Unless you’ve been on vacation (or in really deep quarantine), you’ve probably heard of Clubhouse, the audio conferencing community that’s all the rage.
While some people have been able to use it to get clients, most haven’t. In fact most folks I talk to don’t have a clear executable plan to make the time they are pouring into Clubhouse worth their while.
But “everyone seems to be excited about it, why not?”
Unfortunately, they don’t have a plan to make it stick.
I’m not saying don’t check out cool tools. I am saying you need to either have a strong gut feeling it will work for you.
Or an actionable plan you will use to make it pay off.
Which is why I wanted to share with you:
- 3 interesting tools I have my eye on.
- Why I have my eye on them.
- And how I see them paying off for me.
Not only so you can determine if they will pay off for you.
But you can use my evaluation method to decide if all those new tools coming down the pipeline can actually help you make money. Or are just another flash in the pan.
COOL TOOL
mmHmm
I’m not being funny here. That’s the name of the tool: mmHmm.
Memorable, isn’t it?
What I liked about it is I immediately saw how I could make it work in my business. So what is it?
It’s an easy to use live video broadcast tool (though at the moment it’s Mac only) that allows you to show things like videos, slide decks, and graphics BEHIND YOU, just like they do in a national news broadcast.
Sure Zoom allows you to use virtual backgrounds. But not dynamic virtual backgrounds you can easily change.
mmHmm also allow you to quickly change the size of your video image on screen, which creates additional interest. And it plays well with Zoom. Simply make mmHmm the camera input on your Zoom broadcast (this is called a virtual camera) and you can turn Zoom into a mmHmm Studio.
4 Questions: Will this work for my business?
Does it solve a problem I already have?
Yes, making my videos more interesting so I can hold my audience’s attention longer.
Is it a fit for my existing skills / abilities?
Yes, because I’m creative and somewhat tech savvy.
Do I immediately say, “Wow, I know exactly how I can use that!”:
Yes
Do I immediately see ways I can make it pay off in sales / clients:
Yes
COOL TOOL
Prezi
Prezi has been around for years. But they have continually improved it, and recently added a live video broadcast capability which makes it more enticing.
Prezi started out as an ultra cool presentation tool, that has a unique swooping, zooming animation capability that really grabs your attention. Instead of creating a presentation on different slides, you create the entire thing on one large canvas.
And because you can only see one section of that canvas at a time, Prezi has created a really engaging way to transition between each of them. Instead of embarrassing myself by trying to describe it, I thought I would embed the example below and let you click around and see for yourself.
After you launch the Prezi by clicking the Present button, be sure you click the “View Full Screen” arrrows on the lower right of the viewer for the full affect.
Cool, huh?
To top it all off, they’ve recently added something called Prezi Video to the suite, that allows you to combine Prezi’s interesting animation effects with a live video broadcast. Check it out below:
4 Questions: Will this work for my business?
Does it solve a problem I already have?
Yes, finding a way to make my presentations and videos much more engaging and magnetic.
Is it a fit for my existing skills / abilities?
Because I have both design and tech skills I can see myself making this work. Although it may be a bit slow until I have the hang of it.
Do I immediately say, “Wow, I know exactly how I can use that!”:
Yes
Do I immediately see ways I can make it pay off in sales / clients:
Yes, if I can master Prezi’s design and presentation modules.
COOL TOOL
Vidnami
While I still haven’t made the leap into mmHmm or Prezi, I have been playing around with Vidnami.
It’s a video tool that’s a huge time-saver for folks who would like to make professional looking videos, but don’t have the time to master editing and adding effects.
Vidnami not only works with your talking head videos.
But can take your blog posts and create videos from them, complete with captions, video clips and background music.
And it comes from the folks at Noble Samurai, who have been creating great online tools for years.
One of the things I find REALLY intriguing about Vidnami is its use of AI (artificial intelligence) to match royalty-free videos clips (called B-roll) with your imported blog post so what’s on screen comes close to matching what you are describing with your words.
I’m really intrigued with the power of AI to positively impact many of the all-consuming business tasks that currently gobble up so much of our time.
And believe that tools that begin to use AI now will reap huge rewards in the future as they really dial-in and improve the technology.
Affiliate Notice: The link for Vidnami is an affiliate link which means if you click it and become a paying customer, I get a small commission. I only recommend products I use myself, provide a strong upside or come from folks I trust. Also, the above links will give you a 14-day free trial to see if it’s right for you.
4 Questions: Will this work for my business?
Does it solve a problem I already have?
Yes, I’ve been looking for a way to repurpose blog content, and create videos faster.
Is it a fit for my existing skills / abilities?
Yep, I’m video savvy and it feels like they’ve made it pretty straight forward.
Do I immediately say, “Wow, I know exactly how I can use that!”:
Not a resounding, 100% “Yes”, but I’m willing to play with it a bit to find out.
Do I immediately see ways I can make it pay off in sales / clients:
The jury is still out, but I’m intrigued enough with the possibilities to explore.
The bottom line is:
Cool tools are nice. But they’re PROFITABLE when you have a clear idea how you’re going to make them pay off before you jump into them.
If you can see real possibilities with the three I’ve listed for you – great!
What’s even better is you now have a clear idea about which tools you come across in the future (and there will be may) will be a boost for your business. And which are just another shiny expensive detour to take you off track.
A great tool for someone else may not be great for you. And you may discover a sleeper that no one else knows about that can make a huge difference for your future!
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Got a cool tool that you’ve got your eye on? Let us know what it is in the comments, and why you believe its a difference-maker for you!
