognize me when I am out and about in the DC metro area.

I wanted my first blog this month to be about my process. I believe a lot of agents think it is difficult to start/maintain a VLOG. But it isn’t. It is actually one of the quickest and easiest types of content to produce. The bigger issue is you being afraid of how you will look and sound. You need to get over yourself. Sorry if that is harsh but it’s true. Your desire to be perfect is literally causing you to leave money on the table. It is my hope that after you read my process, you will be inspired to start TODAY!

What You Will Need To Get Started:

1. A phone that can record video
2. A Gmail account
3. A YouTube channel

Step One: Pick A Topic. I get ideas all the time and keep a running list in the notes app of my phone. I realize not everyone is like me so I have listed a few ideas to get your creativity flowing.

1. Do I Need Great Credit To Buy A House?
2. Does My Lease Need To Be Up Before I Start Looking For A Home?
3. What Are Contingencies?
4. How Do I Know What Price To List My Home For?
5. What Is An EMD?
6. Showcase A New Store Or Restaurant In The Neighborhood You Service
7. Review A Restaurant Or Store In The Area You Service
8. Every Friday, Tell Your Audience What Is Happening This Weekend
9. Post Settlement Testimonials
10. Partner Interviews (Lender, Title, Home Inspector)
11. New Construction Tours
12. Interview A New Construction Sales Associate

Step Two: Record.

I do not have a script that I follow. I just speak from my heart and tap into the knowledge I have. Sometimes I can do one take. Sometimes it takes me twenty takes. I hold the phone in front of me, hit record and start talking. I do not watch it once I have recorded it because I know I will be overly critical and find something wrong.

Step Three: Upload the video to YouTube.

1. Open The YouTube App On Phone
2. Touch The Gray Button That Looks Like A Video Camera In The Upper Right Corner
3. Allow Youtube Access To Your Camera (you will only have to do this once)
4. Choose The Video You Just Recorded (it should be the most recent video)
5. Choose “Next”
6. Give Your Video A Title
7. Complete The Description
8. Make Sure “Privacy” Is PUBLIC
9. Click UPLOAD In The Upper Right Corner
10. Wait For It To Upload

Step Four: Upload the video to Facebook directly from your phone. I used to share the YouTube link but I stopped because I noticed Facebook was not giving as much air time to my video when it was uploaded from Youtube.

1. Go To Your Facebook Business Page
2. Choose The “Publish” Button
3. Choose The Button That You Would Choose If You Were Uploading A Picture
4. Select Your Video
5. Click “DONE”
6. “Say” Something Like: LATEST VLOG IS UP or EPISODE #1 OF MY BLOG IS UP or #CHECK OUT MY LATEST VLOG ABOUT THE NEW HARRIS TEETER
7. Add Some Emojis For Fun (video camera, house, a thumbs up)
8. Click “CONTINUE”
9. Click “PUBLISH”

Step Five: Promote / Share

1. Share The YouTube Link To Twitter, LinkedIn, Email It To Your Database
2. Boost Your Facebook Video To Your Avatar (I spend about $50.00 per video boosting it to Realtors in the DMV area)

And that’s it! Pretty simple right? As time has gone on, I have tweaked my process.But this is how I did it for two years. So make a commitment today to make a video once a week for the next twelve weeks. Keep me posted with how it’s going!

Kara Macdonald is the Owner of Your Favorite Title Lady, LLC and the Vice President of Pruitt Title, LLC. Her mission is to inspire real estate agents by teaching them how to market themselves better online and offline through blogs, vlogs, webinars and in person consultations. She can be reached by email at kara@yourfavoritetitlelady.com and on her cellphone: 571-432-9382.