Tracy: Live video is like the jumping off point for all video, right? Because what all of my students and clients, they say the same thing. They’re very live video, reluctant, start doing it and then they’ll tell me like, oh my gosh, I totally nailed that sales call – like a Zoom sales call because they’re more confident on video.
Oh, I got invited to do this training inside of someone else’s group and I was totally confident because I wasn’t worried about like, what I look like or what I sounded like. So it’s this jumping off point. And again, a lot of what I talk about is video. It’s this entryway into other opportunities.
Nancy: Hi and welcome to your permission prescription, the podcast that teaches you how to confidently say yes to you and consciously create the life you desire.
I’m Nancy Levin, bestselling author, master life coach and founder of Levin Life Coach Academy. But it wasn’t too long ago that I was a burnt out people pleaser, living my life for everyone around me and ignoring my own needs. Fast forward to today and I’ve successfully coached thousands of recovering people-pleasers to set boundaries with themselves and the people around them so they can live a more fulfilling life on their own terms.
I created Your Permission Prescription to help you do the same. Be sure to tune in for actionable coaching methods from me, interviews with other incredible coaches, speakers and authors, plus one-on-one live coaching calls and so much more. If you are ready to start saying yes to you, then you are in the right place.
Nancy: Welcome back to another episode of Your Permission Prescription. I am so tickled to be here today with our guest Tracy Phillips. Tracy is an Emmy nominated video and visibility expert who trains and works with CEOs, key opinion leaders, medical professionals, visionaries and bestselling authors who want to use their visibility to impact their internal and global audiences.
Tracy’s laugh and learn style of presenting has made her a highly sought after speaker, trainer and workshop facilitator. Her clients include New York Times bestselling authors and Fortune 500 companies and me!
Tracy: The most important of all!
Nancy: Of course!
And I also love to credit Tracy for turning me into a joyous collaborator. I used to, pre-Tracey, be someone who liked to do everything all by myself. And Tracy and I have worked together for six years and she has really taught me the joy of collaboration.
So welcome Trace.
Tracy: Thanks For having me. That’s so exciting. I also like to say not only the joy of collaboration, but I like to refer to you as my most video reluctant client.
Nancy: Yes, it’s true.
Tracy: Right? Teleprompter? You were a girl like I’m good. I took the teleprompt away, you’re like double fingers Tracy, double fingers.
Nancy: Yes. All right, so we are gonna talk all about video and visibility and why video is essential for your business. So tell us why.
Tracy: Well, I’ll tell you why Nancy. And I also have to say like video’s not going away. So there was a time where video was nice to have, and now it really is a must-have. But I’m gonna say that with a giant asterisk, which is you do not have to dance or sing or point or lip sync.
Nancy: Thank God.
Tracy: Oh you’re welcome. Welcome to your audience. Because the type of video that I like to teach and it’s more the strategy and what you’re talking about and establishing your authority, that is creating opportunities for yourself. And dancing and pointing or showing your dog is not gonna get you there.
I know we’ve talked about a lot vanity numbers, right? Simply because someone’s watching your things doesn’t mean that that is actually going to bring them into your world. And so what I like to teach is the types of videos that actually bring people into your world so you can establish your authority and show up as the expert that I know that you are.
And that is what truly lights me up. That’s what gets me up in the morning, is working with people, just like you Nancy, who like know you need video, but you’re like, tell me all the things. What do I need to do?
Nancy: Right. So how do you work with others in terms of establishing authority via video?
Tracy: So many ways. Then there’s a lot of different videos you can do and there’s a lot of different, depending on where you are in your business, of how you’re doing it.
So if you are newer to your business, you’re establishing, your online entrepreneur establishing yourself, right? You are your brand. You have to be the face of your brand.
And my story is everybody else’s story. Because I was, yes, I’m Emmy nominated, but I was behind the camera where I was very, very comfortable calling all the shots, Right? That’s my comfy zone.
When I had to put myself on camera, it was a very different story and yes, I knew the structure and the strategy behind what I wanted to do with video, but putting my face out there was scary. And I had a lot of stories and were in the perfect place because Nancy helped me uncover every single one of them on why I didn’t really want to show up, right? But why I needed to.
And so there’s different ways of using video. You being the forward facing person on video, your brand, and then also I do something called the “Testi-Magicals”, which is video testimonials done for you. And that’s important.
Nancy: Which I take credit for naming the testi-magicals and have given Tracy full authority and permission to use.
Tracy: And let’s talk about that. Here’s why we, we, we were doing that. I love to word smash a and so I was throwing it out there and Nancy who had actually, it wasn’t called a testi-magical, I was just calling them like, I think awesome video testimonials or something like that. But it didn’t even really have a name.
Nancy: Right, awesome video testimonial.
Tracy: Yeah, it wasn’t, whatever it is, it was my documentary background, right? Like so getting people to talk about why Nancy’s group, why her life coaching is the best, why they should get, that’s my magic sauce. But I wanted to name it something a little more exciting. And so Nancy’s like, well what about testi-magical because it’s a testimonial that’s awesome and magical because you keep bringing people into my world using these videos. And so that is how the test-magical was born. And they have been amazing and we use those.
I mean this is why when I talk about like, who my “dreamy” is, Nancy’s my dreamy, somebody who comes who needs to be the face and is like, what do I do? But then also just we’ve worked with brick and mortars from dentists to psychologists who simply need to put a face to their business and a face being trust. And the best way to do trust is using video testimonials by far.
Nancy: And every single person I know who has gotten on video with you to do a testi-magical always comes back and says, Tracy is the easiest, most fun person to talk to. So when you do these interviews with my clients, my students, and then you put together the whole edit and create the whole testi-magical, what really comes through is the heartfelt, authentic, honest conversation. Instead of it feeling like something salesy.
Tracy: Nancy is great. Even worse than salesy is like it doesn’t say anything at all. And here’s the thing about the video testimonials and the testi-magical and why it’s doing so well, is people love you. They don’t love video. So it’s almost unfair to your super fans, it’s unfair to your customer to say, Hey, just drop me a video.
I interviewed a woman for somebody else’s program. She did 20 takes, 20, takes before she finally sent in her video. It was 10 minutes long and completely unusable. And this is the problem, right? You spend all the time and the people do do it. They don’t wanna screw up, they wanna do the best for you.
And so hopping on with somebody, and that is again my gift and owning my gift is making people feel comfortable and having very specific questions so that it’s not just, hey, Nancy’s great, but what did you experience through this? What is your real raw story? It’s about them.
Nancy: Yeah.
Tracy: It’s not about Nancy, it’s about their transformation. And that is what works so well on video. And that’s why when we talk about integrity is a lot of times the dancing, singing, lip syncing doesn’t feel aligned because it’s not aligned. I love, Nancy will tell you, I love to dance and sing and do all those things I do, right? Like I like doing those things, but I will not perform, I will not do it on cue. And what does that have to do with what I’m teaching?
And so when things like that, I always say, if it doesn’t feel good, I’m never gonna make you do it. Now you do need to do video of some sort, but you can do it in a way that feels good to you.
Nancy: So, I remember when we first started working together, when we were creating a video series, and at that point I’d certainly done Facebook Lives and things like that, but I hadn’t really, really embraced the power of video. And like you said at the beginning when I was using the teleprompter, so easy for me and it is easy for me to think off the top of my head, that’s not the issue.
But there was something that was sort of crunchy for me in, there’s a showing up on video that is you’re just, you are there, you’re transparent, you’re visible, you are vulnerable.
Tracy: I like to say genuine because I think the word authentic is to different people mean different things, right? Like so I like the word genuine because the biggest compliment I can get, is if someone meets me in person and they say, you’re just like you are on video, thank you.
Nancy: Same.
Tracy: Same. And you are. And so that it was really extracting that Nancy, right? So the teleprompter Nancy was someone who but you know like perfectly quaffed, perfectly produced perfectly. So all the words were right, all the things were correct, but it just wasn’t truly Nancy.
And what we’ve learned over the course is, when you do show up as you, when you do find that rhythm and that flow, and you will, people know. They feel it, they’ll tell you like, oh and that’s what connects people to you.
Nancy: Yeah. And as soon as we then switched away from that and went sort of the other route of let’s take it, whether it’s bit by bit or let’s just take it extemporaneously, everything shifted for me.
And like you said, I was reluctant at first even to holding LLC A sessions online and I moved everything over to video for my academy.
Tracy: I remember the days when you were holding tele-things like calling in on the phone.
Nancy: That’s right. A tele-bridge or a conference call, exactly. And what I know now, the progression to how easy it feels for me today to pick up my phone and record an Instagram story or hop on and create a video for a Facebook ad or get on and do a podcast where we’re on video or whatever it might be.
And I now prefer video, of course, to any other way to connect
Tracy: Because it’s easy, it’s easier. And here’s, and here’s what happens because when you’re overthinking it, before you’re actually doing video, and you’re used to video, and you’re comfortable with video, there’s too much overthinking going on. Once you do it, and you don’t even have to get good at it.
Once you’re doing it and you realize the potential, you’re like, oh my gosh, it is so much easier to just hop on and do live or hop on and record this quick video. And it really is. And then I have people, I tell people like then have that transcribed so you can then write emails or write whatever it is from there because you’re saving so much time instead of trying to write something first.
Nancy: So that’s something else that I really learned from you. The difference between writing for something that someone is going to read versus writing for video.
Tracy: Right. And so when we were collaborating, I would say it needs to be said not read. The difference is when you’re saying something, it is a different type of writing than when you’re writing something. And like, I mean I was an English major, but I have the worst punctuation and it’s fabulous as a video person because it doesn’t matter that nobody sees that version of it. So,
Nancy: And I will say that I will often create a draft of something speaking, recording myself on Zoom, talking, transcribing it, and then going back into the transcription to create my own outline and my own document to use.
Tracy: And that’s such a great way to do it because the way, again, when you’re on video, it is the way that you talk. And when people get stuck it’s because they’re trying to be something else on video and your audience knows it’s, they can smell BS a mile away. Your trying to be something that you’re not, which is why I think so many of the dancing and singing, and again I’m not putting it down, if that is your thing. It’s awesome. But I think so many of us, it’s cringey to watch because you’re like, I can tell they’re uncomfortable. You can tell they’re uncomfortable. And I’m talking about some big name people who I watch, I’m like, you know their team told them to do it, they’re reluctantly doing it and they’re hating every minute of it.
Nancy: Yeah. And you know, the other thing I’ll say is that in the beginning, certainly I was conscientious, borderline self-conscious in terms of what do I look like and all of that. You know, on video of course there is that whole element. And I will say that over time I have definitely gotten less concerned about what I look like and not even concerned about what exactly I’m saying because I know it is about the transmission.
Tracy: Correct. And that’s the thing, that’s what, when you’re making videos, video’s not a one and done. You can’t dabble in video, you have to commit, you have to be consistent. These are really important. You have to be clearer on what you’re saying. You don’t have to be great at what you’re saying, you just have to be clear on what you’re saying.
And this is the thing, I’ve had people in my classes and they’re like, okay as soon as I got over myself, that’s when they started to shine on video. And that is the thing is, they’re making the videos about them, not about their audience. And so that is when it starts to shift is when you realize nobody cares about what you look like or sound like or like, it really is about the content and how they are taking in that content. And that is when it starts to shift for so many of my clients is because they realize like, oh, it’s not about me.
And I joke because I’ll be 50 next month and I watched my face fall in slow motion on live video over the last seven years, right?.
Nancy: Same.
Tracy: Right? But and it doesn’t matter, nobody cares because they’re signing up for the expert. They’re signing up because they’re like, oh, she knows what she’s talking about or, oh she’s so relatable or whatever it is that I’ve said, that’s checking a box for them. And that’s why video is so powerful because you can put a face to it.
Nancy: And especially for me and my business, for coaches, for people who, like you said, I am my brand and what draws people to me is my me-ness. So the more that I am genuine, the more that they feel me, the more they are going to be drawn into my world.
Tracy: Correct. Or deflected. And that’s, I tell people it’s just as important to deflect the people who don’t agree with you or don’t, and you don’t have to agree with everybody but they’re not your vibe and you don’t want them in your world anyway, right? And so that is really important to kind of like bring the right people in and then say like, no, I think you’re okay over there.
Nancy: Yeah. So let’s talk about the way that visibility is your currency.
Tracy: Yeah, let’s talk about that.
Nancy: Let’s talk about it!
Tracy: Let’s talk about that because here’s why I started saying that, because you do need to be visible. If people don’t know that you have something to offer, they absolutely cannot buy from you. They cannot even sign up for your freebie. They can’t come into your world if they don’t know it exists.
And so you have to establish your authority online. And how you establish your authority is by showing up and showing up again and showing up again. It’s my three Cs, which lead to confidence because where people come in, they wanna come in with the confidence and it doesn’t work that way. There is no magic pill that you can take at night and then next morning you’re like, I’m amazing on video today, just today. Right?
So you have to, you have to commit, which is I’m going to use video to grow my business. You have to be consistent. And I generally tell people once a week is fine, if you can commit to that. If you’re like, I can’t commit to that, I can only do once every two weeks, that’s fine. Commit to that though. It’s the commitment that matters because the consistency, when you show up, every two weeks even, people are waiting for that and they’re not on their waiting for you, right?
You’re creating what I call a library of authority. And so this is why it’s so important because it doesn’t matter who’s on with you live or if you post a video and you don’t see as many comments or anything like that. Again all vanity numbers, because you’re giving people a place to go once they do find you, they come into your world, they’re gonna start going through all of your content and you have this amazing authority library that says, I’m the right person and here’s what I have to offer.
But if you’re not doing any of that, it will directly affect how well your business does. Especially the way that video is being consumed these days and nd so it really is your visibility and how often you show up.And again, you’re not showing up in perfection, you’re just showing up at first and you will get better. I like to say you have to embrace the suck a little bit and then you’ll get better and better. And like Nancy and I now where it’s like our preferred like oh my god, a video would be so much easier here.
But that is why I say your visibility equals your currency because if you don’t show up, nobody knows you exist.
Nancy: So for someone who is really starting out ground floor, and I know I bring you in to The Levin Life Coach Academy Alumni Springboard. So right when the coaches are certified, they get a training from you on video.
Tracy: They get trace-ified.
Nancy: They get trace-ified. So for anyone here who’s listening, who’s really starting out fresh, what is it in terms of video that you encourage people to create?
Tracy: Okay, I’m going to preface this with, I can see you all rolling your eyes over the interwebs, over the audio waves. It’s live video, and live video is by far the easiest way to get started with video. And that is how you’re gonna create that archive of authority, right? Like those libraries of authority.
The thing about video is, and the why I say live is because I know people are like, the shoulders are starting to meet their ears. They’re like, no, no, no, no. It seems like the scariest way but lives are very forgiving.
Nancy: Amen.
Tracy: Amen. They’re very forgiving. I have notes, I will reference my notes. I’ll say, hold on, let me check my notes and make sure I didn’t forget it. Nobody cares. Nobody thinks like, wow oh my gosh she’s reading notes. They’re like, oh great, she prepared. She’s prepared for this, right?
And so live, there’s just a few things to get used to. Like, I know it’s awkward to look into the little green dot or look into your phone, but you get used to that and you can get used to that fairly quickly. And that’s how quickly you get good at video. It just seems like it’s a lot faster live video than what prerecorded, because prerecorded gives you that opportunity to be like, no I didn’t like that. No I didn’t like that or I’m gonna edit this. And then you’re into this world of video suck where you’re like, oh this is hard and it doesn’t have to be. So I encourage live video.
Nancy: I love that you are saying this because I actually had a bit of an epiphany over the weekend because I am actually taking a training course, I’m in a course, and you’re gonna love this trace, the way that we present our homework is via video. So like five minute videos.
Tracy: And it’s not a video course I’m guessing?
Nancy: Not even at all a video course, it has nothing to do with video.
Tracy: But that shows you how prevalent video has become that now rather than just sharing a Google Doc or something, they want you showing up on video sharing.
Nancy: Exactly.
So what I notice and in talking to someone else, I know in the course, I can go in create a five minute video, post it and be good.
Tracy: Yeah.
Nancy: Someone else is like, it took me 10 tries
Tracy: Send them my way.
Nancy: Right? And part of it is that I feel like I have gotten over that hump of it needing to be perfect, of it needing to be really anything other than how I show up and what it is. And that is a relief.
Tracy: It’s such a relief. And that’s so again, like when we talk about it like live video is, it’s like the jumping off point for all video, right? Because all of my students and clients, they say the same thing. They’re very live video reluctant and they start doing it and then they’ll tell me like,
oh my gosh, I totally nailed that sales call like a Zoom sales call. Because they’re more confident on video. Oh, I got invited to do this training inside of someone else’s group and I was totally confident because I wasn’t worried about like what I look like or what I sounded like. So it’s this jumping off point. And again, a lot of what I talk about is, video is this entryway into other opportunities like podcast interviews, like teaching opportunities, like teaching on stage, speaking opportunities.
And so that is the other reason when we talk about visibility equaling your currency, people talk about wanting those things. Video is how you will get those things. If you show up and say, here’s what I do and I’m really good at it. The differentiator, right? Like it’s you, by the way. There’s no formula there. It’s you. You are the differentiator and you show up and keep telling people this is what you do. They will start listening and maybe they hear someone else say, oh I really wish I had someone, a coach, a life coach who works just with autoimmune and someone else say, oh I saw this lady and she keeps doing these lives about autoimmune. Then suddenly she’s the guest on some, right? Like just simply from being top of mind.
Nancy: Yeah.
Tracy: So it’s amazing.
Nancy: I love that. Let’s talk a little bit about YouTube.
Tracy: No. No, I’m just kidding. I love YouTube. Yeah
Nancy: Especially because, and I think that there are still people who think that YouTube is social media, but YouTube is a search engine.
Tracy: Yep, just like Pinterest. Yes.
Nancy: So let’s talk about that in terms of the way you’re building that library of authority that you were mentioning.
Tracy: And YouTube is an excellent way to do that, right? Like so YouTube could be very, very useful for you coaching otherwise like if you’re the face of your brand, you’re trying to establish your brand, it’s just a lot harder.
So when we talk about getting good on video and you wanna do YouTube videos, I think that’s great. I’m not sure I would start there, right? Because, and there’s shorts, there’s different, like I am a fan of YouTube shorts. Again, if the shorts have to do with your business and they’re driving somebody somewhere else, great.
But YouTube is a search engine. I call it YouToogle. When somebody Googles something, they Google something, it will take you to a YouTube video first. If you ever notice, it’ll list the videos first. Why? Oh my gosh, I wonder because people prefer video, right? And so when they’re YouToogling, that search has to match your exact video title or the first things you say.
And so I love YouTube for the people that it brings in on autopilot. But it is not where I would start with video because there’s a whole system behind that, you know, with keyword research and seo. And these are longer forms, so they are a little bit more produced, right? If you watch a lot of YouTube videos, they are a little bit more produced.
Now can you get away with your finger in front? You could, but again, if someone’s looking at the thumbnails and you’re on your phone and then you see this other nicely produced one, you’re like, oh, and that’s short. I’m gonna click that one.
Nancy: Yeah. And I will say I was in business for several years before I really put attention on YouTube and I did it kind of half-assed.
Tracy: We all do.
Nancy: Right? And then in the past year I’ve put very focused attention and very consistent weekly. And like you said, it’s not a place to begin.
Tracy: No it’s, it’s just not a great jumping because it’s frustrating. And like even I, you know, I had to kind of take a break from YouTube videos, I had family things going on because it was a couple of hours every week I was producing this video.
Now I have a giant library of videos that are very helpful on YouTube now. So I feel like as the video person, I should have that. I want to have that. What I’ve been doing instead, this when we talk about consistency because I don’t want my channel to post shorts, but again with relevant information, not shorts about my cat Herman Munster, not shorts about, and again, I think those things are adorable and people talk about viral videos, but virality is, it’s not a strategy, it’s a trend or a tactic.
And by the name alone, something going viral, you can’t plan it went viral. So when people come to me and they’re like, I wanna make a viral video about this. And I’m like, which you know, I smile and nod, right and that’s not where we start.
I have a client currently who was following someone else’s TikTok, he’s an engineer for Tesla, right and he does has a program from engineers. But he was working with someone who was posting like three times a day on TikTok and who has time to do that by, it’s exhausting and you’re gonna burn out. But he had like one of his videos had 400,000 views on it. And I was like, that’s incredible how many people signed up just for like the strategy call? No one. So because his video had nothing to do with his program, it had to do with a Rubik’s cube.
Nancy: Right. So this transition from video to conversion. So it’s not only am I bringing you into my world, but I’m also bringing you in in a way that you’re engaged. Are you interested in what I have to offer?
Tracy: Yeah, I mean, and like video, again, it’s a great jumping off point because everything in marketing is no like and trust. It’s like the marketing triad. It’s the first thing you learn, right? What better way than video where people can see and hear and get a feel for you to know, like, and trust you. And so that’s why video is so effective.
And again, we talk about different phases, like a very beginning person, I want live video. If you’re more established we talk about a homepage video or if you have a landing page for something to put a landing page video on there for only for simple reasons of they convert better. Someone will stay on your homepage 80% longer if you have a homepage video on there, your opt-in page will convert 88% better with a video on it. No one even says like, a good video, they just say a video.I can help you make it a good video and these are not long videos.
One of the questions I would say I get most often is, how long? Because again, if you’re newer you’re like, oh my gosh I have to stay on video for a really long time. And if you listen to anybody out there like, you should be on for 30 minutes or when I got to the third, please.
And so, I’m gonna be inappropriate because Nancy said I could be, but I have a simile that I like to use and it’s my miniskirt simile, and that is, your videos are like a miniskirt, the length of them. And that is, it needs to be short enough to keep me interested and long enough to cover the bare essentials. And all that really means in a very cutesy way is that there is no right or wrong length. You can have a very, very long five minute video and a very short five minute video. It’s all context. It’s do you know your audience and are you speaking to them, right? And not to like the royal “we” of everybody.
And so there’s nuances but honestly I just feel like video also really helps you nail your marketing message. It helps you when you have to start talking about it, not writing about it, it’s very different and it starts to kinda evolve.
And so when we talk about confidence, people come to me cuz they want camera confidence and I tell them, that’s nice, you’ll get that really quick. What I want is for them to be confident talking about what they have to offer, what lights them up, why should that matter to their audience. That’s the confidence that I think video really brings to the table.
Nancy: Before we started recording, you were telling me about something called the Gregory Effect. Will you share?
Tracy: Yes. Well because video for me isn’t just about like coming on and seeing my face, it’s about creating opportunities and video is a great way to create opportunities And one of the opportunities I hear so many people talking about is getting on stage and speaking right? I wanna speak on stage, I wanna speak on stage, I wanna speak on stage.
Well I talk to someone who is an expert in pitching stages and she started talking about, she’s like, I love what you do and I love especially live video because live video creates your own stage. I call that phenomenon the Gregory Effect cuz her name was Aurora Gregory.
And I was like, I’m gonna be using that because when you start showing up consistently, that is your stage, you are creating your own stage. And so it’s a virtual stage and at that point people get to see how you are on video and then they think maybe she’d be a great guest in person or again with all the hybrid events,I’ve done a lot of virtual events and I don’t have to fly, I don’t have to say hotel, right?
And so that Gregory effect is simply realizing that video is your opportunity and it is your stage. So you have to kind of get your mind around that. It’s not just about recording you saying something, it’s about creating bigger opportunities for you and your business.
Nancy: Yes. And I will say I have absolutely found this to be true and it’s one of the reasons why I really love doing any kind of teaching or training via video.
And I’m also, we’re all using Zoom, but I made a point very early on not to use the webinar feature but instead to use the meeting feature because I like to see everybody who wants to be on video. Yep. And I like to bring people on with me to have a conversation. I like the interaction I thrive on live
Tracy: You thrive on live – that’s right. Yes. And that, and that’s I think a lot of people do, and especially like in a world where maybe you’re a solopreneur, you’re working alone, you are isolated and suddenly when you can hop on with a community or people who are, wanna learn from you and you can see their face, you can see their reaction. It’s just, it’s so validating and that validation creates momentum and that momentum creates more action.
And so it is really nice. I always tell people like start small, but I do webinars, I love webinars, I use them, but they have their place. I do something called a pop-up class. So if someone wanted to get started and they’re just not sure do a pop-up class.I don’t record them because people feel a little bit safer if you’re not recording them. So you can say, and then you get the angry emails of like why are you recording it? I’m like don’t worry, I’ll do it again.
But it’s a great way to get to and I do this every once in a while in my community. I’ll just send it out the day before I’m doing a pop-up class on this, come on, come all. And quite honestly, sometimes I think that I’m like, I wonder if anybody will show up. But it’s not like they’re signing up for anything. But again, in that vein, I deliver regardless of how many people show up, I deliver it like there are a thousand people on there. And the people who do show up tend to take action because they get to see me doing my magic. They get to see me working what I do with video and I’m helping them. We do like home studio makeover things and I’m helping them with their framing. And so it’s just those little bites of human interaction that are gonna elevate you, you know, and your business.
Nancy: Yeah, I love that. I really do. And I also have noticed in myself that shift over the years at the beginning, especially doing, you know, a Facebook Live and seeing who was coming on and the people who are like, hi, where are you from? Or let’s wait till people get on, versus just diving in and talking regardless of who is there.
Tracy: And that’s the difference when we talk about like live video, when people do countdowns on their live video, I’m like, you’ve just lost everybody and I know somebody’s teaching it cause I keep seeing it. But if you tell me if Facebook says you’re live and there’s a 10 minute countdown, I’ve done so many other things in that 10 minutes, I don’t even remember that you’re live anymore. So a live video go live. I do acknowledge the people who are there or if they’re interacting. And again that takes a little practice where I used to do a course live video launchpad where we would intentionally jump into each other’s lives because that’s something you have to get used to. But you can get used to it very quickly.
But again, acknowledging the people that are there or not, it doesn’t matter. Again, you’re creating that archive, that library of authority so it doesn’t matter who’s on with you live and you’re getting good, you’re gaining this skill, this tool that you’re going to need for your business anyway. So it’s like a win-win Win.
Nancy: Hmm Win. I’m curious, what do you do when you’re about to go live? Do you have a little ritual that you do? How do you have your notes, whatever.
Tracy: There’s a couple different things. So if I’m gonna go live, I get ready, I get camera ready every morning regardless of whether I have meetings or not, right? So part of that is because I know that I’m more likely to go live or I’m more likely to hop off and do something or record a quick video if I’m camera ready. And camera ready for me, although I don’t think people can see this, so maybe we’ll just have a nice picture of it. But five minutes, I am a five minute face. I am not, I recorded a video once of my five minute routine and the YouTube comments were hilarious because it was from these younger girls who do like all this contouring and stuff like that. They’re like, is she serious? And someone responded, oh yeah, she’s of the age, no kidding. She’s of the age where they don’t do that. And I’m like, yeah, I’m not wearing a mask, I’m not gonna do it.
So I get camera ready in the morning, so it doesn’t matter what time I’m going live, but I’ll be camera ready. If I have notes, I have them on my laptop. So I do my lives on my laptop. You can do them on your phone I just find like, you’re looking off a little bit more for your notes and sometimes I’ll put them in Google slides cuz you can do that function and keeping your eye line so I don’t prep as much anymore.
But just to give people an idea. So if you’re new and you’re like what is she talking about? I used to write out my lives word for word and then it went, I know right? Nancy just made like right because I was nervous but I was nervous and I didn’t wanna screw up and I didn’t write like, so this is the progression. And then I started using bullet points and now the live formula is hook -harden cta, right? Like it’s actually the same for homepage videos and other videos as well.
But you just have to hook them, So not like, Hi I’m Tracy, but today we’re gonna talk about this because then they’ll stay. And so I now just have my hook-harden and CTA just kind of just to make sure. And the CTA is really important because you don’t wanna leave people hanging CTA, call to action, in case you’re listening and like, what is she talking about? Yeah.
So that, I don’t think about it a whole lot anymore, but my live process, you know I used to do like naughty shanna breathing, single nostril breathing, I don’t have to do any of that anymore. But I did, right? There was like yeah.
Nancy: Yeah, you gotta gear yourself up.
Tracy: To the point though, like again, I went from like back sweat right at the beginning when seven years ago to, there are times where I’m like, oh shit, I’m going live in five minutes. Which my family, they gaw cause that’s pretty, that’s the norm now, I’m like, oh shit, I gotta write a hook harden CTA in five minutes, right? Like, but again, I know my craft, I know what I’m gonna be talking about. I’ve talked about it a number of times.
So I just have to kind of let the rest go.
Nancy: And that to me is actually the most important piece of takeaway here. That when you are doing video and you’re sharing about your expertise, you know your shit.
Tracy: You know your shit.
Nancy: You know your shit. I mean I think about it the same way when I speak on stage, I know exactly where I’m gonna begin and I know exactly where I’m gonna end.
And then I kind of think about it as those add-a-bead necklaces, it’s like okay, each bead to the bullet point. And because I know my story, I lived it, because I know my coaching models because I created them because I know my material. What it really provides for me is tremendous freedom.
Nancy: Yeah. And it really is. And it again,it’s a show case. Your showcasing your expertise and your personality and your drive and, and I think a big myth in the video world is that you have to be like energetic and super extroverted and I am an energetic person by nature and that’s fine, but a lot of times it’s actually harder for me to reign in those extroverts than it is the introverts because the videos again aren’t about you. So once people get over themselves and they start to realize like, oh, okay, people aren’t tuning in because you’re like an animated bunny rabbit, they’re tuning in because you’re saying something. So even if you’re more of a quiet person who has, some of my favorite students have been very, very like, what I would call mindful speakers. But they’re so good at what they’re teaching that you lean in and you wanna listen, right? It doesn’t have to be like a vaudeville show every time.
Nancy: Right. And what I also love about video is, you know, there’s so many different ways to utilize it. So I can go on an Instagram story or an Instagram reel and record a minute or whatever about anything that’s going on. And I might do that in my robe in my glasses
Tracy: I’d prefer. Yeah.
Nancy: And then it’s so funny because Kelly, my bestie who Tracy knows, she’ll comment “dropping gems in her Costco robe”, you know?
Tracy: Well but that and that’s but think about how human that is, right?
Nancy: How relatable it is.
Tracy: It’s relatable and people buy human to human. So I don’t care what you’re selling, there’s a human element to it where people are buying emotions and you have to evoke that emotion.
I call it the feelz with a z, right? You wanna be creating some sort of feeling with your video.
Nancy: Right. You know, and then there are videos that I’ll do while I’m out hiking because as I think many of us do, we have great thoughts while we’re walking or in the shower or whatever.
Tracy: I admire you for those because I will tell you as the video lady, the one thing I cannot do is walk and record a video Like it, it’s a hot mess.
Nancy: That’s hilarious.
Tracy: Hot mess express there going on. Yeah. So kudos Nancy.
But again, I love those. Also those types of videos do really well because again, you’re in nature, you’re outside, you’re very relatable. Yeah.
Nancy: Yeah. And then I know for example, when I’m gonna sit down and create, and do a batch of YouTube videos, because I do the batch thing.
Tracy: Batch it bitch.
Nancy: Right, I know, okay, I’m gonna, I need to create four, five to 10 minute videos. I need to be in the right headspace, I need to have my wits about me. It’s best for me, actually, to do on a Saturday morning. That is my time that I like to actually record my YouTube video.
Tracy: Do you book it in? You put that in your calendar?
Nancy: I put it in my calendar.
Tracy: So that’s one we’re talking about commitment.
Nancy: Yep.
Tracy: You’re committing to batching and I love that. So let me ask you, when you batch, do you change your shirt or is it the same shirt?
Nancy: I change my shirt and my necklace.
Tracy: So I do the same. So a little batching trick as I will, I’m in my office, I will have three or four shirts and earrings or a scarf and I will in my office just like, be taking off a shirt and going back and because that is how you’re going to get things done.
Again, there’s so much overthinking when it comes to video and I don’t wanna say like it’s easy, we’re not a Nike commercial. I don’t want you to just do it. But I do want people to really, if they’re listening to this, think I do need to be more visible because you do.
Nancy: Right. But what makes it easy is the preparation.
Tracy: Yeah.
Nancy: I believe that the preparation leads to feeling confident as well.
Tracy: Commitment, consistency and clarity are going to give you your camera confidence.
But you need all three of those in order for it to work for you. And so that clarity, and it could be clarity about, I do something called the content wheel where we’re like, what do I talk about, right?
And so we’ll work on that and then suddenly people don’t feel so scared because like, oh, now I get it. Talk about one thing and I’m gonna talk about that for a couple minutes. No, you know, not two minutes and 32 seconds. Not like, it doesn’t matter, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. Wrong is just not making any videos or not getting started making videos. I had to say it.
Nancy: Of course. So for everyone listening, what is the best way to be in touch with you? To follow you, to find you, all the things.
Tracy: The website under construction so we’re not gonna go there. We’re gonna do on Facebook, look up @videoscriptsuccess, it’s all one word. And then on LinkedIn, I’m Tracy Phillips, but also Video Script Success. So, I am active on both of those platforms.
And so you can reach out and DM if you wanna learn more or whatever you need to do. You can go watch some of my videos and see if we’re a good fit. Louise Hay, I think used to say like, let’s see if we like each other.
Nancy: Right, exactly.
Tracy: Yeah. So let’s, video’s a great way to see if we like each other.
Nancy: And as you know, the name of this podcast is Your Permission Prescription. So what would you like to invite our listeners to give themselves permission for?
Tracy: I want to have the listeners give themselves permission not to be perfect. Yeah, not to be perfect. That it’s okay to not be good at this one thing. To be an amateur for a very short amount of time. Don’t have to be perfect. Just be willing.
Nancy: Love it. And I love you,Tracy, thank you so much for being here today.
Tracy: Best interview ever.
Nancy: Yay. Thanks for listening everyone, and I’ll see you again here next time.
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Thanks again for joining me.