Happy 4th of July - Celebrate Things That Go Bang

Happy Independence Day in the U.S.! Happy 4th of July! In celebration of things that go bang, pop, fizz, check this out:

Here's a neat video Steve Spangler created to get people to like his Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/stevespangler.



Have you created a welcome video for your Facebook fan page yet?

I haven't, but I will soon.

Make Money Doing What You Love: CNN Interviews Gary Vaynerchuk

CNN interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk about his upcoming book as well as the ten-book deal he got from HarperCollins:

The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customer

Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski, authors of The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back, made a neat little video (not a viral video, just a neat little video) to draw attention to their book.



It's short (about a minute). Enjoy. They have a good message: Love your customers.

Two Great Music Videos from Around the World

Stand by Me is one of my favorite songs ever, and this video version is tops. Incredible footage. Very moving. Take the time to watch it. You'll be glad you did.



Playing For Change: "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

And here's another by the Playing For Change people, called One Love. Neat. Also worth a viewing.



Playing For Change: "One Love" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

Also check out Chanda Mama: http://www.vimeo.com/4402477 and A Change Is Going to Come: http://www.vimeo.com/4398164 and War/No More Trouble: http://www.vimeo.com/4396617.

I liked all of the above performances, but Stand by Me is still my favorite. Thanks Playing for Change!

An Incredible Video

The following is one of those wonderful videos that really knock your socks off, making you wonder: How did they do this? It's a little over 4 minutes, but you'll be glad you watched it. Fascinating to say the least.



Notebook from Evelien Lohbeck on Vimeo

Incredible Stop-Action Movie

This 4-minute movie must have taken a hundred hours to make. Incredible work. Beautiful. And amazing.



Title: Stop Motion with Wolf and Pig

YouTube Videos: A Funny Series of Movie Take-Offs

I'm sad to say that many of these wonderful parodies are now no longer on YouTube due to the idiots at Constantin Film Produktion. These stupid, stupid, dumkopfs (they're German) consider these funny parodies as copyright infringement. Such stupid, stupid people.

Don't they know that these parodies are actually making more people aware of their Downfall movie, and that many people are watching or buying the movie because of the parodies. Dumb, dumb, dumb people.

Alas, this means that many of the YouTube links below will no longer work. Sad.

I'm not sure who did the first Hitler parody, but they are all funny. What a wonderful series of take-offs from a movie clip.

Twitter Frustrates Hitler As Followers Split (6,160 views):



And here's another using the same movie excerpt, but completely different content:

No Twitter for Hitler (38,249 views):



And a few more variations on the same movie excerpt:

Hitler is invaded by Mexicans (34,890 views): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dvio5W1gTU

Adolf Hitler - Vista Problems! (687,000 views): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExeyrNZwzwQ

KFC Nuggets get banned; Hitlers Downfall (11,296): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBdetQeZ3fQ

Hitler gets banned from Xbox Live (1,099,012 views): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfkDxF2k

Real Estate Downfall (1,644,472 views): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNmcf4Y3lGM

Somebody Stole Hitlers Car (808,392 views): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8dl4faCpJE

Hitler gets banned from World of Warcraft (2,405,926 views): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JF03i7NfIU

Hitler Superbowl (592,207 views): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_9UTvESBIc

Hitler's got the wrong bike (628,137 views): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukAhlxl4hmM

Another Online Video Tool for Distributing Your Videos

The above is an online tool for distributing your new videos over many video-sharing networks. Be alert that this video features a loud explosion right at the beginning of the video.

For more such video distribution tools, go to http://www.bookmarket.com/videoautomation.htm. Neat stuff. And powerful.

A Quick, Easy Way to Make Videos by Typing!

The above features a video I created in a few minutes by cutting and pasting some text, selecting a background scene and character, and sharing the video. You can find out more by going to XtraNormal.com: http://www.xtranormal.com.

New York Times Tries YouTube: You Too?

On Tuesday, a full-page ad in the New York Times newspaper announced the debut of its YouTube series of Conversations featuring famous people talking about their favorite sections of the newspaper. Even with a full page ad in the NYT, however, the videos featuring famous people still have only a few hundred to a few thousand views.

For example, the following video with John Leguizamo has so far had 783 views (at least 3 are mine) in three days. In five years since this article was original posted, this video has received a little over 4,000 views. And that's with the power of the New York Times and the celebrity of John Leguizamo!



Why do I bring this up? Because many of you are putting videos up on YouTube and expecting an avalanche of views.

Well, consider this: If the New York Times can only get a few hundred views of some of their videos after a FULL PAGE ad, celebrity spokespeople, and a key feature in the Marketing Vox ezine, how do you expect your video to get views?

I've seen other major companies put videos up on YouTube and declare victory with a few thousand views, but personally (and professionally) I don't think a YouTube video is successful without half a million views.

And if you want that many views, you have to do more than simply put a video up. And do more than pay for a full-page ad in the New York Times. You have to learn how to use the viral power of the Internet.

Why Someone Should Buy Your Book: Pros and Cons

During a recent teleconference, I suggested to listeners that they might share the ten best reasons to buy their book as a text listing or a video on their website. And then also share the ten reasons why someone shouldn't buy their book. Website visitors are more likely to become buyers if you give them an objective view of your book -- both the pros and cons, why they should buy and why they might choose not to buy your book.

Sister Patricia Proctor made a video giving the two best reasons to buy or not to buy her book 101 Inspirational Stories of the Power of Prayer. You can check out her video above.

I think she does a wonderful job of selling her book even as she tries to give reasons not to buy her book. It's a good exercise for any author to do. It will help you understand why some people choose not to buy your book.

Check out my own list on why you should take my 10 Million Eyeballs Event -- or why you should not at http://www.10millioneyeballs.com.

From 10 People to 3 Million in Six Months

Kate Nowak, the creator of the May You Be Blessed video, kicked off her movie by emailing it to 10 people. The movie, forwarded on to many, many friends of friends, was seen by 3 million people in the first six months. Her Better to Bless website is now a community of blessers as well as a thriving gift shop.

40 Million Views for One Poem-Related Video

The Dash Poem Movie written by Linda Ellis and produced by Mac Anderson, has been viewed 40 million times. Linda has received over one million emails thanking her for writing The Dash. Their Simple Truths website sells a ton of books and movies.



For more such success stories for online marketing and Internet marketing, see http://www.tenmillioneyeballs.com.