Creating a business with purpose
I co-founded let’s dabble to help nonprofits leverage the power of web video. We created a video tutorial series that teaches them how to shoot, edit, and publish web video for marketing and fundraising.
The Pitch
When we started let's dabble in 2007, web video was not this ubiquitous commodity. We had to explain why something that had been done by professionals for years could now all of a sudden be done in-house.
The answer lies in 3 key elements:
Affordable & easy to use camcorders
Inexpensive yet powerful computers
Free online distribution
But why elaborate when we've already explained it in our video series.
Brand Development
The concept of creating your own videos is intimidating when you've never done it before. To ease this concern, we developed the let's dabble brand to be inviting and playful. It was important to communicate these brand attributes both visually and through the tone of our videos in order to empower our users.
Course Development
By analyzing the process of video production through the perspective of nonprofits, we developed a series of video tutorials that breaks down video production into manageable steps:
Chapter 1: Choosing your equipment
Chapter 2: Ready, Set, Install
Chapter 3: Understanding your equipment
Chapter 4: Improving your filming
Chapter 5: Understanding comfort levels
Chapter 6: Scripting out your video
Chapter 7: Sorting and Organizing footage for Windows Movie Maker
Chapter 8: Editing a Real World Example in Windows Movie Maker
Chapter 9: Publishing to the web
User Testing
Throughout the course development process, we engaged nonprofits to beta-test our video tutorials. Prior to creating course content, we purchased several Flip Camcorders and gave them to our early testers without instruction, only requiring that they send us their videos. This allowed us to see the range of raw skill and comfort using the camera, analyze the footage for behavioral patterns, and design the most effective structure for our program.
After we created our first tutorial series, we had the same testers watch our video tutorials and then shoot, edit, and publish their own video. By doing so, we were able to identify friction points and edit the series to incorporate their input prior to our official launch.
Here's an example of a user created video made after watching our tutorials.
Public Speaking
There's nothing like the fear of single digits in your bank account to get you over a fear of speaking in public. Not to mention the countless hours in course development that count for nothing if nonprofits don't know you exist.
As a result, we hit the nonprofit conference circuit with a polished presentation that highlighted the key points from our video tutorials.
Viral Marketing
It may have taken 3 overhauls of our course to figure it out, but upon official launch we finally found our voice...and apparently it's sassy.
Viral Marketing: Behind the Scenes
Storyboards
Whiteboards are my happy place. You can capture the ideas as quickly as they are created and there's no penalty for changes.
Script
Next step is to tighten up the storyboards by identifying the required content needed and their associate copy for the voiceovers.
Proof of Concept
By using Keynote, a computer mic, and screen capturing a quick once-over, we're able to determine if we're on the right track before wasting time building any content.
"Brad and I connected based on a common interest in giving back and helping nonprofits succeed. He is incredibly creative, focused, professional, unselfish and has a huge heart. In less than a year, we have traveled to New England and Jamaica, spent time in the Midwest, and Brad has helped numerous organizations to advance their causes. let's dabble will provide successful, high value solutions for everyone looking to spread their word and do good for others!"
- Brian Wagner, ARK Angel Network