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Want to make your video business as successful as possible in 2023? Here are 5 tips to help keep you on track and avoid overwhelm. It’s time to get excited for a new year and make sure you are prepared for the best year of your business!

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Before we wrap up 2022, Den shares how it has been amazing year for the VBA members.

The VBA Elite and Uplevel programs are designed to help you scale your video business to a new level.

If you are serious about growing your revenue then you’ll understand that there’s a limit on what you can do alone. If you want to be involved in a group of phenomenal business owners then we would love to talk to you in January! 

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In today’s video, Den discusses how you've gotten this far and what you can do differently next year to accelerate and build a meaningful business. Listen up and start changing your algorithm and watch your results skyrocket!

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Den sits down with Chuckmedia's owner Stu Edgeworth. Mr. Edgeworth is one of those guys many video freelancers like to hate. Why? Because he's one of the few freelancers who's discovered the secret of having his cake and eating it too! Edgeworth runs a successful filmmaking business, has a wife and three kids under five, and still has the time and resources - thanks to his commercial video production business - to create short films, travel the world, and always be around for his family.

How's he managed to pull this off?

Well, listen to this episode, dear listener.

Here's a sneak peek at what you'll hear:

• Stu Edgeworth’s entire backstory told in two minutes. - 3:00
  
  
• How do you come across as a big successful film company even though you're a one-man band operating out of a tiny garden shed? (Simple: You do what Mr. Lennie did in this exact situation. Hear this “keeping up appearances” story at 6:00)
  
  
• Solid advice for freelancers looking to hire staff. - 10:00
  
  
• Why hiring staff is like investing. - 11:15"
  
  
• A "rotten to the core" fear that stops many freelancers from ever hiring staff. (This irrational thought process will stop a freelancer from ever hiring a team even though he's always busier than a one-armed baggage handler at Heathrow airport. - 11:30
  
  
• Clever strategies to use when business is slower than rush hour traffic but payroll and other expenses still need to be met. - 12:00
  
  
• Why video freelancers should think more like financial investors when running their businesses. -14:00
  
  
• How video freelancers CAN have their cake and eat it too! Stu Edgeworth is living proof you can have the best of both worlds. (Edgeworth runs a successful commercial video production company, has a wife and 3 kids under 5, and still has the time and resources to make short films and travel the world. - 19:00)
  
  
• The case for video freelancers indulging in passion projects. (Hear how doing this can benefit your commercial efforts. - 19:30
  
  
• The “WAGs of videographers” episode. (This future interview may or may not be on the cards. We'll see... )
  
  
• Edgeworth’s' shrewd reason to start a podcast. - 25:00
  
  
• An obnoxiously good “How To Scale a Video Business” archive episode you should listen to. (If you want to systematize your video business, then you'll wanna hear this past episode mentioned at 27:00)

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In today’s  episode, Den shares a great overview of the Video Business Accelerator Mastermind. VBA is a great place to grow, learn and network with other video business owners. Listen in as Den announces how you can join to win one of the five VBA scholarships.

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Here's a sneak peek at what you'll hear:

• An insider's advice to freelancers who want to become the go-to videographer for ad agencies. (Follow this advice and you can potentially be on speed dial for multiple agencies. - 1:30)
  
  
• An outreach marketing fallacy that keeps video freelancers from picking up new business. (Buying into this fallacy will castrate all your marketing efforts - 2:00)
  
  
• How NOT to do outreach marketing. (If your outreach marketing sounds like the example given at 4:20, then you'll want to change that right quick. Here's how...)
  
  
• A ridiculously simple way (yet overlooked by most people) to get on the radar of producers and directors of big agencies who hire video freelancers. - 5:00
  
  
• Why video freelancers should think more like sleazy car salesmen. - 6:00
  
  
• Key people to approach inside an ad agency if you're a videographer looking for work. - 11:00
  
  
• Den's "how NOT to turn up to a corporate gig" story. (Megadeth were a great '80s metal band but rocking up to a corporate gig looking like one of the band members is probably not a great idea. - 13:00)
  
  
• A crackbrained thing many video freelancers do to their fees when working for big agencies. Doing this will always backfire.  - 16:30
  
  
• The surprising power of being organized. (It ain't sexy. It ain't exciting, but by golly, this one attribute will get a videographer more work than just about anything else. - 18:00)
  
  
• The pros and cons of working for an ad agency as a hired videographer. - 22:00
  
  
• A classy way to deal with producers and directors who have the creativity of a house brick. - 24:00

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In this episode, Den chats to an ex-ad agency employee who got bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, saw a gap in the creative freelance market and filled it! If you're a video freelancer looking for work, then don't miss this episode.

Here's a sneak peek at what you'll hear:

•  What Create Crowd is, and... how it's helping videographers make more moolah. - 3:00
  
  
• Attention all video freelancers, graphic designers, photographers, make-up artists, copywriters, and creative thinkers: looking for more work? Great. Here's a new way that can potentially bring you new business quickly and consistently. - 8:00
  
  
• A little-known newsletter every video freelancer should subscribe to immediately. (This is one of those rare newsletters that can truly help you land new, high-quality clients. - 11:00)
  
  
• An insider secret: there’s a little-known database that has cashed-up ad agencies looking to hire video freelancers right now! Here's where to access this database. - 13:00
  
  
• How video freelancers can potentially get featured in a newsletter that gets read by ad agency owners looking to hire. - 14:00

Connect with Den on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/denlennie/
Get more great resources over at https://www.denlennie.com/

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Here's a sneak peek at what you'll hear:

• No serious business owner would ever use TikTok to market their business... or would they? - 4:00
  
  
• How TikTok's algorithm is different from other social media platforms, and what that means to content creators. - 5:30
  
  
• Which social media platform can give you a shortcut way to building a big audience? Listen up at 6:00
  
  
• Why lousy content creators should probably avoid TikTok and just stick with the other major social media platforms instead. - 7:00
  
  
• Someone once said, "You can't polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter."  Sadly, this turd of an approach is used by many business folks when creating their TikTok marketing videos. Here's how to avoid making that same mistake. - 8:50
  
  
• A ridiculously simple way (yet overlooked by most people) to get the right people to watch your content marketing videos on TikTok. - 10:00
  
  
• How to become almost “omnipresent” on social media. (Imagine your marketing videos consistently popping up in front of your market on every social media platform. Is this just a flight of fancy? Not so! Listen in at 11:00)
  
  
• Insider tricks for pumping out marketing videos at breakneck speed. - 11:30
  
  
• Californian engineer's secret to automated video marketing. - 14:00
  
  
• Repurposing content secrets that will make you look prolific. -15:00
  
  
• Why every boo-boo is always the business owner's fault, even if their team makes the mistake. - 18:00
  
  
• Why filmmakers who don't systematize their business often come across as a-holes to their team. And, how not to be one of them. - 19:00
  
  
• Advice for those looking to hire a social media manager. Here's what to look out for. - 26:00
  
  
• The case for creating evergreen marketing content. - 28:00
  
  
• A hardly ever-talked-about way to build rock-solid trust with your audience with video marketing. (If you're not doing what's mentioned at 28:40, then it's very likely your audience has doubts about you.)
  
  
• A "2-second mindset" tweak towards video marketing that can make all the difference. - 28:50
  
  
• Why “content marketing” is the good-looking cousin of advertising. - 29:00
  
  
• FACT:  nice people who always want to be liked tend to be horrible marketers. Here’s why... 33:00
  
  
• Why repelling people is great marketing.  - 33:30

Connect with Den on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/denlennie/
Get more great resources over at https://www.denlennie.com/

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Dear listener, in this episode, you're going to hear some information that could potentially turn your video production business into one of the most sought-after businesses in your industry. Hyperbole? Don't be too sure. Look, at least hear the first 5-minutes before making up your mind, okay?

If you choose to listen...

Here's a sneak peek at what you'll hear:

• Q. Why did the short-sighted videographer fall into the well? A. He couldn't see that well. Sorry, bad joke. Here's a more serious question: Q. Why did the videographer stop posting marketing videos online? A. Because after one week he hadn't landed a new client. Sound familiar? If so, you'll want to hear this... - 4:00
  
  
• An ingenious (and very profitable) thing you can do with all your content marketing videos. (If you've been consistently creating marketing videos to promote your video services, but you're not doing what's mentioned at 3:40, then you've leaving piles of money on the table.)
  
  
• The REAL power of video marketing. - 5:00
  
  
• Video marketing vs Text marketing - who wins? Hear Den's story at 5:10 and you decide.
  
  
• Advice for those who struggle to come up with marketing content ideas. (Follow the advice given at 9:40 and your creative juices will start flowing like crazy.)
  
  
• Why "How To" marketing videos aren't worth a damn... UNLESS... you do this first. - 10:20
  
  
• What you must do in the first 5-seconds of your marketing videos. (Fail to do this and you're marketing video will be more ignored than the first piece of bread. - 11:00)
  
  
• The “30-second mistake” most video marketers make when creating a marketing video. (Making this blunder all but guarantees people ignore your videos. - 11:30)
  
  
• An unsexy video marketing tip that can dramatically boost audience engagement. - 12:30
  
  
• A laughable simple way to turn one piece of marketing content into ten! - 12:40
  
  
• How well-meaning content marketers shoot themselves in the foot. (Yes, giving valuable information in your videos is good, but not if you're doing it the way mentioned at 13:00)
  
  
• Should you be on ALL the major social media platforms or focus on just one? (Hear Stephen's expert opinion at 15:00)
  
  
• A neat little trick for knowing how to interact on social media sites so that you're treated seriously and not like a buffoon. - 17:30
  
  
• Beautiful nonsense many highly creative videographers buy into that keeps their business in a constant cycle of feast or famine.
  
  
• The “c-word” that makes all the difference when creating marketing content. - 21:40
  
  
• Why being nervous in front of a camera is a good thing. (Are you self-conscious when making a video about your filmmaking business? That's great! No, really. Hear why at 22:10)
  
  
• A weird (but very effective) trick for getting yourself out of a funk. (This is what the late Steve Jobs used to do to keep the black dog at bay. Next time you're feeling lousy and out of sorts, try doing this... - 23:00
  
  
• Den drops a powerful marketing secret at 24:20. Don't get too excited, now. This takes some berries to do. 
  
  
• The case for being redu

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Here's a sneak peek of what you'll hear:

• What's the secret to unbreakable, unshakable, and unrelenting self-confidence? (If you know the secret, please, let us know. Until then, we'll offer this humble piece of advice (straight from Grant's mouth) that may help you boost your self-confidence a few notches. - 2:10)
  
  
• The "Men's Shed" aspect of Den Lennie's VBA (a coaching program for serious videographers). - 4:00
  
  
• The nervous salesman's guide to selling with great aplomb. (This is how Grant went from being shy, introverted, and nervous when talking with prospects to being a confident and effective salesperson. If you hate sales or think it's sleazy, listen in at 6:00 and you might change your tune.)
  
  
• LinkedIn marketing secrets nobody told you about. - 8:00
  
  
• The "ASK" marketing method (perfect for LinkedIn) that can sometimes get you an almost embarrassing amount of likes, shares, and comments. (Here's how it works... 8:30)
  
  
• Clever content ideas for videographers wanting to promote their services on LinkedIn. These content ideas are what's working right now for Grant. - 9:00
  
  
• A special kind of marketing video that always seems to get Grant a ton of engagement on LinkedIn. - 9:30
  
  
• The hallmark of a great marketer. Having great ideas is one thing, but if you're not doing this thing mentioned at 10:10, your marketing efforts will be about as effective as a glass hammer.
  
  
• A ridiculously simple (but oh-so effective) marketing strategy any filmmaker can start using today. (This is what Grant does routinely on LinkedIn and, well… you're welcome. - 12:00)
  
  
• Is your LinkedIn marketing content more ignored than an 18+ warning? (If you're not getting that LinkedIn love, cheer up! It's not all bad news. Hear this insight into LinkedIn marketing from Den at 13:00 and you'll glad you did.)
  
  
• A crafty (and laughably easy) way to expand your LinkedIn network and marketing exposure. (This is one of Den's LinkedIn marketing tricks. Pay attention now, listeners. - 15:50)
  
  
• An ice-cold fact: most small business owners look at their client base through rose-colored glasses. Here's what they are NOT looking at. -19:00
  
  
• An all-too-common mindset that keeps freelance videographers playing small.
  
  
• A little-known business book that's so good, Den refers to as the Bible. - 24:00

Connect with Den on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/denlennie/
Get more great resources over at https://www.denlennie.com/

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Connect with Den on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/den_lennie

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